Was impressed with all props (even Radders

) I thought we got stronger up front as the game went on. Reasonable in the halves with both kicking pretty well. Disappointed with 3 or 4 line breaks through the middle this is something we have to look at still however at the end of the day we conceded one try from a interception so much credit for that.

We've obviously got a good full back and the left side looked better than it sounded last week. Thought Manu was fairly quiet and Westerman took a few wrong options. Seemed to me that Rich Whiting could be breathing down his neck for the 13 position as he straightened things up and looked to play the ball from the tackle. Turner did OK with ball in hand when he replaced Martin but that also coincided with 2 Bradford breaks through the right centre position - I'm still concerned about Turner's ability to defend in the centre. Nice to see Crooks/Pearce/Nicklas get a run out too.

Not the finished product by any stretch but a good confidence booster and a pretty dominant display in what was a reasonably intense game for a friendly.

Thought Manu was very strong - especially in the first half!

Agree completely about Turner.

I've been impressed with martin. His footwork looks excellent. He seems to always get on the outside of the first defender.

Martin was talking to Sammut at the end , I saw him feeling his calf or hamstring in 1st half

Lots of good signs in that game. At times we were a little bit scrappy and will need better ball retention and discipline to beat Warrington, but when it clicked we looked a very dangerous side.

Horne and Seymour showed the first signs of a proper hb combination, they linked well and got a couple of assists each. McKinnon was everywhere and will score bags of tries if he keeps supporting the ball like that. Forwards played with much more intensity than last week, our defence was brutal at times and I can only remember them stretching us 2 or 3 times. Nicklas looks right at home in the first team and Pearce showed his physical presence with a couple of very strong carries and hits, if he improves his fitness a bit more and learns the game he can be a real handful I reckon.

I was just happy to see us attacking both sides and varying the plays, we played some really good rugby at times. Makes me quite optimistic for next week.

Anyone know why we didnt see ellis today?

From Twitter
@James_Smailes
Final one before i sign off for the night, [uno injuries today for FC[/u & don't know attendance as club couldnt give me one. That's all folks!

Good news. Having seen the expected Warrington team on their board, it's going to be tough enough.

Martin looked surprised when he was called off to be replaced by Turner so hopefully if he was injured, it's nothing that will keep him out of the opener.

I said to my Dad, I'm hoping that that was because the decision was made so there was no need to leave Martin out there and risk a knock or if he was carrying one. It's an obvious choice to me, so if Gentle's still unsure I'd be a bit concerned.

`Course they do,its a similar syndrome to having a rough player in your team.If he is in your team he is a hard barsteward,if he plays for the opposition,he is a dirty barsteward.Simples.

Jordan Turner is looking more like a middle of the pitch player to me now. Very strong with the ball in hand but defensively a risk out in the centres.

Pleased to see Pearce get a run and he looked strong in attack if not slightly out of his depth in defence and a cracking stint from Danny Nicklas. Looked good with ball in hand and put in a few decent kicks.

We all knew what the rest could do but still think Seymour played within himself.

Injuries permiting I reckon 16 of the 17 for next week are nailed on.

the left hand side is business as usual and mckinnon has cotton on to the rich pickings that can be found out there. he was again my mom, excellent in defence and looks a great support player.

was also impressed with nicklas, who slotted in effortlessly at hooker, i wonder if they are thinking about switching him to a hooking role in the future. that said his second spell at scrum half was equally good.

horne had a good game today worried bradford when he took the line on

the work on disclipline since the rovers game had paid off, only a few penalties conceded today. thought ganson was ok today

Pretty pleased with today, definitely more pros than cons IMO.

Positives:
McKinnon - completely unruffled all game. Did nothing spectacular, but that's because he made everything he did look easy. Safe as houses, excellent positional play, and a good support runner, typified by the try of the match.
Seymour - guided us round well I thought, and some real pieces of quality. Looks like we could finally have someone who can pick the right options and play regularly.
Horne - Looked quite sharp and dangerous today, and seemed quicker off the mark than he has for a while when he took his try. His kicking game was better too, although it did wobble after Seymour went off.
Martin - not great, but solid. The big plus was how much more settled his presence makes Sharp look.
Houghton - looked like he'll be picking up from last year's form.
O'Carroll - my first look at him, thought he looked good. Although all the props played well, tbf. I only singled him out as he's the new boy.
Nicklas - showed some good touches, particularly when in the halves for his 2nd stint.
Pearce - not quite ready yet, but produced some good runs and a couple of good hits. Definite potential.
Yeaman & Briscoe looked far better than they sounded last week.
Dummy runners and a half-decent kicking game!

Negatives:
Westerman - looked a bit unsure about where he should be or what he should be doing at times IMO. The collision with Houghton as he was attempting to kick was schoolboy stuff. Should hopefully iron that out with game time, though.
Turner - good going forward (a great initial break from the interception, bumped one off well but then let himself down with the pass I thought), but still a liability in defence. For 5 or 10 minutes they opened us up far too easily down that side. He and Sharp simply don't have the positional sense to play together.

The smart money was on us getting our ar[is[/ie handed to us on a plate last Easter Monday.

Wait until the day

From watching the last two games and a number of games last season, I feel like Turner is one of the weaker links defensively within our squad.

Hope Martin gets the nod over Turner at right centre.

Turner REALLY needs a BIG improvement on his defensive work otherwise i'd be inclined to say goodbye to him.

Pretty fair assessment althoug the spell which Bradford broke down our right hand side co incided with Turner and Pearce defending down there and I wouldnt bring Sharp into the equation because to me he has done everything asked of him so far this pre season.

Another negative for me is the performance of Aspinwall over the last 2 games. He has either not been given much game time or has had no real impact at all.

Am I the only one who thought Seymour was rather unremarkable?

Definately looks good going forward, but is a weak link in defence. I said to my mate at the game today, could be good as second row/loose man, but needs to up his defence to get a place in the 17.

Overall, thought there was some good stuff, but still definately a work in progress. Was good to see dummy runners

and Horny was far better today than last week, both in defense and attack.

Not expecting miracles, just want a scrum half that organises and stays fit, hopefully.

Like I said in another thread.

Why do people have this thing about 'dummy runners'? No one should be a dummy runner, everyone should be an option!

Why should someone be a dummy runner, aren't they allowed to receive the ball when making a run?

I wasn't expecting miracles either, but I didn't think he looked as good as either Dykes or Head. Still, it is early days...

Speaking for myself, he didn't blow me away, but he did his job. Given our recent history in his position that's already a step up and a cause for positivity. If all he does is kick ok, keep us organised, move the ball to the right areas and create a few tries regularly, it will be a massive step forward for us.

He didn't look as good as Head (I think it was pretty impressive how quickly he settled into our side in all honesty), but he wasn't far behind Dykes' early games IMO. He/we may improve so that he looks better than Dykes did once bedded in more. The key thing in comparison to those 2 though, is that he didn't look like he was held together by bandages and might fall apart at any time.

Whilst that's undoubtedly true, I just long for the day when we sign another player to get really excited about. He's gonna be more Paul Deacon than Jason Smith, I reckon.

Yes they are all an option, but only one of them can take the pass as there is only one ball. The set plays will have several options, but one intended recipient. The others are there to cause a distraction to the defensive line and therefore, dummy runners.
We have spent too many of our recent years knowing who was going to get the ball and if we knew, the oposition knew. Thats why we struggled to break teams down in the ten.

Just my opinion. I may be wrong. I usually am