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The Blues Ox

Coach
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Posts posted by The Blues Ox

  1. 55 minutes ago, BroncoFan said:

    I would assume that would be TLeesha Frederick Maynard, prop who I’m keen to see her progress.

     

    Yeah looking at the squad posted above it is. She was really impressive, York were constantly on the front foot when she took the ball in. I don't know anything about her but if she is putting that sort of performance in on a regular basis she can't be a million miles off getting a look in at first team level and you feel she is one of those players who if she were playing somewhere else like Huddersfield she would already be a first team regular.

  2. You have got to have a lot of admiration for Bradford deciding before the season to put out a bold statement outlining their intention not to use the Dual Reg syatem and stick to developing players in their large squad and their academy. In other news Bradford now have 6 loan players in their squad.

    Not sure what to expect from our game, we still can't name a 21 man squad despite bringing players in on DR but it should be a tight game on that pitch so although I think Bradford for the first time in years have a stronger squad than us, I still think its a hard one to call.

    FRIDAY 29th MARCH
    Bradford Bulls v Halifax Panthers Fax by 4
    Dewsbury Rams v Batley Bulldogs Batley by 8
    Doncaster v Sheffield Eagles Sheffield by 14
    Featherstone Rovers v Wakefield Trinity Wakey by 6
    Whitehaven v Barrow Raiders Haven by 2
    Widnes Vikings v Swinton Lions Widnes by 10

    SUNDAY 31st MARCH
    York Knights v Toulouse Olympique York by 8

  3. Yeah I think no doubt Huddersfield have made some on field improvements with the signings they have made in the off season. I still think the treatment of players still leaves a lot to be desired. They had meetings with all their players about pre-season, standard stuff, telling them areas they need to be working on and gave them fitness plans etc for the upcoming season. Just over a week later they got a group of them in (At least a couple of the group played for York last night) and told them they were no longer required. Its really no way to treat young lasses or anyone for that matter. I personally feel they need to up their game massively off the field.

    • Sad 1
  4. 2 hours ago, RBKnight said:

    Valkyrie U19's got off to a good start yesterday evening, scoring five tries to one in a 26-4 victory away to Huddersfield (Try-scorers Izzy Swallow (2) Evie Sexton, Abi Millward & Lauren Exley) 

    Went to watch this game last night, I thought the York number 23, a tall rangy Black lass not sure of her name, was outstanding and Huddersfield will have been pleased as she had to leave the game injured a couple of times as she constantly punched holes in the Hudds defense and put in some big hits in defense. I think the York number 11 had a strong game as well, when you see someone run the ball in and you say "Thats how you are supposed to run the ball in", thats her. Both half backs were lively but Huddersfield were really poor for a team that had a lot of experience in it and York really didn't need to do much to beat them as basic errors just invited pressure on to them. For Huddersfield their centre Molly Iceton was their best player by some distance and caused York problems but just didn't see enough of the ball. A good night for a couple of the York lasses who got released by Huddersfield before the start of the season and ended up at York and both outplayed their opposite numbers as well. Last night and the lack of improvement from Huddersfield has to beg questions of their recruitment policy at this level.

    • Like 1
  5. For me I don't think anything will beat the drama of the 2010 Grand Final and the golden point win against Fev. Such a surreal day with everything that went on before and during the game. 

    As a "neutral" probably the 2002 Grand Final which I went to with a large group that included some good friends of mine who are Bradford fans. Was strange cheering the Sean Long drop goal but was a beautiful moment. 🤣

    • Like 1
  6. 4 hours ago, RBKnight said:

    Thanks for the correction re. Stanningley/Cas

    No worries, I saw a number of sections of the media having a mix up with the Championship and League 1 games this week for some reason.

    1 hour ago, unapologetic pedant said:

    Looking at the downward spiral of Bradford, Castleford and, to a lesser extent in terms of the distance fallen, Wakefield, one curious conclusion to draw is that a club allowing the women's team to regularly play at their home ground does not necessarily connote comprehensive commitment.

    Edit: It's occurred to me that perhaps Wakefield, the place, have plummeted to the same degree as the other two. It's before I was paying attention, but wasn't there a team called Wakefield Panthers who were dominant way back when?

