Bill H

Imran, I will be buying one if I get the opportunity. All ifs and buts, but if I do manage to get one then after I have read it you are welcome to it if you haven't managed to lay your hands on one. ( I have a suitcase full of souvenirs!).

Meadows Flynn Lillycrop

Thank you WF. I should have seen the potential for offence in my original post.

No need for that at all Coolie. No offence was meant. I thought that your suggestion was ill judged for the reasons given. I can see now that the way that I made the point was also ill judged given that you and WR have both reacted very strongly to the post, presumably because it is very personal to you.. The point that I was trying to make is valid though. I'm more than happy for a moderator to step in and take my comment off line.

Why ignorance WR? Making a comparison with Downes may have been ill judged but he was a lionhearted boxer who led from the front, won the Middleweight World Championship and beat the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson. He was very successful after boxing but with the suspicion that damage in the ring had caused neurological damage he would not have been an encouragement to parents to let their children take up boxing. It struck me that the same would be true of Tom Garrett if he was representing your club and Rugby League whilst unable to play the game because of symptoms of neurological damage caused whilst playing the game. A light hearted comparison but a serious concern in the sport. If you are offended by my getting a cheap smile out of the situation then you make a fair point and I apologise if that has caused offence. Once the comparison struck me I thought it apt but I can see that it might judged insensitive by those who know Tom.

A very good player who can't play the game because his head's been thwacked too many times, to be an ambassador for the game? A bit like having Terry (I always talked like this) Downes as an ambassador for boxing (one for the oldies!).

Final score 30-20 but just one try less than London so not a bad effort. Conceding just after scoring seems to be a problem.

And any reasons given?

That's a bit fishy PM.

I couldn't make it today but on paper the team looked ok despite Brown and first choice hookers being out. Is it a case of teams having learnt how to close us down and knowing which side of the field to target or just a tired team carrying too many injuries? How did Burton go and did Senior look rusty? Whatever, I'm sure that Linners and the team will come back strongly before the season ends

It ought to give us an advantage dd, especially with as good a kicker as Gilmore on our books. If we lose at Fax and with the Leigh away match to come then the difference might not look as stark. And you are right of course, a home draw does bring benefits.

As the thread hints, home advantage isn't everything. Wouldn't we be second in the league on away form?

He always came over as a good bloke. I wish him well.

Gilmore Manning Brown

I watched the end of the Sheffield match at The Bash and thought that they had had an easy ride and that we would have a much tougher workout four days before meeting the Eagles. Wrong again Bill.

Gilmore JC Brown

I tried very hard BSJ but the blighters kept moving.

I cannot knock the team. There was a huge amount of effort. I'm inclined to think that JK did a good job with his lads targeting JC and Hooley for some pretty heavy treatment; and that a Batley team picked to do a job at York during the heatwave was less well equipped for a wet mucky afternoon at the Mount. What do others out there think?

Ward Manning Walshaw

This had passed me by I must admit. Just short of 2,000 for the home game against West Wales. Wow.

Sorry to go off thread but Kevin seemed to be looking for ideas and most no doubt are impractical but someone out there might come up with a really good idea. So, when we played Leigh there was an Asian stall outside what used to be the Taverner's selling coffee and street food. I presume that it was there because of a soccer tournament but they seemed to do pretty good business with visiting fans. Our beer garden is great but is there scope for an Asian street food vendor in the ground to improve inclusivity (not everyone wants a beer and a pie), or would it just take away custom from other outlets in the Ground? I'm also aware that Canterbury Bulldogs have been very successful with multi cultural days. Again just putting the question, but is there scope for something similar for us? As has been mentioned in the past Canterbury Bulldogs have been very successful at widening their fan base.

I was expecting the number in the order box to increase. Just another sign of galloping brain rot I guess. It should have been obvious to me. Thank you Bromley

There doesn't seem to be an obvious way to order more than one ticket at a time. If there isn't a way or if the way is not obvious then it will have a severe impact on the draw.

It may be an irrelevant discussion as it's possible that the decision not to play Brown or Gledhill came too late in the day, but we were a genuine prop down and it showed, and Everett is a genuine prop with good mobility and IMO would have done a decent job. Again being wise after the event, but Buchanan looked to be struggling with his knee injury and perhaps deserves a rest.

I think Phildog hit the nail on the head when he said we were out muscled. If Gledhill and Brown were not available then perhaps Everett should have been back in the squad. I was also puzzled that Senior was left on the bench for so long. Anyway, well done Whitehaven and well done to those players who kept us in the game.