Sat 4-Sun 5 Feb: Betfred Championship (Non-TV) Match Thread

[Wolford6]

14 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

Is there a George Flanagan one? Could be handy for Halloween.

Tell the truth, all of them could.

[RBKnight]

16 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

Is there a George Flanagan one? Could be handy for Halloween.

Thought the Flanagan merchandise was the big Foam Finger......

[mozzauk]

SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Barrow Raiders v Toulouse Olympique  Barrow by 12  - Barrow have a good pre-season and Toulouse have had a tough off season, and a tiny squad

SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Bradford Bulls v Whitehaven   Whitehaven by 2 - I can see Whitehaven upsetting the Bulls

Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles    Sheffield by 8  - We have had an excellent pre-season and think we can win, if our heads are in the game
London Broncos v Batley Bulldogs    Batley by 14  - No real competition, Batley seem to be stronger than the Bronco's
Swinton Lions v Newcastle Thunder    Newcastle  by 6 - Newcastle could come out stronger than Swinton
York Knights v Widnes Vikings    Widnes  by 2 - Will be tight, but I think Widnes will take the 2 by 2

[The Phantom Horseman]

Wow. Just looked on the RFL match centre page for the Barrow v Toulouse 21-man game squads as neither team appear to have announced them yet on social media.

Now, bear in mind that the RFl's website still is only able to cope with listing 19 names and they always miss the last two alphabetically off...but Barrow have 19 listed with Josh Wood and Greg Worthington the 2 presumably missing late-alphabet players who should be there.

BUT...Toulouse have named only 18. And now we know why they have just added a couple of outside backs from their Elite 1 team, as the names missing from their squad are wing Latrell Schaumkel and centre Reuben Rennie, plus hooker Calum Gahan, and perhaps most significantly half back Josh Ralph, who carries a lot of their hopes this season.

I don't know if they are all injured, or whether there are visa issues, and maybe they habitually only fly with 18 anyway, but they have always named 21-man squads in the past. So it seems that for the opening day of the season Toulouse can only name 18 players, even after drafting two in from their Elite 1 team this week.

[The Phantom Horseman]

10 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Wow. Just looked on the RFL match centre page for the Barrow v Toulouse 21-man game squads as neither team appear to have announced them yet on social media.

Now, bear in mind that the RFl's website still is only able to cope with listing 19 names and they always miss the last two alphabetically off...but Barrow have 19 listed with Josh Wood and Greg Worthington the 2 presumably missing late-alphabet players who should be there.

BUT...Toulouse have named only 18. And now we know why they have just added a couple of outside backs from their Elite 1 team, as the names missing from their squad are wing Latrell Schaumkel and centre Reuben Rennie, plus hooker Calum Gahan, and perhaps most significantly half back Josh Ralph, who carries a lot of their hopes this season.

I don't know if they are all injured, or whether there are visa issues, and maybe they habitually only fly with 18 anyway, but they have always named 21-man squads in the past. So it seems that for the opening day of the season Toulouse can only name 18 players, even after drafting two in from their Elite 1 team this week.

I suppose it's feasible they could be waiting on the availability of some DR players from Catalans, but either way they do seem to be doing it tough at the moment.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Ignore all that, the RFL website had some notable omissions. Josh Ralph and Reuben Rennie are in the 21-man squad just released by Toulouse, as is Dimitri Biscarro, another promoted from their Elite 1 squad.

[kiggy]

2 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Wow. Just looked on the RFL match centre page for the Barrow v Toulouse 21-man game squads as neither team appear to have announced them yet on social media.

Now, bear in mind that the RFl's website still is only able to cope with listing 19 names and they always miss the last two alphabetically off...but Barrow have 19 listed with Josh Wood and Greg Worthington the 2 presumably missing late-alphabet players who should be there.

BUT...Toulouse have named only 18. And now we know why they have just added a couple of outside backs from their Elite 1 team, as the names missing from their squad are wing Latrell Schaumkel and centre Reuben Rennie, plus hooker Calum Gahan, and perhaps most significantly half back Josh Ralph, who carries a lot of their hopes this season.

