A LONG ball from Michael Monaghan created more than enough space for Bridge to send Joel Monaghan over in the corner for the first try of the match, but that proved to be a most deceptive false dawn.

Lots of the current players have been excellent in supporting roles over the last couple of years or so, but for the team to be successful at least some of them need to step into the spotlight and make the transition to playing a starring role.

In attack there was a lack of direction and cohesion, somebody needs to be taking responsibility for the direction the team is taking.

There’s not enough time between matches for a team meeting to come to a consensus on the best course of action to take, and it is arguable that most players don’t even want to be involved in the decision-making process anyway.

Most just want to know the plan.

Whether the decision is the right or wrong one, we will not know for some time, but it needs to be made so that the whole team have something to stick to.

The defence didn’t look bad, but it certainly didn’t look convincing or dominant either.

Most worryingly the side’s spirit seemed a little disjointed, with some players keen to congratulate and support each other after something good or bad, but others didn’t come across as being so keen to do so.

No point in sugar-coating the kicking game, it was awful, but the chases being nearly as bad was more concerning.

Over the last year or so we’ve lost some of the off-the-cuff magic that briefly became our trademark, becoming merely one of the top sides that all look alike, rather than having our own distinct identity.

I would like to see a return to that more entertaining style.

The second try was a glimpse of the potential for extravagant brilliance, Gareth O’Brien did amazingly well to gather up the ball after his own towering bomb had come back off the post, then fling out the perfect pass to Monaghan for his second try.

The fixture list has given Wire about as tough an opening seven games as possible, so it might be a case of having to remain patient as Tony Smith switches the players around until all the pieces are in the right place and jigsaw shows a picture of Wire with the Grand Final trophy.