Another SL Game Off

[Dave T]

It's just the way it is at the moment. Nothing worth getting hysterical about. 

[Dave T]

9 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

I'd rather have lost the match than 'won' in this manner. Not brilliant for our final preparation having played only two matches in June. Not great that we have two weeks off going into the Wigan derby and it's Wigan's third game in seven days. 

Points percentage have 'saved' us to an extent but the decision to schedule loop fixtures and a Magic Weekend looks worse by the day. In some ways, I'm glad we don't have a relegation battle because a team may have got relegated due to postponements, which would have been a disaster.

It's just life, the game is doing what it must to survive, that is staging games. This would have been more farcical had we only scheduled 22 games and had a load of cancellations. 

[Red Willow]

Same thing happened last season. Salford had to play 3 games in a week, and had to forfeit the middle one V Warrington. Expecting them to play Friday, Monday and Thursday was just too much. Big game coming up, minor injuries will be rested.

Mind you the rate Salford players are getting suspended there will be no one left.

[whatmichaelsays]

39 minutes ago, EagleEyePie said:

 

Player welfare has been given zero consideration this season and it's a joke.

Player welfare is given zero consideration in any year. It's just a t-shirt campaign. 

Actually doing something to improve the player's physical, mental and financial well-being? "Oh no, that's too expensive. Just go and warm up in these 'State of Mind' shirts..... Oh, and don't forget it's two games this week."

[whatmichaelsays]

39 minutes ago, EagleEyePie said:

 

Player welfare has been given zero consideration this season and it's a joke.

Player welfare is given zero consideration in any year. It's just a t-shirt campaign. 

Actually doing something to improve the player's physical, mental and financial well-being? "Oh no, that's too expensive. Just go and warm up in these 'State of Mind' shirts..... Oh, and don't forget it's two games this week."

[Davo5]

20 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

I'd rather have lost the match than 'won' in this manner. Not brilliant for our final preparation having played only two matches in June. Not great that we have two weeks off going into the Wigan derby and it's Wigan's third game in seven days. 

Points percentage have 'saved' us to an extent but the decision to schedule loop fixtures and a Magic Weekend looks worse by the day. In some ways, I'm glad we don't have a relegation battle because a team may have got relegated due to postponements, which would have been a disaster.

I bet Wigan would gladly trade places.

[Hela Wigmen]

58 minutes ago, M j M said:

Have you even read the article?

One case in the so called “elite” academy set up at Cas. Avoidance at its finest. 

[Man of Kent]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

Afte the england game and stuff around that  the game really is looking pretty sad and farcical at present 

It really does. My hope is the clubs & authorities recognise this and pull together.

[Rupert Prince]

11 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It's just life, the game is doing what it must to survive, that is staging games. This would have been more farcical had we only scheduled 22 games and had a load of cancellations. 

No it would not, as last week would have been a free week and there might have been other spaces to fit in reorganised games. 

All these games either side of the international are a total joke.

[Chris22]

12 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

I bet Wigan would gladly trade places.

Oh definitely. It was a rare moment of me not being partisan! 

[Gooleboy]

55 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

I should imagine they will all be fit for the Cup final.

Three weeks before the same teams meet in the Cup Final one forfeits the League game. I wonder what the National Media will make of it.

[Chrispmartha]

55 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

Three weeks before the same teams meet in the Cup Final one forfeits the League game. I wonder what the National Media will make of it.

Absolutely nothing.

[yipyee]

A) they had 14 players and therefore could raise a team. Lower leagues have fulfilled games with similar player numbers available

B) 3 players injured due to the made up team playing England. Isnt injurys why the made up team was pulled last time?

C)whilst the academy are alegedly self isolating its further evidence that Cas do not want to promote their youth and why they were targeted to loose their academy..

[yipyee]

2 hours ago, Red Willow said:

Same thing happened last season. Salford had to play 3 games in a week, and had to forfeit the middle one V Warrington. Expecting them to play Friday, Monday and Thursday was just too much. Big game coming up, minor injuries will be rested.

Mind you the rate Salford players are getting suspended there will be no one left.

Saints had 3 in a week, played kids in the middle game and lost narrowly to Salford which cost them the league title (LL) and 100k.

Thats the benefit of having an academy though, also the lads that played would have benefitted from the game time.

[Moove]

31 minutes ago, yipyee said:

C)whilst the academy are alegedly self isolating its further evidence that Cas do not want to promote their youth and why they were targeted to loose their academy

Not sure I follow the criticism of their academy in this. If they're self isolating they can't be brought into the first team. In face Saints' academy had a similar issue a couple of weeks back postponing an academy game after a single positive Covid test and they wouldn't have been able to play first team either had they been needed.

