58 replies to this topic

[bigtony]

Most champ clubs cant afford to run a res team, in fact a lot are finding ittough to run a 1st team.As for players going to amateur clubs, i really dont think that would work as the gap between the 2 is to big and wouldnt really benefit the player concerned

[PeterAshton17]

Everyone is going on about where would Mort fit into the team but for me it's an easy decision.. Drop Dodd and put mort in! In my opinion his defence is shocking and he doesn't cause any threat going forward and don't get me started on his kicking...

[bigtony]

Just read your post again, i thought you meant players going playing for amateur clubs, note to self read post properly in future lol

[duffymoon]

Hopefully when we get to Agecroft a reserve/academy team should be next on the agenda.

[bigtony]

I kno at leigh when they had a res team it cost £50,000 a season to run, which is a lot of cash in this game

[PhillH]

Reportedly (League Express) Dave McConnell is the latest fringe player to look for a loan deal - in his case to move back to Rochdale.

Certainly if and when Agecroft happens, establishing a reserve side should be a priority. May as well get the facility used. Albeit development of young players has become exclusively the business of Super League clubs nowadays and therein we have one very big problem.

Perhaps clubs with no reserve side could take a leaf from Tony Smith's book this year with Warrington - some degree of player rotation. In Warrington's case this is a newly devised strategy aimed at getting key players to arrive at the play offs in peak form and fitness, particularly as they won the League Leaders Shield last season and now badly want that Grand Final win.

In the case of a Championship club with no reserve side, sharing out the game time a bit more would avoid the scenario of players having to come in totally cold and perhaps help retain players that will otherwise probably end up leaving. It cannot be easy to put in an honest shift every week at training knowing the chances of getting picked are slim to none.

The obvious downside for a side like the Lions is that the squad isn't currently strong enough to win games consistently with the full strength starting 17, and moreso with a few of the first choice 17 rested,

[bigtony]

And this is why i have a dislike with th dr system, its hard enough making sure all your squad gets game time you then have 4 dr players coming in every wkend.The rl brought in the dr system to help develope the sl players and move them on to an higher level than the u20s, my question is what about the development of the champ players who have to make way for them and its not even a level playing field as the champ players have to do a full time job as well and prob only train 3-4 hrs a wk whereas the sl player will be f/t. I wonder how many players have been lost to rl because of this system its all stacked in sl favour, and i know every club does this, im not just on about swinton

[Blue Monkey]

Hopefully when we get to Agecroft a reserve/academy team should be next on the agenda.

It's looking like "when" should be replaced with "if" by the way things seem to be going.
Has the project been hit by some sort of stumbling block or what? I've heard one or two unpleasant rumours on the subject recently. Somebody please tell me/us everything is tickettyboo.
WATCH THIS SPACE!

[duffymoon]

No news is good news as they say hopefully!

Edited by duffymoon, 12 June 2012 - 06:08 AM.

[greengrass]

lets get the ground sorted and then look at a academy side second, just a shame the lads who not playing are stood around waiting for there chance when they could be playing somewhere else whilst still registered with us i.e conference is a good level to keep your fitness up.

I must admit Duffymoon I am getting very worried now about the length of time we have not heard nothing about the ground and the more time passes the more I get worried. Might just be me but if there was some good news to share I think we would have heard about it now.

[wayne_r]

As I have said previously running a squad system is very hard to manage becasue the assumption is that competition for places will mean when a player has a drop in form he will be replaced with another player from the squad - so the problems are a) how many games before it is decided a player has had a loss in form and how many games does the replacement get to get match fit - it must be very difficult for any player in the squad who has not been playing in the team to simply turn out and preform well. So then squad players are released on loan and yes they get regular match practice but within a different team and coaching set up........so all in all its very difficult to manage a squad system ................in my humble opinion.

[greengrass]

I agree with everything you said thats why we need to be looking at someway getting a 2nd team set up not sure how but that is way we will get round that.

