First half was ordinary, I wonder whether it was complacency because we got 12-0 so quickly: was worried about the lack of size.....
Second half a lot better, more intensity in defence. An interesting, attacking style of Rugby is developing which is good to see.
Matty Smith was very good, Kenny needs to start at LF....
A dual-reg or two needed next week I feel, to beef up the pack.
Nice to see 3500+ home fans on an awful day too!
For what its worth I thought today we looked better than a long while with ball in hand . First 20 minutes and all the second half by far the better side . Batley scored two very soft try's , both of which came off the back of weak defence thru the middle.
Matty Smith is a class above at this level. Yes he may not be a SL starter anymore but some great passes today , the ball is put into the gap almost forcing the receiver to go thru it .
We still need 3 experienced forwards with size and aggression , get those in on Dual Reg or loan and we may shock a few this year. With the present squad we may just sneak into the play offs with a few additions we may upset a few.
The Vicar
The was times today when the game needed some to just take on the line and push us forward.
All in all a ok game and a second win keep it going
I didn’t catch the name of the ref, but thought he had a pretty balanced game. Anyone know who he was?
T Grant
Not a bad gate at all,3500+.Probably 4000 on a good day.
Firzt time that Baker has had a real run up the middle - looked good, as did Shane! Agreed that some 'clever' stuff didn't come off but on a better day maybe. Some good stuff early that went to our heads a bit.
Plenty of work to do, but early days yet. At least one big prop would help but Wire dont have any for their first team atm.
As has been said we persist with turning the ball inside to our smallish forwards who generally dont break the line. The only time it worked was when Baker went through on a good angle. Was hoping to see the ball go through the hands more, OK conditions were against free flowing rugby in second half. But we kept on feeding Wilde and Moran to little effect. It was still a decent effort in the conditions, as I feared the worst after Batley's 2 tries!
The was times today when the game needed some to just take on the line and push us forward.
All in all a ok game and a second win keep it going
Surely that was Shane Grady. He took the game by the scruff of the neck at a crucial point early in the second half and even scored one himself. Clear MOM today, best game he's had in a Widnes shirt.
I thought that Grady, Smith and Tomkins had very good games. Moran looked a bit out of his depth at prop and I'm still unsure of what Leuluai brings to the team.
I thought that Grady, Smith and Tomkins had very good games. Moran looked a bit out of his depth at prop and I’m still unsure of what Leuluai brings to the team.
Surprised about the criticism for Moran.
His first half stats of 11 carries and 21 tackles are more than good enough.
He obviously wasn’t brilliant, but he didn’t strike me as out of his depth.
Think he’ll prove to be a good addition for us
London will be the acid test, if we can hold our own against them then we will have made progress. Clearly they can concede as Whitehaven showed, but they still bounced back. That dreaded 1 point win in the playoff game still hurts!
Hopefully we will start to benefit from the links with Warrington!
I thought that Grady, Smith and Tomkins had very good games. Moran looked a bit out of his depth at prop and I’m still unsure of what Leuluai brings to the team.
Surprised about the criticism for Moran. His first half stats of 11 carries and 21 tackles are more than good enough. He obviously wasn’t brilliant, but he didn’t strike me as out of his depth. Think he’ll prove to be a good addition for us
Criticism, maybe more of an Observation...I hope you turn out to be correct!
To me, his carries didn't seem to make much ground.
Tim Sheens knows what he is doing so I'll back his judgement every time.
Oh, next week against London. I hope Craven recovers from his ankle and finger injuries. TM's post match chat indicates that he is having scans today.
Not the first time I've seen the first kick-off of the season go straight out!😣
Moran is an excellent defender, his tackle which led to the drop out which Grady then scored from pretty much sealed the win for us. His attack will improve with games, he's only a young lad and will only get better but he'll be a very good player for Widnes. To have a prop that can play the minutes he did yesterday is a major boost for us.
I thought that Grady, Smith and Tomkins had very good games. Moran looked a bit out of his depth at prop and I’m still unsure of what Leuluai brings to the team.
Surprised about the criticism for Moran.
His first half stats of 11 carries and 21 tackles are more than good enough.
He obviously wasn’t brilliant, but he didn’t strike me as out of his depth.
Think he’ll prove to be a good addition for us
11 carries, but how many metres?
Thought we've been fairly solid past two games. We lost our way strangely at 12-0 off the back of some poor Craven kicks. But apart from that blip, we did well.
Smith's kicking game excellent again, Tomkins tackles everything. Surprised Baker was on the bench, I'd be starting with him every game.