Match thread: Championship Rd6. Batley v Featherstone Rovers. Sunday 20th March 2022.

[marklaspalmas]

Back to The Mount on Sunday, and we really laid down a marker in the Cup tie, scoring 50 points and nine tries.

This was done without, among others, Koppy, JSL, Hardcastle, Davies, Bussey and Chizz.

I didn't notice any further injuries on Sunday but you never know.

Playing the same team on successive weekends is odd, and I think it's a big test of the coaches, who will have had a good look at the opposition and come up with some fresh ideas. Lingard is a canny operator, so Big Mac will need his side to be right on their game, despite the comfortable margin of the first match.

Changing the XVII may also depend on who we draw in the Cup the week after.......

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

59 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Back to The Mount on Sunday, and we really laid down a marker in the Cup tie, scoring 50 points and nine tries.

This was done without, among others, Koppy, JSL, Hardcastle, Davies, Bussey and Chizz.

I didn't notice any further injuries on Sunday but you never know.

Playing the same team on successive weekends is odd, and I think it's a big test of the coaches, who will have had a good look at the opposition and come up with some fresh ideas. Lingard is a canny operator, so Big Mac will need his side to be right on their game, despite the comfortable margin of the first match.

Changing the XVII may also depend on who we draw in the Cup the week after.......

Moors went off in the 2nd half after taking a knock and didn't return, although the physio gave a thumbs up after treatment. 

[marklaspalmas]

Just now, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Moors went off in the 2nd half after taking a knock and didn't return, although the physio gave a thumbs up after treatment. 

Ah. Didn't spot that. I hope he's ok as he caused them lots of problems in the first half.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

Just now, marklaspalmas said:

Ah. Didn't spot that. I hope he's ok as he caused them lots of problems in the first half.

Hopefully just a precaution as the game was effectively won by then.

[The Grinder]

5 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

Changing the XVII may also depend on who we draw in the Cup the week after.......

I thought it had to be Sheffield so as to be consistent with the last 4 weeks 

 

Anyway it would be good to win through in the next round to avoid the 4v5 1895 playoff game. 

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, The Grinder said:

I thought it had to be Sheffield so as to be consistent with the last 4 weeks e. 

TRUE G if mystic meg pulls out our ball again cup match followed by league game points to Sheffield in 6th round funny thing we play Barrow who are still in the competition on the friday straight after the Q/F 

[Robin Evans]

It's a fix. Everybody knows that!!

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

4 hours ago, Robin Evans said:

It's a fix. Everybody knows that!!

Just like last season when we were drawn at home 3 times......

[Robin Evans]

3 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Just like last season when we were drawn at home 3 times......

I hope you smell irony

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

3 minutes ago, Robin Evans said:

I hope you smell irony

Not only smell it can't move for it

(Thought you'd realise what my comment was aimed at) 

 

[RobLambert]

Yeah that was an unusual stat for us last year.  You'd have to go back a few years before that to find us getting 3 home draws again.  You only need to go back to 2015 though to find 3 away.  The final one of those in 2015 was also Catalans away.  Also, looking at the last decade, we have had significantly more away ties than home ties.

There might be an element of perception regarding us rarely getting a good draw but stats aside it seems like we get home ties early in the comp then when we start getting interested its a tough away tie.  A couple of years ago we got Wakey (even that was away) but it was finally a draw we all wanted where we could have a realistic go at a beatable SL club.  Obvious!y it never took place. 

Back to the worst draw in the competition. Rovers will have travelled to Catalans in the cup 3 times.  No other team has been more than once.  Bit of a surprising stat that but even more so when you consider Catalans fairly good record in the cup and how subsequently SL clubs will have had their balls in the bag along with Catalans (so to speak) way more times than us.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Back to this weekend's game... Tom Holmes won't be playing for us as he's gone on a short-term two-week loan to Sheffield. Presumably this is seen as a more helpful bit of game-time than playing for Leeds reserves (for whom Loui McConnell is in the squad for their game tonight, so that option remains open to us).

Interesting to see if the loan ends up just being for their game at Whitehaven this weekend. The following weekend Sheffield play Hull in the Cup, you'd normally expect us not to let him play in that game to avoid him being cup-tied but that would involve the fairly optimistic outcome of us winning in Catalans.

In 3 weeks we play Sheffield at home so presumably he'll be back with us by then.

Clearly the phones have been busy between us and Sheffield this week as they are playing their Cup game against Hull at our place. A bit more income for us there.

[marklaspalmas]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Back to this weekend's game... Tom Holmes won't be playing for us as he's gone on a short-term two-week loan to Sheffield. Presumably this is seen as a more helpful bit of game-time than playing for Leeds reserves (for whom Loui McConnell is in the squad for their game tonight, so that option remains open to us).

