Any win on Thursday will lift us off the bottom of the table and the upwards climb can begin.

Lose on Thursday and the gap between us and the rest grows.

We need to build a three game winning run against Cas, HKR and Huddersfield to lift us away from the basement.

Then we can re-assess our expectations for the rest of the campaign.

I expect us to win this one but depends on injuries and suspensions.



I'd like to see some news on Crosby soon, because I think the front row needs someone to take the weight off Peteru and Oledski a bit. Singleton went OK last week, hopefully Holroyd will be about there if required too, but overall and with Cuthbo injured again we're looking light. That then sucks in Merrin, which unbalances the back row and causes other issues.



I guess the big selection question this week is about Tui. I think it was the right call for Furner to drop him, but if he isn't going to pick him again there's an obvious outcome to the situation. I thought Tui looked quite sharp against the top sides to be honest in attack, his passing game is good and his bombs are ridiculous - he certainly has a strong skillset. In a struggling side though he absolutely must sort his defence out because his team mates won't stand for a turnstile in the ranks, never mind the coach and fans.



Whether that is possible, we'll see - it will help for him to come in to a more structured and settled defensive pattern though, and especially Kallum sorting his D out from the first few games where I thought he was well off.



The biggest thing I'd like to see from this game is for us not to put the cue on the rack and relax once we've established a lead, give stupid penalties away and invite the opposition to begin a rousing comeback. No side in SL is going to roll over to have its tummy tickled, we really have got to stop switching off and undoing the hard work early on.

Where would you pick Lolohea though? Sutcliffe did ok at 6, and whilst he might not be the long-term solution he probably deserves to stay there for a few games. For now at least picking up points is all that matters.

I think Tui needs to force his way back in.



We do look very workmanlike with Sutcliffe in there and we lose the undoubted flair of Tui with his kicks and passing but I'm with you, lets grind it out for now, get some confidence back and push on, it gives Tui a bit of time to adapt and improve his woeful D.

I imagine the injury situation will dictate his inclusion - we're another couple of troops down potentially, I could see Sutcliffe being brought back into the pack although he's 10-20kgs off playing weight for a forward IMO.



I would like to see more of Tui in the first team to form a considered view but Furner has to go with whoever is providing Ws at the moment (and the foreseeable).

If that's the case you could play Lolohea alongside Sutcliffe and you get the defence of Sutcliffe and the creativity of Tui job done.

Spoke to Cuthbo last Friday he said he hoped to be fit for this game, if not this week then next week at the latest. Stevie Ward still had a leg brace on, so he is still some time away.

It's a difficult one. I would say our best performances of the season so far were WITH Lolohea in the side. But the crucial win has come without him.



I don't know, but I would imagine Furner has told Tui where he wants him to improve, and they'll be monitoring that/practising it in training until he's happy or injuries change the decision.



Maybe he's been made a bit of a scapegoat because Leeds couldn't drop the incumbent captain or either Marquee signing for errors / form. He's certainly not the only player who's been rocks and diamonds this season; however I do think he deserved dropping for his consistent defensive misses.



If that is down to attitude and/or individual technique, we're stuffed and Tui will be on his way because you can't fix it in a mature player IMO. If it's something made worse by unfamiliarity with team-mates and systems, that's worth more patience. I think Tui's pace and mobility is an issue either way, because he has to be able to get into position and then get up and across in D. Again, conditioning is to some extent fixable, but why on Earth an early 20s professional rugby league back would be a stone over their playing weight boggles my mind. Their job is to be as physically fit as possible - and that's where my sympathy for the player wanes a bit.

Good news. There's no point rushing any players though, I'd rather we weren't grinding them into the ground so we're totally knackered by the final quarter of the season, where we will still need points I'm sure.

Myler played pretty well last time out though as well, kicking aside. We might see a Lolohea/Sutcliffe combo at some point this season though.



McLelland was a bit off this weekend for the 19s I thought, not sure he's fully recovered from his injury from what I saw.

Richie Myler gets a one match ban so misses Thursdays game.

Hopefully Tui steps back into side in a bit better shape he's had nearly 3 week to work on fitness etc so hopefully he steps in for Myler and we might see him at his best.