Best thing about preseason so far is that we have no injuries. If we can get through Fev in the same state we should be ready for a good start.

Well you've jinxed it now

Lets play him as a prop where he is average rather than sr where he tears teams apart and scores trys its no coincidence in he got back to his best at end of last season when he played in SR. There is a difference between playing prop and SR some seem to think its the same.fair enough if we get injuries but other than that lets leave him in his best and most destructive postion which seems ti be where poching will play him

I wouldn’t say he is average at prop. He does a good solid job their. However he most certainly is more suited to the SR left position. I think Chesters reluctance to trust the likes of Aydin and repeatedly play Tanginoa at prop was a move that was costly. For the odd game I think it’s fine but Chester appeared to have his favourites and Ashurst was one. Countless repeated MOTM performances for tanginoa in that position in 2020 and some very good performances for Poching when he was moved back their end of 2021 (coinciding with the upturn in form and wins) more than prove that point that he is a weapon in that left SR with wide running.

The sticking point is Ashurst and where to play him but for me he’s no longer an automatic choice in starting line up. He’s been a fantastic club man and very good left SR option and still has a lot to offer but he is not on recent form as effective as Tanginoa at left SR, his lines aren’t as effective and he tends to angle more inside these days. It’s hard because Ashurst has been great for us but for me he is now a great bench option to have and will have to fight it out with batch for that bench spot.

Although I agree that Tanginoa should play left SR, he isn't superman.
Ashurst defensive stats even on a bad day were better than Kelepi.
We will improve attack drastically, but we'll lose something too.

How about Tanginoa left centre and Ashurst wide left forward (or vice verse.. and yes! I woke up in a silly mood!)

He’s not average at prop though is he! You can bang on all you like about him being better at S/R but if we can’t win the battle in the middle it won’t make a jot.

He looked good at the end of the season because the whole team was playing a again, that’s how team sports work. If the team play well again and Tanginoa plays at prop I suspect he will look pretty sensational up the middle.

Stop it!

You know someone is going to latch on to that!!

Surely Fifita has the left wing spot sewn up too? I’m sure he’s had a sprint down the left channel before setting up a certain Max Jowitt

It's OK.... He's not here anymore......

Apart from the obvious, although see that lino is not included in the Fev game ,fingers crossed it’s precautionary and the leg injury Willie alluded to is not too troublesome , although still a few weeks off the hull game ,so no worries.But we really need our best on the park that day to hit the ground running as a win would give everyone a boost and set us up nicely going forwards

I was surprised not to see Lino in the team too. Really hoping he is ready to go for round 1.

Not ideal but if Lino is the only player carrying an injury by the Hull game I'll still be pretty happy. Both Gaskell and Walker have looked good enough in the friendlies, especially Walker.

Yes we do have options thankfully. I do hope he is ready and there’s still a few weeks yet as you say. No point risking players if they’re not 100%.

So if he is as good at prop and for the team need to win the battle of the middle how come this didnt happen with him in the middle but when he was played in the SR for period of time not only did his own performances improve but the team did too.now.Now WP as had alot of praise on here and rightley so and oneof first things he did was put kelepi back to his best postion and the rewards where there for all to see even on sunday when we had young ones out there he still played on the left edge.kelepi got in dream team playing as a SR not prop. I believe kelepi is one of our best attacking weapons and moving him to prop takes takes that away as its been proved .

Luppy I've just explained that to you, when he was playing prop the whole team was underperforming, now let's hope they are performing.

Why is everything with you so extreme? I agree he's possibly better at S/R for us than at Prop but it's marginal, If you look at his stats he was very good at prop, not adequate but good. So your assumption that his performance improved at S/R is plain wrong. What happened was that he just happened to be moved back to a more dynamic position in a revitalised team and bingo he looked better, they all looked better.

He's as good in either position in truth, it's just that our S/R options are greater and due to his physicality he is the obvious S/R to cover prop. Let's be right here, Ashurst, Crowther, Batchelor are hardly rubbish replacements. I see no reason why WP would play him at prop without a very good reason.

You don't need to make the point that Tanginoa is a great S/R by dismissing his ability as a Prop, you can actually have both.

