Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.
The_Enforcer wrote:
Most idiotic post ever goes to Grimmy..... The way to restart should be an arm wrestle between a designated player from each side.
we will see, they have people out of quarantine now and injuries back, I dont think Leigh are worse than HKR or Wakey to be fair and they give us hard games
Just look at the pack even before they get injuries:
Flower - Had a good career with us but wasn't always making the 17 last year. Good signing for them nonetheless. Hood - Championship journeyman, out of his depth Ioane - Again just a bog standard Championship player. Did nothing of note for London when they were in SL then they got rid. Hellewell - As above. Two of their best forwards are from the team that got London relegated. Thompson - Has plenty SL experience but he never really did anything of note. Made the natural move to the Championship after opportunities dried up in SL. Like Flower he's a good guy to have in the side but not as one of your best players. Bell - Unknown quantity (or to me he is anyway) as he's still very new to first team rugby.
Flower walks into those teams. Thompson maybe pinches a bench spot. The rest of that Leigh pack would be sat in the stands even at Wakey or KR unless they had injuries. I feel bad for Leigh because they had inadequate time to prepare for SL. I don't want them to do badly but I'm struggling to see how they're on a par with Wakey or KR. I think people are getting mistakenly thinking we're up against the same Leigh that last got relegated from SL. That side had Hock, Higham, Patterson, Stewart, Hansen and Tickle in the pack and still only managed 5 wins. I'm not saying this time they will finish on 0 points but it's a possibility IMO.
At Leigh. Their first SL match in a couple of years. Home supporters allowed in. No away fans. Their Cup Final. They always perform well against us, especially away. Wigan missing a number of first teamers. Most of our team not played a friendly, going in cold.
Will I be shocked if we get pumped? Absolutely not.
I think you might be thinking about the game in May which could be the first one where fans come back. Friday's game is at Headingley.
Just look at the pack even before they get injuries:
Flower - Had a good career with us but wasn't always making the 17 last year. Good signing for them nonetheless. Hood - Championship journeyman, out of his depth Ioane - Again just a bog standard Championship player. Did nothing of note for London when they were in SL then they got rid. Hellewell - As above. Two of their best forwards are from the team that got London relegated. Thompson - Has plenty SL experience but he never really did anything of note. Made the natural move to the Championship after opportunities dried up in SL. Like Flower he's a good guy to have in the side but not as one of your best players. Bell - Unknown quantity (or to me he is anyway) as he's still very new to first team rugby.
Flower walks into those teams. Thompson maybe pinches a bench spot. The rest of that Leigh pack would be sat in the stands even at Wakey or KR unless they had injuries. I feel bad for Leigh because they had inadequate time to prepare for SL. I don't want them to do badly but I'm struggling to see how they're on a par with Wakey or KR. I think people are getting mistakenly thinking we're up against the same Leigh that last got relegated from SL. That side had Hock, Higham, Patterson, Stewart, Hansen and Tickle in the pack and still only managed 5 wins. I'm not saying this time they will finish on 0 points but it's a possibility IMO.
I expected Leigh to be far busier in their recruitment but financially it can’t be easy and the lack of time adds a further barrier. They’re also recruiting in a time when overseas players probably look at the situation with Covid over here and think they’ll continue playing Queensland Cup or scraping the odd game in the NRL whilst living a reasonable style of day to day life in the Sun (well apart from around Sydney these last few days).
Their squad is decent. I’d say it’s better than the one London put together in 2019 and if they get a similar spirit going then they could stay up but it’s certainly not at the level of the squads at Wakey or HKR as you point out.
Without a shadow of a doubt & that team beat us early on in 2019
No way is this going to be an easy game.
For us I think we need to ensure our defence in the early rounds is at the level of the end of last season. If it is then we’ll be able to grind some results out and hang in there until the attacking players start coming back in. If we let that defensive attitude slip though we could be in for a tough few weeks. It was only a friendly but the Salford game showed the challenge we’ll face in attack with second rowers at centre, potentially kids on the wing and Hardaker at fullback, who with all due respect just doesn’t have the pace for the position anymore IMO.
Remember about 3/4 weeks ago and certain posters talking about leaving half the team out as we should beat Leigh easy etc. ? It was a ridiculous statement then, and anyone who takes any team lightly deserves what they get Well need to be as good as we can be Friday, as we will most weeks.
News from the coaches press conference today - Hastings and Gildart classed as doubtful but Field looks set to play. Bevan not in the country - back in the next couple of days.
Last edited by MadDogg on Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Field is probably the one who helps us the most regards balancing the side. I’d go with him at fullback and put Hardaker in to the centre. If Hastings isn’t ready then Harry Smith to start.