Sat 8th Apr: SL: Leigh Leopards v Salford Red Devils KO 14:30 (Sky)

[Oxford]

2 minutes ago, phiggins said:

I have a lot of faith in the coach. He has us far more organised than we’ve ever been at this level. But his continued ploy to play a game with only 14 or 15 players is poor.

Even with the injury, we had two subs not feature until after an hour had been played. Could’ve brought Mulhern off much earlier and had Davis do a stint there. If Hughes hadn’t got injured he’d have done about 10 minutes and nisbet wouldn’t have featured at all. It’s very strange 

Maybe we have a different definition of faith then!

[GUBRATS]

1 hour ago, Gavin Harrison said:

Decent enough game.

Salford clicked occasionally & made it look easy to post points.

Leigh had them in trouble but couldn't find the knockout shots.

With a few missing up front & key man Lafai missing out wide, Salford have a huge step up in performance to come.

Leigh are probably as good as theyvare going to get & the 3 early wins should see them safe. Will perhaps add a couple more against Wakefield to be well clear of the drop.

3 pivotal decisions going against us kept us chasing , the knock on given against Reynolds for his tackle on Croft ,giving Salford possession on our line for their first try , the forward call on O Donnell's try and the knock on given against Ipape when the ball went over his shoulder and backwards 3 feet , all pulled by the commentary as " tough " , because they didn't want to say " wrong " 

You say Salford will improve ? , Quite possibly , but much like the commentary pointed out our disjointed right hand attack , put O Brien back in and with Zac at centre and that improves drastically , we can be much better 

[idrewthehaggis]

1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

3 pivotal decisions going against us kept us chasing , the knock on given against Reynolds for his tackle on Croft ,giving Salford possession on our line for their first try , the forward call on O Donnell's try and the knock on given against Ipape when the ball went over his shoulder and backwards 3 feet , all pulled by the commentary as " tough " , because they didn't want to say " wrong " 

Start with this. I watched it back earlier and I will be honest those decisions were erm "curious." I was also unsure about one of the Leigh's tries as well and the Brierley sin binning, although in hindsight it could have ranged from a mere penalty to a red card depending on which ref was officiating.

Salford looked more at the races from last week. They did the boring-completed the sets, ran hard, respected the ball and defended well. And at times there a revival of the unboring Rowleyball, fast and pacy. Dupree was outstanding, Croft and Sneyd playyed well. 

I now enjoy visiting Leigh. Fans, staff are friendly, the away is ok and it's easy to get to and from.

Elvis ersatz was great and the win was well erm celebrated latter as the sun descended.

Victory four, six to go. Feel strangely optimistic. Next up is Castleford.
 

 

[Stanley30]

50 minutes ago, idrewthehaggis said:

Start with this. I watched it back earlier and I will be honest those decisions were erm "curious." I was also unsure about one of the Leigh's tries as well and the Brierley sin binning, although in hindsight it could have ranged from a mere penalty to a red card depending on which ref was officiating.

Salford looked more at the races from last week. They did the boring-completed the sets, ran hard, respected the ball and defended well. And at times there a revival of the unboring Rowleyball, fast and pacy. Dupree was outstanding, Croft and Sneyd playyed well. 

I now enjoy visiting Leigh. Fans, staff are friendly, the away is ok and it's easy to get to and from.

Elvis ersatz was great and the win was well erm celebrated latter as the sun descended.

Victory four, six to go. Feel strangely optimistic. Next up is Castleford.
 

 

What happens at 10 wins? 

[GUBRATS]

1 minute ago, Stanley30 said:

What happens at 10 wins? 

You don't get relegated , unless you're London 

[GUBRATS]

52 minutes ago, idrewthehaggis said:

Start with this. I watched it back earlier and I will be honest those decisions were erm "curious." I was also unsure about one of the Leigh's tries as well and the Brierley sin binning, although in hindsight it could have ranged from a mere penalty to a red card depending on which ref was officiating.

Salford looked more at the races from last week. They did the boring-completed the sets, ran hard, respected the ball and defended well. And at times there a revival of the unboring Rowleyball, fast and pacy. Dupree was outstanding, Croft and Sneyd playyed well. 

I now enjoy visiting Leigh. Fans, staff are friendly, the away is ok and it's easy to get to and from.

