False Dawn

It may be just a bump in the road, but it looked an awful lot like 2023 out there last week and today.

the first half was one of the worst performances I can remember..and we've had a few. We wouldn't have scored in a month of Sundays, Too many passengers in the team...can someone tell me what Curry offers us...he was absolutely shocking. The halves stank....both are finished as serious attacking players. I really hope this is just a cup final hangover and we're back at it against Hull... I fear, however, that we are back in the twilight zone with this crew and the wheels have fallen off again.

Said it for years Ratchford is a terrible player with a terrible attitude…glad we’ve signed the sulking loser for another 12 months. Pitiful all round including Burgess.

What’s Ratchford got to do with it?
Can he play prop?

Yes, that has to be the dullest, most ineffective pairing in Super League. Leyland & Meadows at London Broncos have more about them.

I think he was genuinely unable to explain that performance last night. The post-match interview was pretty strange and offered no real insight as to what is wrong or how to fix it.

I think we will all find out in the next 4 or 5 games if he has the answers. A chance for a confidence booster next week but both Saints and Wigan before the end of July so something needs to change pretty quickly.

On reflection, there’s an area of concern on the right and we need to find a way of finishing our sets higher up the pitch, because we can’t kick the ball well at all.

On the right, defensively they were poor. Couldn’t cope with either centre, again, but we really struggled with Tai on the wing. It looks like his instinct is to come inside and try and shut down the problem, but left himself exposed for their last try. Every time I watch Wrench it’s as if I’m watching a kid on debut, who has talent and enthusiasm but just looks like he’s never played the game before when it gets complex. He needs a run of games in one position, but I’m not sure that is with us right now, in the short term. It’s not helped that bar Nicholson that whole side has changed again for the third week in succession, but it’s the basic instinct that just doesn’t match those around him.

Kicking is awful, and we don’t have a fix for that. Walker aside. So we need to find a way of finishing our sets higher up the pitch. That came from having a better grip defensively when they are coming away from their line, but we let them come away easily, not only that but offload and cause us issues on the back of it. We need to be ruthless with discipline in those sets when we’re trying to pin them down there, which comes from having a bit in the tank to aggressively defend. To do that, your backs have to get you up the field. Dufty aside, maybe Ashton too, the backs didn’t make enough yards. Wrench and Tai had lots of touches for no return, King makes a lot of yards per carry but didn’t seem to get many at all. So we revert to the forwards in the middle and it’s just slow and easy to defend. Currie is the only one who ever looks like he might actually pass the ball, the rest plod up and get knocked back. Need more movement around the ball to make the defence have to work for it.

But it came down to fine margins. If Walker is an inch further back we go to their 20m, down by 11 with time on our side. We have a chance to win it. Instead I think Wood is caught offside and they go the other end and finish us off. Really frustrating.

I'm not sure whether we need to panic or not.....the right edge was abysmal in defence but we had a winger who isn't a winger and kept trying to do a centre's job, and a centre who hasn't been able to claim a regular spot in the team because he always does exactly what he did last night. Return to normal - Tai at centre and Thewlis out wide - and the problem should disappear again.

In attack, we had a playmaker who is 1) past his sell-by date, 2) traditionally less than creative or scintillating at half-back and 3) unable to command a regular team spot. When normal service is resumed, that should sort itself out as well, surely?

Yes we did look like the 2023 vintage wire, but we also made some 2023 team choices that must have played a role.

Flash in the pan, I hope. Don't panic, don't panic. We're not doomed.

As a Wigan supporter I have every sympathy with Warrington. Why were the two Challenge cup finalists given the shortage turn round when the rest had a week off. It stinks to high heaven.