2023 Squad

[lingaro]

that lad can shift!

[POR]

48 minutes ago, Daft old hooker said:

Squad is looking very big at the moment, can’t imagine we are looking to sign anyone else.

Maybe not right now D but according to our friend 

FEATHERSTONE ROVERS head coach Sean Long has hinted that more Super League-quality signings could make their way to the Millennium Stadium ahead of a Championship-promotion charge. it’s likely that at some point we’ll need to make further acquisitions to reinforce our drive for Super League.

 

[Daft old hooker]

1 hour ago, POR said:

Maybe not right now D but according to our friend 

FEATHERSTONE ROVERS head coach Sean Long has hinted that more Super League-quality signings could make their way to the Millennium Stadium ahead of a Championship-promotion charge. it’s likely that at some point we’ll need to make further acquisitions to reinforce our drive for Super League.

 

Yeah I would imagine that’s a good possibility as we get towards the playoffs but right now I’m not sure what the first 17 are.

[Fevrover]

28 minutes ago, Daft old hooker said:

Yeah I would imagine that’s a good possibility as we get towards the playoffs but right now I’m not sure what the first 17 are.

I don't suppose Sean does yet,he's certainly got plenty to choose from.

[Ferryfevforever]

Wing. Fullback and halves are going to be tough to call. Not an easy call

 

[Monkeymagic22]

I'd be sure that there will be players going out on loan, like last season. 

[marklaspalmas]

Updated. 28 and one trialist

[The Phantom Horseman]

Kyle Evans is an interesting signing, not least because he's hard for most of us to assess as almost all his career has been in RU so most of us won't have seen much of him.

Reading the Wakefield board (and he only played three games for them) it seems the feeling is they would have liked to have kept him but already had an excess of wingers. It looks like he's one of those players who would probably have been good enough to get a SL contract had he been younger and thus becomes available to a Championship club.

It's probably not surprising that we were interested in a wing as Gaz Gale wasn't as effective in 2022 as he had been in 2021 and you would think they will be in direct competition for a place in the starting line-up. That would leave Hall, Leilua, Hankinson and Hardcastle (who could play back row of course) as 4 potential candidates for two centre places, a nice position for the coach to be in.

[POR]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

It's probably not surprising that we were interested in a wing as Gaz Gale wasn't as effective in 2022 as he had been in 2021 and you would think they will be in direct competition for a place in the starting line-up. That would leave Hall, Leilua, Hankinson and Hardcastle (who could play back row of course) as 4 potential candidates for two centre places, a nice position for the coach to be in.

I also think P when push cones to shove Aekins can put his hand up to play anywhere in the outside backs

[Michael Bates]

2 hours ago, POR said:

I also think P when push cones to shove Aekins can put his hand up to play anywhere in the outside backs

Think Aekins and Hall are particularly flexible in this respect

FB - Aekins/Kheirallah/Pickersgill/Hall

WG - Briscoe/Evans/Gale/Hall/Aekins

C - Hankinson/Hall/Leilua/Briscoe/Hardcastle/Aekins

Glad I'm not picking the side!

[POR]

18 hours ago, Michael Bates said:

Think Aekins and Hall are particularly flexible in this respect

FB - Aekins/Kheirallah/Pickersgill/Hall

WG - Briscoe/Evans/Gale/Hall/Aekins

C - Hankinson/Hall/Leilua/Briscoe/Hardcastle/Aekins

Glad I'm not picking the side!

Agree M we seem to have a plethora of players but for me in reality as things stand the team should nearly pick itself

FB Aekins C Hankinson Leilua W Briscoe so the only real decision is tuther wing do we go for the big lad. the speed merchant or the goalkicker

[Monkeymagic22]

3 hours ago, POR said:

Agree M we seem to have a plethora of players but for me in reality as things stand the team should nearly pick itself

FB Aekins C Hankinson Leilua W Briscoe so the only real decision is tuther wing do we go for the big lad. the speed merchant or the goalkicker

From what I saw of Evans in the World Cup, he’s going to be very hard to keep out of the side. I’d agree with your other choices.

 

[Daft old hooker]

I see Connor Jones is back do we know about Moors and Yei?

[Michael Bates]

5 hours ago, POR said:

Agree M we seem to have a plethora of players but for me in reality as things stand the team should nearly pick itself

FB Aekins C Hankinson Leilua W Briscoe so the only real decision is tuther wing do we go for the big lad. the speed merchant or the goalkicker

Hankinson will 100% be the goal kicker.

