Match thread: Championship Rd13. Newcastle v Featherstone Rovers. Thursday 2nd June 2022.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, Fevrover said:

Usually up for it against Rovers .

Often this season, yes, but in our last 3 home games we have scored 70 points against teams that put up minimal opposition. And we have had some teams that have had a dig against us (Dewsbury, Workington) that have capitulated against other teams. You just never know what version of a team you are facing against the bottom half of the table teams.

[The Phantom Horseman]

A welcome return for Gaz Gale following his broken hand.

Ford starts at half back, Wildie at hooker and Smith on the bench. JSL switches to prop and Hellelwell to back row.

 

[The Phantom Horseman]

Oddity of the day: we are playing Tyla Hepi today and Newcastle are playing a guy called Tyler Hepple.

Looking at their team, we should win this with something to spare.

[bigbaldnmad]

Did anyone tell Newcastle?

 

[Fevrover]

8 minutes ago, bigbaldnmad said:

Did anyone tell Newcastle?

 

No but Rovers players want telling 

[haskey]

Not the best first half was it?

[haskey]

Bussey has replaced Hall ,does anyone know if he has picked up a knock

[The Phantom Horseman]

Sounds like Leigh are making even heavier weather of winning their game at Barrow, they are only winning 24-16 with 25 minutes left. Can't underestimate how tough it must be in the modern game to have a five-day turnaround following an attritional Cup Final .

[clogdance]

4 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Sounds like Leigh are making even heavier weather of winning their game at Barrow, they are only winning 24-16 with 25 minutes left. Can't underestimate how tough it must be in the modern game to have a five-day turnaround following an attritional Cup Final .

22-24 now, sounding quite scary.

[clogdance]

Barrow leading 28-24.

[RobLambert]

Add todays Leigh result to the list of reasons to dislike them.  Winning try off the back of a penalty was it ?

[Fevrover]

28 - 30  That should give Barrow some confidence. 

[RobLambert]

1 minute ago, Fevrover said:

28 - 30  That should give Barrow some confidence. 

Yeah they'll be in the changing rooms celebrating as if it was a win.......

[Fevrover]

1 minute ago, RobLambert said:

Yeah they'll be in the changing rooms celebrating as if it was a win.......

A moral victory 

[clogdance]

11 minutes ago, RobLambert said:

Add todays Leigh result to the list of reasons to dislike them.  Winning try off the back of a penalty was it ?

No, Luis Roberts intercepted a Barrow pass near our line, and Blakey scored under the sticks. Sammut missed a penalty in the last minute though to level it. Great 2nd half for you guys today, not so for us lot ! 

[RobLambert]

37 minutes ago, clogdance said:

No, Luis Roberts intercepted a Barrow pass near our line, and Blakey scored under the sticks. Sammut missed a penalty in the last minute though to level it. Great 2nd half for you guys today, not so for us lot ! 

Even luckier than i imagined then

[clogdance]

39 minutes ago, RobLambert said:

Even luckier than i imagined then

Yep

[lingaro]

our second half was much better.  Hall didn’t look injured kept his vest on as a sub.  Jesse is the worry, hope he’s okay.

nice set up at Newcastle.

[The Phantom Horseman]

The match report on the Newcastle website is quite amusing. There are 15 paragraphs describing the first-half action in some detail, followed by one paragraph which basically says "then Featherstone scored seven tries in the second half."

https://www.thunderrugby.co.uk/article/378/match-report---thunder-10---46-featherstone

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

3 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

The match report on the Newcastle website is quite amusing. There are 15 paragraphs describing the first-half action in some detail, followed by one paragraph which basically says "then Featherstone scored seven tries in the second half."

https://www.thunderrugby.co.uk/article/378/match-report---thunder-10---46-featherstone

Thunder though will take heart from a much-improved performance ....

Bradford must have absolutely tonked them

[bigbaldnmad]

4 hours ago, lingaro said:

our second half was much better.  Hall didn’t look injured kept his vest on as a sub.  Jesse is the worry, hope he’s okay.

Mac confirmed in the post match interview that Hall wasn't injured but he took the decision to take him off. Would be interesting to know if that was to try and protect him for future games, or whether there is something else we are not party to. Just seemed a strange thing to do after only 10 minutes.

Jesse is doubtful for Monday with a calf injury. This means we are starting to look really short, not just for Monday, but for Leigh the following Monday.

[marklaspalmas]

11 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

The match report on the Newcastle website is quite amusing. There are 15 paragraphs describing the first-half action in some detail, followed by one paragraph which basically says "then Featherstone scored seven tries in the second half."

https://www.thunderrugby.co.uk/article/378/match-report---thunder-10---46-featherstone

That was a classic of its type.

[roversspud]

Hall was replaced immediately after he'd "allowed" himself to be tackled into touch before the end of the set. Perhaps that went away from the game plan?

[The Phantom Horseman]

17 minutes ago, roversspud said:

Hall was replaced immediately after he'd "allowed" himself to be tackled into touch before the end of the set. Perhaps that went away from the game plan?

And a couple of minutes earlier he had been about to be tackled into touch and threw the ball infield to a Newcastle player. Perhaps one time too many for Mac considering both he and Briscoe turned the ball over last week having tried and failed to beat their man on the outside.

[RobLambert]

On 03/06/2022 at 10:19, roversspud said:

Hall was replaced immediately after he'd "allowed" himself to be tackled into touch before the end of the set. Perhaps that went away from the game plan?

Thats Hall on his way to Keighley then.  I'm starting to think that the biggest threat to us not getting in to SL is McDermotts methods and stubbornness......