Same old Widnes start off well then go shite. No excuses Batley and Swinton should beat. Even though bad luck with injuries I feel signing Jack Owens for 2 years is a joke. He was shite against Batley and seemed crap today dropping a ball.
'Dropping a ball'
So was JO the only player who knocked on today? I can't say as I couldn't make it.
Anyone?
Paulie xx
He was shite against Batley. He is a fullback and couldn't catch a cold. 2 year contract for Captain Fantastic we be out of top 6 again and another failure season.
To be fair the major cock-up last week that led to the Batley try was between winger Butt, and full-back Roby.
I know JO and his family personally, he's a local lad captaining his home town team, a team as a kid he watched from the terraces. He is probably under more pressure than most at the Club, because it means oh so much more to him, as a Widnesian. He's self critical, every dropped ball, bad pass, brain fart, hurts him like Hell. Some posters on here should try and wear his boots for 80 minutes, and see how you get on.
Hammering players won't make them play better. There are 13 blokes out there, knocking on, missing tackles, and sometimes scoring tries & kicking goals. It takes a lot of 'bottle' to step forward and kick a penalty goal from the half way line, to win the game after the FT hooter has sounded. JO wasn't shite then, was he?
Okay we are all disappointed it ain't 1989, but we are what we are. We lost to lowly Swinton, give them some credit for getting our players head injuries and running out of sub options. JO will be there next week, giving his all to the cause.
Paulie xx
Entitled to your opion and I am sure does his best, but is not that great for a player to be in a top 6 Championship team. Last week didn't do much to be honest, and I love him to do well but has lost a lot of speed, and in my opion better fullbacks in this league. Squad depth is shite and being captain he needs to rally this team. 1 win in 7 is shite.
Agreed. Am sure we’d all love to play for Widnes and to wear the shirt would mean more then anything but the fact is we wouldn’t be good enough and neither is Jack he hasn’t been good enough for the past few seasons with the same constant mistakes. We need to invest the little money we do have a lot better. Of course can’t blame owens for it all but most senior players in are squad should hang there heads in shame because that’s another piss poor performance.
John bang on and unfortunately the best players in Widnes are in Super league unfortunately. But I understand as a short career, but with our fan base 3 times bigger than Swinton we should do better than them. I not saying we have the given right but every season has been mediocre and never make the playoffs. In my opinion we should be able to spend, and be more competitive to pay for the better players at this level.
I think the result of this game is going to pale into insignificance looking at Nick Gregson's Twitter account. Wow that's shocking.
https://twitter.com/nickgregson13/status/1810031619304034648
Grub club.
I went today & although it was scrappy by both sides we were value for our 12 point lead but failed to improve on it when we had territory in the first half. Having lost Kirk to a head injury then Langtree meant our biggest players out of the game & reduced interchanges as a result. Later we lost Gregson & I saw one other player limping but learn now 5 in total were injured. So I am not putting the boot in & unforced errors & mistakes probably became inevitable as we tired with forwards in the centres etc.
Letting Dixon & Walker go mid contract is going to haunt us even more now & not having a dual registration deal that helps us. Brogan may be promising but far too small for a prop certainly as a direct replacement for Walker who I rated as one of our best if not the best prop. Swinton have a permanent player whereas Brogan is only a loanee. I understand the club are trying to manage a limited budjet in the clubs best interests but this does seem to have badly backfired immediately.
Just my thoughts on the match itself. This was one of those fluke games - fluke in that, it is almost unprecedented that one team loses 5 players due to injury who cannot return to the field, KIRK's being after just 60 seconds and then have to soldier on in the last 25 minutes with barely any subs to use and a loan second rower on the wing who could barely stand. For that the lads who all kept going I am sure they were devastated and exhausted at the end - just like the fans!
However, 12 points was not enough of a lead to be able to hang on in all of the adversity that followed anyway in the final analysis, and it should certainly have been double that lead at half time. Twice we lost the ball on the 1st tackle in their 20 in the first half, and several other unforced errors kept the lead narrower than it should have been. When things started to go wrong with BROOKES and LANGTREE departing and then GREGSON, followed by BENT, we were never going to be able to hold them back - and when we needed to get over at the start of the second half we throw out an interception pass on the first tackle, and then follow that up with another bomb howler! Never got near their danger 20 after that and always looked like losing.
