I think, like us yesterday, they looked very sharp for the majority of the match. They will be hard to beat but i think if we defend like we did in the first half yesterday we can win by a comfortable margin. Langley has dislocated his shoulder for them so will be out, hopefully we'll have Roberts & Fielden back but Deacon's possibly out which is a massive blow for us IMO. I'd drop Prescott for Fielden;

Amos
Goulding
Gleeson
Carmont
Charnley
Sam
Leuluai
Lima
McIlorum
Coley
Hoffman
Farrell
O'Loughlin

Joel
Mossop
Fielden
HH

Awesome bench, if we cut out the stupid penaltys I cant see past us winning.

If Fielden is fit then he needs to start IMO. Lima would be better used as an impact sub off the bench. Joel needs to get a rocket in training this week but dropping him so early seems a bit harsh. I wouldn't be surpised if Madge did it though. A lot depends on Deacs being fit.. If he is then our back line looks a lot more stable

That's the exact side I'd go with, however like the above I'd start Fielden and bench Lima.

Reason I've put Fielden on the bench is because he's not done any pre season games, and coming back off an operation, need to ease him back into the side.

Bradford looked really good, alot better than last year. It can be hard bringing in so many new players and getting them to gel as Salford found out today.

Any news on Deacon???

Bradford were really strong when using short kicks behind towards the in goal. Those kicks are very hard to defend and whoever plays at fullback for us will need to be very alert and stay out of the defensive line.

I would hope that Maguire saw how effective those kicks were for Bradford and starts drilling it into the players to try short kicks in goal rather than kicking cross field every time. We waste so much potential possession that way even though in Leuluai and O'Loughlin we have two of the best short range kickers we could hope for. Kicking towards Goulding yesterday was absolutely pointless.

I think if Ah Van plays on the wing then it would be wise to have Roberts or Charnley up against him, as he's not the quickest and I reckon he'd be very slow trying to turn and chase a kick behind him.

Briggs will be dangerous because his kicking game is very effective. If we allow him to kick on the front foot too often we'll struggle to prevent them from gaining good field position. We also need to improve our kicking game a lot. Leuluai just doesn't seem good enough to kick in field. Hopefully Deacon will be fine next week and he can take over the kicking. If not then Tomkins has to move into the halves, otherwise Sam Powell deserves a chance. A top side needs far better kicking and creativity than what Leuluai offered yesterday.

Have to say, thank you for actually watching the game with an unbiased view.

In all honesty, I'd be surprised if we take the points off you as I'd say you're a much more settled side than we are.
If we do beat you on Sunday, I'd say it has more to do with your guys having an eye on the WCC rather than our overall ability. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think Bradford will win more than they lose this year. But our side is still gelling together and as shown today against Leeds, we don't yet know how to kill off a game.

But I think we'll push you close.

If you play like that every week you'll easily finish in the top 6 IMO.

Tricky game ahead!
Lose next week and to St George and we are in a hole!

In a hole?

Come on lets get serious(apologies if you were saying it tounge in cheek). We're defending champions with a top class squad and a top class coaching set up. We have a chairman that has done an unbelievable job and we get the biggest crowds in superleague.

If we lose next week and against St George i'll be disappointed(and suprised) but we'll be far from in a hole. We'll still be in great shape to make a long term challenge on all fronts.

As for the Bradford game we should be ok. They'll be gutted after that Leeds defeat and aslong as we control the ball and our discipline we should have too much.

Agreed. Compared to 2006 when we won two league games in sixteen it would be a mere crack.

Should be a good crowd on Sunday if the weather is kind to us