Ht 14-6 not a bad effort. Smithy looks really sharp and slimmer and impressed with olly Brooks
Sounds good - who were the starting centres ?
24-12. A definite friendly with players coming and going all the time. Batley have been a bogey team for us lately but we did everything necessary necessary to contain them. I was impressed with Davies and Dupree and Wilde was also a stand out, I thought Fozzard was also good for the time on the field
As has been said, a good run out and even though the game was a bit disjointed, I’m glad that we won … maybe it’ll boost confidence.
It’s Workington for our next home fixture who will be a real test.
However I did expect there to be a few more fans to support Danny.
Hopefully a few quid made for him and some other events this year will bolster the coffers.
Nice to get a win even if it is a friendly. Let us not forget that Batley did a good job on us twice last season.
Hopefully the club can get a bit of a buzz/some marketing out there for the Workington game, be nice to see a 3000+ attendance.
Was the attendance announced?
Was the attendance announced?
No attendance was given i don't think, but for me it was about 1500 tops. Defiantly more than some of our league games last year. Never noticed many from Batley either. So maybe things are looking up for next season attendance wise
I thought there were more than 1500 there, maybe 18-1,900. The North stand was over half full, and about 3-400 in the South.
Craven played well, before going off at half time, Dupree and Wilde were good and Ince scored a good try and also made a try saving tackle in the second half, to keep Widnes in front .
Was the attendance announced?
If it was, I didn’t hear it and I’d agree with Martins “guesstimate” of 1,500.
From my seat the hospitality boxes seemed full but elsewhere there were plenty of empty seats.
Speaking to DC at the market last week, he said anything over 1000-1200 he would be delighted. So if 1500 attended, he'll be elated.
Well done to all who turned out.
Paulie xx
For a 'friendly', it was an enjoyable game, and to me an improvement to what we dished up last year.
Dupree won't be with us long, he'll be in SL at some stage. You don't get many middle that can punch holes like that and offload and I think keeping him gives us another dimension especially if Farnworth can stay fit.
Wilde is a great re-signing. Amount of work he does is massive. Would have liked to have seen Holroyd given more minutes, I actually thought Ince made a few simple mistakes yesterday and I'm still to be convinced with him coming back. All new signings did well, Fozzard will also help I felt we struggled at 9 all last year without a strong running 9 and we've got one now.
All in all, a good hit out and lots to be optimistic about.
Wilde was excellent, clear MOM in my book. Agree that Dupree showed that he has qualities we have been lacking for some time. When both him and Lawton are on the pitch it will give defences plenty to worry about. Also thought both starting halves had good games and Olly Davies showed up well and got through plenty of work. Hopefully most of the players who missed the game will be available when the league kicks off though aware Tyrer won’t be. My guess at the crowd - 1700
Was disappointed in the crowd (even if Danny wasn’t) but the weather was v cold I guess for a bigger crowd for just a pre season game.
Team did v well IMHO esp compared to last year. Dupree was a standout - very aggressive and a brilliant offload. Should be a better standard in the pack this year Plus Lawton and Grady were missing (they were sat with Tyrer in front of me in south stand) and that can only improve as they gel. The youngsters (squad numbers 20-odd upwards) who came on in second half didn’t disgrace themselves.
Smith did look a lot sharper and he bossed the team once Danny went off but I agree about Ince (other than his try) he looked v shaky - got bounced off in the tackle against their no.5 when they made a near full length break in second half and made a few more errors but hopefully that’s early season rustiness.
All in all a decent run out - let’s see London’s performance next week and Worky at home before we pop the champers…
😉
I liked the overall approach tbh.
Plenty of variety and pace - should make our attacks harder to block. Agree regarding Dupree and Davies, they will demand defence cover and leave spaces elsewhere, particularly with Lawton, Grady etc in the side. It will give opposition defences headaches.
Our defence looked organised, fast and calculated - just what we were missing too often.
Ince is still work in progress imo. Great attacking threat but defence is lacking. Watching Holdroyd too, didn't get many chances in attack but he is very aware in defence only committing himself when the options have gone. Looks a great prospect with Brookes!!
Go for it lads!!!!
Was the attendance announced?
If it was, I didn’t hear it and I’d agree with Martins “guesstimate” of 1,500.
From my seat the hospitality boxes seemed full but elsewhere there were plenty of empty seats.
A very generous 1500. My guess would be 1200