Match Thread: Featherstone Rovers v Leigh Sunday 2nd September 2018

[The Phantom Horseman]

Lots of distractions going on at the moment but there's actually a rugby game with a bit of importance on Sunday, as the winner will be very much in pole position to host the Championship Shield Final.

Not what either club was aiming for at the start of the season but that's where we are.

Leigh seem to be in much more strife than us at present but also appear to have been playing better than us lately so it will be interesting to see how this goes.

How close will we get to announcing a 19-man squad, or more pertinently a 17-man team on the day? We effectively only fielded 16 players against Rochdale with Carlile on the bench despite having failed a fitness test and never being likely to be used.

Hopefully he'll be back this weekend but we have lost Walton with a serious knee injury, whilst Dakota Whylie will have to have passed his concussion test. Moreover, Harry Newman has been named in the Yorkshire Academy team to play Lancashire at Warrington on Sunday so presumably we won't have him either, whilst Briscoe is in the Leeds 19 to play Hull KR on Saturday and presumably will be starting on the wing for them in Hall's absence.

I'm not sure what Richard Moore's situation is at the moment but we might be hard pressed to get close to 17 fit players for Sunday. Squad announcement due later today.

[Private Baldrick]

It very much has a feel of 'let's get this season over with' for me. Both teams would not have wanted or maybe expected to be they are now. Leigh however seem to have responded on the field better than what we have and still look to have a decent team on paper. Attitude and desire will decide the outcome on Sunday. Normally I would back us to beat anyone on the day but I feel we will be too flat on Sunday, but will be happy to be proved wrong. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

As anticipated we are well short of numbers...a 15-man squad has been named.
https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/injury-hit-rovers-set-to-battle-centurions-hJfDX

[hrtbps]

15-man squad! Bloody hell! 

[Monkeymagic22]

Only naming 15 players is a joke. I’d bet that teams in the league below can do better than that. What about dual reg?. Pathetic.

[hrtbps]

1 minute ago, Monkeymagic22 said:

Only naming 15 players is a joke. I’d bet that teams in the league below can do better than that. What about dual reg?. Pathetic.

This kind of thing exposes DR for what it is: an absolute joke at the junior partner's expense.

We need that reserves squad yesterday. 

[Monkeymagic22]

3 minutes ago, hrtbps said:

This kind of thing exposes DR for what it is: an absolute joke at the junior partner's expense.

We need that reserves squad yesterday. 

You are right, I’m definitely against dual reg now, which hasn’t benefitted us at all this season. Halifax have a reserve team, so no reason we couldn’t have one.

[hrtbps]

1 minute ago, Monkeymagic22 said:

You are right, I’m definitely against dual reg now, which hasn’t benefitted us at all this season. Halifax have a reserve team, so no reason we couldn’t have one.

There have definitely been some pluses - Newman and Dwyer spring to mind - but we lost Briscoe for an important run of matches, and they've let us down when we've been down on numbers already this season. No reason why they couldn't have given us someone - anyone - from their youth teams. 

My overwhelming feeling is that we'd be better off alone, being self-sufficient. 

[Monkeymagic22]

3 minutes ago, hrtbps said:

There have definitely been some pluses - Newman and Dwyer spring to mind - but we lost Briscoe for an important run of matches, and they've let us down when we've been down on numbers already this season. No reason why they couldn't have given us someone - anyone - from their youth teams. 

My overwhelming feeling is that we'd be better off alone, being self-sufficient. 

Newman I accept, but Dwyer scored all those tries in a game we’d have won in any case, then apparently had a falling out with Duffy before the Fax match, which can’t have helped. Negatively we lost Briscoe towards the end of the season.

[gazza77]

20 minutes ago, Monkeymagic22 said:

Only naming 15 players is a joke. I’d bet that teams in the league below can do better than that. What about dual reg?. Pathetic.

The only players that can now turn out for us in the 8s are Newman & Briscoe AFAIK. Briscoe is in Leeds squad, and Newman selected for Yorkshire in an U19's game. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, hrtbps said:

 they've let us down when we've been down on numbers already this season. No reason why they couldn't have given us someone - anyone - from their youth teams. 

 

Worth pointing out that at the fans' forum it was stated that on several occasions we had turned down Leeds players offered to us in favour of playing our own players, I'm not so sure it's been a case of Leeds letting us down.

Also the second part is wrong. They can't just give us someone from their youth teams (or indeed anyone) for the 8s unless they have played at least three games for the DR team (ie us) during the season.

[hrtbps]

Just now, The Phantom Horseman said:

Worth pointing out that at the fans' forum it was stated that on several occasions we had turned down Leeds players offered to us in favour of playing our own players, I'm not so sure it's been a case of Leeds letting us down.

