20 Jun: SL: London Broncos v Hull Kingston Rovers KO 7.45pm (TV)

[John Drake]

Discuss London Broncos v Hull Kingston Rovers here.

[Liverpool Rover]

it will probably be a game that is high on tension and low on quality. London will be difficult and be on a high after their recent wins but I think that we will scrape home. Rovers by 2.

It's crazy to think that whoever wins though will only be 4 points off a playoff place before the other games are played.

[Bleep1673]

Laaandaaan by 16

[Number 16]

Should be tight, but won't be. One team won't show up.  My money's on Rovers. London by at least a dozen.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

Our forwards have played huge minutes this year as we've been lucky with injuries and a small squad.

4 day turnaround and French trip too. I hope Wardy has done very little conditioning work and ley them recover

Think the evens odds with bookies is correct but I'll back us to make it a third consecutive win 

Plenty of Broncos I know going... KR travel well but Ealing on a Thursday is a big ask.... Maybe 500 traveling fans so 2000 would be decent

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

27 minutes ago, Number 16 said:

Should be tight, but won't be. One team won't show up.  My money's on Rovers. London by at least a dozen.

I'm backing it will be an error strewn thriller.... 32-30 to the Ealing nags

[Bleep1673]

1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I'm backing it will be an error strewn thriller.... 32-30 to the Ealing nags

I used to play for Ealing, in the Southern/London League, Mick McCombe used to be one of the great London RL supporters, even though he was a Kiwi. God bless him.

[Ricardo Taylor]

home advantage will help London. 10 points victory

[The Hallucinating Goose]

London by 6!

[Eleftherios]

got to go with London, at home and will be full of confidence.

[Kayakman]

Looking forward to this one...could go right down to the wire...London on the Golden Point.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

London by 8 (please).

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, Bleep1673 said:

I used to play for Ealing, in the Southern/London League, Mick McCombe used to be one of the great London RL supporters, even though he was a Kiwi. God bless him.

Well Ealing is on fire once again! 

There has been plenty of Kiwis/Aussies down this season... Considering how many are in London I'm surprised we don't have bigger crowds.... If we keep winning though who knows! 

[Futtocks]

Could be entertaining, with both teams willing to take chances/make mistakes.

[The Future is League]

A low scoring game and whoever wins will have a huge confidence boost.

Robins by 6.

[Chris22]

The most important game of the Super League season so far? I predict a lot of nerves and poor defence. I can see a lot of points.

London 32-36 Hull KR

[DimmestStar]

Rovers are without Garbutt and McGuire plus the long termers like Lunt & Greenwood plus the 3 players who have had to retire.

Even so thanks to the 3 new loanees we'll be able to field quite a strong line up. How the new boys perform could be important.

Rovers have toughened up a lot defensively under Smith and the return of Quinlan is so important.

With a bit more cutting edge Rovers would have beaten Warrington more convincingly but I think we will click soon in that department. I wouldn't be surprised if things come good in this game provided the defence remains strong.

My main concern is the bouncy bouncy pitch at the Trailfinders which means that away teams must totally recalibrate their kicking game. The familiarity with the surface is a huge advantage for the home team.

Hull FC wouldn't let Jordan Abdull join Rovers after his hugely successful loan year at Craven Park so we've had to wait while he spends a year at London. In effect Abdull is on loan for a year, he has been outstanding for the Broncos it will be interesting to see how he performs knowing his future is with Rovers.

Rovers have played every year against London for ages thanks to the middle 8's and our year in the championship and have won every single game home & away. I think that run will continue perhaps by 2 scores or more.

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

1 hour ago, The Future is League said:

A low scoring game and whoever wins will have a huge confidence boost.

Robins by 6.

can't see it being low scoring, quite the opposite.

London by 6 in a high scoring thriller.

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

17 minutes ago, DimmestStar said:

Rovers are without Garbutt and McGuire plus the long termers like Lunt & Greenwood plus the 3 players who have had to retire.

Even so thanks to the 3 new loanees we'll be able to field quite a strong line up. How the new boys perform could be important.

