By my reckoning you will do Leeds and will be all over the forums crowing how good you are

It would be sod's law but I really can't see it. Leeds look stronger then ever IMO and morale around the club seems at a chronic low, weaker days await.

It was very poor. What do we do in training, There seem to be no plan, no moves and no go forward at all. Some of the players we have are just overpaid and not good enough.

Everytime i watch mcgoldrick, he makes my blood boil. I honestly can't see what good he is for the team. He can't defend, can't catch, knocks on alot and Usually gives silly passes away. Wainwright did get one try but wants shooting for missing one earlier. Hudson looks very unfit and Clayton and Jackson couldn't bust a paper bag.

I Think we need some fresh Faces on the field to give the others a kick up the backside. What is the point of having 3 kids on the bench and one got 2 mins, another lad got 8 mins and the other lad didnt get on. After all its a friendly so why not see what the young lads can do.

Thing is CT it wasn't the same team as last week.
Last night we had chase/sherwin/owen/westerman/ferres none of these played last week. So imo that makes it evenmore worrying.

A couple of queries from last night...

1) Did Richard Wright do last nights team talk??

2) Is McGoldric and Clayton, Mattersons love childs??

WHY WHY WHY WHY PLAY =#0040FF<language removed> GOLDY AT FULL BACK



Just about everybody is saying owen will be wearing the england number 1 shirt but matterson plays him on the wing!!!!!!!



Phil Clarke's one to watch - Richard Owen
My really big tip for 2010. If you could buy shares in him I'd get as many as I could. He's still only 19 but has played over 60 first team games and was moved into the full-back position mid-way through 2009.

He has the important attribute of a modern sportsman - speed. If my feelings are right, he'll be wearing the number one for England in the Four Nations Down Under in November.

=#0040FF[url=http://viewtopic.php?f=16&t=116171&start=08. If you feel it necessary to attempt to evade the swear filter, then it is necessary to reword your post. Children do use this forum and the level of profanity must be kept to a minimum.[/url - Bonzo

The biggest positive I could see is that we're much better conditioned than we were this time last year which may (and I emphasise 'may') help us to hit the ground running - we don't exactly have an easy start.

Other than that I was disappointed with our performance. We let in some soft tries through sloppy defence and looked clueless in attack, which actually doesn't sound a lot different to last season. There don't seem to have been any improvements in discipline either which is a lesson we should've learned from last year.

The team selection was slightly confusing too. Our defence is much more organised with Richard Owen at fullback because McGoldrick simply doesn't ensure the gaps in the line are covered when he's there; plus Owen's a better tackler and is wasted out on the wing.

I still think we should go quite well this season, and the warm weather and away pitches will help us. I think we may struggle at home thought - our pack doesn't seem able to boss the game enough for us to dominate on the small pitch.

I couldnt make last night but the posts make worrying reading.

Why Matterson persists with Mcgoldrick at full back is beyond me. If Mcgoldrick was young & english would he still be getting
all these opportunities?.

We seem to be making the same plays in attack as last year,i cant work out if the players are ignoring the coach's game plans or T.M is keeping it basic because of the limitations of the players.

The conditioner at the club needs a boot up the backside.

By the posts about last night we still look short of fitness,and some still sound out of shape. Is the conditioner qualified?
If he is and knows his stuff are the players listening to him?.

I mean you could by a mens health magazine from a newsagent and it has advice on bulking up,losing fat and good diet!!!

Most of last nights team are only just back from operations so have not been training fully with the conditioner.

Poor performance last night. Huddersfield beat Cas in every department. Their forwards made more yards, they were a heck of a lot quicker around the ruck, and Robinson ran the show for them.

But was one game and it was a pre-season game. The postive out of the game was that the club now know exactly where they are at and that a lot of hard work is required.

I think showing for the heads of Matterson and McGoldrick is a little early.

It seems to happen every year though, regardless of our performances; and always by people who can't answer the question "So who would you realistically replace them with then?"

=#8000FFThornton & Owen both FAR better then Matterson & McGoldrick.

Yeah, but two weeks before the season even starts? Is this some sort of record?


As a sidenote, from 25 years in journalism I know that purple ink is a big sign that says "IGNORE THIS CORRESPONDENCE. IT'S FROM A LOON"

Are you really comparing someone who's been our coach for over 4 years (with relative success when put in perspective) and spent pretty much his entire career at the top level of the game; with someone who has no experience coaching in the top-flight?


Interesting fact.

I have no problems with Matterson and i believe he is a good coach, who as done alot of good for the club.

My problem is Ryan McGoldric keeping Owen out of full back, whenever Ryan was on the pitch last night (around 70mins) he was full back and Owen on the wing/bench.

I believe that Owen is alot better full back, and doesnt give away alot of daft penalties like McGoldric (like last night at Hodgson conversion attempt). Surely we have to look at the bigger picture here and see Owens are number one full back and put McGoldric maybe on the bench for the Leeds game.

I think you're pretty much preaching to the converted there and you're absolutely right in what you say IMO. There only seems to be one person who thinks playing McGoldrick at full-back is the way forward, and that's the one bloke who picks the team.

=#BF00FFHave you got my onions rings?

That looks pink to me! What does that mean?

Have you lost these?

Was working last night so couldnt go, but not filled with confidence with the comments. a cricket score against the whinos is not an option and shouldnt be accepted, our defence should have stepped up since its been the weak point for too long no excuses will do, a good performance is needed to kick off the season.

I attended last nights game as a neutral and these are my thoughts I'm sure you'll appreciate them.

Huddersfield's cynical game slowing tactics were in evidence yet again. You have to credit Nathen Brown, his players manage to slow the play the ball down with accurate expertise. Teams are going to have to learn to emulate their style off defensive play if they want to compete. Its looks like the refs are going to tolerate it so why not try and play in that style! Does Matterson have the foresight to adopt such tactics? I personally have my doubts.

Now Cas looked very poor, I had to laugh when I saw Mcgoldrick at Full back, why him instead of Owen? All I know is Mcgoldrick is sat on a nice juicy 4 year deal all he has to do is tread water till the last year of his deal, maybe then you'll get something out of him then. You should have let him go to Wigan when you had the chance. Wainwright, Clayton and Higgins are not SL standard. From a neutral perspective I would describe it as woeful !

Goldy was never going to the goons, it was aload of =#0000FFrubbish, as for the game what posatives did you see in the cas attack / defense, do go into detail, it will be nice to hear constructive thoughts

=#0000FFEdited for profanity. [url=http://viewtopic.php?f=16&t=116171&start=08. If you feel it necessary to attempt to evade the swear filter, then it is necessary to reword your post. Children do use this forum and the level of profanity must be kept to a minimum.[/url - Bonzo

Cynical! You must be joking. A very fit and well coached defence where 3 players make tackles and seek to dominate the player in possession. If you want 7's or tag rugby go elsewhere. The refs do not 'tolerate' anything. They do understand the rules.

Did you not see anything else with the Giants? The improved fitness - such as D Griffin - for a team that were not too shabby in 09. The improved transition work. There were many variations in attacking options including much more strike in the back row.

For Cas notwithstanding the failure to play owen at fb there appeared to be some indecisiveness around the hookers/halves and poor conditioning. The fitness issue is a surprise as everybody seems to see it bar TM.

Good luck for 2010 on and off the field.