The Blues Ox

I am sure Oldham will be very good next season but it's just not a game that excites me. I like games with some edge, some rivalry, we don't have that with Oldham and never really have. For me it's more to do with getting my moneys worth, very few games at our level you will get any sort of atmosphere, outside of Bradford and Fev that is about it so it makes it hard for me to get excited about some games. You can get a better atmosphere at a lot of amateur games around the area for free.

I think the bolded no money sums it up. Without that we are where we are and its hard to have ambition and star players without it. I can't see myself going to many games this season, the games against this years League 1 teams really don't inspire me and other than Fev, without the games against Bradford and York there won't be many to look forward to.

21 players signed up at the moment apparently. Nofoaluma to the Bulls seems to be the rumor.

The best way the people who run the game here(the big clubs) could improve the game as a whole is to invest some money in to the grassroots. They won't do that because it does not have an instant return. Instead lets increase the quota to solve the problem of their not been enough quality players to go around over here. The game is in a race to the bottom.

I think the Giants have made the correct choice with a change of coach.

This is probably the main difference. As someone who has been involved in coaching, I can tell players to watch any Saints game to learn how to slow the play the ball down by bringing a 3rd or 4th player in to the tackle. They are by far the best team in SL at it and in my opinion this is the reason they still managed to do as well as they did this season despite having a team that lacks a lot of quality. It just leads to ridiculously slow rucks and really should not be allowed but while players are allowed to get away with it then it will continue to be coached over here. Ultimately it is attacking flair that sells the game and over here we have basically bread a set of robots who have all the flair coached out of them because they are constantly playing against defences that are always set and all playing to the same structure in attack.

It shows the gulf in class between the 2 nations when we can pick a team of players that play over here which would match our national team and those players for the most part are way off the quality to get in the Aussie team.

It's taken 45 pages but this hits the nail on the head. Constant messing with our system over here does not help the problem and we can't really moan about not competing with the Aussies when the people who run our sport have just voted to increase the quota even further. We should be forcing teams to work on junior development starting at grassroots but instead give them an easy option. You make your bed and you have to lay in it.

Its a tough one on this but you do wonder if they could have planned it a lot better like playing at a ground that has floodlights so a break can be taken for the England games and they can continue later. Or maybe playing them on the Sunday, I know ground hire comes in to it and the girls season can't run past a certain point but I agree, having games on while the Ashes is taking place is just crazy no matter what level it is. Family sport but only certain parts of it are classed as family.

This has now been changed to a 1pm kick off to allow for the ashes game.

McCarron looked really good, that is a strong re-signing.

For Fax:- Abi Ekoku Nigel Wood

Crooks signs a new deal for us which is great but no sign of the recruitment that was promised at 5pm unless they are classing Crooks as retention and recruitment.

Also England community lions kicking off against Jamaica at 2pm.

For Halifax Town fans, it's the hope that kills.