Start with this. Ben was pretty decent last week and topped RL supporters poll for best referee with a score of 36.10%.

This one came bottom with a score of 6.43%


Wakefield Trinity v Wigan Warriors

07th July, KO: 19:45

M Com: R. Safi
Referee: M. Griffiths
Reserve Referee: B. Brocklehurst
Touch Judge 1: T. Grant
Touch Judge 2: A. Smith
In Goal: K. Moore
In Goal 2: D. Bowmer
Time Keeper: D. Milburn

1. Jowitt
2. Lineham
3. Lyne
4. Croft
5. Kershaw
6. Dagger
7. Kay
8. Bowden
9. Hood
10. Atoni
11. Ashurst
12. Pitts
13. Langi
14. Fifita
15. Windrow
16. Bowes
17. A N Other

Have we got a trialist playing?

Maybe the rumour re Gale was correct or, we're saving him for Huddersfield ?

Why aren't Smith or Lino in if Gale's out?

Smith, out for the season apparently.
Lino, still injured, possibly a couple more weeks away from a return.

Rumour is Smith is out for season and Lino unavailable.

21 man squad for Friday https://twitter.com/WTrinityRL/status/1 ... 20/photo/1

21 man squad for Friday https://twitter.com/WTrinityRL/status/1 ... 20/photo/1

Full injury update on website. Smith out for a while, Lino possibly back next week.

To be honest, we were going to struggle against Wigan even if Gale was fit. Better to have Lino and Gale if a miracle happens for the Huddersfield and Cas games.

I tend to agree, Wigan are just about full strength. We have won two games, but let's be realistic I think this one is beyond our capabilities. Let's hope we come out with no injuries or suspensions and have a good dig at shudds next week. However when we are on the shudds topic, what betting they roll out their pet ref Mr Kendal, just to give them a little bit of insurance

We are nowhere near full strenght, but you are correct. We should have too much for you without Gale but i have lost count the number of times we have gone to Belle Vue and got a stonking when we have been expecting a win. We are riding a bit of a crest at the minute though and i am looking forward to it.

I guess the Prince doesn't see us as a WE.

Just hope a few more fans turn up to get behind the team than of late, always go to every game expecting a win and I’m no different this time .Always enjoyed the bigger teams coming to Belle Vue with the hope of turning them over and also to watch their players ,for as much as you hate them on the night you have to admire their skills ,and hope one day soon ,that our club can attract these types of players instead of being over looked for the glamour clubs . Fair way to go I’d say on that one ,but looking forwards very much to what the next few years brings under our new owner , and how much he wants the club to succeed , you’ve to look no further from Leigh to see it can be done

Using Leigh as a fine example of how it can be done is short sighted to say the least. All their spending goes into their first team. They have a reserve team that hasn't fulfilled a fixture this season, no academy, no ladies team and no pdrl team. Salford are another side were all the funding is spent solely on the first team. If every team in the competition operated like this rugby league will cease to exist in the iong term.

I hope that we go with Kay/Dagger in the halves but, I suspect that it may be Langi and Dagger ?

Hope not tbh. Langi didn’t work at 6. Dagger is a good 6 so I wouldn’t change that. We just need a pair of hands to play in their dinner jacket at 7.

I would be fine with Kay (Whitbread/Battye and or Proctor can share 13)

We can and should keep as much as possible the same after that performance and hope to continue on.

One of my absolute pet hates is moving 3/4 players to accommodate 1 injury. Just swap one in and keep continuity after a strong performance. In the past because we have a 7 out we’d have moved Jowitt to 6, Dagger to 7, Butterworth to 1 and swapped 3 positions…. Just put a 7 in and give him a simple game plan.

Jowitt
Lineham
Lyne
Croft
Kershaw
Kay/Butterworth
Dagger
Whitbread
Hood
Bowden
Ashurst
Pitts
Battye

Bowes
Fifita
Atoni
Proctor

The only challenge is we absolutely need to be prepared in our kicking game. Can’t kick to French and Field unless it’s under pressure on their line.

Do we kick to touch if far out to avoid broken field opportunities for Wigan. Then send up high balls within the 20 putting pressure on the edges. Needs to be well thought out. The player at 7 needs to be able to command outside runners like Gale was and release the ball to create that space and overlap like last week.

The fact is 15/17 of the team above put in that cracking performance vs Salford. If they can do the same on tomorrow then you never know.

I’m still feeling a hint of positivity for tomorrow. If they can win it put us right up the backside of team above with an out of form Hudds to play. If we find the game slipping then I hope they keep pushing as points difference is massive.

If Cas get beat by Leigh well then any points that closes a points difference gap could be the difference by end of season.

It looks a very strong Wigan team with pretty much their full 1-17 squad numbers available.

To go into this game with no recognised halfbacks puts us in a big hole unfortunately. I cant see us getting anything from this one, but hopefully show some good spirit and put up a fight.

Only chance i see us having is if we can get the big forwards rolling down the middle, and put Wigan on the back foot.

The forwards will be massively important in this game for certain. It won’t be east to roll Wigan down the middle but if they do get us on the front foot then they can be the catalyst for a good performance.

Agree they are just cuckoo clubs ,just want to take the easy way out , .with no hard work .Can not believe the IMG are letting clubs get away with it. Still think the IMG thing is a big whitewash to get teams out of S L they do not want in. And the more I read about them you can see it is not going to do S L any good .Think it will mean that a lot of Clubs will not be able to be in S L because of the cost

To be fair to Leigh they made a short term decision to not run these teams but have and are now trying to re-introduce them I believe.

Running a "full set of sides" should be a pre requisite to being part of SL, maybe with 12 months grace for any promoted side.

Leigh DO NOT have a reserve team. They were erroneously entered in that set-up by people with IQs only slightly higher than yours. Leigh’s lack of reserve team has an impeccable record of fixture fulfillment.




Leigh had plans for a first class academy only for it to be kiboshed by the powers that shouldn’t be, for fear it would detract from the academies of, yeeesss, Wigan & Saints. But do go on…



Leigh Leopards’ ladies team presently sit three points clear at the top of Women’s Super League Group 2 and have played one of their four matches to date this season at LSV.




Leigh fans regularly see cross-field matches between Learning Difficulties teams during half time. Bongser feels it is only a matter of time before we have a wheelchair team.

Sorry No Brain, No Gain; if tha know’st neauwt, post neauwt.

I never mentioned anything about dropping any of the teams that run out of our club. It cost this club approx £300,000 a year according to MC to run the other teams at our club . I’d like to think that this new owner can cover these cost in the short term and still have a competitive team when and if we come back up into super league. Because without it we will forever be courting disaster and losing out on those quality players who will favour safer clubs to ply their trade , which will always have a knock on effect on our fan base as is seen at present, with less that 4000 fans included a decent contingent from Salford to our last home game , which if I’m honest is pathetic to say the club is battling relegation and needs their fans in its hr if need . The only way to build this club up is to have a terrific team running out at Belle Vue , anything less and fans will continue to drift away from our game , as is happening at our club now .