Match Thread: Championship Round 9, Featherstone Rovers v Bradford Sunday-13th-June-2021

[marklaspalmas]

Well then. Wembley here we come, if and when they let us buy any tickets.

Back to the league on Sunday against a Bradford team that have won 7 out of 8 games and are sitting third.

Later kickoff at 4.30 (because of some soccer match??)

 

Injury List

Frankie Halton took a knock.

From the 14 players who didn't play against Widnes, we had:

1 suspended: Blackmore

7 injured: Chisholm (foot), Bussey (ankle), Ferres (leg), Harrison (foot), Ferguson (hamstring), Welham (Covid related), Doyle (road accident.

6 Not selected: Spence and Beckett were in the 21, Sweeting and Summer are listed as injured, plus Sheriff and Whitton (are these two still at Featherstone?) Only Beckett has appeared this season.

 

Newcomers

Darcy Lussick Prop from Salford on loan

Will Dagger fullback from Hull KR

One to come

 

I think this game will be a huge test of our top-of-the-table credentials.

[tms]

Who ever we pick on sunday we better be on our toes and pull out all the stops because 

JOHN Kear is drawing up a Plan B to deal with the body blow of losing Danny Brough. 

[jamescolin]

26 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Well then. Wembley here we come, if and when they let us buy any tickets.

Back to the league on Sunday against a Bradford team that have won 7 out of 8 games and are sitting third.

Later kickoff at 4.30 (because of some soccer match??)

 

Injury List

Frankie Halton took a knock.

From the 14 players who didn't play against Widnes, we had:

1 suspended: Blackmore

7 injured: Chisholm (foot), Bussey (ankle), Ferres (leg), Harrison (foot), Ferguson (hamstring), Welham (Covid related), Doyle (road accident.

6 Not selected: Spence and Beckett were in the 21, Sweeting and Summer are listed as injured, plus Sheriff and Whitton (are these two still at Featherstone?) Only Beckett has appeared this season.

 

Newcomers

Darcy Lussick Prop from Salford on loan

Will Dagger fullback from Hull KR

One to come

 

I think this game will be a huge test of our top-of-the-table credentials.

Any news on the  chance of any of the 7 injured playing. 

[marklaspalmas]

8 minutes ago, jamescolin said:

Any news on the  chance of any of the 7 injured playing. 

Umm, good question mate. Given my distance from things, perhaps I'm not the one to answer, but still.....

Both Bussey and Doyle were talked about last week, perhaps they're close to ready.

Welham, five weeks out so far, that's a long time for a Covid issue. Who knows?

Ferres and Ferguson both seem long term now and they are veterans.

Harrison has been 7 weeks now. It'd be nice to see him back.

Chizz, no announcement, we can only cross our fingers.

[The Phantom Horseman]

The loan signing of Will Dagger surely suggests Chizzy isn't going to be ready. Hall at full back and Dagger on the wing or vice versa as Dagger can play either position, it will free Hardy up to play at his natural centre position and then let Halton return to the pack if he is fit after his mouth surgery.

Also...and at the risk of being accused of "sizeism" again...our bench against Widnes was really small compared to the ones we have fielded for most of the season, don't get me wrong Coops, JD and Field are all good players individually but when all three are on together as our middles as was the case from about 25 minutes in we do look relatively small, I'm not saying by any means that's what changed the game but we were leading 16-0 when Kopczak and Lockwood went off, Widnes brought on Farnworth and Clough and they started winning the collisions a bit more.

So I can see Lussick playing off the bench, and maybe Moors going back to the middle if Halton is fit. Bussey would be a massive boost if he were fit but we'll have to see.

I don't think most of us are under any illusions about this being a similar game to the Challenge Cup one, they were out of sorts at the time but have brought in various loanees and look in much better form now whereas we were really scratchy against Widnes after the first 15 minutes, if we play like that again we'll probably get beaten.

Brough missing obviously helps but this needs to be about how we play. They have a pretty big pack and we need to win that battle, that's where our strength has been this season.

We need to get back to playing fast and direct and hopefully we can make it 8 out of 8 in the league.

[Chris Taylor]

If I was Kear, I'd be on the blower to Leeds and getting McCelland on loan until Brough returns.

[tms]

1 minute ago, Chris Taylor said:

If I was Kear, I'd be on the blower to Leeds and getting McCelland on loan until Brough returns.

McCelland still injured 

[Chris Taylor]

2 minutes ago, POR said:

McCelland still injured 

 Maybe he won't then!

