Match Thread: Pre-season friendly, Featherstone Rovers v York Sunday January 5th 2020

[The Phantom Horseman]

It's game week!

Thought it was worth an early start with the match thread after all the withdrawal symptoms.

League Express reporting today that Hall, Jouffret, Ferguson and Susino will all make their debuts against York...but Minns, Parata, Davies, Day, Ferres, Carey and Whylie are all out injured.

Most of those we knew about though I'm not sure what Ferres' issue is, we could do with him being fit for opening day given he was signed to replace Brad Day.

League Express says we are to be supplemented by some DR players from Leeds on Sunday but says they are still to be decided.

I read earlier some of the youngsters who are going to be playing for the hybrid Leeds/Fev reserves team will also get a run-out - that would mean French, Ottewell, Richardson and the two Wrights, and I expect we might see the likes of Jake Sweeting and Jimmy Beckett as well.

Suspect the result will mean even less than it usually does at this time of year but maybe some clues in some positions - will be interesting to see who plays hooker, for instance.

 

[marklaspalmas]

Hurray! Always good when the rugby's back on. Time to start blowing some cob-webs away. Seven injuries out of a 21 man squad is not a great start though. Let's see who makes the real start line in February.

I wonder if Worthington is available for this one?

[The Phantom Horseman]

We should still be able to turn out a decent starting 17 on Sunday, I presume the rule about maximum 5 DR & loan combined still applies in pre-season games. Could be something like

Hall
Blackmore
Hardcastle
Worthington (loan)
Render
Jouffret
Chisholm
Susino
C Johnson (DR)
Bussey
Ferguson
Harrison
Lockwood
subs
Cooper
Albert (loan)
Beckett
Sweeting
plus the 5 hybrid reserves lads & up to 2 more DR players

[marklaspalmas]

47 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

We should still be able to turn out a decent starting 17 on Sunday, I presume the rule about maximum 5 DR & loan combined still applies in pre-season games. Could be something like

Hall
Blackmore
Hardcastle
Worthington (loan)
Render
Jouffret
Chisholm
Susino
C Johnson (DR)
Bussey
Ferguson
Harrison
Lockwood
subs
Cooper
Albert (loan)
Beckett
Sweeting
plus the 5 hybrid reserves lads & up to 2 more DR players

Yeah. I was just about to post something very similar to that. Not sure what team York is putting out, but it'd be good to see the young uns get a run. Blokes like Ferguson and Ferres have little to gain playing in these types of games.

[fev4evatiggerneva]

Fergy will be busting a gut to pull a fev shirt on again, valuable game time and match fitness for them both same as any other player.

[DEANO]

Would be great to see  2 teams that are actually singed to either club

[marklaspalmas]

9 hours ago, fev4evatiggerneva said:

Fergy will be busting a gut to pull a fev shirt on again, valuable game time and match fitness for them both same as any other player.

I get that. Hes a true pro.

However, he is a player who briefly retired after all the injuries and batterings his body has taken over the years and his game time needs correctly managing to get the maximum value out of him. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

On 30/12/2019 at 10:26, The Phantom Horseman said:

 

League Express reporting today that Hall, Jouffret, Ferguson and Susino will all make their debuts against York...but Minns, Parata, Davies, Day, Ferres, Carey and Whylie are all out injured.

Most of those we knew about though I'm not sure what Ferres' issue is, we could do with him being fit for opening day given he was signed to replace Brad Day.

League Express says we are to be supplemented by some DR players from Leeds on Sunday but says they are still to be decided.

I read earlier some of the youngsters who are going to be playing for the hybrid Leeds/Fev reserves team will also get a run-out - that would mean French, Ottewell, Richardson and the two Wrights, and I expect we might see the likes of Jake Sweeting and Jimmy Beckett as well.

 

Good to see a detailed preview of the game on the York City Knights website. Even better to see their analysis of Fev's possible team agrees very much with the above, sometimes in remarkably similar terminology

"For Featherstone; Hall, Jouffret, Ferguson and Susino will all make their debuts against York, but Minns, Parata, Davies, Day, Ferres, Carey and Whylie are all out injured. Blackmore, Ferres, Worthington and Albert will all feature too alongside Bussey, Chisholm, Harrison and Lockwood. Rovers may be supplemented by some Dual Registration players from Leeds Rhinos on Sunday, but a final decision is yet to be made.

Some of the highly rated youngsters who are going to be playing for the hybrid Leeds/Fev 2020 reserves team will also get a run-out – such as French, Ottewell, Richardson and Wright, as well as the likes of Jake Sweeting and Jimmy Beckett."

(of course most of my preview was  borrowed from elsewhere too, and fair play to York for at least doing some research. Maybe forums aren't as useless as everyone says!)

[marklaspalmas]

Fame at last TPH

[marklaspalmas]

https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/rovers-v-knights-preview-s2Gew

So a 23 man squad named with no DR but the 2 announced loan signings, and Gareth Gale from the Lions.

Carey and Ferres named despite injury reports, and Minns and Parata both said to be appearing pre season at sone point. Leaves Davies on the injury list plus of course Day long term. I wonder about Whylie too.

[The Phantom Horseman]

16 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

Fame at last TPH

Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me

[The Phantom Horseman]

11 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/rovers-v-knights-preview-s2Gew

So a 23 man squad named with no DR but the 2 announced loan signings, and Gareth Gale from the Lions.

Carey and Ferres named despite injury reports, and Minns and Parata both said to be appearing pre season at sone point. Leaves Davies on the injury list plus of course Day long term. I wonder about Whylie too.