[The Phantom Horseman]

55 minutes ago, Daft old hooker said:

I see Connor Jones is back do we know about Moors and Yei?

I think Moors is back in the UK now. Yei we were only told that he'd be here "in the New Year", perhaps he's waiting on a visa hence the vagueness, but that's just a guess.

[The Phantom Horseman]

43 minutes ago, Michael Bates said:

Hankinson will 100% be the goal kicker.

I'll be surprised if he's not too. He continued to take the kicks even after Hall came on at half time against cas, and he has a really good reputation as a goal kicker.

Personally I don't think Hall is nailed on for a regular place this year. We have three full backs in the squad and plenty of quality competiton at centre and wing. He's 35 next month and this might be the season where he becomes a bit-part player. But again, that could be totally wrong!

[POR]

11 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Personally I don't think Hall is nailed on for a regular place this year. 

Totally agree P we have brought in some quality outside backs this year who I think will be first choice  and unfortunately it won't get any better for Hally  when Mark  K gets fit

[sentoffagain2]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

I'll be surprised if he's not too. He continued to take the kicks even after Hall came on at half time against cas, and he has a really good reputation as a goal kicker.

Personally I don't think Hall is nailed on for a regular place this year. We have three full backs in the squad and plenty of quality competiton at centre and wing. He's 35 next month and this might be the season where he becomes a bit-part player. But again, that could be totally wrong!

  Think Hall.Cooper,Fleming and Locky will struggle to get in a named 17 unless we have injuries.

[The Phantom Horseman]

19 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  Think Hall.Cooper,Fleming and Locky will struggle to get in a named 17 unless we have injuries.

I think the chances of Lockwood featuring regularly shouldn't be discounted. Long knows him from his previous stint here (was it Long's arrival that brought about the extra year for Locky?) and was fulsome in his praise after the Cas game..."Locky was outstanding, he set the tone of the game for us, he's our captain".

Edited January 5, 2023 by The Phantom Horseman

[Fevrover]

15 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  Think Hall.Cooper,Fleming and Locky will struggle to get in a named 17 unless we have injuries.

No doubt we'll get plenty if last season is anything to go by.Just what we need this big squad.

[sentoffagain2]

23 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

I think the chances of Lockwood featuring regularly shouldn't be discounted. Long knows him from his previous stint here (was it Long's arrival that brought about the extra year for Locky?) and was fulsome in his praise after the Cas game..."Locky was outstanding, he set the tone of the game for us, he's our captain".

  Love Locky but over the last couple of years he has spent less time on the field.Although as you say he always works hard when he is on.Just think we have 8 or 9 in front of him.

[RobLambert]

What on earth did Joey do last season to become a nailed on starter ahead of Hall ?  Are we basing this on Hall's age and the fact that we paying Joey so much or basing it on performances on the pitch ?  If it's the latter clearly I know nothing.  Maybe Joey shed 5 stone and Hall had a leg amputated in the off-season.

[bigbaldnmad]

I think that when Joey started last year he was a long way off being fit, he also created a lot of tries last year.

Hall is probably one of our fittest players and has the knack of being in the right place a the right time.

But I think Joey is a better option at centre than Hall.

I think the competition for places will be fierce this season, and if players don't perform they will be changes.

For mine, if there are no injuries, I would start the first game with the backs as

1. Aekins

2 Briscoe

3. Leilua

4. Hankinson

5. Evans

6. Ford

7. Dean

Not sure what happens when Kheirallah is fit, because I would prefer him over Aekins, and I don't envy Long on his team selections.

[Rovers fev]

Leilua is a class centre  who close to the line he’s dangerous and he creates chances around him, last season smith wouldn’t have scored 20+ tries without leilua outside him making defenders second guess, he’s not gunna take 20+ carries a game but if we use him correctly like I think long will we could see a different player out of him this year 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Rovers fev

[Monkeymagic22]

Really hard to pick a team, but I’d go for :

Aekins Briscoe Leillua Hankinson Evans 

Ford Dean

Kopczak Willie Cozza Bussey Moors Taylor

Interchange Jones Springer Yei Hardcastle

Looking to use Jones and the props once the fiz has gone from the game. Hardcastle a great utility player.