77 replies to this topic

[morty]

In Nickos defence I think opposing teams knew he was the winger with pace to burn and marked him out of the game

[RAIDERSRUS]

He was at his most lethal when he had Harrison and Ostler inside him, 2 players who would go to the line and pass, that left edge of Barrows was devastating. In my opinion Barrow don't have a centre / second row pairing like this now which mean players like Nixon won't see as much of the ball. I thinks it a real shame as Nicko in full flight was brilliant to watch, his try against Wigan in 2009 is still my favourite try.

[morty]

agree re centres mate.................... looks like a weak point for me this term

[HP Beans]

agree re centres mate.................... looks like a weak point for me this term

Very sad news,he is one of the current squad to have actually competed at Championship level unlike many of the others in our current team!
How anybody can slate him is beyond me?
For what it's worth I think our pack is much too small this season and we will struggle,I just hope to be proved wrong?

[barrowraiderskid]

He didn't get enough ball last season that was obvious, but I must admit it seems like he's lost a yard of pace. I remember a try against Leigh I think it was from the base of a scrum we kicked it from our own 30 and Nixon out paced everyone too score. Obviously we don't have anyone with the kicking abilities of Rooneys in 2009 but I still wouldn't be confident if we tried the same move again for some reason.

The big loss for Nixon was obviously losing Harrison in the centres. He attracted the attention of the defenders every time he got the ball and more often than not passed it, even when he was being tackled. I dont think we had an overlap more than 3 times on the left hand side last year for Nixon too run into.

Our left side play last year was usually Kaighan gets the ball gives it too Campbell who had Toal on his inside Harrison coming for the short ball and then Ballard coming round the back. I'd say 3/4 times that play resulted in a Harrison short ball or a Campbell dummy. Not saying it wasn't affective as it clearly was look at Toals Harrisons and Campbells try scoring records last year but Nixon was never involved in this play and a lot of the time where we didn't score Nixon had an overlap but we chose the wrong option.

Its a shame he's gone but he didn't get enough service but also he didn't look the player from 09 after injury. Oracles comments are far too harsh and uncalled for IMO.

[shun]

He has resigned. Apparently he said that he cant get a pass during training, let alone in a match.
its a shame because i believe that he was due a testimonial this year.

i dont know the player or any of the team personally, but why when this is a pro team can a player not get a pass of the ball even in training???? is the player disliked? seen as this is a newish squad and nixon has been there years i cant see how he would make enemy's so soon, IF that is the problem. usualy when a player doesnt receive a pass is when they are disliked, but that seems abit year 9ish to me.

[topchef]

One thing, we've got a high class left wing (Nicko), we've got probably the best left sided second row outside Soopa League (Bull), we also have a pretty good left centre (Twiggy).

When we was riding highin 2009 as RAIDERSRUS has said we had Os, Ned, Bull and Nicko doing the left side stuff, The statoes out there will be able to tell us how many tries that group alone yealded.

How hard is it to work it out that this is one area where we need to do work on the training paddock to bring big results.

Bull was part of that group, he is now the gaffer on the field so I find it hard to understand why we can't resurrect that kind of move again. I know we haven't got Rooney at 6 anymore but we aren't bereft of talent in the halves.

[Shipbuilder]

Terrible loss for the team, we've got a lot of good hard working players who will not let us down but real pace is something else.

His tries from Rooney's kicks from the scrum a couple of seasons ago showed us what he can do.

If he's fed up with getting no passes im a match that;s unfortunate but if he doesn't get passes in training then Holty has a bigger problem

[D11]

It will be interesting to find out what the clubs aims are for this season, I cannot see us getting high up in the table with the team in championship next to the other clubs that are already established in this league but poor results will loose the finiky supporters and may cause relegation

not an easy year

Edited by D11, 23 January 2013 - 08:15 AM.

[morty]

_{thats my main fear as well Neil......fickle supporters deserting if we lose 3 or 4 on the bounce}

[D11]

Money will be required for floodlights and any increase with traveling players to remain in championship and the team must not end up bottom of the table, so aiming for Gold will be suicidle on the financial aspect. My fear would be not just overspending on players but streching the budget beyond what the club can aford. The buisness plan I developed always showed a tight year in 2012 and 2013 and there would be less avenues if another financial crisis hit the club.

[livo]

Do we not get any kind of subsidies of the RL for travelling players because we are so far out.

'It will be interesting to find out what the clubs aims are for this season', I suppose the question will be asked at the forthcoming AGM

[D11]

Gary I am sure you will find out tomorrow night that the disbursments from the RFL are half of what we had last year due to the clubs requirements during 2012

I may be wrong but I believe that Barrow is the only club in Championship that does not now have the lighting lux levels required and with the need for £100k to facilitate the lighting it puts Barrow on the back foot financialy. On the other hand I believe from the many financial meetings I had with the RFL that once Barrow is back on its feet it is one of the only clubs in Rugby League that can turn a profit if the support remains and is managed corectly.

The future is bright if its carefully managed

Edited by D11, 23 January 2013 - 06:02 PM.

