Rugby League

[Claytons Left Boot]

Well what a bad weekend - Rovers battered, attacked by an alsation and then Wigan put in an abject performance in front of a near 17k crowd.

You get a new head coach and you just want him to get off to a good start. Beatable opposition at home first game out but we get terrible passing, terrible handling and woeful kicking. We were always chasing the game but looked like we could have nicked it in the last 5 or 6 minutes - that would have been an injustice to an impressive Giants team who were several regulars down.

I thought Finch looked knackered from the off to be honest and agree about Goulding, who never seemed to get going. Could have said that about most of them though!

[koi]

I'd say the majority of the team looked totally unfit with particular reference to Pat and Lockers, both way way off the pace and breathing heavily.

Being positive, going back quite a few years, Wigan always brought in a conditioner from Ausralia who absolutely beasted the players pre-season. The result was a set of players that looked knackered for the first six or so games but then started to come on strong. I'm not sure that's the way too go or even that's what's been done but it is a possibility.

[koi]

I'm still too fuming at the disgusting Leeds tactics to be reasonable at the moment but a fine performance from our boys.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Yeah, a great performance tonight. A complete opposite from last Sunday, a desire to win, good fitness levels, good handling and great kicking. Most of the lads played well and Josh fully deserved his hat trick. I do like him.

So a Rovers win, a Wigan win and I haven't been attacked by an alsation...yet.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Claytons Left Boot

[cn174]

Just watched it now - couldn't go cos already had tickets booked for Vampire Rock at Preston.

Very good victory, always good to beat dirty Leeds!!! Defence was brill and Charnley took us over the line when we needed to. Difficult to think this is the same team pretty much as last week. Always felt we was in control.

That Kylie (proper girls name!) Leuluai is horrible.

[koi]

What a game Stains/Cats was - perfectly summed up why it's such a great game.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Great game today and a fully deserved Wigan win. Everyone put in a shift and they needed to against a Catalan side with some big lads.

Silverwood's bithday and Christmas presents in future should be Specsavers vouchers - never seen as many forward passes by a visiting side who also seemed to hold on in most tackles which, in the main, they got away with.

Onward and upward. Come on Wigan!

[cn174]

Thought first half was a bit tetchy but second half was really good.

That Scott Dereu is a right whinge bag, always in Silverwood's ear, especially after the one forward pass he actually saw!!

Gotta get ready to get Saints tickets on Wednesday morning - hope there's some left by the time I can buy them

[koi]

Good win I thought. Was expecting a seriously tough game but think Cats fitness really let them down in the second half - always a good sign when you see players struggling to get back the 10! Not a clue what Silverwood and his liners were doing but they had a 'mare. Really impress with Micky Mac and Gaz (apart from that crazy offload after breaking the line), in fact all the forwards did well against a huge pack. Maybe time for some rotation next week?

[Claytons Left Boot]

Had a funny feeling about this one for a few days. Widnes, no wins and having big points put against them every week. Wigan, playing very well, high scorers, mean defence and a chance to go top with a favourable result. Hmmm.

Four key players rested. You either take the plaudits if it goes well or accept you got it wrong if it does. Personally, I would have rested Pat and Tommy, moving Sam to the halves, leaving it at that. If we're going to do this squad rotation, it's clear it has to be a couple of players at the most. You can't afford to leave so many out, even against the basement club.

Great support from the Cherry & White who filled the West Stand and had the East opened for extras, about a third of that stand filled also.

Twice we went into decent leads only to be pegged back. Twelve points in the first half and then by eighteen in the second. We should have seen the game out from that second half position. We then missed a penalty at the death which would have given us a 38-37 win. A shame for Josh who had kicked brilliantly all afternoon.

Well done Widnes. You raised your game, played well and bearing in mind the respective positions deserved your win.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. My lot ( Hornets ) beat London Skolars, very rare event for both of my teams to win on the same weekend !

[koi]

Terrible result and quite frankly a very poor team selection by Wane, why he couldn't have bled a couple today and a couple next week I don't know. Wane has been shouting off about going out to win every game, no mercy etc etc and then he does this. Its almost kean-esq.

