Sat 30-Sun 31 Jul: The Betfred Championship - Summer Bash Match Thread

[Fevrover]

6 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

Im not sure the bash concept really works for the Champ.  Must only be a few hundred in the ground rigjt now

I agree it's not necessary and certainly not away from Blackpool if we've got to have it.

[Septimius Severus]

2 hours ago, binosh said:

What makes Leigh’s victory more impressive is we only had 2 forwards on the bench and lost Nakabuwai after 13 minutes so we played 67 minutes with one forward in rotation.

Hookers are still forwards.

[LeytherRob]

2 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Hmm. I think Leigh were extremely impressive, but I don't think leaving out a couple of forwards who have been with you all season to play your shiny new NRL halfback makes it *more* impressive.

I think outplaying a pack with 2 PR/2 SR on the bench with a bench of 1 hooker, 2 SR and a HB does make it more impressive, especially considering we lost one of our only 2 out and out props in the first quarter. I wasn't particularly confident when I saw our bench and thought it was a very risky move at the time from Lam considering our dominance against Fev in previous matches has predominantly come through the middle of the park.

[The Phantom Horseman]

11 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

I think outplaying a pack with 2 PR/2 SR on the bench with a bench of 1 hooker, 2 SR and a HB does make it more impressive

Well if that's the line you're taking, Fev's starting back row consisted of an established centre, a hybrid centre/back row, and a hooker. I think Leigh were just better than Fev on the day again.

[georgeb1]

2 hours ago, Fevrover said:

I agree it's not necessary and certainly not away from Blackpool if we've got to have it.

Well said , more or less Blackpool or nothing

[DEANO]

Can anyone actually tell me the point of this round of fixtures 

[spanishknight]

Just now, DEANO said:

Can anyone actually tell me the point of this round of fixtures 

Beer, beer and more beer.

[The Blues Ox]

2 hours ago, Ragingbull said:

Im not sure the bash concept really works for the Champ.  Must only be a few hundred in the ground rigjt now

Yeah agree this season how the table and other things have panned out it almost felt like a lot of the games were a non event and they might have to mix it up a bit next season. Fev playing Leigh was an obvious choice but with 3rd, 4th, 5th all having games that almost felt like a forgone conclusion does not make an event of it and Batley getting almost a bye every year when they are an established play off team is going to have to be changed. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but Batley V Fax after last year would seem logical given finishing positions.

Its nice to have the event but could they not decide the fixtures after a good number of rounds? I mean what difference would that make if you just decided it were 1v2, 3v4, 4v5 etc after x amount of rounds? At least it would not be stacked in some teams favor then.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

49 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

I think outplaying a pack with 2 PR/2 SR on the bench with a bench of 1 hooker, 2 SR and a HB does make it more impressive, especially considering we lost one of our only 2 out and out props in the first quarter. I wasn't particularly confident when I saw our bench and thought it was a very risky move at the time from Lam considering our dominance against Fev in previous matches has predominantly come through the middle of the park.

TBH with Fev's starting pack containing 2 hookers and 1 SR who's played almost exclusively in the centre since turning 'pro'. They also 'lost' a forward during the game.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Les Tonks Sidestep

[crashmon]

6 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

Yeah agree this season how the table and other things have panned out it almost felt like a lot of the games were a non event and they might have to mix it up a bit next season. Fev playing Leigh was an obvious choice but with 3rd, 4th, 5th all having games that almost felt like a forgone conclusion does not make an event of it and Batley getting almost a bye every year when they are an established play off team is going to have to be changed. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but Batley V Fax after last year would seem logical given finishing positions.

Its nice to have the event but could they not decide the fixtures after a good number of rounds? I mean what difference would that make if you just decided it were 1v2, 3v4, 4v5 etc after x amount of rounds? At least it would not be stacked in some teams favor then.

Yea, if Tolouse do come down, and they get paired with London, it would get really messy (70+), so the team pairings really need looking at for next year. With the rams pretty certain to be relegated now, batley v fax, and bradford v Keighly might be good choices for next year, with haven vs barrow, and London v Sheffield again

[DOGFATHER]

39 minutes ago, DEANO said:

Can anyone actually tell me the point of this round of fixtures 

No, complete waste of time IMO.

But I did note, it was held on the opening day of the football season, SL had a full round of games (unlike the CH clubs for the magic round), the commonwealth games, and the women's Euro's final in the country on the same weekend. 

The phrase "set up to fail" springs to mind! So why bloody bother with it, especially this particular weekend?

Even after we won by a cricket score. It is still a dreadful concept, executed appallingly.

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by DOGFATHER

[Leyther_Matt]

4 minutes ago, DOGFATHER said:

No, complete waste of time IMO.

But I did note, it was held on the opening day of the football season, SL had a full round of games the same weekend (unlike the CH clubs for the magic round), the commonwealth games, and the women's Euro's final in the country on the same weekend. 

