[quote="Cherry_Warrior":12lqdvhe]Enthralling watch. Great defence by both sides and a good pipe opener. Another record set, think the ref got one too for the most obstructions missed in one match. Leigh will go well this season[u:12lqdvhe][b:12lqdvhe] but all the talk about Armstrong beforehand was unjustified. [/b:12lqdvhe][/u:12lqdvhe]He was a non entity and dealt with very comfortably. Smith had numerous opportunities to win the match but for whatever reason decided to keep playing as if it was the 20th minute. Great watch though and credit to the lobby gobblers on their first and hopefully last win here for over 40 years. Onwards.[/quote:12lqdvhe] sorry but got to disagree with you on this one i've never seen him play before, but he handled everything we threw at him and he made 2 telling breaks, the 1st one he blew and Wardle intercepted and the 2nd led to the winning drop goal rest of your post i cant disagree with and very much in the same boat. Good hard opening game, and credit to Leigh for sticking in there and getting the win he feels like he's very much in the mould of Field and French, evasive and lightening fast, and will get better on dryer pitches

My thoughts on the game. Great to have Michael Buffer there, as a long-time boxing fan that's something I never thought I would see! I thought Leigh went very well. Mulhern had a great game, Tesi Niu was a handful throughout and Armstrong looked every inch what Leigh fans will have been hoping for. Pace to burn, safe as houses under the kicks, not afraid to get stuck in, very nearly created a try and will likely destroy teams on faster tracks. For us, I don't think it was as bad as all that. Field looked sharper than last season to me. Yes, he made a poor decision which probably cost us the game when he didn't pass out to Wardle but he was full of running, scored what would have been a magnificent try if it wasn't for the ball steal ruling (personally I thought the Leigh player had already lost the ball but I can see why the video ref went the way he did so I'm not going to get too worked up about it) and, along with Wardle and Marshall, looked the player most likely to make something happen for Wigan all night. Thompson was a beast as always, and unlucky not to score, Byrne went well in Havard's absence, Leeming had a good game too. Defence was obviously impressive. I think the Farrell sin bin hurt us, not just because we were down to 12 but also because I think that meant Peet held off bringing Mago on until Farrell was back. Ref went for a very slow ruck. I don't think that was an advantage either way but both teams would have been pinged for six-agains several times last season, playing like that. I wonder whether that was just making allowances for the start of the season, or whether it signals a deliberate shift from the referees this year? The sin bin for Farrell was unarguable but unfortunate, as I felt watching it back that he absolutely had been obstructed. Clearly not a penalty try, as Dave Woods briefly floated the possibility, but definitely a penalty for me. As I said before, I thought the Marshall ball steal decision could have gone either way. Keighran is probably lucky to only see yellow. I know the ref said there was mitigation but I think that was pretty generous - he had every chance not to make contact with the head though, so he could have gone for that. Probably cost us our last chance of the game as, if he had made the tackle properly there we would have had the chance to pin Leigh down and get one last shot at scoring in normal time. He started last season with these brain farts but seemed to largely cut them out as the season progressed - I hope he gets rid of them sooner this year! Eckersley does not look a natural winger to me. He put in a decent shift and defended well, but I would like to see Miski back sooner rather than later. I think Zack's future lies at full back or centre. All in all, I thought that was pretty good season opener. Gutted to lose, but can't really complain. Yet another game that makes this old fart long for the days of draws after 80 minutes, as it would have been equally harsh on Leigh if we had managed to snatch it.

Well done Leigh just deserved the win. Defences on top,attack very rusty but will come good I have no doubt. Great opening night for SL,great crowd,as pointed out a little quiet on both sets of fans but it was pretty cold,maybe something to do with it. Look forward to Hull now.

Coming off the ground I was trying to think what it reminded me of and then it clicked. Remember when we used to do "The Big One" ? Where we'd go the extra mile in promoting the game, get a much bigger crowd in than usual for that fixture and then inevitably lose it All credit to Leigh for the win, I went on thinking it would be a high scoring game with defences nowhere near up to standard yet, couldn't've been more wrong. All in all not a disastrous night but I am looking forward to July, a bit fresh last night to put it mildly.