Interesting to see if the loan ends up just being for their game at Whitehaven this weekend. The following weekend Sheffield play Hull in the Cup, you'd normally expect us not to let him play in that game to avoid him being cup-tied but that would involve the fairly optimistic outcome of us winning in Catalans.

In 3 weeks we play Sheffield at home so presumably he'll be back with us by then.

Clearly the phones have been busy between us and Sheffield this week as they are playing their Cup game against Hull at our place. A bit more income for us there.

If Holmes plays for Sheffield v Hull in the Challenge cup, would that prevent him from playing for us in the 1895 Cup?

[The Phantom Horseman]

6 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

If Holmes plays for Sheffield v Hull in the Challenge cup, would that prevent him from playing for us in the 1895 Cup?

Pretty sure it wouldn't. They're two separate competitions, and Mikey Lewis played for Hull KR in the Challenge Cup last year before playing for York against us in the 1895 Final.

[sentoffagain2]

31 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Pretty sure it wouldn't. They're two separate competitions, and Mikey Lewis played for Hull KR in the Challenge Cup last year before playing for York against us in the 1895 Final.

   Good example Lewis is developing into a cracking player.

[The Phantom Horseman]

19 names on the RFL website, one of which is Josh Hardcastle, but not sure how meaningful the names are this week...McConnell is named but is due to play for Leeds reserves tonight, and with Koppy, JSL and Doyle out injured, Mathiou rumoured still to be waiting for his visa, Wildie suspended, and Holmes out on loan, it may be we have had to name one or two who aren't fit just to meet the required 21 names. Smith and Trout presumably the two to add on at the end of the list.

https://www.rugby-league.com/match-centre/match-preview/2217693

Depending on the status of the likes of Bussey, Davies and Moors I would have said we might barely have 17 this week, though if Mcconnell still plays for Leeeds reserves tonight that suggests we are ok for numbers.

Batley's squad still looks to be missing Brown and Campbell plus Meadows who went off injured last week.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

McConnell is named but is due to play for Leeds reserves tonight

 

McConnell not in the starting 17 for Leeds reserves tonight so maybe he's needed by us this weekend.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

McConnell not in the starting 17 for Leeds reserves tonight so maybe he's needed by us this weekend.

So it's just wildie missing from the 17 in the cup

[marklaspalmas]

Looking at it, we might just swap Chizz for the suspended Wildie. Start with Jones and decide how to introduce Chizz in the 2nd half. Maybe Smith to AHB.

Hardcastle is named, but his way back in will depend on reshuffling the 3/4ers. The player I'd drop from there would be Leilua on current form, but that makes no sense as he needs game time and potentially could be awesome.

In the forwards, Davies, Bussey and Field are all named in the 21, having not played last week. If they're 100% fit and ready, then JD and JB would certainly be in our best XVII.

[marklaspalmas]

By the way, I'd love it if the team could set up some kind of move, any move at all, close to the opposition line, to utilise Leilua's obvious running power. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

3 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Looking at it, we might just swap Chizz for the suspended Wildie. Start with Jones and decide how to introduce Chizz in the 2nd half. Maybe Smith to AHB.

 

Yes, McDermott has shown he's more than happy to ask a hooker to play 80 minutes, but with Wildie suspended this looks a good week to play a third half on the bench with a view to Smith doing a short stint at 9 if needed.

3 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Hardcastle is named, but his way back in will depend on reshuffling the 3/4ers. The player I'd drop from there would be Leilua on current form, but that makes no sense as he needs game time and potentially could be awesome.

 

That's a good summary. Joey has looked a bit slow at time in defence - his actual tackling has been good, just his speed off the mark is a bit lacking. When carrying the ball he attracts plenty of defenders and has managed some really good offloads, but hasn't been destructive.

However, he didn't have a pre-season (am not sure boxing is quite the same!), and it's worth noting that Cuthbertson didn't either and has looked much better in his last two or three games than he did in first two or three. So it's too early to start making too many judgements I reckon. I could still see him playing a bit of back row at some stage, too.

[Guest]

DOGS named a 19 man squad lost meadows and walshaw who both played last week and apparently they have 4 hookers in the 19

[The Phantom Horseman]

I think Batley had a 28-man squad at the start of the season so it shows just how big a part luck with injuries plays as they must have 9 men out. If that happened to, say, Leigh, they might not be able to field a full 17 even with DR.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

8 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

By the way, I'd love it if the team could set up some kind of move, any move at all, close to the opposition line, to utilise Leilua's obvious running power. 

Funnily enough we were discussing the very same before the game last week - I'm sure you remember the time when it seemed the only way we could score was through David Hobbs on the crash ball

[Robin Evans]

8 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:

By the way, I'd love it if the team could set up some kind of move, any move at all, close to the opposition line, to utilise Leilua's obvious running power. 

Richard has been calling this for weeks now