West Wales Raiders - laughing stock

[sgorpioncaerdyddrob]

You look at how much money has had to be thrown at a major population area like Melbourne to make RL work there, with the success and the resident population, it can work, but it takes a lot of effort. Llanelli and West Wales currently has neither and realistically it will never deliver long term there. I always found it strange as even at amateur level the West Wales side was one of the weaker sides, certainly compared to the likes of Rhondda, Bridgend, Cougars or Cardiff, the largest club by some distance. Bridgend was the best location of the previous South Wales pro sides over the last 30 years, a disenfranchised rugby area, on the M4 and half way between Cardiff and Swansea. Just a shame Samuel fiddled the books and didn't have a sustainable plan for CC. The best bet long term for South Wales would be a semi pro Cardiff side, with some decent sustainable financial backing and utilising an under exploited player base. I'm sure there's plenty more Rhodri Lloyd's, Dalton Grants, Regan Grace's, Rhys Evans, Elliot Kears and Lloyd Whites to be found here to make a competitive semi pro side. The East Wales side just beat Salford Academy convincingly yesterday and the West didn't lose by much. 

[Tommygilf]

Someone please tell me satement is welsh for statement...

 

 

[OriginalMrC]

This part of the statement is interesting. They previously advised that Aaron Wood had been sacked as he hadn't reached the playoffs 

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

34 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

This part of the statement is interesting. They previously advised that Aaron Wood had been sacked as he hadn't reached the playoffs 

Where in Bridgend is their training facility/ground? 

[OriginalMrC]

20 minutes ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

Where in Bridgend is their training facility/ground? 

No idea, I assumed they trained in Llanelli 

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

Says in Tiffins statement it’s in Bridgend. It makes sense as none of the players live out that way and Bridgend Is easy access from east and west. I’m just not aware of where it is as I hadn’t heard anything.

[devonhawk]

Fair statement from WWR that. Good to see they have commitment to build for the future.

[Jughead]

Yeah, he could have not said anything but fair play to him for coming out and releasing that. Though, I wonder who asked the questions, as I can’t say I saw anything on social media asking fans to offer up questions. 

I suppose it’s the actions, not the words that matter now. The running of the club has been pretty shambolic since they stepped in four years ago and they never seem to learn or change. 

[welshmagpie]

1 hour ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

Says in Tiffins statement it’s in Bridgend. It makes sense as none of the players live out that way and Bridgend Is easy access from east and west. I’m just not aware of where it is as I hadn’t heard anything.

 

1 hour ago, OriginalMrC said:

No idea, I assumed they trained in Llanelli 

The Brewery Field, former home of Celtic Crusaders I believe.

At one point it was RAF St Aphan

[Impartial Observer]

They trained at the brewery field last season

[EssexRL]

Just read through it. Reads like a belated facing up to reality and something that looks like a strategy to make the best of a (very) bad situation. Does feel like last chance saloon. 
 

How many people actually watch WWR? 

[Moscow01]

You could forgive a lot of their mistakes in the first year or two. But for the love of god - how on Earth do they expect to even be competitive when they can’t even appoint a head coach? Whatever excuses they try and peddle, there’s no reason whatsoever that they couldn’t have nailed down a head coach by Christmas at the very latest. 
 

The recruitment has been an utter shambles. Signing players from the student game, who have had no experience of League 1 whatsoever, is a recipe for disaster. 

It’s just all so unpleasant to watch unfold. It’s awful for the players getting walloped every week. The problem they now face is that they’re seen as a joke. Off field and on field. Who wants to pay to go and watch a load of lads who are nowhere near League 1 standard go and get beat by 70 or 80 points every weekend? 
 

I’d be very surprised indeed if they finish the season. 

[gingerjon]

13 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Someone please tell me satement is welsh for statement...

