The Good
Salford were simply superb on Friday night, from minute one to minute 80. They suffocated Wakefield with their defence and bullied their opponents around the field with their hard-running and good attitude. Even the loss of Rob Lui to injury in the first half didn’t stop their momentum. It has been a trying season for the Red Devils so far, but they had plenty to smile about after this game. They didn’t have a bad player on the field and this victory, against a side pushing for a top four spot, will give them real confidence.
Hull FC’s season is starting to kick into gear and they move up to fourth on the ladder with a one-point win over Leeds. The Black & Whites started strongly and held off a Rhinos comeback to get the result. It was also a good round for Wigan, who easily accounted for Castleford 28-12. Joe Burgess had a field day at the DW Stadium, completely ruining his opposite number Jake Webster.
The Bad
Wakefield dished up a horror show at the AJ Bell Stadium. A week after they knocked off St Helens, they were shockingly bad against Salford. Trinity coach Chris Chester went as far as accusing his side of surrendering post-match, describing them as “abysmal”. It was stinging stuff from the coach, who even apologized to his club’s travelling fans: “We offered nothing. Too many guys that waved the white flag tonight. I’m really disappointed with the senior guys as well, I just thought we lacked any real leadership out there on the field. There’s no excuses for that abysmal performance.”
For two weeks in a row Leeds have lost games by one point. For two weeks in a row Richie Myler has had the chance for drop goals at the death but been unable to land one. In both games the lead-up work to get into the right position, and the taking of the attempt, was sloppy. Surely that is something the Rhinos and Myler need to work on during training? Surely its something that is easily rectifiable? They need to get it sorted because they no longer have Danny McGuire to save their bacon when the game’s in the balance.
The Ugly
Huddersfield are in one hell of a hole, but it remains to be seen if Simon Woolford is the man to pull them out. On Friday night they were hammered 66-4 in their ninth defeat of the season. Defence is about attitude and commitment, and to concede 62 points you have to have very little of those. Yes, the Giants have a horrible injury list right now, but they could still call on the likes of Jordan Rankin, Jordan Turner, Ollie Roberts, Ukuma Ta’ai and Ryan Hinchcliffe. That kind of defensive display is simply not good enough. If this keeps up then they will be playing in the Championship next year. Newcastle Knights assistant coach Woolford, expected to be named as the new Huddersfield coach very soon, has some job on his hands. The issues at the Giants go beyond just what’s happening on the field right now.