Also the second part is wrong. They can't just give us someone from their youth teams (or indeed anyone) for the 8s unless they have played at least three games for the DR team (ie us) during the season.

I meant earlier in the season when we were struggling to name a full squad and they were also dealing with injuries. I find it hard to believe there was absolutely nobody they could send us, or that we'd turn them down and play instead without a full complement of interchanges. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

2 minutes ago, hrtbps said:

I meant earlier in the season when we were struggling to name a full squad and they were also dealing with injuries. I find it hard to believe there was absolutely nobody they could send us, or that we'd turn them down and play instead without a full complement of interchanges. 

Depends which games you're talking about and which players. Have there been many times prior to the last 3 or 4 games or so that we have not been able to name a full 17? Along with Mark Las Palmas I've been putting up these match threads all year and I can't remember too many times before the Toronto game (when they hurriedly loaned us Dakota Whylie) that we were so desperate for bodies that we would have taken absolutely anyone from Leeds.

 

[hrtbps]

5 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Depends which games you're talking about and which players. Have there been many times prior to the last 3 or 4 games or so that we have not been able to name a full 17? Along with Mark Las Palmas I've been putting up these match threads all year and I can't remember too many times before the Toronto game (when they hurriedly loaned us Dakota Whylie) that we were so desperate for bodies that we would have taken absolutely anyone from Leeds.

 

15-man squad for Leigh (H)

16-man squad for Toronto (A).

17-man squads for Barrow (H), Rochdale (A)

18-man squads for Sheffield (A), Rochdale (H), Batley (H)

Regardless of results on the day, I wonder how many players were forced to play more minutes than necessary, picking up or exacerbating injuries. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

6 minutes ago, hrtbps said:

15-man squad for Leigh (H)

16-man squad for Toronto (A).

17-man squads for Barrow (H), Rochdale (A)

18-man squads for Sheffield (A), Rochdale (H), Batley (H)

Regardless of results on the day, I wonder how many players were forced to play more minutes than necessary, picking up or exacerbating injuries. 

Confirms what I thought - until the Toronto game we have always had 17 players on the day. There would have been several occasions, because of Leeds' own injury situation, where they didn't have anyone available to send us who we would have preferred over our own guys...I just don't think that amounts to Leeds "letting us down". MC has consistently repeated how strong our relationship with Leeds is and I don't think he'd continue with it if that wasn't the case.

Am not particularly defending DR (though I can completely see why we use it), most of us don't like it as a concept and certainly agree that the return of the reserves is very much required providing the reasons why we were forced to disband it previously are no longer valid.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

38 minutes ago, gazza77 said:

The only players that can now turn out for us in the 8s are Newman & Briscoe AFAIK. Briscoe is in Leeds squad, and Newman selected for Yorkshire in an U19's game. 

Anyone DR'd before the end of season deadline could play for us in the 8s, providing that if they haven't played 7 or more games for us in the regular season they haven't already played for Leeds (although they would then become ineligible to play for Leeds) and if they have they can play for both teams. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

2 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Anyone DR'd before the end of season deadline could play for us in the 8s, providing that if they haven't played 7 or more games for us in the regular season they haven't already played for Leeds (although they would then become ineligible to play for Leeds) and if they have they can play for both teams. 

Are you sure LTS? http://www.rugby-league.com/operational-rules-2018/#p=90

C1:2:13
"...A club may only play a player who is Dual Registered to it after the following deadlines, if he has played 3 First Team matches for that club before the deadline”

a    in the case of Championship clubs, the end of the regular season…”

      If there’s one more reason for DR to be abolished, it’s so that me and LTS’s specialist subject on Mastermind will no longer have to be the RFL Operational Rulebook.
 

[BOBBY BORIS]

And half the squad wont be arsed any way seen they not been offered contracts or retiring .

[jamescolin]

When Leigh are in a similar situation player wise why are they playing so well compared to us. Is it all down to man management?

[Monkeymagic22]

I think the clubs given up for the year to be honest. Not a good look through, for supposedly one of the better Championship teams not been able to even have the 4 interchange players.

[sweaty craiq]

We are aw reet at Leyth, we have a local amateur and a young lad making up the numbers this week the odd one who hasn't been seen at the club for a while. Heard Beaumont and Campbell may be making debuts - roll on 2019

[marklaspalmas]

How does an academy match take precedence over a Championship fixture??

[jamescolin]

Should we on that basis look at Fev Lions?

[elppaxr2i]

29 minutes ago, jamescolin said:

Should we on that basis look at Fev Lions?

Fev lions & rovers sadly not interested in working with each other at this present time

[sentoffagain2]

51 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

How does an academy match take precedence over a Championship fixture??

  I would think 95% of young players with no affinity to Fev would choose to play for their County,i for one think he has made the right choice.