[barrowraiderskid]

If we get the 100k out the way we should be alright. If we can average 1600 a season I think that'll be easily enough to break even in a 14 team division and still have a fairly strong squad of our own players.

As long as we own the ground we'll be alright, the big goal for the club is getting the 100k at the minute and having a positive season in the CC and we definitely have the right people at the club too achieve both.

[holty]

Evening all,

Interesting reading this thread so I thought I would try to put a few peoples mind at rest. Firstly, the rumours regarding Nicko leaving due to not getting a pass( either in training or during a game) are completely untrue and unfounded and whoever started the rumour will be happy that so many supporters have been taken in by it- it has certainly surprised me. The reason for Nickos recent absence is due to an ongoing personal and internal issue which is yet to be resolved and knowing him I would think he will be chuckling slightly at the thought ot a player of his integrity and honesty retiring a year before his testemonial year because players refuse to pass him the ball? A little bit of patience is needed, and I still have hope that Nicko will remain with the squad for a couple more seasons yet although its ultimately Jame's decision.

Secondly, I keep reading with interest about concerns over the size of our forward pack this season. Very briefly:

Matt Haggarty 6ft 6Ins-105kg
Brad Brennan 6ft 3Ins- 105kg
Mike Whitehead 6ft 5Ins-109kg
Ruari McGoff 6ft 3Ins-110kg
Jamie Butler 6ft 5Ins-101kg
Andy Dawson 6ft 1Ins-100kg
Liam Harrison 6ft 2Ins-100kg
Kurt Haggerty 6ft 3Ins-102kg
Danny Jones 6ft 1Ins- 103kg
Jack Spencer 6ft- 98kg.


That leaves Dan Toal( who runs/tackles well above his weight) and the 4 Hookers. I havn't got the time but maybe MASH could do a comparison with other teams in our league........I think the results would be surprising. Whilst losing the Keighley game, after watching the DVD 3-4 times, it confirmed that we completely dominated the entire 80 mins upfront and only several defensive lapses and an average kicking game( 2nd half) took the game away from us.

Prior to any season, just like last year if I remember, many fans have concerns but 'size' is certainly not one of them. IMHO our squad is stronger in both depth and quality this year and the reaction from the boys has been superb throughout a tough(albeit short) pre-season. What I'm meaning to say guys is put some faith in these boys........they didn't let you down last year - they won't let you down this year.

Again, sorry for interupting the Forum............I'm sat here feeling like I'm intruding but I don't see the harm in a pre season rallying call!!

[morty]

Averaging 1600 may be possible but if we start losing a few the support will tail off and that goal may be hard to achieve. A winning side brings in more punters simples so we have to get a few good wins under our belt early on...bit of a task that in this division !

Welcome back Holty lad glad you are posting and I for one want to wish the players and the coaching staff all the best for the coming season. Im sure there will be ups and downs but whatever happens i'll be there at all the home games and try to catch as many away as is possible.

Lee

Edited by morty, 23 January 2013 - 07:44 PM.

[Paul Ballantyne]

Where's the "Like" button? Nice 1 Darren.

It's not always about size.. some of our best wins have been againts bigger teams but the expansive rugby we used to play seen us threw. I hope we get the conditions to allow the team to play like this and nicco is waiting on the wing to finish things off.. Remember the year he had Adam Hughes as his center!

Edited by Paul Ballantyne, 23 January 2013 - 07:53 PM.

[RAIDERSRUS]

Barrows pack is pretty big looking at the stats Holty has provided, but what I like about it that it's a mobile pack who you will get plenty of minutes out of ( not like Frank Watene who's only good for 10-15 minutes ). On the James Nixon subject, I hope he stays on because he still has something to offer at this level, when confident he can be the best winger in the league.

[ameliasdaddy]

Scott maca
Jjp png international
James Cameron

So the mighty town have better don't think so

Mcavoy - ok agree possibly one of the top centres in the division, always rated him.
JJP - has the pedigree, just left it in PNG last season.
Cameron - Has he had a haven shirt on yet??

So probably better than towns centres on paper, but plenty haven fans thought you had the best squad in the division on paper last season.

I would take Nixon at Town, I'm not convinced by Calderwood, Killer is out for a month so Nixon would be quite welcome at the minute.

[soss]

Holty,

Nice to see you posting on here and standing by your players. You know how I feel about the coaching staff and back room support. I know the team will give 110% in all games and I will be standing there home and away when I can. People need to understand that the 2013 season is going to be tough and we are going to lose more than we win but it's about how we play not the result this season.As a rugby fan I want to see a competitive game win, lose or draw and I hope we can achieve this with the squad you have produced this year.
I know Nico is passionate about Barrow and wouldn't leave over something so trivial, however fans a fickle creatures and once something is perceived it sticks. Personally I am no longer in a position where I have knowledge of what is happening with the players and would like to believe that things can be sorted with Nico whatever the problem is.

Good luck this season and I know we will shock a few teams this season and just imagine not being at a game when we turn over one of the big boys...lol