[quote="apollosghost":2dlbimcb]Coming off the ground I was trying to think what it reminded me of and then it clicked. Remember when we used to do "The Big One" ? Where we'd go the extra mile in promoting the game, get a much bigger crowd in than usual for that fixture and then inevitably lose it All credit to Leigh for the win, I went on thinking it would be a high scoring game with defences nowhere near up to standard yet, couldn't've been more wrong. All in all not a disastrous night but [b:2dlbimcb][u:2dlbimcb]I am looking forward to July, a bit fresh last night to put it mildly[/u:2dlbimcb][/b:2dlbimcb].[/quote:2dlbimcb] welcome to summer rugby there is a certain irony in that its bloody freezing when we start, and inevitably p***ing down when we play the grand final, and nothing like summer rugby

Was Miski dropped for Eckerlsey? When I saw the team I just assumed Miski was still a bit underdone but then I saw him in the warm up which is unusual for injured/rested players

[quote="NSW":3bo3l77b]Was Miski dropped for Eckerlsey? When I saw the team I just assumed Miski was still a bit underdone but then I saw him in the warm up which is unusual for injured/rested players[/quote:3bo3l77b] Didn't he come back from pre-season a lot later? I'm assuming he's still trying to get fitness, or over an injury. I think the entire of last year he had strapping on his knee or arm, or both.

[quote="NSW":1lcgqgfz]Was Miski dropped for Eckerlsey? When I saw the team I just assumed Miski was still a bit underdone but then I saw him in the warm up which is unusual for injured/rested players[/quote:1lcgqgfz] The coaching team decided to give him another week off as part of his recuperation.

[quote="NickyKiss":1grie774]I thought Armstrong was the best player on the field. He got absolutely clattered on a few occasions but kept coming back for more. He was a threat all night but we did cope pretty well with him and he was safe as houses under some really challenging high balls. Lam looks to have found a couple more gems from the NRL, which he is extremely good at. Over a long season, I don't think Leigh will have enough in the forwards to challenge for trophies but their backline will make it an entertaining season for them.[/quote:1grie774] I agree, when injuries start to bite Leigh will struggle as they have little depth in their forwards. Having said that, if they can continue to roll out their best 13 they will be a handful for everyone. They are a well drilled outfit and last evening they managed to do a Wigan to Wigan by slowing the ruck down. I can't begrudge them their win last night, on sheer effort alone they deserved it. From a Wigan perspective, it has brought us down a peg or two which will be good in the long term. It will be interesting to see how we react next week at Hull.

[quote="Zig":wlpf469u]I agree, when injuries start to bite Leigh will struggle as they have little depth in their forwards. Having said that, if they can continue to roll out their best 13 they will be a handful for everyone. They are a well drilled outfit and last evening they managed to do a Wigan to Wigan by slowing the ruck down. I can't begrudge them their win last night, on sheer effort alone they deserved it. From a Wigan perspective, it has brought us down a peg or two which will be good in the long term. It will be interesting to see how we react next week at Hull.[/quote:wlpf469u] Yeah, I don't think a few shocks early in the season will do us much harm in the long run. Motivation to keep winning can be difficult when you've had so much success (not saying we lacked it last night) but a champion side doesn't like losing and the enjoyment that brings around the game and I think our players can then feed off that. I'm finding myself a bit 'meh' about games at the minute and that's from the run of winning trophies but last night just gets you going again. In terms of next week, the players need to react now and also back up some talk I saw in pre season about them knowing how bad their record in the city of Hull is and them wanting to put that right. There will be no better time than next week but it won't be easy because all teams are optimistic and motivated early in the season.

My concern after reflecting on that last night is the power of referees to control the ruck speed to such a degree it almost nullifies any of our threat from a quick play the ball to get teams on the back foot. If a team like Leigh are able to do that on a pitch the size of ours, I’ll be concerned when we go to places like KR and even Castleford.

By no means was it the reason we lost last night but i thought the referee let the game flow a bit too much which probably sounds a bit ridiculous becuase we are all forever saying the refs are giving too many penalties. There were clear penalties on both sides, the ruck was too slow and i think if he blew a few times it would of broke the game up. Good game though, enjoyed it. We'll be fine and congrats to the Leigh.

[quote="NickyKiss":13qm1ymr]Yeah, I don't think a few shocks early in the season will do us much harm in the long run. Motivation to keep winning can be difficult when you've had so much success (not saying we lacked it last night) but a champion side doesn't like losing and the enjoyment that brings around the game and I think our players can then feed off that. I'm finding myself a bit 'meh' about games at the minute and that's from the run of winning trophies but last night just gets you going again. [/quote:13qm1ymr] I've felt exactly the same - adds a little more bite to the coming games.