    Saw something put out on the WRLA Facebook site the other day mentioning Wakefield Panthers and it looked like they dominated that league for at least 6 or 7 seasons although I have no idea what became of them. A few interesting names on there that took part like Halifax Blue Sox, Cas panthers, Huddersfield Ladies, and SIddal Ladies. It would be interesting to see the make up of the latter team as I have a funny feeling Amy Hardcastle and Shona Hoyle may have been part of it.

    Back to the demise of some of these big names its ahrd to put a finger on what has gone wrong although I can't help but look much further than Leeds and Huddersfield simply mopping up all the talent and then when you add York in to that mix it probably leaves a shortage of players that actually want to commit to playing at that level and the community teams around them will be taking some of the players where they can maybe get away with not always having to train to play. Ive said for a while that there are too many clubs and not enough players after everyone tries to jump on the bangwagon and you end up with unatural growth rather than organic growth but my hope is that with junior participation increasing then eventually we see that filter through to open age.

    • Like 1
  7. 13 minutes ago, RBKnight said:

    Good post - I was going to put something similar. The Wigan team seemed to be missing a few names. Leigh had a decent dig too 36-6 against Huddersfield

    Cardiff put 58 unanswered points past Salford.

    On the other hand in League 1.....

    Fryston Warriors 46 Wakefield Trinity 0

    Stanningley 30 Castleford 12

     

     

    Stanningly V Cas is a Championship game and looks like its going to be another long season for Cas.  Wakefield are really going to struggle despite dropping down another division and the other result from League 1 was a repeat of last years grand final between Thatto and Illingworth which ended 16-16 with a last play Thatto try preserving a 2 year unbeaten home record for them. It is looking like all 3 promoted teams from last years league 1 (Fryston(Methley), Thatto, Illingworth) are all going to be in the mix come the end of the season playoffs for a Championship spot.

    • Like 1
  8. 1 hour ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

    Fev were much much better after Ford came in, we comfortably beat Sheffield and Toulouse away as well as beating Bulls away. Yes, we choked in the semi against a rampant London but it wasn't because we got rid of Sean Long. We were getting progressively worse under Long and some of his behaviour behind the scenes wasn't good. He's not a head coach. 

    Teams normally lift for a new coach but in my opinion Ford didn't fix anything and I thought Fev always looked vulnarable to teams that had quality out wide if their pack could live with Fev's for a chunk of the game. It didn't happen often hence the league table but you always got the feeling that Fev had 2 or 3 bad match ups in the playoffs and unfortunatley for them London was one of them.

    • Like 1
  9. My unbiased view of last nights televised game.......

    I actually thought that Leeds would win the game when they managed to go in at half time only 4 down despite what I thought was one of the worst performances ive seen from any team this season. If they could have just sorted things out I thought they might have the beating of Saints who were no better than last week but then again they really didn't need to be.

    I didn't think the ruck area was reffed well and thought the old masters Saints got away with quite a bit of extra stuff on the floor to slow Leeds down. Leeds kicking game was as bad as I have seen from any team in a long time and it summed it up when Leeds had escaped for what seemed like the 10th time and finally got a decent set in to take them up to the 40m line or so only to see them mess the kick up and end up putting a little chip over the top. Total coach killer that.

    BBC production was garbage that should not have even been afforded an amateur game never mind one of the biggest games we will see in such a prestigious cup competition. The commentary I rarely moan about but it was painful, I have no problem with feamle commentators and Im sure Ive heard Sharon on the radio many times, but thought she was trying to do too much. I'm watching the game, I can see what is happening, every second does not have to be filled, there just needs to be a slight difference between radio and tv. I should add that I think she is very knowledgable and I love her enthusiasm for the game and can't fault her for that, give me her over Jonathan Davies every day of the week.

  10. Bradford having to cancel their game against Saints as they are unable to raise a team. I know they are hoping to pull in 1 or 2 girls from the winter league who have their finals next week and might be wanting to avoid injury but its a worry so early in the season. My own local team Halifax struggling as well after their new coach quit within a couple of months and they have yet to advertise the position and seem to have stopped trying to recruit players.

  11. 10 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

    And yet you don't blame them. They are just fragile victims in a cruel world.

