15 Jun: SL: Catalans Dragons v London Broncos KO 5pm (UK Time) (TV)

[John Drake]

Discuss Catalans Dragons v London Broncos here.

[fieldofclothofgold]

London just wont lie down let's see how this one goes .Cats Should win by 12 ,but who knows 

[MZH]

Catalans have been very poor in recent weeks. Will a return home see them bounce back with a strong performance? Or has the annual slump began?

London on the other hand will be buzzing, and with Hull KR facing Warrington they will really fancy climbing off the foot of the table this week.

I'll go for Catalans by 10, but I wouldn't be at all shocked if London can do it again.

[dunno much]

Heart once again says Broncos by 4

[Quinskolar]

Just a question of which Catalans turn up. They could win by 30 or lose by 10. Who would be a bookie?. London won't die wondering this season.  Danny Ward is a shew in for coach of the year if he keeps us up!

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

Think Catalans by a score or two but hoping for London win as it boosts my clubs chances of top 5 spot.

London will see every game as winnable, not just because of the win against Saints but because they have had that attitude from day one, a sensational attitude at that, however will they rest a few as Saints did against them with an eye on maybe targeting certain matches, I don't think they will.

They will want to keep the momentum going and the pressure on the other teams in the bottom end, a win in France wouldn't be so much of a shock, but it would send another big wave toward the other clubs. 

All that said, IF we do go to a 14 team comp next year then one would suspect that keeping in whoever is bottom of SL would be the form. if clubs know that there is no relegation that would ease matters in some ways which isn't necessarily a good thing when you already know you're safe no matter how you perform.

[Man of Kent]

Surely London rest a few for this given they play HKR in four-pointer next Thursday?

Catalans by 14.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

I'll say London by 6, but the way we're playing it could just as easily be Cats by 30!

[Old Frightful]

COME ON LONDON!!!

Purely because Catalans are one place above us and level on points.

No other reason, honest. 

[THE RED ROOSTER]

The win againist St Helens was priceless in the sense of the self belief this gives the Broncos squad. Can they do it again, well they will give it a crack that's for sure, but I am of the view that the Catalans forwards will overpower London through the middle.

As always - Catalans by 18-  hoping my RL tips stay true to their (lack of) accuracy...

[Lowdesert]

Hoping for prolonged extra time golden point for this game.  20-25 mins would be nice

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

On 12/06/2019 at 20:28, Man of Kent said:

Surely London rest a few for this given they play HKR in four-pointer next Thursday?

Catalans by 14.

That's the thing though, not going for the win for every game by deliberately resting some of your best team can have negative as well as positive consequences. For Saints it wasn't really that much of a big deal, they have a decent lead in SL so thinking further down the road with regards to player freshness/resting niggles etc probably pays more dividends than losing a game you would be very much favoured to win.

For London it's a different set of variables, rest players targeting rivals that are, going by league position 'weaker', okay, but what if that backfires and you lose that one as well, is the payback of resting a few when you already have a tight squad quality wise worth it overall? You could say it gives a chanc for some of the other squad members to step up, and absolutely that's right and they would hopefully do enough but at this very critical juncture where London are still in the mix and not adrift, riding on a win against the league leaders I think they will fancy it in France and will go with the strongest team they can muster, I just don't see them thinking they can rest a few for 'weaker' teams, it's not their mentality from what I've seen, nor their best option IMO.

 

[MZH]

21 minutes ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

That's the thing though, not going for the win for every game by deliberately resting some of your best team can have negative as well as positive consequences. For Saints it wasn't really that much of a big deal, they have a decent lead in SL so thinking further down the road with regards to player freshness/resting niggles etc probably pays more dividends than losing a game you would be very much favoured to win.

For London it's a different set of variables, rest players targeting rivals that are, going by league position 'weaker', okay, but what if that backfires and you lose that one as well, is the payback of resting a few when you already have a tight squad quality wise worth it overall? You could say it gives a chanc for some of the other squad members to step up, and absolutely that's right and they would hopefully do enough but at this very critical juncture where London are still in the mix and not adrift, riding on a win against the league leaders I think they will fancy it in France and will go with the strongest team they can muster, I just don't see them thinking they can rest a few for 'weaker' teams, it's not their mentality from what I've seen, nor their best option IMO.

 

I never really understand this "targeting games" thing. For one, teams at the bottom can't afford to write any game off, every point is vital, and you never know where a win might come from or when a top side might have an off day. Look at London beating Saints for example.

Secondly, if you put all your eggs in one basket and say you are going to go all out to win game X, Y and Z and not worry about the others, what happens if you then lose those targeted games? Where do you go from there? 

Got to go all out for every win.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I just have the strangest feeling London are gonna do over cats. Don't get such a feeling often, normally when I think we're gonna win then we get smashed but hey ho..... 

London by 1!