[quote="1872_WiganRLFC":ko4gibqr]By no means was it the reason we lost last night but i thought the referee let the game flow a bit too much which probably sounds a bit ridiculous becuase we are all forever saying the refs are giving too many penalties. There were clear penalties on both sides, the ruck was too slow and i think if he blew a few times it would of broke the game up. Good game though, enjoyed it. We'll be fine and congrats to the Leigh.[/quote:ko4gibqr] This notion that less referee intervention leads to a more exciting game is so misguided. If the ref had clamped down on the slow ruck speed early then the rest of the game would likely have sped up. Liam Moore is the absolute worst for not intervening with the ruck. I think he's a good ref outside of that and talks to the players very well. But its almost a free for all on the floor when he's in charge.

I don’t get the hate on Moore, the PTB was equally slow on both sides so no advantage to be had for either team, difference is you normally get to slow the PTB down but enjoy a quick PTB, I’d say we just “out wiganed” you last night. What I will say it was amazing watching Wigan defensive structure and composure live is immense, proper old fashioned proper rugby! Quality stuff

I think the PTB was definitely slow for both teams and to be honest if it was sped up would we have got the game we did defensively. Both teams would have been blowing out their backsides 20mins in. Like people have said nothing to worry about both teams were matched for most of the game, credit to Leigh there as they never creaked, gave away a silly pen. Hull is always a bogey ground for us and if we put the effort in for the Leigh game into that game I think we can win. No excuse… excuse incoming, I think we need to get the vegas game then the following game out the way and hopefully we’ll fully settle then. Again no discredit to Leigh we threw everything into that game.

I'm not gutted at all to lose that one, great game. We did look super clunky, still had the chances to ice the game, but ultimately didn't. The two sin bins were correct calls so we can have no complaints on them however I am not seeing how the refereeing is earning widespread praise; the ruck was painfully slow. Add in the boggy pitch and no wonder the attack for both sides struggled. Two poor examples, one in each half; O'Neil didn't clear the ruck and the ball cannoned off his legs and went forward 2/3 yards and the shout was play on. Then in the second half, Wigan player clearly tackled and then O'Brien goes back on and it's a clear as day 6 Again, but nothing given. I'm sure Leigh fans would be able to find 1 or 2 similar calls that didn't go for them round the ruck also, by the way! Yes, he did let the game flow, but it can't be a free for all. We'll be ok, and long term it may turn out to be a good loss to take. Nonetheless, I was only thinking yesterday that we may see a lull at the start of the season after coming off the quadruple. Field looks in promising shape though but his decision making needs to improve. He was weirdly the biggest positive for me from last night.

This HKR v Cas game is a lot more exciting than ours was. It's about 3x faster as the ref put the marker down early to speed the ruck up giving a couple of 6-agains. And it helps that both teams are actually trying to score and actually pass the ball rather than 5 drives every set.

[quote="Wigg'n":1l3kvlbb]This HKR v Cas game is a lot more exciting than ours was. It's about 3x faster as the ref put the marker down early to speed the ruck up giving a couple of 6-agains. And it helps that both teams are actually trying to score and actually pass the ball rather than 5 drives every set.[/quote:1l3kvlbb] Agreed, and that's my point. It was a great game due to the intensity levels, it was play-off like from both sides. I think the first break in play was 18 mins in. Nevertheless, I think both coaches will be frustrated with how the ruck was refereed.

Looks like we've got a game on our hands next week, FC currently beating Les Cats

Do teams receiving the ball from kick off in golden point ever win? Does anyone know what the stats are on that?

I wish they'd put golden point in the bin. Forget us last night, we lost in a tight affair, against a good side and don't need every point we can get but Cas deserved something from that game tonight. I don't know why a draw can't just be a draw.

[quote="apollosghost":3iep7eef]Looks like we've got a game on our hands next week, FC currently beating Les Cats[/quote:3iep7eef] I know it’s just the opener but I thought Hull looked fit and well trained tonight

[quote="NickyKiss":1h5l1kpk]I wish they'd put golden point in the bin. Forget us last night, we lost in a tight affair, against a good side and don't need every point we can get but Cas deserved something from that game tonight. I don't know why a draw can't just be a draw.[/quote:1h5l1kpk] If they're dead set on having golden point for the 'drama' then I don't hate the idea of giving a point to each side for an 80 minute draw and an extra point to whoever wins.

[quote="Stranger":liawn407]I know it’s just the opener but I thought Hull looked fit and well trained tonight[/quote:liawn407] Having watched three games now, our pitch is a disgrace compared to the 2 on show this evening. It didn’t help anyone last night.