[Andrew Vause]

Dane has no chance of playing. 

[marklaspalmas]

9 minutes ago, Andrew Vause said:

Dane has no chance of playing. 

What's his injury?

[Bulls2487]

11 hours ago, Chris Taylor said:

If I was Kear, I'd be on the blower to Leeds and getting McCelland on loan until Brough returns.

I reckon Joe Keyes is more likely, not playing at KR and played with Lilley before.

[Smudger06]

You'd think Dagger would play on that Wing where Blackmore & Doyle are out and have Hall at full back. Lussick straight in as a front rower what with Ferres, Bussey, Ferguson etc out. Chisholm out means the Brown & Holmes partnership needs to get cooking on gas big time which it is more than capable of doing.......

[marklaspalmas]

22 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

You'd think Dagger would play on that Wing where Blackmore & Doyle are out and have Hall at full back. Lussick straight in as a front rower what with Ferres, Bussey, Ferguson etc out. Chisholm out means the Brown & Holmes partnership needs to get cooking on gas big time which it is more than capable of doing.......

Agreed

[The Phantom Horseman]

23 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

You'd think Dagger would play on that Wing where Blackmore & Doyle are out and have Hall at full back. Lussick straight in as a front rower what with Ferres, Bussey, Ferguson etc out. Chisholm out means the Brown & Holmes partnership needs to get cooking on gas big time which it is more than capable of doing.......

Yep...we know that Hall prefers to play full back so I think Dagger will be on the wing.

My guess as I mentioned previously is Lussick off the bench as a replacement for Koppy/Locky, I think two out of Davies, Cooper, Field and McConnell will drop out of the 17 this week, my guess is the latter two though it might be close between Cooper and Field. Halton back to the pack if he's fit either as a starter on the edge with Moors back as one of the middles or Halton as a versatile sub off the bench. Either way we look to have more options now  and should have more depth and strength in our middles.

[Smudger06]

These Super League Squad players really need to come in and hit the ground running, they need to be out there with the mission to impress their parent clubs and certainly not let us down, asking a lot of them coming  into this team. 

[Smudger06]

It's sad that Ash Golding might be playing against us after such a great 2019 season with us......

[Andrew Vause]

On 08/06/2021 at 21:07, marklaspalmas said:

What's his injury?

Foot

[marklaspalmas]

9 hours ago, Andrew Vause said:

Foot

Mmm. Broken?

[The Phantom Horseman]

On 09/06/2021 at 10:31, Smudger06 said:

It's sad that Ash Golding might be playing against us after such a great 2019 season with us......

Various reports including from Matt Shaw/Aaron Bower on their video show that Huddersfield had recalled all their loanees when their Covid issues surfaced this week which would include prop Olly Wilson who has also been on loan to Bradford.

[Andrew Vause]

8 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

Mmm. Broken? 

Not sure, he was awaiting scan results and said that he was gutted to be missing the Bulls' game. 

[jamescolin]

After the speculation and doubts about returns from injury. How does anyone reckon the full line up will be? Further how many first choices have Bradford got missing in injuries or loan recalls?  

[HAVERCROFT10]

Am I right in thinking Johnny Davies misses this game. 

[Smudger06]

I think; 

???

Kopczak ~ Lussick  

Jones (Paratta about 55 min point) 

Day ~ Moors 

Lockwood

Brown & Holmes 

Dagger ~ Hardcastle ~Minns ~ Gale 

Hall

------

Field ~ Cooper (on for Kopczak / Lussick 20 min to 60 min mark) 

McConnell (on for Lockwood 25 mins to 55 minutes mark) 

??? 

[The Phantom Horseman]

On 10/06/2021 at 10:45, The Phantom Horseman said:

Various reports including from Matt Shaw/Aaron Bower on their video show that Huddersfield had recalled all their loanees when their Covid issues surfaced this week which would include prop Olly Wilson who has also been on loan to Bradford.

Confirmed that Golding and Wilson have returned to Huddersfield as Bradford name their 21-man squad.

https://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/1012/kear-names-asn-doors-21-man-squad-for-rovers-clash

[gazza77]

4 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Confirmed that Golding and Wilson have returned to Huddersfield as Bradford name their 21-man squad.

https://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/1012/kear-names-asn-doors-21-man-squad-for-rovers-clash

I see they had two Ash Goldings last week, same as we had two Fankie Haltons. Clearly proof reading issues in squad announcements is endemic in RL circles.