Match Thread: Featherstone Rovers v Halifax. Sunday 9th February 2020

[marklaspalmas]

First home game of the season. Always good to be back.

After the injury update on Rovers TV, we know that Dale Ferguson should be in contention.

Chizz will be out for three weeks, so presumably Jouffret will slot in.

I don't think we have any other injury issues other than the long-term ones (Day, Davies, Minns, Whylie, Render).

21 man squad out tomorrow.

[Chris Taylor]

A real marker to set against our close rivals. 

Halifax had a tough opener and won in the last minute, which should see their confidence high. 

Should expect a home win, but conditions are suppose to be pretty grim.

[The Phantom Horseman]

I watched the video of Halifax's game against Sheffield yesterday, on that evidence I wouldn't say they have improved at all since last year. Other than the odd piece of smart play from Murrell and maybe Grix, there wasn't much quality rugby on display, and their best forward by some way was the dual reg player from Huddersfield, Oliver Roberts. Sheffield looked fairly ordinary too without Thackeray.

We looked a work in progress on Sunday and Chisholm is a big loss, but if we can avoid marching them upfield with penalties I think we have more quality in our line-up.

Of course, the forecast suggests the possibility of heavy rain and winds gusting up to 50mph, which really wouldn't be ideal, lets hope the storm misses us.

[MADREDNIGE]

Duel reg player? Never? Not Halifax after all their sniping! 

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

40 minutes ago, MADREDNIGE said:

Duel reg player? Never? Not Halifax after all their sniping! 

Apparently he's a 'fax lad so it's ok....

[The Phantom Horseman]

16 hours ago, MADREDNIGE said:

Duel reg player? Never? Not Halifax after all their sniping! 

Rumours they might be fielding an Australian International with 200 NRL appearances and 118 tries on DR on Sunday...hope so, maybe some of the flak we usually get for our use of DR will get shared about a bit more, then again...

[The Blues Ox]

41 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Rumours they might be fielding an Australian International with 200 NRL appearances and 118 tries on DR on Sunday...hope so, maybe some of the flak we usually get for our use of DR will get shared about a bit more, then again...

Oi thats my rumour.

In all seriousness though I don't think its too likely as the only player that didnt really perform in the backline against Sheffield was Woodburn Hall and I cant see Uate playing centre. I thought your assesment of our game against Sheffield was spot on though and it were a total contrast to a couple of our pre-season performances. The only thing I would say though is that last season we would not have won that game especially going 7 points behind with the same amount of minutes left and a couple of tries disallowed that on the replay look perfectly fine along with a sin binning for an aggresive tackle. I may be clutching at straws but as we won its what im clinging to.

I can't see anything but a comfortable Fev win so Im hoping Fev are complacent and we catch them cold.

[The Blues Ox]

16 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Apparently he's a 'fax lad so it's ok....

75% of the lads we will get from Hudds will be Fax lads.......

[Michael Bates]

Would the bad conditions really be that bad for us? Given the quality I believe we have in our pack and the flair of Chisholm unavailable, would stripping the game back and attempting to batter them up the middle actually favour us?

[The Phantom Horseman]

49 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

Oi thats my rumour.

 

that Twitter new follower method often checks out though!

[The Phantom Horseman]

25 minutes ago, Michael Bates said:

Would the bad conditions really be that bad for us? Given the quality I believe we have in our pack and the flair of Chisholm unavailable, would stripping the game back and attempting to batter them up the middle actually favour us?

That's a fair point. It's the time of year when fans of every team say "we'll be better when the ground firms up", that can't be right for every team.

Bad-weather games tend to come down to kicking games and who makes least mistakes in crucial parts of the field though. At the moment the forecast is for the worst of the rain to fall around lunchtime but it still looks sure to be wet and windy.

[Private Baldrick]

9 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

That's a fair point. It's the time of year when fans of every team say "we'll be better when the ground firms up", that can't be right for every team.

Bad-weather games tend to come down to kicking games and who makes least mistakes in crucial parts of the field though. At the moment the forecast is for the worst of the rain to fall around lunchtime but it still looks sure to be wet and windy.

I cannot help but be reminded of the Rochdale home game a couple of years ago when we played them early doors in wet and boggy conditions, and we know how that one finished!

The poor weather will be a great leveller, bringing the better team down to the level of the inferior, therefore Halifax will be in with a shout.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Just now, Private Baldrick said:

I cannot help but be reminded of the Rochdale home game a couple of years ago when we played them early doors in wet and boggy conditions, and we know how that one finished!

 

and the aftermath...we spent the next two seasons going for goal every penalty we were awarded in the opposition's half after turning down several down the hill in the 1st half.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, The Blues Ox said:

Oi thats my rumour.

In all seriousness though I don't think its too likely as the only player that didnt really perform in the backline against Sheffield was Woodburn Hall and I cant see Uate playing centre.

 

Yep just a rumour...Roberts & Wilson in on DR.

[The Blues Ox]

55 minutes ago, Michael Bates said:

Would the bad conditions really be that bad for us? Given the quality I believe we have in our pack and the flair of Chisholm unavailable, would stripping the game back and attempting to batter them up the middle actually favour us?

