Lees out for while according to Woolf. Also Sione Mata'utia won't play this week
Lees out for while according to Woolf. Also Sione Mata'utia won't play this week
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
Lees is going to be big blow in the coming weeks, especially with Knowles still out too.
Wakey have two of their best out in Johnson and Tanginoa.
Shame for Lees. He has really knuckled down. Really liked his first spell the week before.
That said a great chance for Batchelor (who is a big unit) and Norman.
No offence but LMS and Amor are the masters of one more year.
They are great when you are 10 points up against a lower team but are not going to turn things around.
There is a role and a place for them this year but would like to see Batchelor and Norman given a run.
Be good to see Wingfield also. It will keep Knowlel and Bentley honest.
Please ignore above post. No idea how It happened
Amor made 134m and 48 tackles whilst LMS made 100m and 36 tackles against Leeds. They've both started the season well and deserve to play especially given Lees, Mata'utia and Knowles are all out from the pack so we'll be lacking a bit of 1st team experience.
I imagine Amor (replacing Lee's) and LMS (replacing Mata'utia) will both start and two of the forward bench spots will be taken up by Batchelor / Norman / Wingfield. I suppose it'll depend on if Woolf wants to play Batchelor in the front row or not.
Originally Posted by Despondent Dave
I’ve also commented on this previously, Amor looks the fittest I’ve seen him in a long while and has started really well.
LMS is still a really valuable member of the team and is putting in good performances at 35, I’d still give him another year.
I’m bit concerned that Norman hasn’t been included in any of the 21 man squads yet (apart from pre season), I don’t know how far off he is but if there’s a time to step up it’s now. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Wolf went with Batchelor and Wingfield though.
I know it was only a pre season game but up against a fairly full strength Leigh side Norman certainly didn’t look out of place. With both LMS and Amor off contract surely we need to know if Norman is capable of stepping up to the 4th prop slot for next year or we’ll have to look at signing one.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
At least with Amor/LMS we know exactly what we are getting and to be honest they are head and shoulders above all other 4th & 5th choice props in the league. They won’t be on a big chunk of money and they aren’t stopping us signing projects like Norman or hinder us as we’ve brought through Lees. On a year by year contract basis I’m happy to keep taking them on their merits, I’m sure Amor has said he wants to play another year anyway but they both seem fit enough so if their form is ok and we have the cap space it’s not a risk to keep them on. Suppose in the end it will depend on the development of Norman, Batchelor, Wingfield etc and whether we can retain Bentley, Knowles, Lees etc.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
I know this won't be a popular opinion on here but I don't get the love for Lees. I think he's average at best, gets dominated and pushed back almost every carry.
The love for Lees stems mostly from his potential and the way he puts himself about. Granted last season he wasn’t great but clearly hadn’t bounced back from that terrible injury. This season he looks bigger, stronger and more like the prop we hope he will grow into. Bearing in mind he’s still only 23 and props generally don’t come into their own till their mid to late 20’s the potential of this guy is awesome. In such a fast game having a prop with the engine of Lees alongside bigger ball carriers like Walmsley and Paasi is vital as well.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.