Elvis ersatz was great and the win was well erm celebrated latter as the sun descended.

Victory four, six to go. Feel strangely optimistic. Next up is Castleford.
 

 

' curious ' , well that's one way to describe them

[phiggins]

4 hours ago, Oxford said:

Maybe we have a different definition of faith then!

Having faith in the coach doesn’t mean you have to agree with every decision he makes. 
 

Personally I find it odd that we regularly have a back on the bench that will only play if there’s an injury as well as a second hooker that will only play 15-20 minutes in total. Have one or the other maybe, but to have both is a big ask of the other 15 players. 
 

Something will have to give, either the back up forwards get a chance, or we get new players in

[Stanley30]

21 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

You don't get relegated , unless you're London

I'm definitely not thinking of relegation so balls to that. I'm thinking more of how we can get the next few steps into our game and get top 4. 

Not there, but definitely potential to

[Oxford]

8 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Having faith in the coach doesn’t mean you have to agree with every decision he makes. 

I think that shows a lack of trust in his decision making to be honest, which is much the same thing.

 

[Gavin Harrison]

7 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

3 pivotal decisions going against us kept us chasing , the knock on given against Reynolds for his tackle on Croft ,giving Salford possession on our line for their first try , the forward call on O Donnell's try and the knock on given against Ipape when the ball went over his shoulder and backwards 3 feet , all pulled by the commentary as " tough " , because they didn't want to say " wrong " 

You say Salford will improve ? , Quite possibly , but much like the commentary pointed out our disjointed right hand attack , put O Brien back in and with Zac at centre and that improves drastically , we can be much better 

The Reynolds one looked tough but he did knock it out.

Forward pass was right. Look at hands, ball went forward.

Ipape knock on was ridiculous call.

Had Leigh had the bit of smarts needed, they had enough time & possession to take it.

10 minutes against 12.

[GUBRATS]

1 minute ago, Gavin Harrison said:

The Reynolds one looked tough but he did knock it out.

Forward pass was right. Look at hands, ball went forward.

Ipape knock on was ridiculous call.

Had Leigh had the bit of smarts needed, they had enough time & possession to take it.

10 minutes against 12.

How many of those passes weren't pulled tonight ? 

Did Reynolds play the ball or the man ? 

Yes ten minutes against 12 , that's when the Ipape knock on was given 

All 3 poor decisions , all 3 stated as such by the commentators and pundits 

All game changers 

[Gavin Harrison]

3 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

How many of those passes weren't pulled tonight ? 

Did Reynolds play the ball or the man ? 

Yes ten minutes against 12 , that's when the Ipape knock on was given 

All 3 poor decisions , all 3 stated as such by the commentators and pundits 

All game changers 

Inconsistency is rife. Several calls tonight were wrong IMO.

Honestly, the Ipape one was the only one clearly wrong.

Reynolds did knock the ball out & officials look at hands for direction of release.

Leigh could have won that but just didn't have what it took.

 

[phiggins]

7 hours ago, Gavin Harrison said:

Inconsistency is rife. Several calls tonight were wrong IMO.

Honestly, the Ipape one was the only one clearly wrong.

Reynolds did knock the ball out & officials look at hands for direction of release.

Leigh could have won that but just didn't have what it took.

 

Reynolds knocked the ball out in the act of tackling the player. That’s not a knock on. Both knock on calls were absolute clangers.
 

But then several Leigh players made absolute clangers as well. Bombed chances, missed tackles leading to two tries, full back out of position for the first try. Lam was very critical of the players in the post match interviews. I just hope he’s also reviewing some of his own decisions as well 

[GUBRATS]

8 hours ago, Gavin Harrison said:

Inconsistency is rife. Several calls tonight were wrong IMO.

Honestly, the Ipape one was the only one clearly wrong.

Reynolds did knock the ball out & officials look at hands for direction of release.

Leigh could have won that but just didn't have what it took.

 

I didn't ask about inconsistency, so how many identical passes were thrown last night and not pulled ? , I don't recall any forward passes being punished last night despite there being thousands of referees in the South stand 

Your earlier comment about us not being able to play any better ? , As I pointed out , bring back O Brien into full back and our right edge becomes much more smooth , our friends from Wigan have cost us more than just the two points against themselves last week 

 It all history now , look forward to taking home 2 points from the ' Bell ' 

[GUBRATS]

44 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Reynolds knocked the ball out in the act of tackling the player. That’s not a knock on. Both knock on calls were absolute clangers.
 

