We were competitive for 40 minutes tonight and that isn't enough at SL . They had so much more left in the tank for the last 20 minutes . We played some of the best rugby I've ever seen us play in the first half we just weren't clinical enough near the line ! Cashmere good again , Henry had a strong game . Feka , one 12/13 minute spell ! Waste of a jersey ! Where was Parker ? DJ needs to take on the line a little more an stop trying to keep his shorts clean and Adamson sure knows how to null a promising attack . A good night , until 8.40pm , nightmare there after.

We won't win until we sort out defence out. Its as simple as that. The line is broken with gaps, it doesn't move up quickly enough and just stops and lets the opposition run. We don't slide, one on one tackles are being missed, we don't clamp the ball, we don't communicate well enough and we don't work hard enough from marker. We need to use some brains and to talk to stop mismatches (e.g Feka vs Burrow). Broughton needs to stop coming in and Nero's positioning at times is terrible. We also need to put more pressure on the kicker and start to hurt people in the tackle. One positive however is that I think Wild, Adamson and Spencer were good defensively and our scramble defence was quite good at times.



On attack we need more runners, to speed things up and to be more clinical (i.e better passes, less dropped ball). We need to try some different things instead of behind from Holdsworth to Ratchford then behind to Patten and give Broughton a decent ball that he might be able to carve something out of. Holdsworth needs to be dropped IMO, he is just doing the same thing every time; just handing the ball on and never taking on the line. His defence was also shocking, and whilst I know its not all his fault and he isn't the only one with poor defence, he is our captain and should be leading by example and getting us organised. As for Feka, he is just a liability is is proving to be more trouble than he is worth.



Our fitness and strength and conditioning doesn't seem to be as good as it should be either, but I'm going to try and finish on a positive note. We threw the ball about and looked dangerous at times and played some entertaining rugby.

When the Leeds try was scored after the break I looked at the Salford players and most of them were breathing very heavy and looked absolutely knackered. This has been a problem for years at the club. Feka should be sent packing now, he came on and two trys were scored straight through the middle where he should have been defending. For 40 minutes we played well, just forget the rest. Burrows was allowed to run riot last night. BTW all of those who say Alker is doing a good job icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="icon_rolleyes.gif" title="Rolling Eyes" /> Complete new coaching team required and quick.

When the Leeds try was scored after the break I looked at the Salford players and most of them were breathing very heavy and looked absolutely knackered. This has been a problem for years at the club. Feka should be sent packing now, he came on and two trys were scored straight through the middle where he should have been defending. For 40 minutes we played well, just forget the rest. Burrows was allowed to run riot last night. BTW all of those who say Alker is doing a good job icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="icon_rolleyes.gif" title="Rolling Eyes" /> Complete new coaching team required and quick.

Although the defeats against Wigan, Saints and Leeds have been very disappointing. At the end of the day, what did we really expect? It will be interesting to see how we match up against HKR on Friday.



If we get another hammering, I'm afraid there will be few excuses left from JW and the Coaches and morale amongst the fans will be rock bottom. What will we have to look forward to exactly? I thought the last season at the Willows would be very exciting and I couldn't wait for the season to start. However, so far it's been the same old story.



I'll be there again on Friday hoping for the best. COME ON YOU REDS!

*looks for something to blame*



Seems we are running out of excuses and scapegoats already, only 5 games in. I didn't go to the game last night but it appears that the same old on-field issues are rearing their ugly heads. If we're being honest, the defence has been a mess since big Karl's exit, whether that's down to personnel or coaching I'm not sure but this is the thing that needs addressing first and foremost. We can't keep giving cheap tries away like we have for the past 4 or 5 years, it really is becoming farcical now, SL just doesn't allow you to be so poor at the back.

I don't know what happened when Harrison left but as I've said previously, it is the only time in my memory when the team was more than the sum of the parts.



I'm old enough to remember the 70s when we had a good team and Brian Snape had signed a lot of players. Even then we never got it quite right.



For too long the culture has not been right. Players have been allowed to come here and see out the end of their career. Poor attitudes and low standards have been the accepted norm.



Standards need to be set and failure to meet them not accepted.