It was obvious to me that Huddersfield came with a very simple game plan. Run harder, tackle harder, move in faster, play the ball quicker. They achieved all of those things and totally dominated the game.
Our pack was second best, TP is a monster and for the size of him, you'd expect he'd be more dynamic than he is. Perry touched the ball once in the opening 20mins before being subbed. Boof is simply too small for a prop and Manu, whilst he did put himself about, I think he was trying too hard with the offloads, costing us a lot of possession.
Lomax was non-existent but playing behind a pack that was dominated, its hard to expect much, and Gaskell just doesn't have the distribution skills for a top class 6 IMO. He's a victim of his size - as a junior his strength was his running game, which isn't as effective at SL level.
I'm sure they will all be working hard to turn it around in training this week but considering the hype around Nathan Brown and the new signings, you would have hoped as a team they would have shown up for the first game of the season. From where I sit, it was clear some of the players weren't happy with sections of the crowd booing at half time as they were leaving the field. Rightly or wrongly, it costs people a great deal of money to buy season tickets, especially for families, and its frustrating to think your hard earned money has been spent to watch a team who arguably didn't show up.
On the Wellens issue, whilst this may be his last season, and last night was one of his least impressive performances, it makes even less sense to me that we didn't even appear to be in the running for Greg Eden who is one of the most promising attacking full backs in the league. In Eden, I see a ready made replacement for Wellens, who could have offered us even more from an attacking perspective.
I agree that our recruitment over recent years has been a little questionable, Perry Hohaia and Laffranchi are three overseas imports who simply haven't delivered.
