On the night I was pretty livid with how Burgess had performed but looking back again, it was a mixed bag and there were some signs that he could get back to a really high level if we can get his confidence going again. He certainly looks to have found half a yard again going off his try. I’d probably give him his last chance before bringing Manfredi in at Huddersfield if Burgess doesn’t cut out the basic errors.
I’d go-
French
Marshall Hardaker Bibby Burgess
Leuluai Hastings
Bullock Powell Flower
Isa Farrell Partington
Subs
Clark Burgess Greenwood Smithies
I’ve been impressed with Harry Smith but his defence would be a worry against a powerful Hull pack. He missed 9 tackles on Thursday looking at the stats. It didn’t really feel like that at the game but throwing people like Ma’u, Sao, Jones, Griffin etc at him might not end well at the minute whilst he’s adjusting to first team rugby.
Other than that I’d want a big pack and a big bench. I’d go with Partington at 13 to add the aggression from the start. He’s got a good pair of hands on him and I actually think he’d make a better 13 then he does prop at the moment.
