Washbrook

Who'd play at hooker when houghton's knackered?

Didn't Houghton do 80, although he did miss a few tackles towards the end including one that lead to a try.

I'd either not bring in Ellis and save him for the next game in two weeks or drop Green (Harsh I know).

Yeah I think he did - Washbrook came on for Thompson, then slotted in at centre. Covered dummy half a couple of times too

Watts missed the tackle, Houghton to do 80 for me, unless injured

Barring injuries , Radford would have Houghton playing the 80 anyway, if not washbrook, green

Watch it again, Houghton missed the first tackle on him for their last try.

I have, the angle the Salford player was running, and the position of Houghton and watts, watts should be making that tackle, I bet watts is way more disappointed then Houghton. He just walked through Watts

Both should have made that tackle and or least done better to slow him down and that could be down to tiredness.

If Ellis is fit it gives Radford a huge headache.

Taylor, Watts, Pritchard and Manu are as good as undroppable. You cant possibly leave out Bowden after last week, and Green wasnt far behind him either. Thompson brings a bit of pace and footwork that our other forwards dont have, Mini is player of the year and Washbrook provides important utility cover.

If Manu is struggling then it's Ellis straight in for him, but if Manu is fit then I don't think I'd bring Ellis back just yet, but that would be a brave call if he's ready to play. I'll get shot down for this but maybe he should replace Minichiello. He was the quietest forward last week and whilst I warmed to him last season I still don't think he's a great defender. A second row of Ellis and Manu is solid as a rock defensively.

I agree with you Tinker on this one,Danny missed him but Watts should have cleared up.

Thats what i said it shows just how strong our pack is when the quietest two from Friday were Watts and Mini.
That said i wouldnt change anything but if Radford wants to include Ellis and get some game time into him i would leave Washbrook out for this one.
Danny Houghton is perfectly capable of 80 mins.

So basically what I said above.

my prediction is it will be called off with a frozen pitch

For me if ellis is fit and sika misses out then it's a straight swap, this game is one we fans are not expecting to win purely on record their. If sika is fit then ellis for me waits till cas at home witch is a far more important game, that's when he would come in for green(harsh on him), and start on the bench. We can definitely win in France with that squad, the biggest loss will be shaul but with us aiming to do a smash and grab then I have a feeling he will travel, which will be great to carry on the promising start to the link up play on the left with Pritchard and Carlos. Every team needs a bit of utility and I see washbrook is too good at doing all the basics and dirty stuff right for him to miss out, so cas game more likely for ellis where I'd be tempted to do double sub and bring Pritchard and ellis on together to really punch holes in that cas defence.

What a great head ache for Radders to have If 100% fit, Ellis plays ahead of Green for me. Though I wouldn't be too downheart it we stick with the same pack as Friday.

F**k this not winning malarkey - Payback for them beating us at the KC last game of last season - we need to win as Catalan are one of the teams who want to break into that illusive top four like ourselves

Well said Seb we should be going all guns blazing and I think we will, we have plenty of beef to take it to them we should fear no one.

Don't forget halibut screwed us last year with a good try ruled out

Hope radford reminds the players of that too!

If Manu fit then Ellis in for Green. Washy proved his worth last week by doing a half decent job in the centre. Priceless for a coach to have a flexible option like that - used to be Rich Whiting.

www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2987914 weather forecast seems to be favourable atm

www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2987914 weather forecast seems to be favourable atm

Whiting always did an excellent job but I know what you mean, we have certainly kicked on. Our squad depth is so good. So much so that people have compared it our 2006 squad.... I have watched a couple of our games from that season and what reminded me of our current squad is the line speed which is very fast and aggressive. We should definitely be going for a win and revenge is a good motive

My point about the winning is from fans. As players you go into every game wanting and believing you can win and I hope radford reminds them too. That's why you have a game plan to beat the opposition, but us fans know how difficult it is to win in France and many of us do think we won't/expect to win, it doesn't mean we don't think we can as I certainly think we can. It will be our acid test and will set a marker down and that alone is motivation, but if sika is fit then I don't see it important enough not to give ellis another couple of weeks especially when our forwards performed as well as they did. It is a great situation to be in, and if we do pull of a great win what a massive boost of confidence going into cas at home.

i see where you are coming from but to drop Green whilst playing well goes against everything Radford has been preaching.
In fact the the two most ineffective forwards on Friday were Mini and Watts but would you drop them for Ellis especially as he hasnt played a competitive match yet.
I agree with you about Washbrook but Houghton can do 80 mins so if Radford wants to give Ellis some game time then in my opinion Washbrook should be the one to miss out especially as we know how Big the Catalan forwards are.
In any case think about what the opposition think when they see Ellis and Big Frank on the bench ready to come on after 20 minutes

It's not a case of not wanting to win, but the realism that going away to Catalans is a tough place to go. A win would be fantastic but it's far from an expectation. A defeat should not really impact on the early season optimism.