I think our pack is pretty strong to be fair. In my opinion its the quality you have in your backs that could make it a rowt on a fine day.

6 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Yep just a rumour...Roberts & Wilson in on DR.

We are looking pretty much close to full strength going on the squad named. I feel a bit better for having Moore, Barber, Robinson and the two DR lads in.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, The Blues Ox said:

I think our pack is pretty strong to be fair. In my opinion its the quality you have in your backs that could make it a rowt on a fine day.

We are looking pretty much close to full strength going on the squad named. I feel a bit better for having Moore, Barber, Robinson and the two DR lads in.

Our squad named via Twitter. Tom Holroyd replaces O'Connor as the 3rd DR and Chisholm obviously isn't included, otherwise fairly similar to last week's 21. Ferguson is included so hopefully will play this week.

[POR]

2 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Our squad named via Twitter. Tom Holroyd replaces O'Connor as the 3rd DR and Chisholm obviously isn't included, otherwise fairly similar to last week's 21. Ferguson is included so hopefully will play this week.

funny thing on halifax web site  match preview  possible  FEV squad

Featherstone Rovers (from:) Craig Hall, Ben Blackmore, Josh Hardcastle, Conor Carey, Louis Jouffret, Dean Parata, James Harrison, Brett Ferres, Brad Day, James Lockwood, Luke Cooper, Jack Bussey, Alec Susino, Jimmy Beckett, Jack Render, Jake Sweeting, Dakota Whylie, Brandan French, Bradley Wright, Sam Ottewell, Nathan Wright, Jack Richardson, Greg Worthington 

[Gareth hock]

6 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

Oi thats my rumour.

In all seriousness though I don't think its too likely as the only player that didnt really perform in the backline against Sheffield was Woodburn Hall and I cant see Uate playing centre. I thought your assesment of our game against Sheffield was spot on though and it were a total contrast to a couple of our pre-season performances. The only thing I would say though is that last season we would not have won that game especially going 7 points behind with the same amount of minutes left and a couple of tries disallowed that on the replay look perfectly fine along with a sin binning for an aggresive tackle. I may be clutching at straws but as we won its what im clinging to.

I can't see anything but a comfortable Fev win so Im hoping Fev are complacent and we catch them cold.

How’s keal getting on for you so far? 

[jamescolin]

3 hours ago, POR said:

funny thing on halifax web site  match preview  possible  FEV squad

Featherstone Rovers (from:) Craig Hall, Ben Blackmore, Josh Hardcastle, Conor Carey, Louis Jouffret, Dean Parata, James Harrison, Brett Ferres, Brad Day, James Lockwood, Luke Cooper, Jack Bussey, Alec Susino, Jimmy Beckett, Jack Render, Jake Sweeting, Dakota Whylie, Brandan French, Bradley Wright, Sam Ottewell, Nathan Wright, Jack Richardson, Greg Worthington 

No Ferguson, Holroyd or O'Connor but injured Brad Day shown. I wonder what the real line up looks like. Is the Twitter one correct?

[The Blues Ox]

4 hours ago, Gareth hock said:

How’s keal getting on for you so far? 

He has sped our play up quite a bit, maybe it explains why we were so off last week with him having to go off injured. Misses out Sunday due to concussion but Brandon Moore returns so we should be fine in that position.

[RobLambert]

On 06/02/2020 at 13:30, marklaspalmas said:

First home game of the season. Always good to be back.

After the injury update on Rovers TV, we know that Dale Ferguson should be in contention.

Chizz will be out for three weeks, so presumably Jouffret will slot in.

I don't think we have any other injury issues other than the long-term ones (Day, Davies, Minns, Whylie, Render).

21 man squad out tomorrow.

Is there any chance the injury news can be shared or is it exclusively for subscribers ?

[marklaspalmas]

1 hour ago, RobLambert said:

Is there any chance the injury news can be shared or is it exclusively for subscribers ?

Not sure mate. From memory, Davies was March, Minns Easter, Whylie about ready but building up strength, pretty vague on Render's hip and Day maybe before the end of the season. It was pretty thorough. 

[RobLambert]

1 hour ago, marklaspalmas said:

Not sure mate. From memory, Davies was March, Minns Easter, Whylie about ready but building up strength, pretty vague on Render's hip and Day maybe before the end of the season. It was pretty thorough. 

Thanks for this.  My post was also a bit tongue in cheek.  Not sure why injury news is suddenly only on Fev TV. 

Sods law i've been a subscriber for the last 2 years but it ended yesterday !!!

[marklaspalmas]

8 hours ago, RobLambert said:

Thanks for this.  My post was also a bit tongue in cheek.  Not sure why injury news is suddenly only on Fev TV. 

Sods law i've been a subscriber for the last 2 years but it ended yesterday !!!

I suppose if the club does not create exclusive content for the site then motivation for becoming a subscriber is lessened.

[Gareth hock]

11 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

He has sped our play up quite a bit, maybe it explains why we were so off last week with him having to go off injured. Misses out Sunday due to concussion but Brandon Moore returns so we should be fine in that position.

Good lad is keal was a good hooker for us shame he came to Fev when they was dishing out daft wages and had to go when they didn’t make the super 8s .