10-11 Mar: Betfred League 1 Match Thread

[Simon Hall]

1 hour ago, fairfolly said:

Once again another comment that the poster could not care less about the welfare of the game as long as his club wins and gets promotion.Exactly what is wrong with the game,could not care less about the grass roots of R.L this coming from a club who have been in the doldrums for years,being on the edge of going to the wall and no consideration for the R.L. supporters who helped them survive.Disgraceful comment.

I think you'll find York as a club are doing their utmost to assist the local grassroots of the sport now, something they were guilty of ignoring for years. Numbers are up in the amateur game in York, can't just be coincidence that's happened since the Knights started their revival free of it's old owner. 

If one or two players help us as a club improve the standing in the city by winning games and improving the environment that local player play in, how can that be a bad thing? 

As for "no consideration for the RL supporters who helped them survive"? What you on about? Do you think we should lose every week to make other clubs supporters happier with their club or something?

 

[Anonymouse]

2 hours ago, Simon Hall said:

I hate DR as much as the next man, but 2 players on DR and 1 on loan from Hull KR yesterday does not a junior side make.

Those players are all training with us as well, not just dropped into the team on a Sunday afternoon. DR is actually working as it was intended for both clubs. York get quality players who want to play for us and know the other players and systems, Hull KR get fringe players playing and training in a quality environment.

If this arrangement helps get us out of this league I'll take it all day long.

 

what happens if you go up ? have you any solid foundations or is DR the only hope again when you wish to survive at the next level ? 

saying " If this arrangement helps get us out of this league I'll take it all day long." seems to belie your claim of "hating DR as much as the next man " . you either hate something or you don't .

[fairfolly]

York get quality players who want to play with us,and what about the rest of your squad who train all week and are then shunted aside to let H.K.R keep their players fit.The sooner the R.F.L. make it compulsory for S.L. teams to run reserve teams teams the better for the grass roots of the game. D/R and loans need scrapping A.S.A.P which will make the Championship and League 1 play their own registered players.That includes the team I support Bradford who last season was flooded with loans and D/R,where did it get them,relegated,they may as well have stuck with their own lads and gone down.Glad to see this season they are running under 16s, 17s 19s and a reserve team.That,to me is the best route forward for leagues below S.L. As the last poster said,promotion this year will equal relegation and struggling the year after.For somebody who hates D/R why will "you take it all day long"?One year of glory seems to suit you.

[EssexRL]

In danger of going OTT but I’m no fan of DR. Uneven access to players makes it an uneven field. Generally scope is lower for southern clubs so we only have Broncoes (although we’ve picked up a couple of Wigan and now Toronto players). Players coming in and out unsettle a team and as said above it does nothing to lay long term foundations. 

I have to say though I think as a club York are showing what’s possible in L1. I can’t imagine Knighrs have a huge marketing budget but they seem to be doing a great job promoting the Gand and building the profile and fan base. 

[deluded pom?]

17 hours ago, Anonymouse said:

will they both play full first team squads in a cup game ? I cant see it with the league looking so tight .

Dean Thomas has alluded to this in today's LE. He's saying because Donny and Newcastle play each other in consecutive weeks that he doesn't want to show his hand to a fellow promotion rival so early in the season. He might sacrifice a cup run on that basis.

[Amber Avenger]

26 minutes ago, fairfolly said:

That includes the team I support Bradford who last season was flooded with loans and D/R,where did it get them,relegated,they may as well have stuck with their own lads and gone down.Glad to see this season they are running under 16s, 17s 19s and a reserve team.That,to me is the best route forward for leagues below S.L. 

Hmm, whilst I tend to lean to towards your general outlook of “DR generally isn’t great for the game”, I think using the Bradford class of 2017 to prove any point is a losing battle because of the anomaly and the absurdity of the situation. Bradford had to rely on loans and DR to simply assemble a squad to compete. Sure they tried to claim otherwise, but everyone knew there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of us staying up last year and personally I thought that drafting in outside players had a point beyond simply trying to win games to stay up as it helped to protect the young squad members we had left. If that was the case, then we are starting to see the fruits of that in a confident young Bradford side in the first few games of the 2018 campaign.

