Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 8:37 pm  

Typical warm up game. Started with a strong team and looked unusually good for the preseason. Several of the young forwards were steaming in and Hastings looks class. A noticeable tailing off when we started to rotate the young lads on yet they did not look bad against a strong Leeds side. Bibby tackled well. I did not notice Mitch Clarke at all. The final score flattered Leeds with a terrible attempted catch leading to a score in the last minute and a couple of the young lads coughed up position in contact. It was interesting to see Leeds having to take two quite late in the game against a very inexperienced side.

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:04 pm  

I thought there were some really positive signs in that first half today.

From only a couple of touches you can tell Hastings is class and the more he settles in the better it’ll get. Think faz will have a field day running onto those drop off plays this season like josh Jones did at Salford last season!

Really liked french linking into the line from fullback and looked threatening ball in hand, and added another dimension to our kicking game with some nice grubbers...the one into the corner forcing a drop out was a particularly good play!

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:10 pm  

dh13 wrote:

I thought there were some really positive signs in that first half today.

From only a couple of touches you can tell Hastings is class and the more he settles in the better it’ll get. Think faz will have a field day running onto those drop off plays this season like josh Jones did at Salford last season!

Really liked french linking into the line from fullback and looked threatening ball in hand, and added another dimension to our kicking game with some nice grubbers...the one into the corner forcing a drop out was a particularly good play!

I agree a lot of positives from today’s game and it bodes well for the season. We need to work on our play the ball, we must have knocked on or not played it correctly about 5 times.

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:25 pm  

hatty wrote:

I agree a lot of positives from today’s game and it bodes well for the season. We need to work on our play the ball, we must have knocked on or not played it correctly about 5 times.

We shouldn’t need to, that’s amateur grass roots stuff?

On a side note how did Zak go on at centre?

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:53 pm  

100% Warrior wrote:

We shouldn’t need to, that’s amateur grass roots stuff?

On a side note how did Zak go on at centre?

Zak was brilliant at centre as was expected.

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:36 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Didn’t seem to do too long. Looked in good shape compared to when I saw him play for Leigh last year but maybe a bit eager to impress. Made an error in contact and didn’t do much of a stint. I thought Bullock was his usual handful with the ball and looks fitter. He’ll be an important player for us this year. We cannot just rely on George Burgess to take us forward through the middle.

Agree that Bullock could make our season if his fitness and his defence has improved
For 20 minutes or so today we looked OK . I think the game to a degree also confirmed the need to keep SOL and TL on the field as long as possible.

Overall a good first half and a second half of too many youngsters on the field at the same time.

Not sure about ZH at centre but at the same time quite excited about French at FB.

Quite enjoyed the game.

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:57 pm  

I enjoyed the game too. A good contest in the first half against a pretty full-strength Leeds side with Gale already seeming to slot in quite nicely. Plenty of game time for everyone in the second half, fair enough, but plenty of positives there. Another unhappy day for Joe Burgess, all the more so when Marshall shone on the other flank. Let's hope he finds his groove.

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:00 am  

hatty wrote:

I agree a lot of positives from today’s game and it bodes well for the season. We need to work on our play the ball, we must have knocked on or not played it correctly about 5 times.

Couldn't get there due to work commitments but I know there's a big focus on the ptb this season. Won't get away with as many clear stepovers. Better to learn these lessons in pre season

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:11 am  

moto748 wrote:

I enjoyed the game too. A good contest in the first half against a pretty full-strength Leeds side with Gale already seeming to slot in quite nicely. Plenty of game time for everyone in the second half, fair enough, but plenty of positives there. Another unhappy day for Joe Burgess, all the more so when Marshall shone on the other flank. Let's hope he finds his groove.

Marshall was probably our mom
Burgers needs to grab hold of Marshalls enthusiasm and work rate

Re: Liam Farrell Testimorial Game. : Mon Jan 20, 2020 2:18 am  

We were comfortably the better side in the first half, both in attack and defence with Leeds only score coming from a lucky bounce pretty much on the half time hooter. Prior to that we had seemed comfortable in defence, Hurrell aside, and showed some invention in attack. The best being the O'Loughlin pass for Isa's try, which was absolutely sublime. Hastings also added a new element and overall there was plenty application and energy. As others have said, we seemed to lose our way a bit once the first team were on the sidelines.

Possibly the best pre season performance I've seen in quite some time. Even the kids had a dig in the second half but came up with a few too many errors. The final score definitely flattered Leeds as they had been outclassed in the first half and only came into the game once we were basically playing a reserve side. I think we finished with only 3 of the starting 17 on the field, all in the backs.

Good first hit out. I definitely feel there is more to come once Hastings has settled in more and the likes of Burgess, Manfredi, Flower and Gildart are available. We also had a kicking game courtesy of Hastings and how long is it since we've been able to say that?