But then several Leigh players made absolute clangers as well. Bombed chances, missed tackles leading to two tries, full back out of position for the first try. Lam was very critical of the players in the post match interviews. I just hope he’s also reviewing some of his own decisions as well 

Having O Brien back next week should smooth things out on that right hand side , Zac just doesn't have the timing or passing skill 

And it looks like Edwin is finally injury free , best game so far , just need the players around him to ' switch on ' now and we've got our middle scoring pathway open 

Edited April 10, 2023 by GUBRATS

[Pete Grady]

I thought 'Chamberpot' had a great game in the centre, 'really glad he played. 

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Pete Grady said:

I thought 'Chamberpot' had a great game in the centre, 'really glad he played. 

If you mean he is "full of 5hi7" couldn't agree more.

[phiggins]

2 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

Having O Brien back next week should smooth things out on that right hand side , Zac just doesn't have the timing or passing skill 

And it looks like Edwin is finally injury free , best game so far , just need the players around him to ' switch on ' now and we've got our middle scoring pathway open 

Yes, O’Brien coming back will make a difference. Looks like Hughes and Nisbet will both be unavailable after going off injured, so hopefully Nakuwabei will be available as well. In a perfect world, Aaron Smith will also be back 

[idrewthehaggis]

20 hours ago, Stanley30 said:

I'm definitely not thinking of relegation so balls to that. I'm thinking more of how we can get the next few steps into our game and get top 4. 

Not there, but definitely potential to

Fair does.

I am still getting over that 1998 semi final, the "curious" refereeing, and the swift shift from ecstasy to agony which has kept me "taciturn"  and "wary" of anything SRD since then..

[GUBRATS]

2 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

If you mean he is "full of 5hi7" couldn't agree more.

Unfair Harry , he's a good player , just not quite SL , a bit too small IMO 

[LeytherRob]

1 hour ago, phiggins said:

Yes, O’Brien coming back will make a difference. Looks like Hughes and Nisbet will both be unavailable after going off injured, so hopefully Nakuwabei will be available as well. In a perfect world, Aaron Smith will also be back 

Aaron Smith is apparently due to be fit again for next week, so I'd play him and go for a bench of Ava, Smith, Davis and Wilde/Gannon

[Oxford]

16 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

all 3 stated as such by the commentators and pundits 

Cos they.ve been so reliable all the other times!

When you blame individual players you're missing the point of a team game.

When you blame the ref it just sounds like excuses.

I have to admit there are two refs who I'd rather didn'y officiate at games where I have an interest but I've long ago given up on the hope it won't be them this week.

[GUBRATS]

5 minutes ago, Oxford said:

Cos they.ve been so reliable all the other times!

When you blame individual players you're missing the point of a team game.

When you blame the ref it just sounds like excuses.

I have to admit there are two refs who I'd rather didn'y officiate at games where I have an interest but I've long ago given up on the hope it won't be them this week.

Pivotal calls , all 3 , in a tight game they are instrumental in the final outcome , much like Fields first try last week , even without the VR we could see he'd lost the ball , how that was given Christ only knows 

If things even themselves out as we are led to believe , then we should be a shoe in for the GF

[phiggins]

17 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

Aaron Smith is apparently due to be fit again for next week, so I'd play him and go for a bench of Ava, Smith, Davis and Wilde/Gannon

That would look a much stronger bench. But based on previous selections, I can see chamberlain being on the bench over Wilde / Gannon. (Assuming O’Brien is available again)

[Gavin Harrison]

5 hours ago, phiggins said:

Reynolds knocked the ball out in the act of tackling the player. That’s not a knock on. Both knock on calls were absolute clangers.
 

But then several Leigh players made absolute clangers as well. Bombed chances, missed tackles leading to two tries, full back out of position for the first try. Lam was very critical of the players in the post match interviews. I just hope he’s also reviewing some of his own decisions as well 

It is a knock on because the ball went towards opposition goal line.

A poor quality game all round.