21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:34 pm  

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:20 pm  

Without getting too carried away ,what a performance against a very troubled hull side , moylan launched himself into the season, McNamara looked comfortable in the side , Dwyer looked dangerous. In all fairness every player could get a mention but what impressed me was the fringe players, or long-term injury players managed to slot into the side as if they were regulars that can only be down to good coaches and good training culture at the club , well done boys.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:50 pm  

Above expectations today. Though hard one to predict we retained our shape and structure. McNamara slotted in well. Moylan improving every game. Great win just what we needed. First win away again in Humberside as last year!

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:46 pm  

Well, that was far more like it.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:08 pm  

The Leopards are back. It was a good surface to play on and the weather was better. Expect more wins with the faster grounds. And we've got a diamond in the making, in Hanley. He'll bulk out a bit yet too. I must say Hull are terrible. Those big forwards should be bossing teams. Think they're just here for the money. No spirit at all. Well done, Leigh.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:43 am  

Watched the game on TV and Moylan had a blinder. Other standouts for me were McNamara (first game and solid), Ollie Holmes, Gaz O’Brien, Gaz Hardaker, Hanley, Ricky L, Dwyer.
Going forward,
- Hanley may just keep that wing.
- I’d work Wire for a permanent deal on Dwyer
- Ollie Holmes has played his way into the 17, Big Ben watch out when we have our front row back.
- Moylan and Lam, what a prospect to come.
- Zak Hardaker, Josh C and Kai OD, first names on the team list. Work their socks off.
And let’s not forget, all this today without 4 of what are arguably our best and SLs best players.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:58 pm  

An excellent performance against admittedly a very poor Hull team. I was glad to see our ruck speed was back which directly contributed to the majority of our points. Moylan was the main beneficiary. He won't have an easier ride all season and his class shined through as a result. There are promising signs that the right edge attack is also coming together which will give us greater potency. The left edge looked more like themselves and I'm beginning to think Leutele might be our best player. When he plays, that edge looks unplayable at times. He creates space for others with intelligent running and positioning and is a massive threat when the ball goes to him. We really missed him at the back end of last year. I think only Wigan have a better set of forwards than us and i think that is touch and go. Even without Amone and Asiata there was plenty of grunt and go forward and I don't imagine Oli Holmes has run that quickly for 10 years. He looks much better as a middle than as an edge forward. However I do think he will play on the edge when everyone is fit. Hopefully our senior forwards can have a positive impact on Owen Trout and Dan Norman and they learn to run with more dynamism than they currently show. They both have size and mobility but i don't think they are currently 'playing their weight'. There is plenty of time however and that may come.
This brings me to the biggest issue we face. We definitely have not solved the right edge forward issue. Having had a look at Frankie Halton, he is miles away from where he needs to be on the edge and may be better as a middle. Most shockingly that right edge has become very leaky defensively. Most of Leeds' points last week came down that channel and all Hull's success (albeit limited) also came down that channel. Our defensive has been the highlight of the year so far but better teams will exploit us down that edge if we don't make improvements. Holmes probably needs to play there in my opinion which would make us defensively more solid but would lose something in attack. It is an area we need to address if we want to compete at the top end.
That said, good signs yesterday and another good opportunity for morale boosting next week against Fev. Onwards and upwards.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:40 pm  

No mention of the referee, that’s a good sign.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:53 pm  

reffy wrote:

No mention of the referee, that’s a good sign.

Agreed reffy. A. Moore let the game flow without any pedantic decisions in which I thought Leigh were able to express themselves, and play some good rugby against albeit a poor Hull outfit. It was a pleasure to watch after the opening games with the frantic overzealous calls. Hope it continues in this manner.

Re: 21 Man Squads v Hull Fc : Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:31 pm  

Hopefully we've learnt more in the loss to Leeds than we might of if we'd just squeaked the win. Much like last season I think how we go against Salford and KR will be the best at highlighting where the team is.

Wigan have about 3 teams worth of forwards so they're bound to have the best line up