Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 12:41 pm  

jonh wrote:

I really don’t understand Wigan fans desire to make up new scenarios which we can only speculate about.

Very similar on social media.

If and so didn’t play so and so did then what would happen?!

It’s a nonsense of which we can only speculate and never get an answer.

What did happen we played with the team we did and we won comfortably without exerting too much energy and not fully firing in attack against a team that had Saints troubled at times last week.

I didn’t at any stage see us losing that game.

It was a solid if not spectacular performance and something to build on.

I’d say we have improved week on week in 2021 and I think there is plenty more to come, which is encouraging.

So where’s your scenario of not getting out of 3rd coming from? You are surely just speculating that without any evidence.

How about we were playing a team with no playmaker and their second game in six days and were incapable of playing better?

So you think that our performances against York and a depleted Leeds were better than our performance against Wakefield?

We’ve played 4 poor or weakened teams and in 320 minutes we’ve been on the back foot for the majority of the minutes.

I understand the injuries but what I think is that even at full strength we will fall short.
Peopare also assuming that Marshall and Manfredi will just slip back in with assured ease. Manfredi has hardly play for 4 years and maybe his best days unfortunately are behind him and Marshall may have lost that vital pace he had.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 12:50 pm  

Itchy Arsenal wrote:

So where’s your scenario of not getting out of 3rd coming from? You are surely just speculating that without any evidence.

How about we were playing a team with no playmaker and their second game in six days and were incapable of playing better?

So you think that our performances against York and a depleted Leeds were better than our performance against Wakefield?

We’ve played 4 poor or weakened teams and in 320 minutes we’ve been on the back foot for the majority of the minutes.

I understand the injuries but what I think is that even at full strength we will fall short.
Peopare also assuming that Marshall and Manfredi will just slip back in with assured ease. Manfredi has hardly play for 4 years and maybe his best days unfortunately are behind him and Marshall may have lost that vital pace he had.

I’m basing it on the fact we never had to lift the intensity.

Do I think we played better last night than we did against Wakefield? Yes.

Don’t really count York as it’s a different competition.

Wakefield are a bottom 2 side. Leeds will be too 4 or 5.

3 from 3 and in the cup showing glimpses of pure quality but playing within ourselves as I see it.

I think we will have a more realistic view of where we are in the next month but so far I don’t see too much to moan about.

Icing on the cake would be a quality Prop becoming available however I think we may have to wait a little longer for that to happen.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 12:53 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

I don’t buy the Bateman, Isa and Farrell are too small line. I don’t get it at all when anybody says it. A giant making 100 metres a game is 100 metres and if a midget makes 200 metres, its 200 metres. They’re not dominated in defence, they make more ground than their opposite numbers in the vast majority of games and as a three they’ll comfortably be the best in the comp when they’re at 11, 12 and 13.

I don’t think we need to look for issues that aren’t there. There is one glaring issue and that is the lack of one bruising prop through the middle to use at the start of games. It’s encouraging IMO that what we need is so obvious. A better goal kicker wouldn’t go amiss but ultimately we have one hole in the team when everyone is fit and available. We can get better with the ball in attack but that was going to be naturally clunky to star with, when you’re minus French, Gildart, Manfredi, Marshall etc and are playing forwards in the back spots.

Will have to disagree on Bateman Farrell and Isa. Yes the issue is at prop but that back three won’t improve the situation.

A lack of a decent kicker goes back to 2013 the lack of decent props predates that.

Teams will find us out. They will all play too our weakness which is in the middle. I don’t think we can defend at the current intensity throughout the full length of the season.
Hope I’m wrong but unless Bullock is holding back then apart from Harvard and maybe Byrne the rest of the front row options are far too weak.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:00 pm  

jonh wrote:

I’m basing it on the fact we never had to lift the intensity.

Do I think we played better last night than we did against Wakefield? Yes.

Don’t really count York as it’s a different competition.

Wakefield are a bottom 2 side. Leeds will be too 4 or 5.

3 from 3 and in the cup showing glimpses of pure quality but playing within ourselves as I see it.

I think we will have a more realistic view of where we are in the next month but so far I don’t see too much to moan about.

Icing on the cake would be a quality Prop becoming available however I think we may have to wait a little longer for that to happen.

You cannot ignore York just because it was the CC

Like you I was relaxed that we wouldn’t lose last night because they had zero options on the last in practically every set of six. More a case of their inadequacies than our capabilities

Agree with you 100% about the next month or so.

I’m not complaining just think that this will be another year under Lam where we will fall short when it really counts

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:13 pm  

Itchy Arsenal wrote:

The squad is out of balance with too many journeymen forwards.

Journeymen forwards? Most of them came through our own academy.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:16 pm  

It will definitely be interesting to see how the backline is adapted if French and Manfredi are OK for next week. French straight to fullback or replacing Hanley on the wing? Bibby to centre or keep him on the wing? Farrell or Isa if we only need one stand in centre?

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:23 pm  

MadDogg wrote:

It will definitely be interesting to see how the backline is adapted if French and Manfredi are OK for next week. French straight to fullback or replacing Hanley on the wing? Bibby to centre or keep him on the wing? Farrell or Isa if we only need one stand in centre?

French
Bibby
Zak
Faz (purely because it's the left side)
Dom

Back 3 of:

Isa
Smithies
Bateman

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:26 pm  

Egg Chasing wrote:

French
Bibby
Zak
Faz (purely because it's the left side)
Dom

Back 3 of:

Isa
Smithies
Bateman

I do wonder which side a Manfredi will go on considering he’s normally a right sided winger and Bibby has been so good on that side. Add in the struggles Bibby had on the left in the friendly and it may well be that Manfredi switches. Reading between the lines in the bits I’ve seen it does sound like he may be another week yet but we’ll see.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:29 pm  

Itchy Arsenal wrote:

You cannot ignore York just because it was the CC

Like you I was relaxed that we wouldn’t lose last night because they had zero options on the last in practically every set of six. More a case of their inadequacies than our capabilities

Agree with you 100% about the next month or so.

I’m not complaining just think that this will be another year under Lam where we will fall short when it really counts

I’m not ignoring York. I thought we went ok and did a professional job. We certainly weren’t poor.

It was similar to the game last night we never had to dig in because they never looked like challenging us.

Re: Team V Leeds : Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:33 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

I do wonder which side a Manfredi will go on considering he’s normally a right sided winger and Bibby has been so good on that side. Add in the struggles Bibby had on the left in the friendly and it may well be that Manfredi switches. Reading between the lines in the bits I’ve seen it does sound like he may be another week yet but we’ll see.

Bibby and Zak went well last year so leave them there. Although, Bibby did play left side for Salford so I'm not sure it would be too much of a struggle for him to move.