[PhillH]

The RFL ought to take a long hard look at what's happening below first team level outside Super League. Kill the roots and the flower eventually wilts.

There's a few good reasons to reconsider the best way forward. The RFL has just had its wrist slapped by Sport England and had its funding reduced due to participation levels being lower than expected. That ought to have been a wake-up call. Plus the switch of the amateur game to summer. And lastly Mr Lewis moving on.

For too long the RFL has been making false arguments that the sport is expanding in popularity, based on players whose main call is rugby union but have perhaps played league a couple of times in the summer conference - generally in "expansionist" areas.

Meanwhile in a lot of the more traditional areas the culture of playing RL is being lost.

A big part of this problem is the non-SL sides no longer developing players of their own. It needs serious redress. Perhaps I ought to write Mr Burnham a letter.

[bigtony]

The RFL ought to take a long hard look at what's happening below first team level outside Super League. Kill the roots and the flower eventually wilts.

There's a few good reasons to reconsider the best way forward. The RFL has just had its wrist slapped by Sport England and had its funding reduced due to participation levels being lower than expected. That ought to have been a wake-up call. Plus the switch of the amateur game to summer. And lastly Mr Lewis moving on.

For too long the RFL has been making false arguments that the sport is expanding in popularity, based on players whose main call is rugby union but have perhaps played league a couple of times in the summer conference - generally in "expansionist" areas.

Meanwhile in a lot of the more traditional areas the culture of playing RL is being lost.

A big part of this problem is the non-SL sides no longer developing players of their own. It needs serious redress. Perhaps I ought to write Mr Burnham a letter.

Couldnt agree more, think its about time champ and champ 1 clubs stopped acting like a door mat for sl and somehow set up a comp for them selves

[PhillH]

Couldnt agree more, think its about time champ and champ 1 clubs stopped acting like a door mat for sl and somehow set up a comp for them selves

If the part time teams were to establish a breakaway competition it would be tantamount to cutting off their nose to spite their face. With the current lack of promotion and relegation many people already perceive SL and the Championships as being seperate competitions and the impact has been negative enough. The gap between Super League and the rest needs to be narrowed, not widened.

[bigtony]

If the part time teams were to establish a breakaway competition it would be tantamount to cutting off their nose to spite their face. With the current lack of promotion and relegation many people already perceive SL and the Championships as being seperate competitions and the impact has been negative enough. The gap between Super League and the rest needs to be narrowed, not widened.

Its never going to happen in my opinion and how long do you give it before another club goes bust or theres even less people watching rl, its been tried in its present format and its not working, try something new

[greengrass]

I agree Phil but how can the gap be narrowed??? Super League look like they are distancing themselves more and more as each year passes.

[Mr Magoo]

It's a good job there is no relegation this year, because I don't think we would be stopping in the championship, not with tackling like that. I've seen better on Sunday morning watching the kids play!!!! why do we constantly go left and hardly ever use the right hand side even when we have men over??? I have to say it again we can't get away with it, in this league and we do need Mort back if he is fit..

Come on you Lions.

[marshy1]

Disagree there Magoo. Yes we were poor in tackles yesterday but we also wasn't a million miles away from winning either. Bear in mind we had a perfectly good try chalked off and missed 4 conversions which may have been kicked by Morty. I think we are a better team than both York and Hunslet who sit below us so our place wouldn't have been in danger. We all knew this season would be a learning curve and I for one am more than happy with the teams progression my only two disappointments being Leigh and Keighley second half where we never looked like winning.

[mark richardson]

Quite agree Alan,we are a very good team. I have been amazed at how well we have done this year despite not getting the results we deserved as I was expecting a season of drubbings. We have competed in almost every game and they have all been close. I had to dip out of travelling to York at the last minute but it sounds like we played poorly yet almost still won!
I honestly think if anyone had predicted a season like this we would have taken it. I think my expectations have been exceeded so all I can say is keep it up lads.