It was a long trip over to Hull and in todays post Mr Wane hasnt a lot to say about the game which suggests hes not very happy with the result, you cant blame him i suppose he likes to win regardless, nothing wrong with that attitude, i made the trip over too and wasn't too dissapointed with the performance, we started great hampshires little step was awesome and he darted under the sticks. The organisation in the halfs was definitley there and something which was missing against leigh Sam Powell gave a good account of himself and some spells of his kicking game was good in the forwards i think Prescott, Burke, Crosby, Tuson and Greenwood put theirselves about in certain spells however we still havent seen the best from scott taylor and gill dudson who ultimatley in my view where the main contributors to our decline yesterday. We went 10 nil up and looked to be matching them however when these 2 entered the field we got hammered in the forwards and with dobson piling the pressure on with his kicking game we struggled to make yards out of our own 20. There where some positives in defence we kept them out on our own line on a number of occasions so credit has to be given for that seen as physically it was definitley a miss match. Tuson and Burke banged a few of their big lads so that was nice to see as they tried to bully us a bit with a few dirty shots and a nasty elbow on crosby which he had to leave the field from, young manfredi scored a cracking try too holding off the experienced hardman and hodgson from 15 yards out, he did well to score. So as mr wane put its not all doom and gloom but a few do need to up their game if they want to contribute to the cause this year!

I agree with most of that. Yes, it was another defeat, but we got to see a little bit more from each player and it's given an indication of how they cope in a tough game.

For me one of the big positives was Logan Tomkins, who I thought had his best game in ages. He was lively out of dummy half, taking the ball to the line before passing and he defended well too.

In the forwards, Burke was our best in the pack once again. He just wants to tackle everything that moves and he always runs hard. It's good to see him at loose forward too because I've always considered that to be his best position.

Powell added a lot to the halves. His kicking game was decent although there's more consistency to come I think. We should have had a try when he dabbed a grubber kick through but somehow Murphy managed to knock on rather than score. I hope he gets some games in the first team this year.

Hampshire looked good too. I liked the fact that he didn't try too hard to show off. He's a devastating runner and often players like that can be tempted to take the line on as much as possible. His all round game looks excellent but I think he's a year or two off the first team.

Greenwood continues to impress me after his loan spell at South Wales. At the start of the year I'd have been surprised if someone had said he'd still be at the club as he just didn't seem to stand out. Now he's looking better than some of the more experienced props. He'll add more depth to the front row and has probably jumped above Spencer in the pecking order as Spencer has been disappointing for a while.

I didn't really see that much of Tuson to be honest. He tackled well but he still seemed a little quiet in attack. As one of the more experienced players on show I was hoping he'd give a good account of himself. Still, it's only his first game and it wasn't like he played badly, he just didn't catch the eye.

Crosby had a decent game. Taylor was overshadowed by the other forwards and I actually thought Dudson made a good impact, he just couldn't really sustain it for long enough.

Murphy was hit and miss. He looked calm and composed at the back until he messed up for one of Rovers' tries and he also spurned a very good try scoring chance which he should have taken. On the whole he had a reasonable game.

Manfredi also looks very promising. He finished his try really well and he's got a bit of pace. I thought Burgess was the only player likely to push for a place on the wing but Manfredi has performed much better in the last two games.

For me the negatives were at centre. Lloyd didn't look comfortable defending and was caught out of position a few times. It was only his first game there though so it's too soon to really come to any conclusions. He did well when the ball came his way in attack though and he seemed to know when to give the ball to his winger (take note Gelling, Thornley and Hughes!). Hughes on the other side was quiet but there was a nervy moment where Greg Eden once again exposed his lack of pace.

As for Thornley, he just doesn't get involved often enough but when he does he can cause a few problems. He hasn't impressed in attack but his defence does look solid. If it's a choice between Thornley and Hughes at left centre I'd say both have failed to impress in attack but Thornley looks more capable defensively.

Now I just hope we see more first team players in the game against Salford, although I'd like to see Burke and Powell get a run out with a stronger squad.

From watching on wigan tv I was impressed with Powell and Hampshire, thought both had good games. Greg Burke looks like he is ready for the step up to first team and I thought the big second rower (greenwood?) looks promising.

For Thursday I would like to see us go:-

1. Tomkins 2. Charnley 3. Goulding 4. Hughes 5. Richards 6. Green 7. Smith 8. Mossop 9. McIlorum 10. Lauaki 11. Hansen 12. Farrell 13. O'Loughlin SUBS 14. Prescott 15. Flower 16. Taylor 17. Tuson 18. Dudson 19. L.Tomkins 20. Burke 21. Gelling 22. Thornley 23. Powell

I'm still not too convinced about Hughes at centre, would prefer to see Gelling/Thornley given a crack there.

Not sure "cheap shots" is the right term. Maybe you're in the brigade of the 'ban the shoulder charge' but I don't think you'll find any one of the players that took the field on Sunday agreeing with you. Paterson went in legally and without any elbow raised. He and Mika put in some telling shots and had the crowd gasp as to whether your lads would return to their feet. Credit to them they did and mostly got on with it apart from one who had to leave the field with a head injury. I hope he is alright but had the shot been illegal I have no doubt his peers would have taken exception and had a few choice words to say to Cory.

