RA has been very loyal to his players but I think now it is time to have a re think. Danny Orr and Chase will be sleeping very soundly at the thought of coming up against Smith and John. With this in mind I would play Cockayne at 7 and Mathers at 6. Cockayne has been our best player and he would give Orr nightmares. Mathers would give us something we have not seen all season, a 6 that will move forward and take the line on. So my team for Saturday, presuming that we cannot get Ellis back from Fev, would be :

Sykes

Mellers
Collis
Kirmond
Fox

Mathers
Cockayne

Amor
Wildie
Raleigh
Southern
Washbrook
Aiton

James
Lauititi
Marinarno
Walshaw

Wheres the kicking game coming from?

Leave Smith at 7 and maybe consider Sykes at 6 as an option?? Not a great one but an option.

Too risky to change both halfbacks in that way. If we were to go with Cockayne at scrum half then shift Smith to stand off to offer the organisation needed.

That actually sounds quite sensible - both players have a style that could potentially complement each other; Cockayne is very direct and seems fearless around the collision, whereas Smith is better at organising plays and has an (intermittently) excellent passing game.

I'd stick Walshaw on the wing to replace Cockayne - he's a massive human and difficult to stop - and he needs game time.

Tell me your joking - right ?

Why is he joking - Cockayne is no Thurston but then neither is Orr. That said he'd run Orr ragged - fact - live with it.

The fact that an old has been like Orr is so highly rated when he has done so little for so long shows just whats up with SL. We give any old Aussies a go anywhere on the park yet you suggest the same for a British player and it's a no no - McGoldrick has played in almost any position he has fancied and failed in them all, yet if he wanted a go at Prop he'd get it.

Give Ben a go. I remember a young Winger from York and Fev making a very good fist at being a Stand off for Cas and GB...what was his name now?

Giving Orr nightmares is a fair point of dispute on your behalf.

However if you had seen the efforts of our halves this season perhaps you may understanding why we
are considering the possibilities of playing Ben C in that position.

I dont think the term " Nightmare" is used in the context that he would outclass Orr in terms of skill in that position but in the context of he is a real handful, Agressive, a tough Player, Rattles a few cages and generally not a nice player to play against. And thats the reason he will cause orr a few problems

for a moment i thought it was April 1st, crikey we are feeling desperate if the OP is serious

Correct and pretty obvious I'd have thought.

That is a more realistic description, but what is hard to understand (and I obviously don't watch John & Smith on a regular basis) is why would you play someone out of position (Ben) when you have the aforementioned half-backs fully match fit and in the process of learning conbinations together ?

Il Let somebody else answer that one

Because we had hoped by now they may have started to show signs of improvement.

What you are failing to grasp here though ( as has been pointed out on many occasions by my fellow B&W's) is that RA doesn't do a plan B, when other people ( mostly fans I admit) can see where the problem lies and can provide possible solutions, RA just keeps on ploughing the same furrow regardless, which in time just leads to frustration and alienation of said fans.
I know you will tell me to p**s off and mind my own, but we know what you are going through and I genuinely sympathise with your frustrations. Good luck for the weekend.

We could go always recall James and drop Johnson to accomodate him, thus going with three props again.

The backs aren't the problem, you can't do anything if the forwards aren't doing their job. 1st half against wire they gave John and smith a platform to work from and they delivered good free flowing rugby and some good kicks getting us good field position. 2nd half forwards were dire and 15 mins in agar brings on wood instead of rotating the forwards.

You mean Smith is supposed to be a kicker ? It's a new one to me.

You can tinker with the half backs all you want but until our pack dominates or at least holds it own against the opposition we aint going to win another game. You could put Thurston and Cronk behind our pack and they would do nothing. Half backs cannot perform when they are on the back foot.

Just my opinion of course.

I agree the pack needs to do a hell of a lot more in the second half of games, but a quality h/back the likes of Thurston and Cronk will make things happen be it a clever chip over the top, a killer sidestep evading big silly props, or a bit of pace to scoot through a gap. Take your pick, none of these skills seem to be in John and Smiths locker. There lies a major problem, you can blame a light pack all you want but all John and Smith have shown is the occasional good pass and some decent decisions near the opponents try line. No way near enough skill shown by 2 average imports (as of yet, maybe it will change?)

I did suggest putting mathers at stand off to give Ben C a shot at full back.
Apparently Mathers has played there for cas.
Wouldn't put BC at scrum half just because he's playing well though.
It's taken half a season for the players to be 'accustomed' to Smith/John combo (even though it is so obvious and readable to everyone else) and so to change both players this week would be something so stupid that even RA wouldn't attempt.

Take your point and I have to say I'm disappointed in John but I have some sympathy for Smith. He's behind a beaten pack and is not getting a great deal of support from his fellow half back.

I believe with a good stand off and pack we'd see what Smith can do.

He could try Wood or Wildie - but that's not Agars style it seams. Half way through the season and nothing to play for. It beggars belief that we can't experiment a bit without doing to much damage to the gelling process.

Cockayne played 7 for normy knights for years so i believe him having a game at 7 couldnt do any harm, providing he has a few weeks practice sessions in the position to learn all the moves.

R.A. could just put 4 big uns on the bench if its purely no go forward with Lauitiiiti, James, Raleigh and Mellars (utility in case of injury to a back).

Id drop Fox, been very poor.

Morton and Tony must be garbage if Fox is getting the nod