Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:06 pm  

Some very good signs from that game.

Harry smith looked good, plenty of talk and some good play.

Really liked field at fullback, he was threatening and linked up well with the halfbacks showing some good hands. Definately want to see more of him here.

Was impressed with mago, had the effect i wanted to see from him, big impact, hard to put down, some good offloads and i think fitter then he seemed. I wouldnt expect him to play that many first half minutes in a normal game, i think he will be a 2 speller under normal circumstances and devastating off the bench in the 2nd half.

Miski went well, looked strong. From what i saw of him at london i don't think we saw his full potential in that game, definately more to come from him.

Nsemba should definately be getting some game time this season, the lad looks ready and raring to go! Very excited for more of him.

Liked joe shorrocks at loose, i think this is his best postion and from an interview of his the other day the one he is trying to make his own. Good passing game, plenty of defence work as you would expect. I feel like he has put abit of size on in the off season, seems to have filled out a little more which is good to see. The new haircut is much appreciated too, the hair was definately getting out of hand!

O'neill had a very good game, very impressed with him. Good control and fed the ball well, scooted at the right moments and a couple of excellent kicks. Very glad we kept hold of him, would have been a tough choice between him and borough salford have picked up a good prospect in him too.

Other players who impressed - eckersley looks a good prospect for the future on the wing, silva looked solid if not abit raw, smithies solid game and seems to have put abit of much needed size on also, thought hill had a good stint too took some strong carries and has abit of natural size, never heard of him mentioned before but i will keep an eye out in future.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:15 pm  

Silva looks a real talent but agree with the point above about him being raw. He just needs to keep it nice and simple. When he did that he did really well but he tried to push one or two offloads that didn’t come off.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:27 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Another interesting point for me was how well Matty Nicholson played for Newcastle, their best player by far.

Yes he really looks the part, doesn't he?

Wigan should have stopped him for that try, though.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:32 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Silva looks a real talent but agree with the point above about him being raw. He just needs to keep it nice and simple. When he did that he did really well but he tried to push one or two offloads that didn’t come off.

Fantastic engine. His work rate is first class. Not the biggest but Ellis made the point in commentary that he has the technique to make this work for him by maintaining a low centre of gravity. Little raw at times as you say, but otherwise looked good.

The standout points from the game for me were Mago bringing the 'go forward' we'd all hoped he would but also showing an offload game that I perhaps wasn't expecting quite so much, KPP in the centres looking like he'd been studying Dean Bell and Junior Nsemba...what a prospect he is!

Good across the board with more attacking shape and options than we saw all last season. Roll on next week and let's see what the guys that didn't play today can bring.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:38 pm  

Some good points from the game.
I think we threw about more in 40 minutes than we did in the last 3 years.

Field looks physically frail but there is a footballer in there.

O’Neil hopefully as a minimum will ensure that Powell making 40 tackles a games isn’t enough.

Smith literally looked like a different player

Enjoyed it. Not said that for a while.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:39 pm  

NSW wrote:

Yep, there’s no need to flog Powell for 80 mins every week.

Just flog him to Doncaster instead

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:46 pm  

Anyone know more about Nsemba? Seems to have come from a bit left field. Loads of talk about Nicholson and KPP etc, but I can't recall much talk on the lad.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:05 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Anyone know more about Nsemba? Seems to have come from a bit left field. Loads of talk about Nicholson and KPP etc, but I can't recall much talk on the lad.

Started playing the game from around 11 at St Judes, a team that dominated from U7 right through to U16, in fact only lost 2-3 matches throughout that time. From when he signed he was always a foot taller than the next tallest lad and had speed and strength to carve his way through defences. Not seen much of him over the last couple of years but he's a special kid.

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:10 pm  

MattyB wrote:

Started playing the game from around 11 at St Judes, a team that dominated from U7 right through to U16, in fact only lost 2-3 matches throughout that time. From when he signed he was always a foot taller than the next tallest lad and had speed and strength to carve his way through defences. Not seen much of him over the last couple of years but he's a special kid.

Thank you.

Sounds promising indeed

Re: Vs Newcastle : Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:12 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Thank you.

Sounds promising indeed

Yeah, I think 12 months in the reserves and another 12 months with a Championship team on loan will see him really come through and shine.