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I just have the strangest feeling London are gonna do over cats. Don't get such a feeling often, normally when I think we're gonna win then we get smashed but hey ho..... 

London by 1!

With Gigot there is always some odd number scores.... I think if we can go into half term near enough level their big bones will tire and hopefully their fans will get on their backs.... I'm a lot more confident than the  bookies are..... They have London at 9_2....which in an effectively ve two horse race (draws now very very unlikely) those are way too big odds

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

I'm going to the skolars game tonmorow instead but planning on Perpignan trip in August

[DimmestStar]

2 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I just have the strangest feeling London are gonna do over cats. Don't get such a feeling often, normally when I think we're gonna win then we get smashed but hey ho..... 

London by 1!

Catalans have 8 senior players missing this is a golden opportunity for London.

[Aidan Putt]

31 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

With Gigot there is always some odd number scores.... I think if we can go into half term near enough level their big bones will tire and hopefully their fans will get on their backs.... I'm a lot more confident than the  bookies are..... They have London at 9_2....which in an effectively ve two horse race (draws now very very unlikely) those are way too big odds

Let’s just hope we don’t get schooled.

Cats by 10.

[Man of Kent]

5 hours ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

That's the thing though, not going for the win for every game by deliberately resting some of your best team can have negative as well as positive consequences. For Saints it wasn't really that much of a big deal, they have a decent lead in SL so thinking further down the road with regards to player freshness/resting niggles etc probably pays more dividends than losing a game you would be very much favoured to win.

For London it's a different set of variables, rest players targeting rivals that are, going by league position 'weaker', okay, but what if that backfires and you lose that one as well, is the payback of resting a few when you already have a tight squad quality wise worth it overall? You could say it gives a chanc for some of the other squad members to step up, and absolutely that's right and they would hopefully do enough but at this very critical juncture where London are still in the mix and not adrift, riding on a win against the league leaders I think they will fancy it in France and will go with the strongest team they can muster, I just don't see them thinking they can rest a few for 'weaker' teams, it's not their mentality from what I've seen, nor their best option IMO.

 

Why bust your nuts for an international away game with a short turnaround against a team that licked you at home in London? 

[Clogiron]

In a perverse way I want a Broncos win purley because the top of SL is a dead rubber so let's have a 3 way relegation battle at  the bottom, at least till they change the rules before the end of the season (again!) Just what this current structure was supposed to mitigate against

[RayCee]

7 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I just have the strangest feeling London are gonna do over cats. Don't get such a feeling often, normally when I think we're gonna win then we get smashed but hey ho..... 

London by 1!

Interesting pseudonym you have. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

15 hours ago, DimmestStar said:

Catalans have 8 senior players missing this is a golden opportunity for London.

Yep.... Got a feeling the 9-2 odds of a win are way off..... I'm not a betting man but if I was I'd pile some on London for the value today

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

19 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Why bust your nuts for an international away game with a short turnaround against a team that licked you at home in London? 

Why bother competing at all, I'm guessing you've never played competitive sport?

'Busting your balls' as you call it is simply getting down to doing what your're paid for to others and giving your all. it's down to the coach to maximise the players output, it's down to him to ensure they are feeding off each other to work for each other and all the rest of what makes it look like a team are busting their balls.

Indeed if you go in half hearted/already giving up the game then you're as likely if not more so to get injured, not even have any chance whatsoever of getting a win, likely get a tonking, feel ###### about that and lose confidence as well as having fans on your back for capitulating. The question should be why wouldn't you 'bust your balls' and go all in every week?

As others have said, there are many variables, they could rest a few and still lose next week, then what, the decision looks like a bad one especially if as mentioned Cats have 8 senior players out, there's one of your variables right there!

[Man of Kent]

22 minutes ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

Why bother competing at all, I'm guessing you've never played competitive sport?

'Busting your balls' as you call it is simply getting down to doing what your're paid for to others and giving your all. it's down to the coach to maximise the players output, it's down to him to ensure they are feeding off each other to work for each other and all the rest of what makes it look like a team are busting their balls.

Indeed if you go in half hearted/already giving up the game then you're as likely if not more so to get injured, not even have any chance whatsoever of getting a win, likely get a tonking, feel ###### about that and lose confidence as well as having fans on your back for capitulating. The question should be why wouldn't you 'bust your balls' and go all in every week?

As others have said, there are many variables, they could rest a few and still lose next week, then what, the decision looks like a bad one especially if as mentioned Cats have 8 senior players out, there's one of your variables right there!

I’ve played a ton of competitive sport - rugby, football, cricket, athletics, hockey, swimming - albeit at amateur level.

London’s chances against KR at home in five days time are considerably higher than  Catalans away ergo they would be crazy to  give it 100% today.

[Man of Kent]

Well, London have their best side out.

An all-French pack for Catalans with nine Frenchmen starting.