As Radders has said a head coach has many tough decisions to make , well after more losses than wins I think he
has some tough choices to make this week before we face Widnes .
Does he stick with a halfback combo that didn't really trouble cas too much or bring in Jacob Miller in from the cold ?!
Also for me Yemo could do with a spell on the sidelines as although strong in defence his attack play is nothing to worry the opposition ?

Miller wasn't given a fair crack of the whip in pre-season and not having played since he is well off the pace. I think I would drop Crooks rather than Yeaman and give Arundel a go.

while he won't be match-fit, leaving him on the sidelines without any competitive rugby to play won't help either, so I think he should be given a chance...either that or we just need to get rid. The current situation isn't doing Miller or the club any favours.

Completely agree.

Whats with the yeamo haters? Prob our second best player on sunday. Getting a good partnership going with talanoa. Will only blossom. Id rest shaul. Bring miller in. Azza to bench. Crooks made mistakes but think he should be given another chance this week

The longer we wait to play Miller the longer he's sat on the sidelines getting rusty and the longer we're without a 7, he needs to play.

agree 100% cal.

Our right edge defence is more of a concern than shuffling Horne and Azza to give Miller a game. 26 trys tells me that attack wise we're not to shabby.

Arundel deserves a shot and Tuson needs to get up to speed quickly or Whiting will be in without question.

Agree re right edge defence. In terms of changing the halves I did think the same in terms of the number of tries scored, however against a good Cas defence scoring three tries wasn't enough to win and we maybe took one or two wrong options. Miller has yet to prove himself at this level and his inclusion wouldn't be an automatic guarantee of improvement however there is a strong case for returning Azza to rotate hooker and Rankin did well at FB so by default it may be time to freshen things up. Pack is obviously the main concern for Sunday.

Chopping and changing on the back of a small number of game performances isn’t the best way to go. Fans tend to scream for players to be dropped after a poor game but the knock on effect of doing this too often is that players end up playing under fear of the chop then they will never perform with the freedom to be fully effective.
Crooks could end up being ruined as a player if he’s dropped one week, reinstated the next and then playing knowing one mistake and he’s out again.

Half backs equally need time to build up an understanding, and also a level of confidence to really dictate games and see themselves as the key players. Yes they may well be ineffective for a few weeks but they will improve and ultimately become clubs key pairing. Radford needs to make a decision on who he plays in the key spots and stick with it otherwise you’ll end up getting to the business end of the season and still be looking for the best mix.

i keep wondering if the reason Miller is not playing is related to the salary cap, if we offloaded him without him playing then we'd have his full salary available? assuming friendlies don't count that is. I am sure someone will know the rules on this.

That said, i would have played him from the start of the season to give him time

.

At the moment I'm happy with our 1,6,7,13 in terms of organisation(set and play structure), basic core skills and play tempo. Yes one or two wrong options were taken but I still don't yet see the need to shake things up around these key positions. Rankin on the bench I like as both times he's come onto the field off of the bench I've been quite impressed. At the moment Miller needs to be patient and when the time comes grasp his opportunity with both hands.

Perspective required here. We've been as good, ball in hand, as I can recall in a long time. With a different ref, we win comfy away at Wire, we've nearly beaten the league leaders on their own patch, the reason we didn't was down to individual defensive mishaps around the ruck area. Why change the halves?

The only change i'd make is to make sure Whiting starts. He'll probably be propping this week!

I agree to an extent, but I personally think (in the halves at least) our current problem is that we're backing the wrong horse(s). Horne and Heremaia is actually the pairing that has had the most time, but IMO at least it has been shown as not good enough long term. What we see, and will continue to see, is a few games where we're on top and they look more cohesive (which probably comes from the fact that they have played together the most), and then closer games where they're just not enough. What we need to do is give Miller another chance behind the new pack with a halfback partner who is interested most of the time and stick with him for half a dozen games at least.

I'm a big fan of Heremaia, but at hooker, he's simply not a half. Moving him there just weakens both positions.

Lummy,agree with everything you just said,total overreaction to a defeat,that we should of won.Also Radders need's trust Ben Crooks and give him time to be the player I think he will become.
Same team as last week with Whiting starting.

Agree completely.

Great post, Heremia goes a good job at halfback for the odd game, but isn't the answer long term. I am not sure Miller is, but he needs to be given a chance and as you say with a better pack and a more attacking game plan I think we might see Miller have a good season.

Ben needs time correct, but he would be better playing on the left where his attacking skills are used, but thats Yeamo's ATM.

I think we looked dumb at halfback and hooker in the second half.

Not bashing Horney, but he has had some great first halves followed by an anonymous second half. Time to freshen up the halfbacks and either give Miller a go (and time to gel) or get rid.

Horney is not our future answer because of his age anyway.

Yeaman must stay in - what has he done wrong ????

Well, we've gone from tough choices to pretty much no choice, especially at prop.

All our forwards, except for Whiting, have looked good this year too, which makes it such a shame they're being hammered on the injury front and royally screwed by the judiciary.

1865 - "All our forwards, except for Whiting, have looked good this year too" - what planet are you on?

Whiting along with Westy was simply superb away at Saints, they bossed the game in that 1st half. He only got 25 mins at Wire and what an impact he had there. No coincidence we looked a far better team with him on the pitch. MOM v Catalans blah blah blah.....
Now, Tuson, what exactly has he given us, doesnt make many metres, am yet to see an offload, isnt involved in trys in any way and doesnt come out smelling of roses from the cas defeat in terms of defence.

But you single out Whiting for negativity!

I agree with much of what is said here but imo if we give Miller and Rankin a start on Sunday behind a make shift pack come monday people will be calling for their heads. I agree but feel the timings not quite right (should of been given time throughout the preseason imo but can't change that now). Atm Horne and heramia are not doing a bad job and have that bit more experience I feel we'll need Sunday. Agree Houghton made some poor decisions sunday and calling for Yeaman is just stupid.

Probably down to Whiting's exceptionally high standards, but I think he's been average at best over the first five games. I'm not the only one to have mentioned it, you don't agree, that's fair enough.
As for Tuson, he's only played 2 games after missing a chunk of pre-season and is at a new club with new methods and structures. I'm not completely excusing him, but there are reasons for what you perceive as being rubbish.

That's not an entirely reliable indicator, IMO. It's a subjective opinion, so whilst it may sometimes be a good guide, it's not necessarily right. That game was a prime example of a time when I thought the MOM choice wasn't even close to my personal 3 on here (in fact didn't even enter my thinking). Also, I think Whiting occupies a place in a lot of fans' hearts/minds where if there aren't 3 clear candidates, he's a default choice (I think Houghton is another because of how many tackles he makes).

We are playing the most attractive and committed rugby in years,
and yet people are moaning!! We could have beaten St. Helens, should have
beaten Wire, and but for a couple of defensive errors, would have beaten
Cas, all top teams away from home.
Horne is class and still has 2 or 3 good years in him, and, at last, in
Heramaia we have a scrum half who can make breaks, score tries, and run
across the line causing havoc. You can give Miller as many chances as you want,
he will never make the grade. He hasn`t got it, and Radford knows this.
In fact, Radford has got most things right, so far, espec. Thompson,who
has to be in the 17 somewhere. I would just take issue with preferring Tuson
to Whiting. Tuson has looked ordinary, dropping balls and missing some key
tackles. I hope Tusons presence doesn`t hold Green back when he recovers
from injury.