Halifax predictions :

[Therein73]

7 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

This time last year on the back of a similar set of results there was only one solution available in the eyes of many fans. Has it worked?

Overall BSJ, i would say "Yes, it has".......... We are still playing Championship football and the turn around when NK took over was remarkable......... Yesterday was a huge disappointment, but overall we are competing against the 'bigger' full time clubs AND trying to play attacking rugby ........... We've been disrupted with Huddersfield calling back the three players and injuries to Moore and Knowles have not helped our cause......... Is everything right ??? Hell, NO !!!     Our discipline is poor, our penalty count against is stupidly high. the information coming out of the club on team matters is non-existent AND we are still (it seems) giving shirts to Wakey players who, simply, don't offer any more than what we have already (i.e. Annakin vs Reilly / Everitt).

Would I want GM back  ??-- Absolutely not.    Would I want NK/PD to go ?? -- Absolutely not.   Would I currently commit the monies that I committed at the start of the season ?? -- Absolutely not.                   

[NickD]

50 minutes ago, Therein73 said:

Overall BSJ, i would say "Yes, it has".......... We are still playing Championship football and the turn around when NK took over was remarkable......... Yesterday was a huge disappointment, but overall we are competing against the 'bigger' full time clubs AND trying to play attacking rugby ........... We've been disrupted with Huddersfield calling back the three players and injuries to Moore and Knowles have not helped our cause......... Is everything right ??? Hell, NO !!!     Our discipline is poor, our penalty count against is stupidly high. the information coming out of the club on team matters is non-existent AND we are still (it seems) giving shirts to Wakey players who, simply, don't offer any more than what we have already (i.e. Annakin vs Reilly / Everitt).

Would I want GM back  ??-- Absolutely not.    Would I want NK/PD to go ?? -- Absolutely not.   Would I currently commit the monies that I committed at the start of the season ?? -- Absolutely not.                   

Cracking post. All I would add is that if we can’t improve the squad I’d prefer to be relegated.   I know many of you will say we can’t afford as evidenced by the numbers Fax brought yesterday but it’s obvious we can’t compete in this league and our own speccies will think twice about coming up of things carry on like this.  We’ll be left with the 300 stalwarts.  My brother hasn’t bothered last two weeks and I’d be surprised if we see my dad again til things improve. 

[Reverend Ram]

It’s clear there is a two way split in the championship and the “bottom 8” so to speak (which does a disservice to Fax and London) is in itself largely competitive so to suggest we can’t compete at this level is perhaps unfair- the question is how we can progress to be on a level with at least Batley.    I do not doubt the players effort but discipline must improve as well as some of the basics - referees don’t miss tackles or send poor passes but it is convenient to drop heads and blame refs if one or two adverse decisions go against us. We are in a dogfight with the likes of Rochdale, Swinton and Sheffield so the one thing we can all do as supporters is get behind the team for these crucial games.

I would have put something on the Halifax page about how well they played but it seems there is a decided lack of interest there so I will say it here - well done Halifax, you showed us how the game can be played even allowing for our poor defence.

[Tom Coates]

13 hours ago, Captain Survival said:

How was the attendance?

I went to the Dews site to obtain info and it both had not been updated and it did not have any social links that I could find! Someone in marketing needs a good kick in the keister....

Attendance, full match coverage and result were available on the club's social media feeds. There's links to both channels in the top left corner of the website.

The result was added to the official website around the time of your post.

Full match reports are usually added the day after.

 

[Crown Flatter]

We were very creative in this game, by leaving big gaps for Halifax to storm through, or giving them the hall and giving them the advantage. Everybody, including Ned, was disappointed and what a contrast from last week. 

Halifax played some excellent and exciting rugby, running hard and fast, but helped by our inability to tackle, or just slow them down. 

The referee was very poor (although the end result would have been the same had he been any good), missing what looked to all like a good 40/20 from Moore. From the resulting scrum they went on to score, as they did when a Fax player dropped the ball when getting up to play the ball with nobody on him, but the ref saw otherwise. Forward passes galore went unpunished; even we got away with some. Walshaw was sin binned, but it was no worse than what Halifax were doing  

One big disappointment was Guzdek's poor tackling, but I suppose players in front of him should have done that job

 Speakman was my MoM, probably his best game this season. 