 

 

Thank god they don't often try Welsh when this is, apparently, a sentence that makes sense in English: "At our training ground in Bridgend, we have added a large size gym to make sure the boys have everything on site, our home ground of Stebonheath Park is one of the best in the league and we want to utilise this more for all the community and international sides in Wales by offering any event they wish to hold to be funded by the Raiders so they can make more money to support the development in Wales, we as a club want to see more internationals,grand finals & women’s super league fixtures in the West and Stebonheath Park is available at WRL’s peril."

[zylya]

7 hours ago, Moscow01 said:

You could forgive a lot of their mistakes in the first year or two. But for the love of god - how on Earth do they expect to even be competitive when they can’t even appoint a head coach? Whatever excuses they try and peddle, there’s no reason whatsoever that they couldn’t have nailed down a head coach by Christmas at the very latest. 
 

The recruitment has been an utter shambles. Signing players from the student game, who have had no experience of League 1 whatsoever, is a recipe for disaster. 

It’s just all so unpleasant to watch unfold. It’s awful for the players getting walloped every week. The problem they now face is that they’re seen as a joke. Off field and on field. Who wants to pay to go and watch a load of lads who are nowhere near League 1 standard go and get beat by 70 or 80 points every weekend? 
 

I’d be very surprised indeed if they finish the season. 

Out of interest, where do you think they should be getting players from? Because teams seem to get slated if they sign all their players from the heartlands, and they get slated if they take unproven players and try and develop them.

[sgorpioncaerdyddrob]

Sure it's been said before but the reason North Wales have the success they do is they are able to sign experienced RL players from the heartlands, they produce very few Welsh qualified first team players in contrast, yet they don't get much stick for that? 

In contrast to West Wales, Welsh qualified players are used as a necessity and they cannot recruit from the North of England, as the Rangi Chase saga unfortunately reinforces. It has the expected effect of an uncompetitive side. Unless they are able to pay for that experience, they will always be playing catch up. As we've seen with the Oldham result this weekend, there's no great jump between NCL and League 1.

[OriginalMrC]

3 hours ago, sgorpioncaerdyddrob said:

Sure it's been said before but the reason North Wales have the success they do is they are able to sign experienced RL players from the heartlands, they produce very few Welsh qualified first team players in contrast, yet they don't get much stick for that? 

In contrast to West Wales, Welsh qualified players are used as a necessity and they cannot recruit from the North of England, as the Rangi Chase saga unfortunately reinforces. It has the expected effect of an uncompetitive side. Unless they are able to pay for that experience, they will always be playing catch up. As we've seen with the Oldham result this weekend, there's no great jump between NCL and League 1.

What you say is relevant of course but the latest scenario isn't as a result of that. It's because they didn't have a head coach, they haven't been training and they signed most of their squad the week before the game. 

Last season they looked like they were making some progress and had a decent head coach. What they have done in this off season has completely undone all of that. For most clubs the planning for the next season starts as soon as the last game of the season is played. You can't just stick your head in the sand after sacking your previous coach and not appoint a new one! 

[Ray Cashmere]

It's long overdue but if they are going to commit to a strategy of supporting local community clubs and Welsh players then it would be welcome to see them seek involvement in Salford's partnership with WRL & Coleg Y Cymoedd.

[Cw25]

WWR appear to offer the sport nothing at all at the moment. Might not be like this in a few seasons time. Skolars and others have steadily improved, So give them time.

[RLNew]

They need some stability asap, doesn’t meant winning all of a sudden just need to be more competitive and closer, obvious I guess. 

Few people I’d look at coach wise for stability and who know the game in Wales, Mike Grady (ex scorpions and north wales coach) Paul Emmanueli (been assistant at scorpions and ironmen, and I might be wrong but still involved in Wales RL) Phil Carlton (Ironmen head coach, raiders assistant and head coach briefly) Jon Ellis (Raiders head coach)

Just for me it’s cries of some stability that is needed and by getting someone in who know the game down there and how tough it can be, and also know the players down there can only be beneficial. 

[Angelic Cynic]

4 hours ago, sgorpioncaerdyddrob said:

Sure it's been said before but the reason North Wales have the success they do is they are able to sign experienced RL players from the heartlands, they produce very few Welsh qualified first team players in contrast, yet they don't get much stick for that? 

