New signings playing, coming off a massive and unexpected win, unfashionable team as opponents, lots of positive comments from players, minds on biggest derby for decades;  all of which in past seasons would have spelt  a recipe for an impending disaster, so for me most of all tonight its a big test of our attitude. big wide pitch and confident home team tough one this. We travel with hope rather than expectation!!!!

Also Carty said the clock in the ground wasn't working so no one knew how long was left. Plus made it hard for Subs as well. 

Cartwright is NRL standard and would be playing there if it wasn't for injuries. 

Not a Fash fan but he had a good half in the back row, him and Hardaker cut everything down on the right hand side. Also pleased Chamberlain, had a solid game and took his try brilliantly. 

Real scrapping performance and one that we only dreamed might become a reality pre season. It was all many of us wanted to see a team that wanted its as much as all the 2200 on the terraces wanted it! We  couldn't sustain going behind last season never mind re shuffling all one side after losing a half and a running second row, there were some real gritty performances out there and again in a different way to last week still a performance we should all be proud of. Our dancing owner makes me smile but how good it is to see a coach who is so switched on and focused and an owner who just loves to win as much as we do. Add to that Myler and his 'wisdom before his years' with regard to building the team and we are so well placed and so lucky to be where we are compared to last year. We could so easily have been another Salford. Enjoy the weekend!  

We know this current side lacks top quality across the park it always was  going to be difficult to suddenly turn the poor recruitment situation around overnight. 


What we do have though is some experience with quality in key areas mixed in with players who maybe ain’t world beaters but will put a shift in for the team. 


Fash for me has his faults and discipline the biggest of those but when he controls that he’s a useful player and does what is needed. Chamberlain again another who’s unspectacular but will do a job as proved last night even with a little then of pace to skin the defender.  


Add in the youth like Moy who is not quite ready but with Rapana/Hardaker and a coach in Cartwright I’m sure that will come as shown with Barron & Martin. 


Also thought for an old carthorse that can’t train according to some……. Wattsy put in a shift last night. 


What Cartwright has instilled in this 2025 squad in terms of steel, heart, grit and the never say die attitude is commendable. 


Whilst we rode our luck last night who can honestly say they’ d have expected us to be 3-1-1 in the league and knocked Wigan out the cup? We are still a way off being were we want to be but we are competitive and not the old soft towel throwers of the past half a dozen seasons. 


Think last night was about seeing how we handled getting up for that game after 2 titanic battles and think even though it wasn’t pretty the club answered that positively.