The Phantom Horseman

I don't know if this is a different situation or if the rules have changed, but when Luke Briscoe went on loan to Leeds from us in 2019, we were able to recall him on DR terms. https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/rhinos-loan-briscoe-oEC7a/ As for the reason for the loan, could be any number of reasons, but maybe related to salary cap? Jordan Abdull is also officially on loan from HKR to Catalans this year but I don't think anyone is expecting him to return to HKR.

One area of difficulty at the moment is the rotation of our middles. I think there have been at least 4 games already this season where one of them has gone off at a fairly early stage with an injury and hasn't been able to return which has meant others picking up the slack. As a knock-on effect, we are now seeing multiple players in that position returning from injury and perhaps lacking a little in game fitness; I thought that for a period in the second half against Widnes we looked like we were struggling for energy defensively in the middle of the park. Another knock-on effect is that Addy has been asked to do huge minutes nearly every week, and at times he has understandably looked to struggle with his workload. He's 33 years old and if he keeps playing 80 minutes he's going to be mentally and physically shot by the second half of the season. To me Tanner looked in need of more minutes on Sunday which was understandable, Bussey is still working his way back, and Massey will be in the same boat. I'm still not sure what our best pack line-up is and I doubt Fordy is either, We're still finding out about Tanner and we haven't seen much of Massey either. With Kamano continuing to look solid, there's probably not much between quite a few of them behind Gadwin (when he's fit).

If they had the opportunity to sign him now (and before the May 1 deadline) why would they not do so given he's out of contract at the end of this season, rather than wait and potentially get involved in a bidding war with other SL clubs?

They want him as a long-term, versatile option for their backs. I'm sure that he'll play plenty of games for them but it might depend on injuries and suspension. With Hiku, Evalds, Burgess, Opacic, Gildart and Hall all fighting for a place in positions 1 to 5, he's not going to be guaranteed a starting place.

"Featherstone Rovers can confirm that they have today concluded a trade with Castleford which sees Corey Hall move to the Tigers and Jack Broadbent to Featherstone". Seriously though, it will be interesting to see if Broadbent is made available on DR (assuming he doesn't get into the HKR squad), otherwise looks like another chance for Gorman.

For me, there are 3 contributory factors to our poor defensive record on our right edge this year, it's not just 1 thing... 1) on occasions our centres and wings have made poor reads and jammed in opening up gaps. That's what happened with the 1st Widnes try, Hall made a poor read coming in to help Bowes with his man and leaving a huge gap for the centre, aided by a great pass from Gilmore. 2) We have got the numbers wrong/not shifted across fast enough on plenty of occasions leaving the centre/winger with little chance. 3) We have played a number of teams whose best half back in terms of creating shape/organising passing moves plays on their left hand side, so against our right. In those terms (ie creating openings and exploiting defensive weakness), Gale is better than Lino, Lilley is better than Davies, and Gilmore is better than Lyons and they all play on the left. No coincidence that I think Wakefield, Bradford and Widnes have all scored a lot more down their left side against other teams as well as us.

My original post edited due to incorrect info! I agree with both comments above, he's very good.

Some eyecatching scores around the league today.Wheels seem to have totally come off at Fax whilst Sheffield continue to fly high, and a good win for York, every time Bradford seem to be showing signs of improvement they revert to type. Doncaster must have put in a massively-improved performance from last week judged on the scoreline at Barrow, sounds like Batley had a proper dig for the first half at least against Wakefield. Exciting game at Fev with both teams mounting stirring fightbacks. Big score for Swinton too.

Gorman, Fishwick and Wallace are all playing for Hull KR reserves today, which would seem to back up the suggestion that they would have been available to us but weren't selected this week.

I agree with all the above but for me the Halifax fella is just a fan with a mike like a lot of club commentators and he doesn't have any agenda, he just got exasperated watching his team getting heavily beaten and reacted like a lot of fans on the terraces would, it was quite amusing to listen to as a neutral but I think most of us can probably relate to how he would have been feeling. Gledhill's a different kettle of fish, he tries to pretend he's a journalist as well as a club commentator but is so obviously biased it's painful, to be fair most reasonable Bradford fans seem to find him a bit embarrassing too.

Well, he used to play half back for Sharlston....think he's played a bit of half back elsewhere but has been more of a hooker in recent years. It would be a very stiff task asking him to come in and play half back for a club whose systems, terminology etc he doesn't know though. When Bowes made the switch to half back for us he would at least know the system, the calls etc from a full pre-season. That's why I reckon Bowes will be back at half back this weekend and probably the 2 following weeks.

Most teams play six middles in their 17 (3 start, 3 off the bench) and we have 8 in our squad who have played that as their main position this year which is a welcome development - Addy, Albert, Bussey, Kamano, Massey, Springer, Tanner and Tennison. We are still a bit in the dark about what to expect from Massey and Tanner this year, but on paper that's a strong group. Assuming the RFL page is correct (it hasn't always been), there's no room for Roberts, or the DR middles Aydin and Fishwick (though Aydin may be playing for HKR tomorrow). Perhaps 1 or 2 of Albert, Massey and Tanner might not be quite ready yet, but otherwise there are some tough decisions for Ford. Switching Bussey to back row in place of England is one option, which would be harsh on England as he's played pretty well, but for me Bussey's a better player than him in either position.

21-man squad has appeared on RFL website. Reynolds not included so presumably playing at Catalans for HKR, or at least flying out. Reiss Butterworth (a hooker), Corey Hall and Leo Tennison included on DR. Presumably Bowes will fill in at half back again given we have called in a 3rd hooker. Massey, Tanner and Albert all in the 21, interesting to see who plays, pretty strong squad on paper (apart from only having one recognised half back).

It was Sam Houghton who sent Roberts off. But I agree with your comment, it's bad enough getting carded for dissent at any time but if you've lost your temper with the ref in the first 5 minutes of a game that's really unprofessional.

Reynolds is in the HKR 21-man squad for their game in Catalans on Saturday evening (as is Aydin), though whether he makes the trip might be another matter. BUT...he's received a 2-game ban for "Grade C Foul and Abusive Language towards the Match Official". Which means he'll be unavailable for Whitehaven away and Halifax at home.