I'd be more inclined to question their investment in conditioning in this case given the types of injuries they're reporting (four hamstrings for example seems a bit more than just bad luck).

[Snowys Backside]

Silly season has started.

Can you imagine if Cas forfeited their game against Leigh or Salford for instance ? There would be a mutiny. That points for percentage too might get Saints over the line !

Some teams getting a nice break here, covid or not covid and the season will be over for some before we know it who are not affected by the pandemic.

It isnt going away and in all, its just making a mockery of the Season which is a shame.

The RFL need to start cleaning some mess up quickly IMHO.

[Davo5]

6 hours ago, yipyee said:

A) they had 14 players and therefore could raise a team. Lower leagues have fulfilled games with similar player numbers available

B) 3 players injured due to the made up team playing England. Isnt injurys why the made up team was pulled last time?

C)whilst the academy are alegedly self isolating its further evidence that Cas do not want to promote their youth and why they were targeted to loose their academy..

I haven’t a scooby doo what your point B is all about but on C,how can they promote their youth if they are all self isolating ?

[Dave T]

9 hours ago, Rupert Prince said:

No it would not, as last week would have been a free week and there might have been other spaces to fit in reorganised games. 

All these games either side of the international are a total joke.

Games would still be called off even if it was 1 per week. We've already seen that happen. We will probably still have more games this year than if we had only arranged 22 in the first place. 

[Saint Toppy]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Games would still be called off even if it was 1 per week. We've already seen that happen. We will probably still have more games this year than if we had only arranged 22 in the first place. 

Hmmmm, if only we had a Reserve Grade where every club had at least a dozen or so extra players who they could call upon to play in the 1st team if there were injuries 

[Damien]

10 hours ago, Gooleboy said:

Three weeks before the same teams meet in the Cup Final one forfeits the League game. I wonder what the National Media will make of it.

I highly doubt they'll even be aware, or care.

[gingerjon]

Just now, Damien said:

I highly doubt they'll even be aware, or care.

Have to say, we are really lucky about this. (For this, and a whole lot of other issues.)

[Toby Chopra]

Better this game cancelled than the cup final. Things are pretty precarious out there at the moment with cases rising quickly (if not hospitalizations). In terms of contact isolation things are going to get worse before they get better, so there's going to be more difficult decisions to come this season. 

I'm quite happy to point out the clown car nature of RFL/SL when justified, but this season is like last - if we get to the end of it with most games played, it will be a success in itself. 

[Rupert Prince]

14 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

Better this game cancelled than the cup final. Things are pretty precarious out there at the moment with cases rising quickly (if not hospitalizations). In terms of contact isolation things are going to get worse before they get better, so there's going to be more difficult decisions to come this season. 

I'm quite happy to point out the clown car nature of RFL/SL when justified, but this season is like last - if we get to the end of it with most games played, it will be a success in itself. 

How long can the Challenge Cup continue.  The top clubs are massively mismatched with the rest.  Before professionalism and all clubs were part time then it made sense to have say Hunslet v Wigan back in 1965.  But not now.

[Davo5]

3 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

How long can the Challenge Cup continue.  The top clubs are massively mismatched with the rest.  Before professionalism and all clubs were part time then it made sense to have say Hunslet v Wigan back in 1965.  But not now.

Championship clubs do still beat Superleague teams,Championship clubs do still get to the latter stages,amateur clubs still beat semi pro teams on occasions,as long as that still happens why shouldn’t the Challenge Cup continue especially when it’s one of the few occasions the sport gets national attention.

[RP London]

I think we are too harsh on ourselves with a lot of this. Rugby Union had games cancelled through their season. The Lions tour has been off and on and off and on and playing in a different country then on in south africa then more doubt.. Football has had its issues, but with more money comes more chances of getting it right. Other sports have had the league seasons just cancelled.. 

The national media are pretty even handed on this sort of thing. most of the "judgment" is coming on here from our own fans. 

Cas are in an unfortunate position (i would say unlucky but i do side with people saying maybe they should look at their conditioning with the types of injuries they have) but its injuries + covid. I don't agree this should have been forfeited i think the points percentage is there to cope with this but those are the operational rules and as long as all teams are treated equally then no one can have any issues with it. 

The RFL have planned for this season and so far the plan seems to be working ok.. its not ideal but nothing was going to be this year, the RFL needed contingencies and they seem to be working IMHO.