The phrase "set up to fail" springs to mind! So why bloody bother with it, especially this particular weekend?

Even after we won by a cricket score. It is still a dreadful concept, executed appallingly.

 

There was a full round of Championship fixtures that weekend. Leigh played Workington away while day two was going on - I watched the first 10 minutes of Huddersfield v Salford in a pub in Cockermouth. 

[Ragingbull]

1 hour ago, spanishknight said:

Beer, beer and more beer.

Judging by one teams set of supporters there was plenty of disco dust as well 

[Josef K]

If/when Toulouse go down will they still be playing in the championship in2023 or will they just pack it all in. I hope TO XIII do carry on. 

[Snowys Backside]

9 hours ago, DEANO said:

Can anyone actually tell me the point of this round of fixtures 

It has the same relevance as Magic weekend. 
 

It’s unfair, unbalanced and could relegate you, but hey ho, that’s RL. 
 

It might keep Toulouse up !

[Harry Stottle]

8 hours ago, Josef K said:

If/when Toulouse go down will they still be playing in the championship in2023 or will they just pack it all in. I hope TO XIII do carry on. 

No they won't pack it all in, but if they do are they worth all the attention?

[spanishknight]

York City Knights got back to winning ways.

[tim2]

10 hours ago, crashmon said:

Yea, if Tolouse do come down, and they get paired with London, it would get really messy (70+), so the team pairings really need looking at for next year. With the rams pretty certain to be relegated now, batley v fax, and bradford v Keighly might be good choices for next year, with haven vs barrow, and London v Sheffield again

Why Sheffield v London again, are we in the South now because we aren't in West Yorkshire?

[crashmon]

38 minutes ago, tim2 said:

Why Sheffield v London again, are we in the South now because we aren't in West Yorkshire?

So I would do it based in the following criteria

1) Teams in the playoffs previous season should be matched, teams outside playoffs should be matched

2) Then where possible, teams who have derby's who meet the ciritera above should be matched

So looking at the current table (and please do not hate on me here on some assumptions)

• Fev / Leigh  vs Tolouse /Wakefield
• Fax v Batley
• Barrow v York
• Bradford v Keithley (assuming Keithley get promoted)
• Widnes v Swinton \ NW crusaders \ Haven (if Donny get promoted)
• Thunder v Haven \ Donny (if Donny Promoted)
• London v Sheffield

I think this would be the most likely scenario to have competitive games in the Bash, while trying to keep some focus on geography.

[Griff]

You don't think Doncaster v Sheffield is an obvious derby?

[georgeb1]

Anyone seen the attendance's for the 2 days ?

[Fevrover]

1 hour ago, tim2 said:

Why Sheffield v London again, are we in the South now because we aren't in West Yorkshire?

I tried to figure fixtures out,Sheffield closer to London then rest ? Widnes and Leigh neighbours like most of games but they must have thought Leigh and Fev best two teams  ? Crazy idea which wants binning, crowds are poor and barmy having it at Headingley imo.

[Niels]

2 hours ago, spanishknight said:

York City Knights got back to winning ways.

Yes a good win.

I stayed loyal to the games and didn't desert to the football

Edited August 1, 2022 by Niels

[crashmon]

To be honest I think the Bash should be binned, if you do it by location you will get blowout scores most probably, if you do it by position you get low crowds.

As a concept it works for SL, but for the champonship its really a luxury we don't need.  When it was on SKY I could see it, as the clubs would get more TV exposure, but not having it on Freesports means that only those who have Premier would actually have purchased the subscription would have seen.

I think the Bash is done.  If its done by region you would get this

• Sheffield vs Keighly (Sheffield win)
• Tolouse vs London (Tolouse huge win)
• Fev vs Batley (could be close)
• Bradford vs Halifax (Fax win)
• Widnes vs NW Crus (Widnes win)
• York vs Newcastle (could be close)
• Barrow vs Haven (Barrow win)

I don't see any of the above driving huge crowds.

[David Shepherd]

Must admit, I thought the bash would be great at Headingley. I was wrong.

Really needs to be in an all seater for starters.  I was there from 11:30 on Saturday and my feet are killing me. (I know I could have sat, but I like the atmosphere in the "Fev" end).

The beer and food in the stadium were dreadful and there were nowhere near enough outlets open.

Nipped out for some decent food at tea time and forgot about the Otley Run, Headingley was absolutely nuts, struggled to get in anywhere.

As for the fixtures, needs a shake up.  It has a big weighting on both the relegation battle and the play off fight.

If we are to continue with it (and I think we should), maybe having the fixtures drawn from a hat a couple of weeks before the day would be the fairest way. Fanzones inside the perimeter are a must too, not only because you can offer more than the standard stadium fare of burgers, pies and cack ale but some entertainment too.