If we actually look at the comings and goings you mention last year, Bradford actually had far more of a reliance on the loan system in 2017 than duel reg, in particular the relationship with Leeds (who we were not duel reg’d with) defined our season on the pitch. I actually had to look up who our DR partners were , they had that little impact last year, especially as it was – understandably – set up much later in the day.  So had DR not existed we would still have relied on loan players last year, and I don’t think there is much call for the loan system to be abolished, perhaps as the rules there seem to be far more defined, ie a minimum of one month at the club.

[fairfolly]

Amber, I take your point re the Bulls last season.As you say they were left in an impossible situation as regards putting any sort of team out on the field.I still maintain though that in the long run it pays to play your own players if you want to build a sustainable club.The poster from York,actually said that the H.K.R players want to play for York. No,they do not,they want to play for H.K.R.Unfortunately at the moment H.K.R. do not want them in their starting 17 so the solution is simple for H.K.R. shunt them off to York,let them play there.How does that help York build a firm base for their own players.They have no idea if they will be playing from one week to the next.Personally if they had to keep the loan system I would suggest that one player per month should be the most you could have.If H.K.R do not want them transfer list them and let York sign them seems reasonable to me.If they do want to keep them run a reserve team is the easy answer.

[Mumby Magic]

9 hours ago, Wolford6 said:

I'd like to think that the rugby league family would lend them some. I'm pretty certain that the Bulls would.

Thinking that meself. Evan Hodgson and Buttrerworth to name two. Would be good both ways. Character building in deepest darkest Wales for a month.

[The Daddy]

4 hours ago, deluded pom? said:

Dean Thomas has alluded to this in today's LE. He's saying because Donny and Newcastle play each other in consecutive weeks that he doesn't want to show his hand to a fellow promotion rival so early in the season. He might sacrifice a cup run on that basis.

Actually I think it was Jason Payne that said that. 

[deluded pom?]

1 minute ago, The Daddy said:

Actually I think it was Jason Payne that said that. 

You’re right. I was going on memory having flicked through LE on Sunday night.

[newbe]

I think if D/R is going to continue, then a a player has to stay with the one club, not get sent to various clubs in the same season. 

[robt]

Highlights of Donny v Whitehaven...

https://youtu.be/mR1vXqpcTEs

[shaun mc]

DR should be solely for young lads learning the game - Moss, Marsh and Donaldson don't fall into that category and is just to keep the fringe players fit

Not picking on York - I'd say the same about any similar standard player in L1

Criteria for DR should be based on age and a small number of 1st team games. Loans minimum 1 month without recall. Can't play for more than 2 clubs on DR or loan in the same season

If the HKR's of this world don't like that, let them run a reserves, or even a joint one with Hull FC

[Thunder fan]

be interesting to see what side we play on friday at doncaster, the most important by far is the following week at home v doncaster in the league, a few decent players are yet to play this season for us who can come in and not weaken our side which is good.

[deluded pom?]

37 minutes ago, Thunder fan said:

be interesting to see what side we play on friday at doncaster, the most important by far is the following week at home v doncaster in the league, a few decent players are yet to play this season for us who can come in and not weaken our side which is good.

Two good attacking teams but it’ll be the defences that make or break these matches.

[Angelic Cynic]

10 hours ago, DoubleD said:

I don't think people are being harsh, I think most people are genuinely concerned about their future. They've certainly not endeared themselves thus far. The farce of their first game - I don't believe they played any pre-season games which would have highlighted the medical kit issue. It is also unprofessional for any team not to play any pre-season matches. Then with rumours of having only 10 players train from an alleged 37 man squad, only taking 14 to their first match. This maybe acceptable in the amateur game but not in a professional league, whereby they are the recipient of central funds. They seem hopelessly unprepared for it, when they should have been fully aware, having taken over towards the end of last season.

I really do want a strong and solid semi-pro team in South/West Wales but at the moment the current setup is looking far from that. I fear the WRL may have to take ownership back on the way things are going. Really disappointing

    Played 2 away from home.At Wrexham,where it was more of an appearance,and then against London Skolars on the Broncos 4g surface,where 3 players sustained game missing injuries.