Rovers have toughened up a lot defensively under Smith and the return of Quinlan is so important.

With a bit more cutting edge Rovers would have beaten Warrington more convincingly but I think we will click soon in that department. I wouldn't be surprised if things come good in this game provided the defence remains strong.

My main concern is the bouncy bouncy pitch at the Trailfinders which means that away teams must totally recalibrate their kicking game. The familiarity with the surface is a huge advantage for the home team.

Hull FC wouldn't let Jordan Abdull join Rovers after his hugely successful loan year at Craven Park so we've had to wait while he spends a year at London. In effect Abdull is on loan for a year, he has been outstanding for the Broncos it will be interesting to see how he performs knowing his future is with Rovers.

Rovers have played every year against London for ages thanks to the middle 8's and our year in the championship and have won every single game home & away. I think that run will continue perhaps by 2 scores or more.

So if you've played every year and Mags has played on a 4G as have most players then understanding the bounce on the pitch won't be a problem will it? Sorry but making excuses re pitches has been going on for over a century. Have you actually played on a 4G pitch and kicked on it?

[DimmestStar]

I've been down to the Trailfinders twice and anyone with eyes in their heads can see that the ball reacts off the surface like a child on a bouncy castle. It's utterly ridiculous IMO.

As you say it hasn't stopped us winning on our previous visits and we know what's coming. Mags isn't playing BTW.

[Wolford6]

7 minutes ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

 Have you actually played on a 4G pitch and kicked on it?

That's actually a very good point. I played rugby for over 30 years and never played on a plastic pitch. Consequently, apart from the abrasion to skin, I don't have much idea about the problems they pose compared to playing on grass. Can you turn as well? Is it more tiring over 80 minutes? Can you get a grip for shoving in a RU scrum?

It would be good if Sky could do a feature about it.

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

5 minutes ago, DimmestStar said:

I've been down to the Trailfinders twice and anyone with eyes in their heads can see that the ball reacts off the surface like a child on a bouncy castle. It's utterly ridiculous IMO.

As you say it hasn't stopped us winning on our previous visits and we know what's coming. Mags isn't playing BTW.

I know but he still has a tongue in his head, you saying that no-one has any idea whatsoever as to how the pitch reacts? Sorry but any mention of the pitch as an advantage is just excuses, if you're a kicker worth your salt then you learn, understand and prepare, that's what professionals do in all walks of life.

[DimmestStar]

Mags telling the Rovers players that the ball bounces ridiculously high isn't quite the same as London players actually playing on it every fortnight.

Not to mention that the rubber which causes the acute bounce has been said by some to be a cancer risk for the players. Premier League football bans these bouncy plastic pitches because they change the nature of the game and some allege have safety concerns.

The Trailfinders ground with it's plastic bouncy pitch and rubber foundations and it's wholly inadequate spectator facilities is not fit for Super League. The club yes the facilities no.

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

4 minutes ago, Wolford6 said:

That's actually a very good point. I played rugby for over 30 years and never played on a plastic pitch. Consequently, apart from the abrasion to skin, I don't have much idea about the problems they pose compared to playing on grass. Can you turn as well? Is it more tiring over 80 minutes? Can you get a grip for shoving in a RU scrum?

It would be good if Sky could do a feature about it.

That's the thing though, Rovers and all the other teams have played on a 4G pitch at some point or another in the last couple of seasons, if you are the kicker or even the coach then part of your paid job is to prepare and understand the environment you are performing in. Only slapdash non professionals don't do that and then come up with excuses.

Evenness of surface over a whole year, so the pitch is more predictable than a grass pitch for kicking and running purposes, especially comparing against any amateur clubs pitch which may not get the attention a semi pro/pro team. Chances of divots, zero, even the RFU found that over the last four seasons injuries were no worse than grass, there was a big deal made of last seasons increase (of injuries on artificial compared to grass) but by definition this meant over the three preceding years artificial was safer.

 

[dunno much]

Broncos by 4