Render a puzzling omission given he isn't one of the names that has been mentioned in injury reports, unless I have missed something?

Will be interesting to see if we are given access to any DR guys at any point in pre-season - last year we had Golding in the Fax friendly, for instance. Presumably DR players won't be travelling with us to Valencia, and history suggests we won't have any DR players for the Leeds game, so that would only leave the Hull KR fixture.

[marklaspalmas]

26 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Render a puzzling omission given he isn't one of the names that has been mentioned in injury reports, unless I have missed something?

Will be interesting to see if we are given access to any DR guys at any point in pre-season - last year we had Golding in the Fax friendly, for instance. Presumably DR players won't be travelling with us to Valencia, and history suggests we won't have any DR players for the Leeds game, so that would only leave the Hull KR fixture.

I hadn't spotted Render's absence. Hmm. My line up:

Hall

Carey

Hardcastle

Gale/Worthington

Blackmore

Jouffret

Chisholm

Ferguson/Cooper

Bussey

Susino/Albert

Ferres

Harrison

Lockwood

Subs: Sweeting, Beckett, French, Ottewell, B.Wright, N.Wright, Richardson.

[Rarefrith]

Gareth Gale back on trial? He didn’t take up a contract the other year due to work commitments? 

[tms]

30 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

I hadn't spotted Render's absence. Hmm. My line up:

Hall

Carey

Hardcastle

Gale/Worthington

Blackmore

Jouffret

Chisholm

Ferguson/Cooper

Bussey

Susino/Albert

Ferres

Harrison

Lockwood

Subs: Sweeting, Beckett, French, Ottewell, B.Wright, N.Wright, Richardson.

i would always start with fergy and albert two big men then bring on the more mobile cooper and susino

[The Phantom Horseman]

56 minutes ago, Rarefrith said:

Gareth Gale back on trial? He didn’t take up a contract the other year due to work commitments? 

I wonder if this is related to the change in DR rules where up to 5 amateur players can be registered for Championship clubs whilst still retaining their eligibility for their amateur club? If so this would mean that Gale can still play for  the Lions if he doesn't get selected for Fev.

[The Grinder]

1 hour ago, Rarefrith said:

Gareth Gale back on trial? He didn’t take up a contract the other year due to work commitments? 

Personally I really rate Gale, hope he takes up any offer this time around.

[marklaspalmas]

3 hours ago, The Grinder said:

Personally I really rate Gale, hope he takes up any offer this time around.

He certainly did ok for us in a couple of friendlies in his previous trial. Won GB honours at conference level too

[marklaspalmas]

4 hours ago, POR said:

i would always start with fergy and albert two big men then bring on the more mobile cooper and susino

Quite possibly, I'm no coach.

Last season Carr seemed to rotate Makka & Welly, then Cooper with Davies/Ormy etc to have a mix of one heavyweight and one more mobile prop on the field at the same time.

[Gav Wilson]

On 01/01/2020 at 21:39, The Phantom Horseman said:

(of course most of my preview was  borrowed from elsewhere too, and fair play to York for at least doing some research. Maybe forums aren't as useless as everyone says!)

 

Haha! I've been a TRL forum member for 16 years... Always got love for the Featherstone parish!  

[The Phantom Horseman]

Well this is a bit of a change to the story on our website...we are apparently going to be fielding five young Leeds players against York on Sunday according to Peter Smith in the YEP. If so, I was clearly wrong about the DR/loan limits applying in pre-season.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/six-leeds-rhinos-players-duty-featherstone-rovers-pre-season-opener-1354788

Dupree, O'Connor, McConnell, Spence and Whitton... only two of those even have squad numbers for Leeds. Be surprised if any of them play for us in the regular season.

[The Phantom Horseman]

The story on our website has now been updated...there are actually six Leeds players added (in addition to Wellington Albert) with Dan Waite-Pullan, who played for us last pre-season, also included. We now have a 26-man squad. Carey, Ottewell and one of the Wrights seem to have dropped out. Think the result of this game will be about as relevant to our season as the Hunslet Parkside one last year.

https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/webster-names-squad-for-york-clash-WOSGH

[Cardypaul]

8 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

The story on our website has now been updated...there are actually six Leeds players added (in addition to Wellington Albert) with Dan Waite-Pullan, who played for us last pre-season, also included. We now have a 26-man squad. Carey, Ottewell and one of the Wrights seem to have dropped out. Think the result of this game will be about as relevant to our season as the Hunslet Parkside one last year.

https://www.featherstonerovers.co.uk/news/webster-names-squad-for-york-clash-WOSG

should be looking at our own players first 

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, Cardypaul said:

According to the Fev Twitter page the 6 Leeds players have been added to Sunday’s squad. To be honest at this stage I think we should be looking at our own players first.

I'd guess it's a combination of us being very short of healthy bodies at this stage, and our DR partners wanting to get some game time for some of their fringe players. It pretty much tells us what we already knew, that the "Leeds reserves" is going to be a hybrid of our players and theirs.

The guys in our squad for Sunday would mostly, I think, be lower in the pecking order at Leeds than the players rumoured to be going to Bradford in the Rhys Evans deal announced yesterday (rumoured to be Holroyd, Mustapha and maybe 1 or 2 others), but I'd guess the guys we are likely to be interested in from Leeds once the regular season starts are going to be much higher up Leeds' pecking order (McLelland, Sutcliffe, maybe Briscoe and one or two others).

 

[tms]

2 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

. Think the result of this game will be about as relevant to our season as the Hunslet Parkside one last year.

 

 

agreed york playing 4 trialists sunday 2 only sixteen years old