[silcoates]

Well we all fed up after that.You can't blame the ref totally,the touch  judges,don't or are not  allowed to help

Fax play to a very good standard.Our standard hasn't improved all season.

It's going to be another scrap to stay in this league again.

I don't understand signing new players,supposedly to improve the team,then they don't play.

 

[Blind side johnny]

9 hours ago, Therein73 said:

Overall BSJ, i would say "Yes, it has".......... We are still playing Championship football and the turn around when NK took over was remarkable......... Yesterday was a huge disappointment, but overall we are competing against the 'bigger' full time clubs AND trying to play attacking rugby ........... We've been disrupted with Huddersfield calling back the three players and injuries to Moore and Knowles have not helped our cause......... Is everything right ??? Hell, NO !!!     Our discipline is poor, our penalty count against is stupidly high. the information coming out of the club on team matters is non-existent AND we are still (it seems) giving shirts to Wakey players who, simply, don't offer any more than what we have already (i.e. Annakin vs Reilly / Everitt).

Would I want GM back  ??-- Absolutely not.    Would I want NK/PD to go ?? -- Absolutely not.   Would I currently commit the monies that I committed at the start of the season ?? -- Absolutely not.                   

Thanks Therein. My oblique post was maybe a reminder that simplistic remedies often don't work, even if some fans might find them appealing.

The coaching staff need to be given plenty of time to sort things without being placed under any silly pressure. However, any suggestions that just keeping on doing what we do will eventually yield results would be short-sighted.

If I knew what the answers are then I should be coaching the team; I don't and thankfully I am not. What I do know for absolutely certain is that relegation is not a viable solution, unless Nick knows how to fill the £180k hole that this would create.

[EQUALIZER]

its the same as last season once the injuries kick in we havnt the quality in depth to replace. The truth is its down to ambition once again we seem happy to aim for 6th or mid table and its not good enough. From the top board level to the office people just seem to amble on.We need to get another bod in at the top to help Mark Its a shame because a lot of good work is being carried out. until we come out show a real ambition for the club to go forward the stay the absentees wont come back .All that advertising for the Toronto game and the result was a crowd equal to us doing nothing we know there are full time teams but we competed with London and we have competed before with teams. If the aim of the club is to labor on mid table then we will have to put up with it and except the standard of rugby.One thing for certain is Ned wont be here next year if attitudes don't change.

[Blind side johnny]

6 hours ago, EQUALIZER said:

its the same as last season once the injuries kick in we havnt the quality in depth to replace. The truth is its down to ambition once again we seem happy to aim for 6th or mid table and its not good enough. From the top board level to the office people just seem to amble on.We need to get another bod in at the top to help Mark Its a shame because a lot of good work is being carried out. until we come out show a real ambition for the club to go forward the stay the absentees wont come back .All that advertising for the Toronto game and the result was a crowd equal to us doing nothing we know there are full time teams but we competed with London and we have competed before with teams. If the aim of the club is to labor on mid table then we will have to put up with it and except the standard of rugby.One thing for certain is Ned wont be here next year if attitudes don't change.

"Ambition" = "spending someone else's money".

[DOGFATHER]

15 hours ago, EQUALIZER said:

its the same as last season once the injuries kick in we havnt the quality in depth to replace. The truth is its down to ambition once again we seem happy to aim for 6th or mid table and its not good enough. From the top board level to the office people just seem to amble on.We need to get another bod in at the top to help Mark Its a shame because a lot of good work is being carried out. until we come out show a real ambition for the club to go forward the stay the absentees wont come back .All that advertising for the Toronto game and the result was a crowd equal to us doing nothing we know there are full time teams but we competed with London and we have competed before with teams. If the aim of the club is to labor on mid table then we will have to put up with it and except the standard of rugby.One thing for certain is Ned wont be here next year if attitudes don't change.

Where do you think Dews should aim? Top 4 is unrealistic without spending huge sums of cash. You really have to look at going FT, even then it is no guarantee, look at Sheffield and Bradford of what happens when it doesn't pay off. How will Fev go if they do not make the top 4? There income and central funding for finishing outside the top 4 will be unlikely to sustain the current squad. 