Another 1/10 performance from a ref who doesn't seem to know that the RFL have had to deal with high shots if it is to continue as a sport if head tackles are not eliminated from the game - did he spot even one in 80 minutes? But we lost the game ourselves by not having a large enough cushion as they came back at us under all of that adversity.....and by virtue of their own points tally the game, we may have been able to hang on for a draw if we had not have squandered so many first half chances and also gifted them 12 points.........a worrying deterioration in form, decent players (maybe injudiciously) released and now the squad looking threadbare and low on confidence, no doubt. Would certainly not have predicted 0/4 points against Batley and Swinton and if that spirals to 0/6 after the Dewsbury game, it is relegation form that.
Even with all the injuries we had today, I think we could still have won, if we hadn’t given them 2 tries to level the match at 12-12. Once that happened Swinton were obviously pumped up again, with lots of believe they could now beat us, and with more of our players getting injured, accidentally or on purpose, made it even easier for them.
I thought their best player, ironically, was the black player they’ve got on loan, from our dual reg club, Warrington.
Even with all the injuries we had today, I think we could still have won, if we hadn’t given them 2 tries to level the match at 12-12. Once that happened Swinton were obviously pumped up again, with lots of believe they could now beat us, and with more of our players getting injured, accidentally or on purpose, made it even easier for them.
I thought their best player, ironically, was Okoro the player they’ve got on loan, from our dual reg club, Warrington.
The incidents leading to our injuries, were they accidental or, as suggested by Eric the Red, rather "naughty"?
I wasn't at the game but 5 injuries, two being to the head, resulting in players taking no further part in the game is extreme to say the least.
Looks like Kirk and Bent won't feature as they had head assessments. Brookes did his knee, as did Brogan. Langtree and Gregson are shoulder injuries and as others have said that could be their season over.
In his post match interview, Alan said that Ince should be available for next week. Fleming should return, and Roberts should also be available. Sam Brooks was sinbinned and might have to miss a game, but I expect that would be after next weekend.
24 in the squad. Edge, Field and Reilly out, with the six injured from Sunday and possible three returning that makes 18 and only Murphy and Brooks as recognised props.
JJ has bruised ribs AND Dixon could have been full back and Owens his old spot at wing or centre with Ant Walker in the pack but they have gone to pastures new. Can't write this stuff can you🤔
JJ has bruised ribs AND Dixon could have been full back and Owens his old spot at wing or centre with Ant Walker in the pack but they have gone to pastures new. Can't write this stuff can you🤔
Dont worry we’re constantly looking to add and improve are squad!😬
Look we shot ourselves in the foot no doubt. About saving a few bob
need to win this week and get the show back on the road
doubt we have Reilly,langtree,gregson,Brooke’s ? Ince ? Edge ?kirk ?
back will be roberts and Fleming for sure - field ?
struggling for 17 here
onwards and upwards
Just before half time we were 12 nil up, they where down to 12 men and we had an overlap and for some reason we put a high kick up instead of running it. A score there and I don't see them coming back. A real scrappy game, stop start with the referee blowing a lot plus the injuries.
Not adding to the ongoing controversy but what was the ref’s performance like on Sunday? Saw the highlights and noticed it was that young lad (who I’m sorry I don’t rate from past games) but surely a wider question to all the HIA’s and potential targeting players injuries has something to do with the officiating? Anyone on report? Or was it usual missed foul play incidents and pedantic technical elements are pulled up? I thought the Brookes sin bin on highlights was soft and at best stretching it. Player welfare and all that???
I thought he was poor, he didn’t lose us the match, we did that with some daft mistakes. But he contributed to the loss, by letting foul/ head high tackles go unpunished. He only gave a few penalties all of the match, to either side, and I don’t remember him giving even one for a dangerous tackle, despite the number of players who got injured.
The touch judge also let himself be influenced by the Swinton assistant coach, who shouted to him by his first name and told him to caution Coleman for coming onto the pitch to talk to one of his players, which the touch judge went ahead and did what he was told, but then did exactly the same thing himself In the second half.
I realise there are a lack of officials at the moment, and were having to have young kids officiating, but it’s very worrying, as a lot of them aren’t up to it.