I don't know if they are all injured, or whether there are visa issues, and maybe they habitually only fly with 18 anyway, but they have always named 21-man squads in the past. So it seems that for the opening day of the season Toulouse can only name 18 players, even after drafting two in from their Elite 1 team this week.

Calum will be out for a few months, Latrell still has knee problems they are managing but should be back soon. They should have a full 18 for Barrow, and a few others back soon (Sika who came back not very fit, and Guy who missed a lot of training due to a back injury).

[The Phantom Horseman]

8 minutes ago, kiggy said:

Calum will be out for a few months, Latrell still has knee problems they are managing but should be back soon. They should have a full 18 for Barrow, and a few others back soon (Sika who came back not very fit, and Guy who missed a lot of training due to a back injury).

Thank you Kiggy. It can be difficult getting updates over here on Toulouse so these are very much appreciated.

[crashmon]

On 01/02/2023 at 17:28, John Drake said:

Discuss this weekend's games here.

SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Barrow Raiders v Toulouse Olympique    15:00 (OurLeague)

SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Bradford Bulls v Whitehaven    15:00
Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles    15:00
London Broncos v Batley Bulldogs    15:00
Swinton Lions v Newcastle Thunder    15:00
York Knights v Widnes Vikings    15:00

 

[dkw]

SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Barrow Raiders v Toulouse Olympique    Barra by 18

SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY
Betfred Championship
Bradford Bulls v Whitehaven    bulls by 30
Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles    fax by 12
London Broncos v Batley Bulldogs    doggies by 30
Swinton Lions v Newcastle Thunder    lions by 8
York Knights v Widnes Vikings    knights by 12

[Blind side johnny]

Barrow Raiders v Toulouse Olympique 
Bradford Bulls v Whitehaven 
Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles 
London Broncos v Batley Bulldogs 
Swinton Lions v Newcastle Thunder 
York Knights v Widnes Vikings 

[kiggy]

18 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Thank you Kiggy. It can be difficult getting updates over here on Toulouse so these are very much appreciated.

It's difficult knowing how much to say without giving too much away. Teams set up with an eye on who they will be playing on the day (it's those little 1% margins that sometimes make the difference!). So, I have to be careful what information I can give as I'm never sure how much is out in the public domain already.

[Keep The Faith]

Barrow 

Batley 

bulls

Sheffield

Swinton 

York 

[BetweenYellowLines]

Wins for Raiders, Bulls, Panthers, Bulldogs, Thunder and Vikings. In my opinion.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Toulouse off to a flyer with Barrow seemingly dazzled by the trio of peroxide blonds amongst the Frenchmen. 0-4 after 3 minutes.

[The Phantom Horseman]

And Toulouse score again from 70m out on the first tackle of the next set. They just look to be playing the game at a  different pace to Barrow so far, and Barrow look like the team that hasn't played a pre-season game.

[Yosser]

Barrow looking very rusty. their right side looking very vulnerable

[The Phantom Horseman]

A 3rd try for Toulouse, all down Barrow's right flank. Barrow have been woeful defensively down that side so far, Toulouse look very lively.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Three missed conversions the only downside for Toulouse so far. 0-12 after 16 minutes which includes about 5 minutes of stoppages.

[Yosser]

I was expecting better from Barrow. They are lacking pace. Pre season fitness levels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Yosser
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[The Phantom Horseman]

Josh Ralph absolutely bossing it, he looks a real quality player.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Barrow in at the corner through Shaw, a much-needed try.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Tempers getting frayed and Toulouse twice penalised when in possession. Barrow trying to rattle them and succeeding. Toulouse need to focus on playing rugby again, they've looked by far the better team.

Edited February 4, 2023 by The Phantom Horseman

[The Phantom Horseman]

Normal service resumed as Toulouse score again.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Toulouse try their third different kicker with the same lack of success. 4-16, but Toulouse miles the better team.

Edited February 4, 2023 by The Phantom Horseman