Not so sure about the luck element. How many times did we hand the ball over through dropped balls, offsides and not playing the ball correctly etc. Always seemingly in our own 30 too. We defended like lions on each of those sets. You could swing it the other way and say Salford were lucky we gave them so much free ball. All in all, we didn't play the conditions at all and there looked to be a few fatigued bodies out there. A definite freshen up is due next week. But, as said, we got the job done. I do love the way Salford throw the ball around. It get's them results. Not a dig but they have to play that way because their squad lacks in talent so they have to make up for it in an expansive way. I love watching it. Just wish they could get their crowds back. It's like the old guard from the Willows who died out just didn't get replaced with new blood. Thier marketing team needs to get a shift on and get people in. I know the stadium is a massive drawback being in the back of beyond but Salford and the council need to come up with a solution.

It is just me that things the short drop out wasn’t a bad idea from Sneyd?

He executed it perfectly, and I was filled with dread when I saw a towering kick with just Farrell underneath it with Nofoluma and Macdonald chasing.

Replay that situation 100 times and I’d say Salford get the ball back the vast majority of them, and we probably score only 1.

I'm not going to say whether it is only you or not, their may be others



However I will say i don't agree
Because he executed it perfectly its easier to say they'd get the ball back the majority of times, but that doesn't cover the issue of what if he didn't execute it perfectly on top of the fact that he's relying on others (the 2 players challenging Farrell) to execute perfectly as well, they didn't

If you ask me to guesstimate what would happen BEFORE the drop out if he went short I'd guess they'd get it back maybe 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 times. Then you factor in that they would have to hold the ball for 4 more tackles, kick well and still have to defend a set starting maybe on wigans 20/30 there's a whole heap of things that could have happened there.
Doing what he did increased the chances of Wigan having 5/6 plays in their 20, as even if Wigan got the ball back and didnt score there was enough time left for Salford to have to come out their own 10mtrs, kick well and Wigan get another set.

Playing against 12 men the correct thing to do would be to go long, defend their 40/30line and Wigan get 3 shots in Salfords 20 or so
Back yourself to defend that (as they had done numerous times during the game already).

If going short gives a one in a hundred chance of the opposition strolling over the line, it's got to be a bad idea. You go long and there is a zero in a hundred chance of them doing that. They might score but it'll take some work from the attacking team and you won't feel like a total 'Sneeeeeed'.

4 wins out of 4 is a great start to the season, especially with 3 of those away from home (we don't play again at home until April 19th), so that must stand us in good stead for the back end of the season, especially when Cooper, Walters, Havard et al come back.

Sneyd did exactly the right thing in going short and my saying that has nothing to do with being a Wigan fan.

We won that game because of the desire and commitment of the team to play for 80 mins with the way we caused the drop out with a fantastic tackle and the pushing of the Salford player back over the line.

Difficult game but a sign of a champion team to win without playing to their potential.
Salford did play a great game though.

The defensive gang tackling of players, trying to force them in to touch and in goal has become a real feature of the side and a big weapon for us. It's great to see that being lead by new guys like Thompson and especially Keighran as well.

If the rules of the game had been applied by Kendal then the drop out would not have occurred. Mind you, the penalty against Smith shouldn’t have been given as Brieley’s ball carrying arm was not on the ground.

Defensively, we were way below our normal standards. Our line speed was slow, we continually fell off the tackle, didn’t clamp the ball, our defensive line was fractured and yet, Salford only managed to score two tries from kicks. Defending kicks seems to be our Achilles heel at the moment. Plenty to fix up but not difficult to do.

I often think that, is it still the case where if a second player of team in possession gets involved the ref should call held? I hardly ever see it when close to touch or on any line calls.
I'm not so sure on kicks ... you could say it seems a weakness because it's the only way teams can break us down and score? It's a lottery on decent contested kicks. King and KPP was very good at helping on that right edge in that area, I don't think it's all down to Miski this season.
I'm hoping that's our flat performance, all the time we are getting closer to seeing Harvard and Walters bolster the pack and Leemings impact.
I really liked Mago, Dupree and Leeming off the bench both props can dent the line and Leeming off the back Looks hard to deal with. As the season goes on I can't see how Walters or Jnr don't start making the team, no slight on ISA but both would add quite a bit for me.

