Must have been horrible in second half coming up hill in driving and freezing rain.
Toughed it out well.

To be fair we had the wind and driving rain behind us in the second half it could have been much worse if the elements were with the slope!

Well we've started the season with two games against club's who are expected to be in the mix at the top of this league , we've won them both and scored 62 points without really putting in a solid 80 minute performance .

We've produced some quality play , the left edge is pretty formidable with the middle unit not taking a step back and doing the hard yards very well we just need to tidy up on the errors and figure out getting that right edge to be a little more productive .

These are pretty decent problems to have and I feel we've the best of this season yet to come .

Agree with all of that. One thing I would add, whilst we need to tweek the right edge attacking wise, defensively it's the best side. Our left edge was our weak side defensively last night but Powell recognises that in his interview

On another horrible night on a soft pitch, we take the 2 points. Job done.
Roll on the warmer weather and flatter harder pitches.

The Championship isn't an easy comp, far from it. Just sk Fev how hard it is to gain promotion.

Right now, all we have to do is to stack up the "W's".

The pack went well and Jowitt and Walmsley were superb but, the break from Atoni, when we were under the cosh, seemed like the game changer. He was immense.

I reckon Vagana could be Something really special, for him to be so athletic that he can play back row and front row equally effectively is impressive.

I agree, he probably only needs about 2kg of muscle and he will be an absolute monster. He’s already strong and athletic so has the frame to add a bit of muscle too.

He’s certainly one for the future and if he trains his body the right way he could be a top SL forward in a short few years (hopefully with us).

I’m impressed by all forwards at trinity tbh.

Uele - is very active both on and off the ball and has a real engine on him. He’s technically very good too at getting quick plays. You can see why we’ ve scored a couple off back of his runs.

Atoni - as mentioned above is hitting his prime this next few years and it shows. His leg drive after contact is excellent and he looks a bit leaner and agile which has really helped. The determination when he ran and pinned his ears back in that second half to get us in front foot was brilliant.

Rodwell - early days but he looks like a very solid unit and very fit. Looking forward to seeing his style.

Bowden - started well and honestly is a solid allrounder.

As they play together more this forward pack could become something special I have no doubt. Certainly I think it could stand up well in SL or has the potential to do so.

Yes we had a couple of lapses in concentration yesterday but defence in the middle has been solid as a rock which bodes well.

Yesterday think we didn’t play particularly well but we won. There’s room for improvement in discipline ands ball control but if we get those right we could really hand out some pain to opposition.

The Atoni break was a game changer ,as was the long kick by Lino in the second half .Every player in the 17 gave 100%, but I do wounded if there is any way we could give Gale a rest say last 10 minutes of first half and a rest when / if game is won .Know if was a a bad pitch last night but may be getting pass playing full game

The only way to give Gale rest is to carry another half.
That would be a waste.

I think he's fine personally.

Well twice we’ve carried a back in bench unused and once a second row unused.

If we are going to continue to do that you could drop Lawford on for 20 either side of half time.

That said it’s unusual to do that as it could upset the dynamics of the spine unless trained and planned.

I expect Lawford will play against the likes of Whitehaven, Barrow, Swinton and he will get some games under his belt. His focus will be to improve over the season along with full time training. As the season goes on we could see more and more of Lawford. Gale I’m sure would want to see Lawford as a young understudy succeed.

I’m going to give a special mention to Renouf Atoni!
He took a lot of stick during the first half of last year but boy oh boy does he look a different player to then, even better than he was alongside Fifita. Not only has his workrate increased but so has his quality, he’s carrying the ball hard and takes a lot of stopping, getting quick play the balls which are leading to us looking very dangerous straight after he’s taken a carry. But he’s also doing a lot of running off the ball taking a defender away from the man receiving the ball.

Hes started the season really well

Can’t disagree with any of that. Sometimes it goes to show that not all players from overseas fire at their best straight away. Whitbread was the same, he was average for 6 months then found some form.

Very happy with Atoni and he’s clearly leading the pack from the start with Bowden.


Just on the above, Uele and Vagana (even Boothroyd) have all seamlessly fit in and seem to be improving. You can see how physically fit they are and I hope we maintain those levels of fitness because it is very useful having plenty left in the tank when under pressure late in second half.

Kudos to our conditioner and players for the shape they are in. I haven’t seen a single player blowing or on their haunches.

He's getting better and better with each game.
Strong, powerful and now confident too and just like Fifita, he looks to be enjoying himself..
Long may it continue.

Tries here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYjuEtl ... eldTrinity

Tries here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYjuEtl ... eldTrinity

Full game now on YouTube