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[john.leigh]

Watch it more on TV than go to the ground, but when I do go to a game there's only one egg chasing team I would pay to watch - BRISBANE BRONCOS

I've been to State of Origin a few times as well - but watching Qld is basically just an extension of watching the Broncos.

Don't get me started on Aussie sports crowds...

[Claytons Left Boot]

Not a classic today by any means. Decent enough going forward but poor defence. Last two games we've conceded 67 points against Widnes and London. Would have been bad enough conceding that many against Saints and Wire...will be interesting on Friday and we'll need to up the ante in all departments.

[cn174]

We took two of my cousins (5 and 9) to their first match today and they really enjoyed themselves. Was a lot of explaining to do, but we kept them busy by getting them to count tackles till they had to kick and keep track of the score

Bit depressing when we got home and they said it was dead good because they got to celebrate miles more than they do at Rovers

Not a brill game, but I did like Sam's cheeky try (what a sod!)

Bring on the Wire!

[koi]

Couldn't go, well I could but little lad is poorly and wanted his daddy so priorities and all that. Got quite a few angry text telling my about holes in defence wide enough to get a bus through and defensive organisation up there with the French retreat in WW2.

Heard a whisper that one or two or maybe more players not quite as jolly as they were under Madge...

[sijoco]

Not been on for a while but that has nothing to do with Saints playing like some schoolboy team in the last couple of months. I had the dis-pleasure of watching Catalan doing to us what we did to Bradford in the GF way back when. Thank fook Simmons has gone, despite injuries we have a top 6 team but recently no passion. Things are looking up now, hang on, Leeds on Sunday, ace

[koi]

Any team that loses someone as good as Graham is going to suffer and it's only been compounded with Roby being out - that's the two players that made Saints tick. Still, I wouldn't worry too much, it's a young team and plenty of time to come good.

Read on RLFans that Terry Albert miscounted the tackles during the Wolves/Wakey game and allowed Wolves seven tackles which resulted in a try that decided the game in their favour. Well done Terry, just when I thought the standard of reffing couldn't go any lower you've managed to take it down again!

[koi]

Rubbish. That's all I'm going to say.

[cn174]

ergh! bad organisation, bad kicking (we could do with a 2nd kicker), fecking ###### refereeing, too many mistakes... :@

[Exiled_Rover]

I don't think Wane is up to standard as a HC. He's an assistant through and through.

[koi]

I don't think Wane is up to standard as a HC. He's an assistant through and through.

It's early days but the points that are really winding me up:

Our organisation over the last three games has been nothing short of a shambles; defence is just a mess. Basic lines and angles are not there.

Where has our runners off Sam gone? time after time he creates the break only to find no support.

Four forwards on the bench; Richards shouldn't have been on the pitch but we had no choice. To make matters worse one of them is Tuson, if we have to have four forwards on the bench at least put Hughes there, he's a better back rower than Tuson and can fit in the backs; Goulding could've replaced Pat and Hughes slotted in at centre, not difficult is it?

Why is Lima not getting the game time? he is our second best prop (after Mossop).

Friday in particular; Warrington had injuries down their right, why did the message not go out to get Hock hitting that side, he is in devastating form and would have punched holes through that side, instead we had this continual concentration through the centre.

I could go on but my BP wont take it but if Wane doesn't start putting the basics right we will back to the dark days. It's already starting to resemble Noble's teams..

[cn174]

Friday in particular; Warrington had injuries down their right, why did the message not go out to get Hock hitting that side, he is in devastating form and would have punched holes through that side, instead we had this continual concentration through the centre.

This got on my nerves on Friday. Lee Briers was wobbling all over the show for at least the last 20 minutes, he couldn't keep up with the line and had Wigan run at him they'd probably have gone straight through him. However I can't recall the ball coming back down that side very much at all. Lots of wasted opportunity.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Why is Lima not getting the game time? he is our second best prop (after Mossop).

Something I've thought about, koi. I really like him and thought he was superb last season.

[koi]

Something I've thought about, koi. I really like him and thought he was superb last season.

I can only think that Lauaki being Wane's signing is out there to prove a point. Not that I think Lauaki has been particular poor - he's not, but look at the yards Lima makes with when he has the ball.