Are we allowed to be positive or will we be shot down, just going to read through the comments then I'll see if I can be positive.

One person is playing hide and seek, showing true colours again,not one post, despite posting every day. 100% would have been here if we had lost.

[quote="Ellam":9l5thqbb]Are we allowed to be positive or will we be shot down, just going to read through the comments then I'll see if I can be positive.[/quote:9l5thqbb] You can be if it's guarded. If we get half a dozen games in and have 3 wins on the board that's the time to start being more positive. There were even some wins under tony smith believe it or not

Enjoy every moment, too many dark days recently, to be fair about from a mick taking on social media I haven't seen anyone going mad with predictions after last night's result. Still going to be a tough season, but we do seem to moving in the right direction.

Right my take, everyone stood up and put their bodies on the line, defence fantastic(all hail Lasty), team spirit the like of Hardaker and Rapana hugging Barron and Martin when they did something well was great to see it's what these young lads needed after last season(masterstroke Richie), Spine was massive Rapana quality always makes yards, Cust very good, Sezer amazing what you can do with a kicking game, Amir good at hooker loved Mint but what a difference at hooker with good ball and pace, Asiata warrior and moves our team around the pitch. Only one game but we've waited nearly 18 months for this so let's enjoy. Negatives Jed's hammy hopefully just a minor and a few weeks. Hopefully Amir pass protocols to play against Wigan. Holmes hopefully play to replace Jed and that be my only change. Final point someone's gone MIA amazing that isn't it he be gutted.

Burough failed his hia so will definitely miss the wigan game

It was great to see some effort, mental steel and commitment to the cause. Alot has being made about our recruitment but I think it showed last night we have signed players who will fight for every ball and put there body on the line. The little things we have taken for granted that we havent had for so long. Asiata presuring the kicker, Hardaker being switched on at a shirt kick off and half backs that can defend. Martin and Barron looked like different players with more experience around them. For me win or lose, show that same intensity every week and Ill be happy. We will have stronger challenges, its round 1 and despite what most are predicting I dont see Catalans as a top 6 team. But for far too long games like last night we would have lost. Step in the right direction, but if last night is anything to go by we are far away from the team you just have to turn up to beat.

[quote="Jake the Peg":eei7vodv]You can be if it's guarded. If we get half a dozen games in and have 3 wins on the board that's the time to start being more positive. There were even some wins under tony smith believe it or not[/quote:eei7vodv] While yes we need to be cautious the key thing for me was the foundations of a good defence where there. RL is a possession sport and if you defend well and keep the ball you will come up with the win more often than not. The biggest risk is how we cope with injuries and bans as we are weak in some positions. But we have money and salary cap space and I can forsee we will sign players for 2026 and pay to get them to come mid this season instead.

[quote="Jake the Peg":1f7zd1pu]Burough failed his hia so will definitely miss the wigan game[/quote:1f7zd1pu] Leaves us in a different position, Balmforth can't do 80 muns, so we could play Cust there and bring Kemp in or bring Hutchison in. I'm not sure breaking up our halfbacks is a good thing, but tough to ask Hutchinson to make his debut against Wigan. Unless we go with someone like Fash or Lane, which again, I hope we dont. Maybe Moy off the bench?

[quote="Dave K.":2z6myqdq]Leaves us in a different position, Balmforth can't do 80 muns, so we could play Cust there and bring Kemp in or bring Hutchison in. I'm not sure breaking up our halfbacks is a good thing, but tough to ask Hutchinson to make his debut against Wigan. Unless we go with someone like Fash or Lane, which again, I hope we dont. Maybe Moy off the bench?[/quote:2z6myqdq] Balmforth looks fitter so maybe 50 or 60minutes isn't out of question now. Think I'd go with not splitting the halves up and putting Moy on the bench as interchange hooker and cover for the backs. But it's not ideal whatever we do.

The biggest positive for me was not the win but the nature of the performance. It's been missing for so long.