22 hours ago, DoubleD said:

Things look really concerning in West Wales, will they last the season and beyond? 

  Don't panic....we just lost the very first league game of the campaign.

   Teams/clubs like Leeds lose a number of games at the start of the season and finish relatively strongly.They even allow all their training facilities to flood.They shouldn't get their money....they are a disgrace.

   It's a bit of a schlep travelling to and from Cumbria.                                                                                                                                      It's just a nadir for a nascent club.The only way is up.It can only get better.I even saw signs of a well coached team,and an early contender for hero of 2018 when Kurtis Haile remained on the pitch while strapped up and in pain. 

   I did feel the crowd were a bit short - changed,especially as it was the first home game for Leon Pryce,and there were a number of home players with Super League experience.

    Also,Ian Golden had pointed out via social media that former Welsh sides had enjoyed their first game victories against Workington.

The original Crusaders,at Bridgend,won their first game at Derwent Park.                                                                                                      South Wales Scorpions enjoyed victory in their first game,at The Gnoll,Neath,also against Workington.

I'm sure I will feel much better when we play Coventry in a fortnight.

[FearNothing]

2 hours ago, robt said:

Highlights of Donny v Whitehaven...

https://youtu.be/mR1vXqpcTEs

Donny looking way too good there..... could be the dark horses of the division this year...

[OriginalMrC]

55 minutes ago, FearNothing said:

Donny looking way too good there..... could be the dark horses of the division this year...

Yep loads of pace and a big pack supplemented with DR talent. They'll be up there at the end of the season no doubt. 

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

    Played 2 away from home.At Wrexham,where it was more of an appearance,and then against London Skolars on the Broncos 4g surface,where 3 players sustained game missing injuries.

 

So they should have been better prepared then

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

  Don't panic....we just lost the very first league game of the campaign.

  

I'm not panicking, I'm rightly concerned at an extremely worrying start for another new entity in South/West Wales. The last thing we need is another unstable club here. They promised a lot and thus far have delivered very little and are even struggling to fulfil the basics. I'd imagine the powers that be at WRL and RFL are similarly concerned.

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

       Teams/clubs like Leeds lose a number of games at the start of the season and finish relatively strongly.They even allow all their training facilities to flood.They shouldn't get their money....they are a disgrace.

I wouldn't say a natural disaster is comparable to West Wales situation would you? And where have I said they are a disgrace and shouldn't get their money? However, if they are the recipient of central funds, then I don't think it is unreasonable for them to fulfil their basic responsibilities competently.

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

      It's a bit of a schlep travelling to and from Cumbria.                                                                                                                                     

I'm pretty sure they were aware of the distances/travel involved when they took the club/players on

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

  It's just a nadir for a nascent club.The only way is up.It can only get better.I even saw signs of a well coached team,and an early contender for hero of 2018 when Kurtis Haile remained on the pitch while strapped up and in pain.  

I hope it can only get better, but of course history doesn't always point that way. You may rightly see Kurtis as a hero, however should he be put in that situation where they don't have enough players to interchange? Player welfare has to come in at some point and you don't know if that has done lasting and permanent damage to him remaining on the pitch (I do know what I'm talking about as I did exactly the same after I dislocated my shoulder in my playing days. I remained on the pitch and further damaged the ligaments and tendons around the shoulder, and it took me 12-18 months to fully recover).

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

      I did feel the crowd were a bit short - changed,especially as it was the first home game for Leon Pryce,and there were a number of home players with Super League experience.

That is sad to hear, I hoped it would have a similar effect for Workington

1 hour ago, Angelic Cynic said:

I'm sure I will feel much better when we play Coventry in a fortnight.

I hope you do Angelic. Out of interest, weren't you a Sheffield Eagles supporter in seasons gone past or have I mistaken you for someone else? Why the change?

[deluded pom?]

19 hours ago, DoubleD said:

It is also unprofessional for any team not to play any pre-season matches. 

You’d best let M. Houles at Toulouse know that then.

[Anonymouse]

12 hours ago, FearNothing said:

Donny looking way too good there..... could be the dark horses of the division this year...

yeah but Haven are a shadow of last years team and wont win many against the top 6 or so teams this season .