Smith said in his press conference last night that Dec was dropped and the reason for his ommission was along the lines of 'he hasn't been good enough lately'.

Very disappointing that Smith has, for me, thrown one of our younger and more promising players under a bus yet is happy to keep on selecting the likes of Russell, Evans, Atkins, Brown etc. after recent performances.

I think that last night has made up my mind whether I'd like Smith replacing or not.

Thoughts?

Only time will tell with Dec whether he will be Top half or not but the one thing he has got his potential and a good mentally

For me Smith always picks the easy option to have a go at and never calls out his so called big players, what we have to realise is that young players coming in and out of the team are learning and are going to be inconsistent

I watched alot of Dec at academy level, he always had a swagger & was very creative,of the cuff, now it almost looks like that has been coached out of him, he looks very one dimensional

However you man manage him or anyone of the players you'd like to think TS knows best but for him to be so critical of one player in public & defend his so called Superstars doesn't make sense from the outside looking in

He is either playing mind games with Dec & hope he gets a response or once again is he looking for a new scapegoat now GOB has gone & Kev Penny isn't available for scapegoat duties at the minute

i think it might be time to change your forum name

He's getting the kevin penny treatment.

It appears the only reason Penny was brought back was so Smith had someone to throw under the bus.

The bus has gone over Penny so many times now that a fresh torso is needed.

Sorry gents, but Declan wasn't dropped because he is being made a scapegoat, or because TS is picking on him due to his youth, he was dropped because his performances have been average at best and frequently anonymous culminating in an abject Salford showing.

Yes he is not alone in his form and there is a case for dropping several players but we can't replace the whole team. I thought last nights team selection reeked of desperation and wasn't what I would have gone for but he got it right in dropping Patton.

I hope ALL our halfbacks spent the night watching George Williams - now there is a real class half back, never mind a young one. He scared the hell out of our defence and ripped us to shreds.

I'm sure I said in my OP that the reason he was dropped was because Smith had deemed his recent performances not good enough.

My argument is that more senior established players such as Atkins (actually he gets rewarded with a new deal), Russell who have been woeful this season get a free pass. You say that we cannot replace the full team but I think Penny would be a better option on the wing than Russell.

I'm not sure why you think he got it right in dropping Patton. We still looked absolutely clueless and devoid in attack.

All well and good but don't hang a kid low in confidence out to dry in a press conference and destroy that fragile confidence even more.

Why not say we wanted to try something different etc.

On that why not play Livett at centre, Gidley at 7 and Johnson FB. Also why leave one of the few bright sparks this season in Savelio on the bench

Granted, but Williams as the finished article is a pretty recent development. Blew hot and cold plenty when he was first given the number 6 shirt, but kept faith and now we're seeing the rewards.

is this not typical of us this its always the younger inexperienced players that are first to be dropped, emphasised by our own brevity that we would be favourites just because they had two wingers taht were inexperienced well the didn't quite plan out

Declan will have some off games but experiencing them kinds of games and being given the opportunity to bounce back from it is just as valuable experience as winning games. its also ironic that when fans favourites briers had a bad game he was playing behind a beaten pack well so has Declan.

Brown was thoroughly anonymous last night. Saw that all too frequently when he played for other sides. Always picks and chooses his games. Awful. Don't think Patton should've been singled out when there have been far worse showings from 1-13 in recent weeks.

cant fathom this selection out.drop a half back and replace him with a centre brilliant..from what ive seen of young declan this season he`s not done a lot wrong and being young he will make mistakes..just a shame he gets the chop and others dont..

The situation with Dec will be interesting when Brown & Gidley pick up injuries & the Messiah has to rely on the latest scapegoat.I hope Dec tells him to shove his redemption where the sun don't shine.

Looking from the outside what I find strange is Smith dropped Patton for a kid who is a centre. It's one thing to ask an experienced player to move out of position into the halves but to move a kid who has had only a handful of games is poor judgement imo.

On Thursdays performance, if anyone should me made a scapegoat it's Gidley who was truly awful.

Livett can play centre or SO, where he played the bulk of his U19 games. His (personal) preference is however BR. His kicking from hand is probably not as good as Patton, but otherwise you can certainly interchange the two players. And with Patton looking rather ordinary, atm why not.

Patton was excellent for you guys in the reserves game today, probably the only one who looked at all dangerous. Your #8 looked good, too, don't know his name, big guy with a ginger beard...?

Ed Sheeran?

Lee Mitchell ?

There is of course the other shoe that TS is trying to protect the young halfbacks confidence by not selecting him and letting him play in the U19 and as a poster already stated had a good game.

It's a lot easier for senior players to take the criticism that comes along with not winning than a young kid.

He's the same age as George Williams, give or take a few months, I think...George has over 60 games under his belt by now.

What is said behind closed doors could/should be different than what is said to the press and the baying fans. Dangerous precedent saying Patton was dropped for poor performances. If he doesn't do the same for more experienced players (who should be stepping up in times like this), it'll cause issues with the fans, but also the players.

End of day, Declan is playing in the senior side, so no bubble-wrapping should be happening. In Smith's ideal 13, he probably wouldn't start anyway.

Champion of young british half-backs, Garry Schofield slam Super League coaches for dropping Patton & Danny Richardson. www.totalrl.com/schofield-blasts ... halfbacks/

Champion of young british half-backs, Garry Schofield slam Super League coaches for dropping Patton & Danny Richardson. www.totalrl.com/schofield-blasts ... halfbacks/

Quote ="Smith's Brolly"Champion of young british half-backs, Garry Schofield slam Super League coaches for dropping Patton & Danny Richardson. www.totalrl.com/schofield-blasts ... halfbacks/'" Did Williams not have a spell out of the Wigan team during the early part of last season or was he just injured? Could've swore Wane left him out for a bit but could be wrong.

Quote ="Smith's Brolly"Champion of young british half-backs, Garry Schofield slam Super League coaches for dropping Patton & Danny Richardson. www.totalrl.com/schofield-blasts ... halfbacks/'" Did Williams not have a spell out of the Wigan team during the early part of last season or was he just injured? Could've swore Wane left him out for a bit but could be wrong.

He was injured.