Surprisingly I found the match really enjoyable and it has left me in a positive mood for the season. I thought Golding, Handley, Mulhern and Minchella all looked very good for youngsters.

I also thought Yates and Singleton did a decent job. Cuthbertson looked like he offloading game that I hope isn't coached out of him but we rather utilise to help the team. Also credit to Stevie Ward he looks like he has bulked up and I hope his shoulders last a season as he can be a great asset for the squad.

I also thought the halves looked good together they surprisingly both played well and the kicking game was impressive in particular Mcguire.

The only thing I thought was obviously an issue was the right hand side defence(Duckworth and Keinhorst) as it seemed that was where the tries were coming from but I do not expect either to play many games.

With the lads at Featherstone as well we do have some decent players coming through although alot do seem to be backs!!!

It will be interesting to see how it goes this season

I enjoyed the game too. From what I saw of it anyway. Apologies to anyone who passed the queue for the coffee stand at H/T where my poorly 2 year old was testing his lungs. As previously said, Cuthbertson looks to have a good offload. Hopefully the shoulder injury is nothing serious, as we've lost overseas players to injury on Boxing Day before. He could be a big player for us if we can get him match fit. I've a sneaky feeling he could be a Feastwood mark 2. I'm far from convinced about Keinhorst, but Briscoe looks a good option at centre, and I feel better about losing BJB after seeing Ash Handley today. He's got a great step. Singleton looked sharper. Sutcliffe has practised his kicking too. I don't expect to beat the big teams based on our defence, but it certainly looks like we'll have some exciting games ahead.

Yeah it what people who have actually played sports refer to them as......no surprise it's confused you.

Some promising performances.



Handley took his tries really well, and surprised at how comfortable Briscoe looked at left centre. Always useful to know he has that level of performance in his locker.



Golding looked assured under the high ball and elusive in attack. Needs to do some work on his passing though, butchered one chance and almost cost Minchella his try with a poor pass.



Mulhern, Yates and Cuthbertson all showed good leg drive in the collision and some good footwork at the line. Mulhern also put a couple of lovely hits on in his spell on the field.



Sutcliffe & McGuire went well as a combination. The responsibility of the captaincy and being senior pro seemed to bring the best out of McGuire, who looked genuinely sharp and fresh.



Negatives? Aiton. Terrible out of dummy half, ponderous and gave some shocking hospital passes to runners. Not sure whether the whole ASADA thing is on his mind, but based on that performance I'd have both Burrow and Ward ahead of him.



Duckworth had an absolute mare in the first half. Better in the second, but there are still too many errors in his game for him to make it at this level IMO.



All in all, a pretty entertaining bit of festive fun. Judging by the crowd (biggest since 2009 and on a day when Leeds Utd were at home), the much talked about decline in interest in the Boxing Day game might not be as bad as feared.

Agree with the above. Not sure when Aiton got back from PNG, so maybe a bit of jetlag and cold weather. Thought Singleton looked better in his second spell, but Yates and Mulhern added a good bit of lift when they came on. Didn't think Kylie did much wrong, but looked to have a calf injury as he had the physio doing a lot of work to it.



My negative was the use of props at LF again and then putting JJB at prop while a prop stayed at LF. Also thought the score would of been closer if wakey continued attacking our right side. Duckworth's defensive positioning was terrible at times, but they also came through Keinhorst and Ward. It's a bit of a worry if Keinhorst is our back up centre.



Also will this actually count as a Friendly? The Ref and siren went by the scoreboard clock, which was never stopped, as there wasn't a timekeeper. Pretty sure when the game was stopped for their prop getting knocked out by Mulhern the clock kept going.

Jimbo re-The Clock it was announced pre-game the score-board timer wouldn't be stopped but i did see Thaler indicate for time to be stopped on a few occasions whether it did or not is another question.

Plenty of positives to take forward not least the young lads who put their hands up and staked a genuine claim for a squad place.

Cuthbertson looked very good i also noted he was talking to the young lads on a regular basis a calming influence from an obvious leader imo.

Obviously the defence has to be worked on especially the right edge but stick Delaney Watkins and Briscoe there it looks stronger immediately.

If Mulhern and Yates can reproduce their efforts consistently and improve then we have got 2 very decent prospects ,Kylie is exactly what we know he is an old war horse on his last knockings imo.

Some good hits ,cracking trys and an entertaining game overall one final point did anyone else cringe when the stadium announcer described Kirke as a Legend??

What do you mean? He is a legend......







.......in his own eyes

Having heard him speak and read his interviews, I'm pretty sure he's the exact opposite.



Always comes across as a humble bloke. Now Bailey on the other hand, who couldn't even be bothered to turn up and say goodbye to the fans, who backed him even when he was in jail...

Yeah but it seemed to carry on and Thaler just went with what was on the scoreboard. Not fussed to be honest, but hopefully we can afford a time keeper next year



I was sat with some Wakey friends and they were slightly underwhelmed by Kirke.

That's my impression too having spoken to him a few times and from what other people and players have said. One of the least egotistical and as you say very humble.



It's just a shame that he's got a bit of CFS (Chris Feather Syndrome). Because when he decided to run it in hard he was a good player.

My abiding memory of bailey is a young fan running up to him with a programme and pen, bailey swatting programme away and carried on walking, and then JJB (pretty sure it was JJB) following behind signing the programme and giving the upset looking kid a Bennie hat.

Sounds about right.



He's from a family that have got their own way through intimidation. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.