In contrast to West Wales, Welsh qualified players are used as a necessity and they cannot recruit from the North of England, as the Rangi Chase saga unfortunately reinforces. It has the expected effect of an uncompetitive side. Unless they are able to pay for that experience, they will always be playing catch up. As we've seen with the Oldham result this weekend, there's no great jump between NCL and League 1.

I don't think a one- off Cup result is a defence for West Wales Raiders. 

Since they were admitted into League 1 they have gone through head coaches,appointed by themselves,at more than one a season.

They recently went on social media effectively castigating their own appointments. 

It now seems the assistant coaches,qualified or not,have left the club.

It doesn't seem obvious that the recently sacked head coach was involved in the signings of Messrs.Henson and Chase.

The  recruitment and development of good young Welsh players doesn't ring true when recent signings have been young English former student players.

Stability would be a sensible start.

I hope the governing body has ensured they can fulfil the 2022 fixtures...

[Swansea Jack]

19 hours ago, EssexRL said:

 
 

How many people actually watch WWR? 

Me and Keith. Every home game.

[LongbridgeH]

Takes a lot to admit where you’ve gone wrong but they don’t have many attempts left. 
 

There needs to be a stronger relationship with the Welsh RL and the community clubs. It should be a natural pyramid from community club to Raiders to Wales. Wales RL could help with some of their Welsh prospects who may need development whilst at other clubs (or even released players) and trying to get them at Raiders for game time. 
 

By the way not a fan of how Skolars and Coventry have been labelled by some. They already have a legacy of developing players and passing them on. Hemel another club whom have passed players on eventual top flight appearances. These clubs often have to work in ‘cycles’ with their player pool. Skolars are certainly at the start of their cycle. Whereas Coventry have had to alter their selves to maintain a RL presence in the Midlands (definitely need a good/better base for next season). 

[Impartial Observer]

The majority of the community club players are union players who more than likely get paid well without having to spend the day travelling up north and back to get battered

[welshmagpie]

It’s been an interest few days since the hammering, thought I’d add my further thoughts on the matter…

Credit to Raiders for the statement, it was honest and transparent and it takes a lot to own up to their mistakes. Credit where it’s due.

However, words MUST lead into actions. What on earth were they doing just sat on a head coach decision? In semi-pro sport, a coach is the most integral part of any organisation… without one you really can’t do or achieve much.

Tiffin’s grammar and grasp of English is shockingly bad, great they’ve employed a full-time doctor* but go a bit further and employ somebody to do the media as it would go a VERY long way to rebuilding the club’s image.

*A full time doctor is interesting by the way, do they not mean permanent? Raiders are currently training once a week… what does the fella do for the other 6 days? 
 

They have to align and accept their future lies with the strategic plan of WRL. The Welsh conference has a lot of talent but 98% of that talent are with very decent RU clubs, maybe collecting a bit of cash and won’t be tempted for the ventures up north for a regular beating.

The best South Wales RL crop e.g the Davies twins, Kieran Lewis, Marcus Webb have all come through the WRL system I.e 16s, 19s, Students etc… Raiders need to be a key cog in this. What would I do? Raiders staff at junior internationals and East vs West and offer development contracts, dialled with a Salford reserves contract… open up a wider squad to keep players in the sport from age 17-19 with enough of a carrot with a potential Salford SL contract to convince them a year or two more in league could be worthwhile. 

[dead man inc]

2 hours ago, LongbridgeH said:

... By the way not a fan of how Skolars and Coventry have been labelled by some. They already have a legacy of developing players and passing them on. Hemel another club whom have passed players on eventual top flight appearances. These clubs often have to work in ‘cycles’ with their player pool. Skolars are certainly at the start of their cycle. Whereas Coventry have had to alter their selves to maintain a RL presence in the Midlands (definitely need a good/better base for next season). 

Very fair point, i think about 7 of Skolars starting line up from Saturdays challenge cup game have come up from Skolars junior teams & there are more Skolars junior graduates in the squad.