    No, if they thought they had a chance of having nearly enough IMG points should they gain promotion where the benefits of been in SL could push them in to the top 12, then they would have been totally stupid not to try rather than the alternative of a slow demise in the Championship.

    • Like 4
  12. 20 hours ago, RBKnight said:

    The situation Fev currently face provides a justification for the new IMG rules, and shows how a straightforward promotion and relegation between a full-time SL and a part-time Championship doesn't work.

    Without a very rich sugar daddy available (like Leigh and now Wakey), Fev, if promoted last year, would have found themselves having to use their fresh SL income to cover the previous losses incurred in trying to gain entry to the top table. They would have been at the back of the queue (inevitably) in recruiting a full-time squad, largely from cast-offs and fringe players from other SL teams, hamstrung by their starting financial position. Like Toulouse the season before (but probably financially worse off) they would be odds-on to go straight back down again.

    Back in the Championship, Fev would then have the task of offloading all the players they signed on two year contracts that they then couldn't afford, which would make their current financial problems look trifling.....

     

    5 hours ago, Griff said:

    Hoping to pay off your huge Championship debts with Superleague money is flawed from the start.

    You'll need your Superleague money to pay your Superleague players.

    This was not the case last season though because if Fev had of gained promotion they could, if they wanted, just keep all their part time players and bank most of the money which would have more than adequatley paid off these debts without the fear of finishing bottom having much barring on which league they would be in the following year.

    The belief through the season was that Fev would have been very close to the automatic spots in SL and a lot of people believed that once in there it would be very hard to lose their spot. As it turned out most people were wrong and Fev were nowhere near where they needed to be so even if they did go up then they would have come straight back down like London are doing but again that money would have been a nice sweetener for them.

    We can't forget just how dominant Fev were last season, personally I feel getting rid of Sean Long was a huge mistake which in my opinion came back and bit them on the bum as I didn't see Ford as been up to the task. Although I think its awful what Fev have done regarding missing payments I also find it hard to really blame them either as last season was probably their last chance at a shot in SL for at least the 3-5 years until this system has run its course and we try something new.

    • Like 6
  13. FRIDAY 22nd MARCH
    Hull KR v Salford Red Devils Hull Kr by 10
    Leeds Rhinos v St Helens Leeds by 4
    Wigan Warriors v Sheffield Eagles Wigan by 20

    SATURDAY 23rd MARCH
    Batley Bulldogs v Castleford Tigers Batley by 2
    Huddersfield Giants v Hull FC Hudds by 28
    Leigh Leopards v Featherstone Rovers Leigh by 22
    Warrington Wolves v London Broncos Warrington by 36

    SUNDAY 24th MARCH
    Halifax Panthers v Catalans Dragons Cats by 36

  14. More and more players owed money but the one thing that does not add up is that we have to presume that not a single one of them has approached the RFL over the matter. I mean surely if someone had of gone to the RFL they would have taken action on this wouldn't they?

  15. 37 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

    BTW, it gets worse. Not been paying players pension contributions, fans ordering merch 5 months ago still waiting and we apparently owe transfer money to another club (I'd guess Warrington for Longstaff, who played 2 games 🤦‍♂️)

    I believe it was similar for Riley Dean as well where Warrington were having to chase money for his loan which ended up with them just sacking off the deal.

  16. 41 minutes ago, Damien said:

    This situation is plainly down to the club gambling on promotion the last couple of years and spending money that it couldn't afford. Fev arent the first and won't be the last in doing this.

    This. Missing out on promotion last season you would imagine that Campbell knows the game is now up. They are miles off been where they need to be according to IMG so I imagine like so many other teams in this division they will just do the bare minimum from this point.

    • Like 5
  17. Confusing statement saying everyone was paid on time but yet some players are still owed money. From a PR point of view Campbell leaving could be one of the best things that happens to Fev but from a financial point of view you have to feel like this could be a disaster for them.

  18. Managed to get a fiver on at Skybet and plumped for Warrington, Sheffield, Barrow, Huddersfield on an acca but only got 6 point start on Barrow. A little bit annoying as in the lead up to the game could have got up to +18 on them. Noted that Bradford could not raise a full team for their game and its going to be a very long season for them despite getting off to a winning start in their first game.

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