[quote="Ellam":38kgp2l5]Right my take, everyone stood up and put their bodies on the line, defence fantastic(all hail Lasty), team spirit the like of Hardaker and Rapana hugging Barron and Martin when they did something well was great to see it's what these young lads needed after last season(masterstroke Richie), Spine was massive Rapana quality always makes yards, Cust very good, Sezer amazing what you can do with a kicking game, Amir good at hooker loved Mint but what a difference at hooker with good ball and pace, Asiata warrior and moves our team around the pitch. Only one game but we've waited nearly 18 months for this so let's enjoy. Negatives Jed's hammy hopefully just a minor and a few weeks. Hopefully Amir pass protocols to play against Wigan. Holmes hopefully play to replace Jed and that be my only change. Final point someone's gone MIA amazing that isn't it he be gutted.[/quote:38kgp2l5] Pretty much sums it up for me. Gutted for Jed as he was outstanding before he went off. Just hope Holmes is fit for next week. Be interesting how they go about dummy half with Amir failing his HIA. Too early for hutchinson to have a stint either side of HT to give Balmforth a breather?

Great result, and as has been said looks to be a bit more team spirit. Anyone else think Cust's second try should have been a penalty try? Looked like head contact to me.

Fantastic effort from all last night especially in defence , I thought both halves gelled well together also . Not a fan of captains challenge , Sorry Aussies you can have it back .

[quote="B0NES":1mk2pfiy]Fantastic effort from all last night especially in defence , I thought both halves gelled well together also . Not a fan of captains challenge , Sorry Aussies you can have it back .[/quote:1mk2pfiy] captains challenge in theory is fine, but it shouldn't take forever, id put a time limit on the review, 2 minutes maximum, if no conclusive evidence, call stands...can't have games taking over 2 hours to complete!

[quote="Ellam":cvyn3ata]Are we allowed to be positive or will we be shot down, just going to read through the comments then I'll see if I can be positive.[/quote:cvyn3ata] Good lord don’t be positive. I think prior to the game we were hopefully positive now we can be realistically positive. I see someone showed stats that mean Wigan will beat us if we don’t improve Ptbs in opposition territory. I’m sure Cartwright will be on these figures and address in training. So let’s remain positive. We beat Wigan last season remember!

[quote="number 6":1ultmb97][quote="B0NES":1ultmb97]Fantastic effort from all last night especially in defence , I thought both halves gelled well together also . Not a fan of captains challenge , Sorry Aussies you can have it back .[/quote:1ultmb97] captains challenge in theory is fine, but it shouldn't take forever, id put a time limit on the review, 2 minutes maximum, if no conclusive evidence, call stands...can't have games taking over 2 hours to complete![/quote:1ultmb97] I’d say 30secs max for the captains challenge as if it isn’t clear & obvious then refs call stands. Also pretty much the same with try’s, should take no longer than a minute, again if it isn’t clear and obvious then refs call stands. As last night was just painful and detracts from the game.

Reviewing last night again, think it was highly significant that each of the experienced players brought into the club since last September (Rapana, Hardaker, Cust, Sezer, Asiata) all made telling contributions to the win. That is a very experienced spine, from 1 to 13, and if we are to have even a reasonably half-decent year then I think a great deal of it will revolve around those five. Not only are they the type of players who have a winning mentality inbred into them but, possibly more importantly, they are the kind of players who can make others around them look better. This should take a large amount of pressure and responsibility away from the younger lads, thought both Martin and Barron last night were able to play their natural game without feeling everything was on their shoulders. There were times last year when it looked as if these young kids were being hung out to dry, without having anyone to lean on for support and experience. Obviously, it's only one game, and there is still a long year ahead with all the usual bumps, twists and turns to come, and I'm sure we will most likely still have the odd bad night when it doesn't quite come off for us, but it was difficult not to come away from last night without feeling that, at the very least, we will be in most games this year, being competitive and earning respect from other teams as a credible professional outfit. After last year, when I suspect the club had become a standing joke within the game, that will be no mean achievement. As the saying goes, one swallow doesn't make a (RL) summer, but I would be amazed if there was any black & white who wasn't walking around this morning with that little extra spring in their step. It won't be all wine and roses over the coming months, so let's enjoy the bright new dawn for at least the next few days! Really hoping for a cracking atmosphere now on Friday night. Wigan at home always feels like a bit of an event in the calendar, let's hope we can rock the place under the lights.

I'd have no issues with Hutchison against Wigan, why not? We boast about all this young talent coming through, we can't be afraid to give them their chance when the opportunity arises, and we are likely going to need him as the season goes on. The difference between this year and last is anyone making their debut will be surrounded and supported by the experienced guys in the team. Just give him 10 to 15 minutes either side of half time to let Balmforth freshen up a bit. My preference would be for Moy though. Just because he can cover the backs too. If Cartwright is missing I'm assuming Fash will be at second row. Not what I would do, although he was solid enough last night. Salabio onto the bench.

