George Zip

I've queried this on another thread, but I'm certain the final score was 72 - 22. All the online sites show 72 - 20. I don't know why I care so much, but what officially was the final score???

I'm always around, and always lurking but I only comment on things of the utmost importance!!! (BTW def Zac 2 tries, Ben Kaye 1).

Am I right in thinking that before the last minute try it was 72-16? 16+6=22??!!

I admit I'd had a "few" ales at the game, but didn't their last conversion go over, and hence making the final score 72-22? I remember commenting on it because the kicker didn't bother with his tee. Can anyone clarify this for me?

The RL never seem to rule in Leigh's favour. Like that time they got relegated and then... er... remind me how that finished up again.

This is music to my ears. The only possible result on Sunday is a heavy Rovers loss. I see that as a fact, no matter what strength team we put out. Therefore, the best possible outcome against Wire is to avoid injuries to key personnel. If this is achieved via leaving out those key personnel then so be it. It shows that DP is being both proactive and realistic. The flipside is that we play our strongest team, pick up injuries to the likes of Saxton and Finn, etc. Then on TV, when we have a real opportunity to showcase what we are all about this season, we're suddenly a depleted team, playing a team which beat Widnes last week, rueing the fact that we put out our full strength squad, chasing an impossible dream in a competition meaningless to us. I would personally put out a full second team or forfeit, but seeing as that is impossible, DP's more diplomatic, careful approach is yet more evidence that he is a shrewd operator. I'm rapidly becoming a huge DP fan. Roll on Thursday week, when we'll be fit, raring to go, and ready to cement our position as the strongest team in OUR competition.

Despite the fact that Fax look in disarray, I reckon this will be a tough one. Judging by the opinions of their fans, it looks like they have a range of failings which we could really exploit: unsettled/out of form half-backs, players losing faith in their coach, big names not performing. They really are there for the taking. But, Fax are a big team, and if we're gonna beat them then we'll need to approach the game like it's a cup final. I'll stick my neck out and say a narrow win for Fev.

Bearing in mind that no ref will give a faultless performance, I reckon today's guy (whether it was the young kid or not) was the best ref we've had down at POR for quite some time. He made no attempt to "stamp his authority" or to "show 'em who was boss"; he just let the players play and gave a calls as he saw them. He didn't do the usual thing of hysterically penalising the defensive team when the attacker dives forward; everytime someone tried it, he told them to get on with the play-the-ball. Yes, he made a few errors (in my eyes), but by arriving without a pre-determined agenda, we were able to see a game of rugby without focusing on the controversy generated by the man-in-the-middle.

During the Sheffield game one of our tries came from the set-of-six directly after we ran a kickable penalty. We missed the convert, but if we'd have kicked the penalty, we'd have lost by 2 rather than drew. I agree with TET that most of the time, a team should run, and keep the pressure on, except when in the sort of scenario of being 1 or 2 points behind with ten minutes to go. Whether it's coach or players who make the decision, and regardless of score/how long is left, the decision should be made based on one principle: do what the opposition least want you to do.

I don't think seventh is a bad call. Bearing in mind that we are very much an unknown quantity, you can't predict how we'll go on based on the fact we have been running points in for fun against vastly inferior teams from a different division. Against 3 teams which we will face this season, we've won one convincingly, lost one convincingly and drawn the other; it's impossible to gauge anything from that. My nagging worry is that we'll struggle against teams who get in our faces and knock us out of shape. For example, Liam Finn has been running the show so far behind a dominant pack, but will he be as effective when the Barrow/Fax forwards get on top of us and don't give him space to move? Another worry is that we're prone to penalties; we leave our hands in the tackle for too long, something which a canny coach will pick up on and exploit via wriggling/diving forward, etc... (Like Batley did in the second half). I still don't think we use an overlap particularly effectively. Again, a clever coach will pick up on this and wedge the defence when we're attacking, leaving no gaps in the way Rochdale/Hunslet/Worky did. BTW, none of the above is a criticism, merely an observation. I've been enjoying our recent points spree as much as anyone, I'm just not basing the season's predictions on it. It'll be fascinating to see how we go on at Dewsbury.

Do we get into the Workington game on our season tickets, or do we have to pay? I can half remember something about the first home CC game being part of the deal, but wouldn't swear to it.

I'm gonna go for 28-14 to Rovers, but a much closer and more exciting game than you might expect. With so many ex Fev players with a point to prove, Hunslet will have real fire in there bellies. Tommy H is always good for 2 tries, whatever faults QE had, no one can doubt his ability of finding the try line, and March knows how to 'control' a game. Fev are still an unknown quantity, and the cancelled friendlies means we won't have had enough gametime together for our attack to be firing on all cylinders. I'm still hopeful we'll just have too much though. I can't wait. Hunslet have captured some of my favourite Fev players of recent times (Larvin, Dooler, Houston, et al), and it'll be great to see how they get on.

The realist within me thinks that we will probably finish fourth this season behind (probably) Barrow, Fax and Widnes, but I cant shake the nagging doubt that perhaps we will replicate last season's position. We look three players short of a truly top club in my mind, and I feel that we lack an old head in a key ballplaying/organisational position who we can turn to when we need go-forward and shape. The key for me is the consistent selection of positions six, seven, nine and 13. I feel we need to choose these players early doors and build our attacking play around this structure. (If the structure is sound, then even injuries wont matter for the replacing player can simply slot in). My hope for the friendlies is that we assign these four key positions to the players who will be playing them throughout the season. Rotation of these positions always leads to organisational turmoil. Select the guys, stick with them, and allow the consistency to develop. With a settled attacking structure I don't think the third-place is out of our reach.

If I register today (the last day of November) will I still qualify for the early bird special does anybody know?