I think we'll see our style of play evolve a little as the pitches dry up and Walters and Junior play more.

We're playing far more up the middle at the moment and interplay between the forwards is a good addition to the attack. Watching Bell play last night I think we do need to do a little more of that to take advantage of the strength up the middle.

When Walters especially comes in I hope we'll see more running and offloading on the edges and Field. Bevan and Liam running off his shoulder.

At times I think we leave a a few points on the field as we can play a little conservatively . I'm not saying we should play like Leeds as they do the opposite, don't do the hard work in the middle thinking they can score on every play, but as it gets drier we should be making more use of the skill out wide and speed up the middle..

The great thing about this season is we have far more options in attacking options. Add Kruise in at 9 and we have another dimension too.

The only team that deserves to win is the team that does enough to win.

Salford didn't.

They played with lots of endeavour, and the determination to throw it around like it was a game of summer sevens (in pouring rain) was interesting but ultimately didn't do it for them.

I'm also bemused by those who think Sneyd's short drop was the right decision. It cost them the win; it's as simple as that.

See NSW
There's not only you thats wrong

I think you might be missing the tongue very firmly in the cheek there mate

See above post Jukesy

Nofaluma should have caught it!

Fair point.

People have made plenty of the fact that short drop-outs are much more common in the NRL, which they are. And teams get the ball back fairly often. Or they wouldn't persist doing it. But when you're ahead with a few minutes to go, perhaps not so much.

They changed the rules in the NRL to encourage short drop outs (and kick offs). It's a turnover if it doesn't go 10 or goes into touch on the full so it's not quite as risky.

Sneyd should still have gone long though.

That "removing the jeopardy" thing in the NRL is completely unnecessary. Clubs were already going for short drop-outs last season, and that worked fine. No need to encourage them further by making it even less risky for the defending side.

i've watched the full match back this morning on Warriors tv and the focussed quite a bit post match on this and Sneyd's reaction

The play was for Watkins (i think was the inside player) to catch / pat back and the winger (hang back) to then take the ball or worst case be in a defensive position to stop Wigan from scoring. As he jumped and challenged for the ball, he was out of position and thus a walk in for Wardle

how, all of Tomkins, Wilkins and Carney though the short kick off was the wrong choice at that point in the game, but equally were of the mind that Nofaluma played the play wrong, and not Sneyd

That's just a play with cockup written all over it, had Watkins patted it back and he winger was in position he could have knocked on, Watkins could have knocked on, the winger could have been taken into touch. The logical play is get the ball as far away from the tryline asd possible and hunt a mistake.

True, its probably a 1 in 100 success rate, but most likely you are chasing the game that you would try that play

you are 2 points in front with 5 left on the clock is not the time for it, i think most would agree. Launch the bugger as far as you can, it was wet, so possibility of a Wigan knock on, plus we'd have been 40-50m away from Salfords line

What i did like though, was Rowley's post match interview. He knew they'd blown the win, but was also very measured and didnt chuck Sneyd under the bus in front of the tv camera's. He's a class coach and has that Salford side playing some good rugby.

Personally think it was a good call and I don’t think it was Sneyd’s fault as the execution of the kick was outstanding.

I’m sure it was MacDonald and Nofauluma chasing, and they failed to communicate. 1 should have gone up for it the other hung back. Not only did they leave nobody home they also got in each others way that were it a 1 on 1 they should have been favourites for.

If they had gone long they are still defending the first tackle in their own half. With the level of strike we have a break usually results in a try from inside the opposition half and with the urgency and change of strike tactics once Smith was yellow carded (which I think was positive for us as it forced French link the game ball in hand) I believe we score if we get the ball back.

Lack of communication in my opinion cost Salford that try not the tactic.

agree, re the execution and i think it was my earlier post that i said something very similar, in that both winger and centre went for the ball, instead of winger hanging back for the pat back or worst case, he's set defensively. From a Wigan perspective it fell perfectly to Wardle with no-one to beat




however, you can still see the argument for both the short and long kick. Normally the short kick off is when you are chasing the game, as its higher risk and you need the ball back. Kick long, and yes, whilst you are still defending, you are 40-50m up the pitch and have a better chance of keeping Wigan out that 5 tackles within 10m