[quote="UllFC":1frslahu]While yes we need to be cautious the key thing for me was the foundations of a good defence where there. RL is a possession sport and if you defend well and keep the ball you will come up with the win more often than not. The biggest risk is how we cope with injuries and bans as we are weak in some positions. But we have money and salary cap space and I can forsee we will sign players for 2026 and pay to get them to come mid this season instead.[/quote:1frslahu] We spent too much time defending our line last night. Catalans aren't the best attacking side and we're missing some key players. We'd struggle to hold out the top teams in similar circumstances

[quote="Large Paws":f9kzmup1]Great result, and as has been said looks to be a bit more team spirit. Anyone else think Cust's second try should have been a penalty try? Looked like head contact to me.[/quote:f9kzmup1] I called it at the time. Ridiculous it wasn't when they gave catalogs a penalty for rapana fall8ng over makinson

[quote="Chris71":yewd0xlx]I’d say 30secs max for the captains challenge as if it isn’t clear & obvious then refs call stands. Also pretty much the same with try’s, should take no longer than a minute, again if it isn’t clear and obvious then refs call stands. As last night was just painful and detracts from the game.[/quote:yewd0xlx] One of the problems last night, I thought, was that Thaler and the replay operator seemed to be on a different wavelength every time they went to the screen. Thaler would be asking for one angle and the opposite would appear. Every decision seemed to go through this tortuous process, and when they did finally arrive at the best angle Thaler then proceeded to view it around half a dozen times! Every video call was taking 2-3 minutes at a time. I was amazed at what time it was when the game ended, well after 10pm, more two hours after kick-off. It will feel even longer still when sat inside a cold stadium! The process needs speeding up or half the crowd will fall asleep through boredom!

A great win last night all well done to all 17 players. As others have already mentioned, the early signs are that our new experienced players are also bringing the added benefit of supporting the younger players. Last season our back division was primarily made up of our four youngsters Moy, Martin, Barron and Charles. They had very little consistency or support through out the season. Morgan Smith played most games, but then the rest of the back line was made up with whoever was fit that day from Carlos, Sutty, Trueman, Scott. Hopefully this season, the addition of Sezer, Cust, Hardaker and Rapana will add much more experience. Hopefully if all can play 22+ games, much more consistency and allow us to develop proper half back and centre/wing partnerships. That alone will make a significant improvement. Add in better discipline and defence, plus the individual improvement we get from having a stronger squad this season, then collectively our week on week performances should be so much better this season.

Still in the doghouse with the missus after choosing the rugby over her but it was worth it! What a performance! The new signings were sensational and all led by example. Sezer and Cust looked like a proper halfback pairing and minus that heart in mouth moment when Rapana ushered that ball out, he was excellent too. Burrough and Asiata also excelled but the big one I want to applaud is Hardaker. Just loved his overall attitude and work rate last night. Kudos to the existing players as well because everyone really stood up and performed last night. Don't think anyone let us down. They looked like a team last night rather than a bunch of strangers, all operating on the same page in both attack and defence. Especially defence. We were under pressure at times but they remained calm, didn't panic, and worked together to keep Catalans out. Last year we'd have buckled under that pressure resulting in some poor and lazy tackling, gaps would have opened up in defence, and our heads would have gone once a try was conceded. Last night was just such a breath of fresh air to see. It's only one game and there'll be some stumbles along the way but this was a great way to start the season. Might even have a cheeky punt on the playoffs and the cup now!

[quote="BP1":3sarjp8w]One of the problems last night, I thought, was that Thaler and the replay operator seemed to be on a different wavelength every time they went to the screen. Thaler would be asking for one angle and the opposite would appear. Every decision seemed to go through this tortuous process, and when they did finally arrive at the best angle Thaler then proceeded to view it around half a dozen times! Every video call was taking 2-3 minutes at a time. I was amazed at what time it was when the game ended, well after 10pm, more two hours after kick-off. It will feel even longer still when sat inside a cold stadium! The process needs speeding up or half the crowd will fall asleep through boredom![/quote:3sarjp8w] The video ref needs to be given control to the cameras in my opinion. I have 0 idea if that is technically possible. I assume the video ref is somewhere else and not actually sitting in the control room. But if it can be achieved, with some training to all the officials on how to operate it, then it would make things a much quicker process. As you say, it gets tiresome listening to "to back to that last angle. No, the last angle. Now run it back further. And go slower. No, slower! Go back again please. No, back on the play, not back to the last angle"