The likes of us, Dewsbury and Halifax cannot really hope for anything other than top 6.

 

[DOGFATHER]

8 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

Dual post

[Wakefield Ram]

Quite right Dogfather. Unless you risk spending huge amounts of money on a gamble of finishing in the top 4, you are stuck in a mid-table fit, too good to get relegated, not good enough for top 4. But my bet is that the funding will change and not for the better for the Championship.

[Lupset Ram]

Just a few words about Guzdek. He's half decent with the ball in hand, but when it comes to defence, he's about as strong as a wet lettuce. 

[DOGFATHER]

On 24/04/2018 at 7:15 AM, Wakefield Ram said:

Quite right Dogfather. Unless you risk spending huge amounts of money on a gamble of finishing in the top 4, you are stuck in a mid-table fit, too good to get relegated, not good enough for top 4. But my bet is that the funding will change and not for the better for the Championship.

Personally, I'm not sure funding can get much worse. The disparity is killing the game. In many ways, I would prefer no funding at all, rather than have this huge gulf between the haves and nots. 

At least that way, it is down to the club's themselves to generate income to finance the team and it is fair across the board. I would much rather have a salary cap that encompasses every player on a clubs books and every team has the ability to spend up to the maximum of the cap. If that means lowering the cap, then so be it. Clubs could gamble on smaller better quality squads, or larger lower quality squads which will cope better with injuries. If clubs can generate surplus money at the end of the season, that could be fed in to youth development the following season. 

I realise of course, that this is ideological nonsense. The "haves" would never stand for it. But it would be nice to see, and to be able to turn up to games with a true sense of wonderment that there was a 50-50 chance of winning, whoever you went to play against.

 

[EQUALIZER]

15 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

"Ambition" = "spending someone else's money".

That's how every club in the rugby league exist.Theres a difference between ambition and suicide spending.

[grumpyoldram]

18 hours ago, EQUALIZER said:

That's how every club in the rugby league exist.Theres a difference between ambition and suicide spending.

And yet, every year, several clubs spend significantly above their income levels, either trying to achieve the impossible, or avoid the unthinkable and survive. Every year BSJ looks in his crystal ball and predicts that those same clubs will come to grief, and end up in the hands of the receivers, but no, they are still alive and kicking the following year. Sheffield, for instance, with no fixed ground, no crowds, and little in the way of assets are in trouble, but I bet they are still with us next year, and with a decent side. I really don't want us to go down that path, and if that is perceived as lacking ambition, so be it. I can not see any way that we will ever be any different,  just hoping we might pinch a top six spot every season, but concentrating on avoiding the drop. Like other posters though, I think the championship is about to have the rug pulled from under it, and who knows, our off field endeavours might yet leave us as one of the few clubs in a strong position.

[Wakefield Ram]

One other factor which might come into play is rising interest rates, which will start to affect clubs with big debts.

[Piggy's mate]

On 24/04/2018 at 12:37 PM, DOGFATHER said:

The disparity is killing the game. In many ways, I would prefer no funding at all, rather than have this huge gulf between the haves and nots. 

At least that way, it is down to the club's themselves to generate income to finance the team

 

The RFL/SL should invest the TV monies in helping clubs build their infrastructure. They should help each club have it's own ground and junior, community and second team facilaties. Handing big money to a select number of clubs will not make the game survive. People need to be playing at all ages and make it cheaper to watch

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

38 minutes ago, Piggy's mate said:

The RFL/SL should invest the TV monies in helping clubs build their infrastructure. They should help each club have it's own ground and junior, community and second team facilaties. Handing big money to a select number of clubs will not make the game survive. People need to be playing at all ages and make it cheaper to watch

Reducing prices will almost certainly lead to a reduction in income. Taking Donny as an example they had a ridiculously low priced season ticket offer that resulted in selling 400 more season tickets but giving them the same income from ST sales as last year. 

If those additional 400 purchasers normally paid on the gate they are now looking at a reduction in admission takings of around £6000 a game, or £84k+ over the season. Likely the figure will be less than that but a significant increase in average attendance will still be needed for them to merely stand still.

