RugbyPowelly

From May 1st players can be approached by other clubs about transfers. In my experience this can be an unsettled period for the teams as some players are working extra hard and wanting to impress, while others heads are messed up. Unfortunately i’d suspect 3-4 of our ‘better’ players will be approached this following week but at least hopefully this boosts them for the Doncaster game knowing they may get a call if they have a good game.

I’ve not been able to attend the last couple of games and so can’t directly comment on performance. We must have all realistically expected this to be a hellish season, the team is weaker than most be based on Dewsbury resources is as good as we’re gonna get. The pack is too soft and too often we lack natural creativity. However I do feel we show quality at times. It’s discipline, leadership and sometimes (mental and physical) fitness that we mainly lack. If we can turn our good 30 minute spells into 60 minute spells then we should pick up points- not loads but some. In Fergie we trust.

I can’t see a win here unfortunately but I do see it close. We look generally ok but need to get sharper in a lot of areas + have more discipline, more play making and more leadership (so not much then ). 24-18 is my predication

I thought we played well. We lack grunt through the middle and an experienced leading hand on the pitch talking & driving us through the game. I know Sykes is an experienced guy but he doesn’t play that ‘director’ part. Loads of improvement and we were second best, but not by much.

Outside looking in I’d also say 14th tbf. I’ll keep the faith though.

There’s a game with Featherstone on Saturday but it’s behind closed doors

On another day we win that game. How it goes.

Agree with that about Ferguson

It was declining but has been on the up especially since Covid times. It’s bigger than ever and take a slice from Rugby Union. 2023 recorded the highest total NRL attendances of all time.

All SL games being shown live on Tv is a strategy. Kill or cure in my opinion. It could raise the whole profile of the sport and bring in hundreds of thousands of new followers who would then perhaps also go to the games and enjoy the atmosphere etc. Or it could just stop people turning up in the stands and the sport fizzles away. Australia proves rugby league is a sport where a country can completely back it and fully enjoy all aspects of it - bringing it to the mainstream. So god hope IMG works.

I think you make some great and valid points. I just can’t see how it will improve either. Not without losing the identity of our club and if we lose that, is there any point?

Which are?

All of them from the half backs to the props. As I said, be good to ‘experiment’. My point was let’s keep an open approach. With a young squad like ours and lots of prospects it would be good to try some. Nothing to lose after performances we’re getting so far.

Poor all round. I did think we got back into the game in the second half slightly but I can’t help but think that was because at 30 up Bradford took 20% off their efforts. Poor discipline, no strong leadership, weak decision making and a lack of co-ordination were obvious. I do get the sense we can actually convert chances into points but we need ball-in-hand in their half more to give the backs a chance of doing that. This pack is struggling at this level. Some lads seem to have a guaranteed starting spot in the team but I think Fergie needs to experiment now and see how mixing it up can work. I know we’re only 2 games in, but it’s clear just doing the same thing each week will mean we get beat.

We need to be able to say we saw effort, interest, leadership and enthusiasm after the game tomorrow. Hopefully with a bit of good ability shown at times too. That would be a win for me.