EagleEyePie

I must admit this kind of baffles me a bit. I read that the NRL were keen for the North Sydney Bears to be revived in preference to the Newtown Jets. Surely it's something completely new though right? I just don't understand this concept of Perth getting an NRL franchise but apparently it's also North Sydney. Is it because the Bears will play lots of away games in Sydney so the Bears fans will support the franchise regardless of the fact their based in Perth? It feels a bit like if Bradford Bulls went bust and someone decided to resurrect them in Bristol. I can't imagine Bradford fans wanting anything to do with 'Bristol Bulls' but maybe it's just my lack of understanding of sport in Australia.

I thought it was a good win given the conditions and the circumstances. Wigan were always going to be favourites but the one area where Saints were stronger than us on paper was at prop, so I expected them to keep it close. Once Mago dropped out and Dupree got knocked out I knew we were going to be tired down the middle in the last 20 minutes or so and that Saints would get on a bit of a roll. There was no way Forber was going to feature so we had a 2 man bench as soon as Dupree went off. Sam Walters was outstanding once again and without that performance from him I think we'd have struggled. He's really showing what he's capable of and is one of the form props in the competition. If both Thompson and Havard can return from injury and get back to their best then we've got one hell of a front row there. Brad O'Neill makes a big difference to the side too. His defence is exceptional and his speed and accuracy of distribution is second to none. We're so much better when he's in the side. Leeming has done well in his absence but his defence is weak in comparison. Smith made up for a bit of a sub-par performance against Rovers (at least in terms of his last tackle plays) and put in a great display. The most impressive thing for me was probably his defence. He was tenacious and aggressive and that a part of his game that I haven't seen much of since his days in the academy and reserves. It was like he'd been given a pesonality transplant with Tommy Leuluai. Speaking of Leuluai, as Damien alludes to above, he's been doing such a great job with our attacking structures and yesterday showed some good examples. The second Field try was a great set up and positioning of the attack so that the defence can't pick out their man in the line because they start almost as a box of runners and their movement can be fluid. It was far from a classic, and Saints were their own worst enemy most of the time with the errors they made but the conditions definitely didn't help. Both teams are capable of playing better but you don't always get both teams at their very best in these games. On a negative, we can do without the pillocks in the South Stand singing the song about Jack Welsby. It's so tasteless and embarrassing.

Miski is due an operation in the next few weeks. The club have been putting it off and were probably targeting a specific period in the sesason for him to have it that allows him to play in this run of big games. I guess Wade will be competition with Douglas while Miski is out. I can't say I'm expecting much from him given his age and lack of RL experience. I hope he doesn't just get chucked in ahead of Douglas though. Jacob has done well when given the opportunity.

That felt like a harsh call. I'm not sure Gildart was actually responsible for Rapana making contact while Burgess was in the air.

I should have made it more clear that I meant avoid contact with the head, not contact in general. He didn't attempt to lower his tackle height, alter the point of impact or mitigate the force of the collision which he could have tried to do

Do anything to try to avoid contact perhaps. He had enough time to turn enough to lead shoulder first. He could have at least attempted to step or put his arms out which would immediately mitigate. He clearly turns so he goes into him shoulder first and smacks him at full pelt.

Madness from Cust. Straight red any day

My favourite is probably the 2022 Wigan home kit. Classic design that can't be improved upon. I always prefer the thin hoops. It's the last Wigan shirt I bought as I've never felt any need to buy a new shirt that I like less. And to go a bit more obscure. I love this from the freshly rebranded Perth Reds (formerly Western Reds) for their one and only season in Super League down under back in 1997

He was right. Jack Bibby is the Huddersfield number 30

He's rocked up at Huddersfield in the same shape his brother was in when he joined Wigan. Looks overweight and lethargic.

Never mind, it is an 8 point try. Sin bin seemed a bit lenient

Why is that not an 8 point try? Foul in the act of scoring. A clear kick out by the defender and a bit nasty.

Two overturned calls in one night must be a rarity these days. Definitely seemed to have his right hand on the ball as it touched the ground even when he left go with the left.

Get in!! I was not expecting this performance tonight but even if Rovers do come back I've been delighted with the way we've played. Far from perfect but calm enough in the knowledge we'll make the most of opportunities that come our way.

Took him to ground after the held call