Stupidly priced offers such as theirs are a disaster waiting to happen.

•  

[DOGFATHER]

54 minutes ago, Piggy's mate said:

The RFL/SL should invest the TV monies in helping clubs build their infrastructure. They should help each club have it's own ground and junior, community and second team facilaties. Handing big money to a select number of clubs will not make the game survive. People need to be playing at all ages and make it cheaper to watch

I couldn't agree more. That has been the biggest problem with the game since Sky joined the party. All the extra money that has been ploughed in to the game, has only really gone to players and agents. It could be argued that the money has gone in retaining talent in the game, but I'm not convinced by tht argument. I daresay, if any of the NRL or Union clubs wanted a player enough, there isn't anything a club in the RFL could do about it, (as the Denny Solomona saga showed us). They certainly can't compete financially so it begs the question, if the SL team took all of the money from central funding what would they do with it? My guess would be, exactly what they have done with it every time they have had an influx of cash and simply pay more for the exact same players. Even with an additional £300k a season per club, I cannot see it enticing the best Australian talent over to these shores, as there salary cap in Oz would still be 4 times higher than those in the SL.

 

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

10 minutes ago, DOGFATHER said:

I couldn't agree more. That has been the biggest problem with the game since Sky joined the party. All the extra money that has been ploughed in to the game, has only really gone to players and agents. It could be argued that the money has gone in retaining talent in the game, but I'm not convinced by tht argument. I daresay, if any of the NRL or Union clubs wanted a player enough, there isn't anything a club in the RFL could do about it, (as the Denny Solomona saga showed us). They certainly can't compete financially so it begs the question, if the SL team took all of the money from central funding what would they do with it? My guess would be, exactly what they have done with it every time they have had an influx of cash and simply pay more for the exact same players. Even with an additional £300k a season per club, I cannot see it enticing the best Australian talent over to these shores, as there salary cap in Oz would still be 4 times higher than those in the SL.

 

Exactly. Keeping the money currently given to the Champ and C1 clubs would provide an extra £300k or so a season to each SL club. So much for the speil about that would allow them to compete with the NRL or Union....... Now when the billion dollar NA deal comes to fruition ?

[Piggy's mate]

2 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Reducing prices will almost certainly lead to a reduction in income. 

•  

My God LTS your giving your poor calculator some jip!

I mean all clubs all leagues. Where does this money go? To players & agents. Keep it semi pro until there are thousands watching. Why pander to Sky and not the genuine supporter? Greed that's why. The whole of society is gripped by greed and how  they must have more than the next man mentality so I can rub his face in it... 

When there is only one team with the most money winning everything then we have achieved RL perfection 

[coolie]

On 24/04/2018 at 7:50 AM, Lupset Ram said:

Just a few words about Guzdek. He's half decent with the ball in hand, but when it comes to defence, he's about as strong as a wet lettuce. 

I don't see that at all

 

You'll miss him when he's gone

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

2 hours ago, Piggy's mate said:

My God LTS your giving your poor calculator some jip!

I mean all clubs all leagues. Where does this money go? To players & agents. Keep it semi pro until there are thousands watching. Why pander to Sky and not the genuine supporter? Greed that's why. The whole of society is gripped by greed and how  they must have more than the next man mentality so I can rub his face in it... 

When there is only one team with the most money winning everything then we have achieved RL perfection 

My old TI calculator and I go back a long way

IMHO the game is going to go in one of 2 directions in the not too distant future:

1. Success in NA followed by a billion pound 'global' league with 3 (or maybe 4) UK clubs

2. Essentially back to semi-pro

One of those I have as favourite..................and it's not option 1.

[Blind side johnny]

5 hours ago, Piggy's mate said:

The RFL/SL should invest the TV monies in helping clubs build their infrastructure. They should help each club have it's own ground and junior, community and second team facilaties. Handing big money to a select number of clubs will not make the game survive. People need to be playing at all ages and make it cheaper to watch

I agree with the sentiment PM but the practicality is otherwise. If you look at the voting structure the RFL is actually the SL clubs with the Championship fleas biting their legs. The RFL doesn't have any executive authority to alter distributions, and the SL clubs aren't going to change that any day soon.