Phil Briscoe

Really enjoyed today. Wasn’t going to go after last week but glad I did! Shame they can’t fill the ground a bit more although the supporters were very welcoming. Having been a critic of Brad Day last season I’m happy to take it all back he’s become a really important player.

I’d struggle to handle one these days

I have it on good authority that we got 86k

Really enjoyed that day. Last year that would have probably been a blow out score in the second half.

Springer, hope to god we’re paying him timely! Day Jones

Ye we look a bit light off the bench with no Massey and Tanner in the 17.

Thanks. Some share of a decent gate might be the only positive of the draw.

Is it still a shared gate in the challenge cup or is that not the case anymore?

Agree. With a near to full strength team it may well have been close for a while.

On the Fev Facebook banter page Jarrod Sammut has been mentioned. No idea if there’s any truth in it or not.

You’ve got me there. Common sense is my only source!

Disagree but it would be relatively boring if we agreed on everything! They get enhanced access and first call on our players in the same way we supposedly do to theirs.

I hope so MM I just fear that might be the official line from the club to try to put a positive spin on it and placate the fans.

Unfortunately that’s how DR works. It’s a parent child relationship. KR will cherry pick our best and up and coming players as they please. They’ll send players recovering from injury with an instruction to only play them for 40 minutes. The idea that we should look at their squad from 18 to 25 who are closest to their 17 and choose who we want each week is a fallacy. They’ll decide who we have not us.

Ye appreciate that I just mean it gives us a line of sight into what their coach might see as their best 17 as the season unfolds and when our league campaign starts.

I see KR have named their first 21 man squad for the Thursday match. Omissions should give us a first line of sight into who might be made available to us.

One of the mistakes I think Ford made in his team selection for the London game was we were at least one specialist middle short in the 17. We used Bussey and JD as middles. Bussey is not a prop in my view, when you put him in the heavy traffic down the middle he’s much less effective as he’s not quite big enough. On the edge he’s quality. And I don’t think he’s really got the hands for the old fashioned 13 role like Addy. Only my opinion of course!!

We head into a season with more uncertainty about which 17 will take to the field for the first competitive match than for many a season in my humble opinion. We have four forwards, all likely picks, who haven’t featured yet, a DR in place but the nature of that beast is we don’t know who will be made available to us. We also have some players on trial but with no word from the club as to if any have been signed permanently. Also a suggestion that some ‘other’ players are coming in when the DR ones are announced. Are these new players or likely announcements on players on trial having been signed??? So maybe 4,5,6,7 of the players who play at Hunslet wont have played in the pre season friendlies. Far from ideal but given the reduced budget probably unavoidable. All of the above would suggest we’ll have a slow, poor, disjointed start to the season….but we are Fev! So let’s strap ourselves in for a ride on the Fev rollercoaster!!

Gale Aekins Day

Enjoyed it today. First half defence was great. Gale is running like a second row! Thought Day showed up well and looked more of a threat with ball in hand. Both Roberts and Arnold look good. Roberts carries it strongly and Arnold puts himself about especially in defence. As said hard to read too much into it with all the changes. We didn’t have a recognised half back on the field for most of the second half. But there does seem to be a togetherness about the group this year. Two or three more quality permanent signings would be great if budgets allow.

I think I saw in the clubs accounts a loan listed from MC. Maybe he’s asked for his money back.

Quite pleased with this resigning. He’s big and can be a destructive runner. Technically not great and prone to a few mistakes but that’s what you seem to get with PNG forwards, Mackenzie being another example. Very much pros and cons.

If we are bringing Trout in I think that tells us all we need to know about our aspirations for next season. Also I don’t know what average attendances for next season have been built into budget setting but when gates are significantly down the club will then have to begin the process of managing decline.

If the club has (re) signed more players, and I’ve no idea if they have, wouldn’t it be better to announce it? I get the impression there are a lot of fans still really disappointed about how last year finished and are waiting to see what the nucleus of the squad might look like for next year before committing to season tickets/sponsorship etc. From a marketing perspective I’ve never thought drip feeding signing announcements helps season ticket sales.

5ft 2inches and 21 stone.