I thought Paterson elbowed one of our players during the game but I have a feeling it simply looked that way due to Wigan TV's stream pausing and skipping every so often. I don't think anything was untoward and Crosby's injury was from a clash of heads.
Paterson was putting in some really big hits and looks like he could make a big impact (literally) this year. It was the physicality of the Rovers side in the second part of the first half that knocked the stuffing out of the youngsters.

I think it was Mika who put in a huge tackle on Powell, but credit to him he was trying to wriggle free as soon as he hit the deck. Powell also put in a big tackle on one of the young Rovers props later in the game too. I always like watching a tough halfback who punches well above his weight. Unfortunately the forwards just couldn't match the power of the Rovers pack. And it just happened to be Scott Taylor who was the most disappointing. I hope he puts that right during the season.

This was a game we should of won. It was also a game when Shaun Wane should of played Green and Smith at HB. They NEED game time to gel, you can train all you want but being on the pitch playing together is what makes a good HB pairing.

What was the point in fielding all those youngsters? Field some of them by all means but we need our first team players to be firing on all cylinders come our first fixture.

If this is what is going to carry on through the season then God help us

I can (sort of) understand the point.

Basically, they are (all?) too old for the junior competition and Wane needs to know who is ready to step in and who needs to go out on loan for more game-time.

However, we absolutely MUST field a pretty much full-strength team against both Salford and Warrington.

Also, sad to hear that Taylor had another disappointing game.
I was hoping that Leigh was a one-off.

what was the name of the experienced hardman

I stand corrected its not hardman it's welham, eeeii weel theyve both geet copper knobs !

Scott Taylor didn't have a great season last year. He had one amazing game against Huddersfield where he made Crabtree look like a rookie! After that he just went down hill and many Rovers fans put it down to him having other things on his mind like joining Hull FC or Wigan! I'm guessing Wane will make him better and you guys need to stick with him, it's not easy coming in to a new club and trying to impose yourself in the front row (I guess!).

I'd love to know why Wigan "should have won"? Was the game at the end of last season not 26-0 before we collapsed and eventually lost the game? This was not your strongest side, it wasn't ours either, but our team was certainly much stronger than yours in the first half. Our big lads knocked the stuffing out of yours during the first half allowing for an easier ride in the second half when the team sheets were much more even.

Last season has been and gone but I think it read something like 9 games where we were within 6 points of victory and most of them we were leading up to near the end. Those games where we should have put teams to bed and just kicked the ball dead and slowed the game down a bit cost us a top 8 spot and in honesty just a bit better defence and we'd have taken a hold on the top 4. Laugh at that if you wish but look at the results, look at the match reports, we performed in most games and should have taken more out of them, but the fact is that we didn't, we folded and that is why Sandercock has brought in his own signings and to me the side looks to have a much better all round shape to it.

There is no reason why HKR can't be within the top 6 this year and certainly no reason why we should be a team you think are a tick in the 'W' box.

Ive always though youve had a decent team especially with Dobson pulling the strings that comeback against Hull Fc was legendary! in the derby when hodgson scored in the last minute, however i don't mean this in a condacending way but i did notice your lads seemed to tire quickly in the second half that may be crucial for you as a club if your players arent up to speed in the fitness dept, if you look at our team before michael macguire and after his reign our fitness regimes have gone harder and harder each year and it's brought success i think for a team like yourselves mid table at worst you need to be as fit as possible to succeed, thats what seperates the great teams from the average.

We made a huge change 3 years ago in terms of strategy but most of all finess levels, it's brought 3 trophies in 3 consecutive years, not bad planning if you ask me!

Just remember that in the second half on Sunday we used a majority of our U19's with a few first teamers to guide them when needed. David Hodgson, Sam Latus and I think at one point Withers/Josh Hodgson were doing their best to keep the youngsters on the right track and in fairness to not let a point past them was pretty good going considering the gulf in quality between your U19's and ours.

However you have hit the nail on the head about fitness. Last season we suffered towards the end of the games which is why we came away from those games I mentioned on the wrong side of the score board. We've heard the same old stuff during pre-season about how it's the hardest they've ever done and the new guys are really impressed with how it's gone but we heard the same last year so it will be interesting to see what happens when the season starts and especially once Travis Burns gets in to the action.

Oh and don't get me wrong I'm far from saying we are a top 4 team, we have the class and ability to beat every team in the competition IMO but whether we can do that consistently is the biggest unknown. Our squad is relatively young with only two over the age of 30 I believe, so experience could play a big factor in close, high pressure situations.

It may surprise you but I'm not the biggest Dobson fan, I honestly think he is a little over rated. He is undoubtedly a good player I can't deny that but all too often his kicking game is defended easily, some of the plays he puts on are sent to the defence via telegram and sometimes might as well be sent by kissagram!!! I don't think it is any surprise the NRL clubs were not after his signature.

I'd also say this year we are better equiped to deal without him. Craig Hall played brilliantly at 6 last year and Burns has more experience than Green and on paper is a better player so I'm looking forward to seeing him. As seen on the weekend our kids have progressed and this is the best set of youngsters we've had for many many years.

Good luck this season, the only reason you'll not win the title this year is if your players think they are above everyone else and don't respect their opposition. Unfortunately this I think is your coaches problem and will filter down through the squad and be what holds you back.

I think we might struggle this year against the likes of Warrington and St Helens i purposley will leave Leeds out of the equation this year at my peril but i cant see them doing it all over again having said that theyl probably prove me wrong they seem to have the winning mentality if we get to the challenge cup final il be a happy fan!