The point that Belly was making or at least I was is that whilst the grounds are still heavy I'd be tempted to use Tanginoa at prop. Once we find our feet and the pitches dry up then he moves to S/R. That said WP may have a completely different plan.

WP as got a different plan by playing a more attacking brand of Rugby ,and by the look of it not trying to fit square pegs in round holes . Could be interesting to see who gets the first crack at L F word

There’s a lot of options for 13 in Whitbread, Pitts, Crowther, Walker, O’Donnovan, Bowes. It’s a position we are stacked in.

After re watching the fax game I think Whitbread has put himself well in contention for 13. Two try’s and involved in the buildup to another two try’s plus some drives which were Westerman-Esque (he’s a similar build too imo). Probably gave Poching a headache he didn’t think he’d have.

To be honest I’m happy with whoever Poching goes with at 13 as they all have something to offer. It’s great to have so much depth!

On the two games I’ve seen so far I’d go:

Fifita
Hood
Battye
Tanginoa
Pitts
Whitbread

That’s some starting forward pack imo. I’ll probably change my mind after fev game but I’m starting to get excited for the season!

Of the three friendlies, this will by far be the most difficult, certainly the most physical. Fev always want to beat us and if they play hard it could be a rough one, I can certainly see us losing this game but so long as we don't pick up casualties I'll live with it. Also in all the games, I've seen us play at Post Office Road we struggle with that slope and the narrow pitch, although I believe it's not as sloped as it once was. I've played on both (as a youngster only) and they feel so different, BV seems flat, open and forgiving and like most other pitches, POR seems claustrophobic, quirky and disorientating, it takes some getting used to IMO.

As a fan I think POR is a horrible ground to go to. Probably because we only visit in winter once a year and it always seems to be the coldest day I’ve ever experienced! I always come away not feeling my extremities no matter how many layers I put on lol!

I agree about the pitch seeming somewhat narrow. It doesn’t really suit us and as you say fev will be looking to stick it to us no doubt. It’s a very strong line up from trinity so will be interesting to see how we get on.

I just can’t wait for the season to start now.

The pitch is full sized, including width, and has been for a few years ie 100m long and 68m wide. It just feels more narrow because the stands are so close to the touchlines. You are right about the slope also being reduced a few years ago, although it is still there but to a lesser degree.

I don’t doubt you but as you say for some reason it does feel narrow. What you also have to remember is that we Trinity fans have been spoiled by having an extra wide and level pitch, BV’s only saving grace. I get the same feeling at Cas tbf however for some reason I find POR more intimidating.

Another odd thing about BV is that there are a number of tall mature trees on its outskirts and I always think this gives it an unwarranted grandeur.

Trojan is right about one thing, it’s twenty odd years since we have played you out of the depth of winter so that never helps.

Finally I really miss playing Fev, they were the club that got me into British RL when Bob Ashby and then Richard Evans were in charge. You owe me a lot

I spent days helping sort out the new stand after the old one burnt down in 1984 ish? My main contribution were the two boxes, I think it’s two, took me ages to convince the board they were a good idea.

I never minded RL being a local game for local folk and I miss the genuine rivalries that you just don’t get now. The build up to the Fev game meant something as did the result. If Trin beat Leeds, Cas or Fev I walked tall in our Pontefract factory for the whole week and bragged myself to death. I never worried about minimum standards or the club going bust because there were none and all clubs went bust and started again. What mattered was the game and the following days report in the YP. Happy times.

This is a good point, I think the one year you were in the Middle 8s we didn't qualify for them, and we haven't drawn you in the Challenge Cup for years have we? My memory might be failing me but I think we haven't played you in a meaningful game (ie other than pre-season) since that fateful day back in 1998?

Hoping for dry weather up to and including Sunday as the pitch was very heavy for the Leeds game, though I'm blaming Wakefield for that (Wakefield AFC that is, who played there the previous day - they are away from home this week).

We got drawn to play you in the cup at our place but the initial covid outbreak put an end to that!

My first ever away game was at featherstone.... big adventure eh!?? first round of the playoffs in 76? we won the game with two great tries...Les Sheard and Paul O'Brien ... i think the score was 14 - 10