League - Round 3 Newcastle at Home - Sunday 19th Feb

[Indigogo]

Back to Cougar Park and realistically speaking this is a game we would hope to be winning. Last week's performance against Widnes was much improved compared to Fev, and further improvement should hopefully see us winning. It would be nice to more possession and field position this week. We were loads better against Widnes but still felt they probably won the arm wrestle and had more time in our half than we would have liked. 

Squad wise this week, Thomas Doyle is available and I expect he will be out starting 9. I've heard really good things so I'm excited to see him in action. On the flip side, Ben Crooks will be missing for a good amount of time, apparently he has broke his thumb and will be requiring surgery later this week That could mean that Nathan Roebuck comes in at centre. Ellis Robson went off injured too but I'm not sure how serious that is and there is still no further update on Kyle Trout. This probably means Dan Parker comes back in to the match day squad. Possible team could be:

Young, Mo, Storey, Roebuck, Charlie, Chizzy, Gale, Ioane, Doyle, Levy, Adebiyi, Tomlinson, Walker.

Parker, Santi, Everett, Kes or Gaylor

Personally I think Kes has been better than Gaylor in the opening 2 games and would rather see him replacing Doyle at 9 than Gaylor.

 

 

[Mr Hicks]

Very inexperienced back line at this level. This was proved on Sunday because when Crooks went off we let in 2 trys.

Cant see a crowd of much more than 1500 as Newcastle don't have a big following.  Stringing a few wins together in this division is difficult but if we can win this and fingers crossed beat Batley we should get the crowd against Bradford. Saying that after there game against York on Monday there keyboard warriors were out straight away saying same old Bradford but the week before they were taking the ###### out of our result against Featherstone even though they only beat a very mediocre Whitehaven at home.

If we finish anywhere between 10th 7th I would be very happy as we can build on that. Unless you have the money that Leigh had last year you will not have a chance of winning our division. 

[Angelic Cynic]

The home game following Thunder is London Broncos.

The home support should be good - the away support just a bonus.

I have a slight concern about our flexible players playing on opposite sides of the field to that which they played last season.I look forward to the combinations becoming more solid.

After watching the triumvirate of Young,Gale and Chisholm being involved in the tries at Widnes I am pleased this forum hasn't followed the Facebook site and gone all Jack Miller. 

A home win will be very much appreciated.  

[POR]

To be fair if you want to stay in the championship these are the games you need to be winning yes this is the thunders third year in the championship but they are an ordinary side nowt to shout out about record in last two seasons is Won 14 Drawn 2 Lost 31 

[Mr Hicks]

So we're very light in the forwards.

We resign a prop for this season who only played one game last season for us then send him out on a season long loan. Really scratching my head with this one unless it's to make room for new players.

Anyone help out on this one.

[Indigogo]

We are light in the forwards in my opinion. Rhys did mention before the season started he wanted players that could play multiple positions, so this could come into his thinking.

Santi - Prop/2nd Row

Toby Everett - Prop

Dan Parker - Prop/2nd row

Mark Ioane - Prop

Kyle Trout - Prop/2nd row

Aaron Levy - Prop/2nd row

Sadiq Adebiyi - prop/2nd row/Loose

Mudoti could be classed as another prop but has gone to Midlands on loan. Josh Lynam has played prop in the past for us but he is currently on dual reg getting game time with West Bowling, and I would say is a 2nd rower.

Santi, Parker, Trout have all played 2nd row for us as recently as last season but I think are seen predominantly as props now . Aaron Levy was used at prop v Widnes and tbf I think he had a good game, though not sure if he's a long term solution. 

Everett and Ioane the out and out props. Would love another one, maybe 2. I don't think we replaced Pettybourne either. At a guess we might look to see who is available from a SL team once the season starts and players become aware they aren't getting many minutes. That's pure guesswork from me though.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Indigogo

[Angelic Cynic]

On 15/02/2023 at 19:03, Mr Hicks said:

So we're very light in the forwards.

We resign a prop for this season who only played one game last season for us then send him out on a season long loan. Really scratching my head with this one unless it's to make room for new players.

Anyone help out on this one.

Do you men light in weight,or light in numbers?

Anesu being retained, but going out on loan,is an interesting one.

If referees are to ensure a quicker play the ball,ruck speed,then lighter forwards do seem the in- thing.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/state-of-origin/greg-dowling-slams-ricky-stuarts-decision-to-take-only-two-props-into-the-second-state-of-origin/news-story/4c95baa2b47ff49f610688867e0ef36b

Whether that works on a mudbath,in the driving wind and rain,at Batley,on the slope,is another matter,but on drier pitches,in the heat,physically fitter,faster,endurance based 'middles' seems the way it is going.

Even ball playing loose forwards may be returning.

Trust the process.

Interesting that Thunder have the Chapelows, and a young prop, in their squad - though I haven't yet seen the named 21 for Sunday.

[Indigogo]

35 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

Do you men light in weight,or light in numbers?

Anesu being retained, but going out on loan,is an interesting one.

If referees are to ensure a quicker play the ball,ruck speed,then lighter forwards do seem the in- thing.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/state-of-origin/greg-dowling-slams-ricky-stuarts-decision-to-take-only-two-props-into-the-second-state-of-origin/news-story/4c95baa2b47ff49f610688867e0ef36b

Whether that works on a mudbath,in the driving wind and rain,at Batley,on the slope,is another matter,but on drier pitches,in the heat,physically fitter,faster,endurance based 'middles' seems the way it is going.

Even ball playing loose forwards may be returning.

Trust the process.

Interesting that Thunder have the Chapelows, and a young prop, in their squad - though I haven't yet seen the named 21 for Sunday.

I mean both. We have 2 out and out Props imo and that leaves us light in in numbers and weight at the same time. There's no reason you can't have a big quick prop, I think Mark Ioane fits that description. 

Its no good quoting articles about State of Origin, we are a million miles away from that in terms of quality of players and probably refereeing standards. If that's the way we are going then I expect us to become unstuck against the majority of teams early in the season, especially in adverse weather conditions. 

I do like a ball playing 13 and I think Brad Walker fits the role perfectly. He was up there as MoM against Widnes. 80 mins in his first game with no pre season and he looked classy. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

Both Chapelows looked good in the pre season game. I thought Newcastle on the whole looked decent enough when we played them. I don't see the game as an easy win at all, it'll be a tough game.

[BD20Cougar]

Interesting one the forwards, I think Rhys has always preferred a lighter, more mobile front row. Even in league 1 it wasn't unusual to see us outsized by the opposition. I think the telling thing particularly in the Featherstone game was that even though our pack was much smaller, they didn't seem any faster or more mobile than their opponents which I think just goes to show that we are against a higher caliber of athlete this season, which some players will cope with and some won't.

On this weekend, I think this is where the season really starts for us. I said before the Fev game that I didn't see us taking any points from our first two but I saw enough from us at Widnes to be fairly confident we'll get off the mark this weekend. As mentioned above though, anything less than a win and it might be time for some tough questions to be asked.

[Indigogo]

Nice to win and get off the bottom of the league. We played some decent rugby going forward and Thomas Doyle looked impressive on debut. Him and Brad Walker looked good together. Defensively I think we were soft and naive with all of their tries. Newcastle weren't very good at at all and we should have scored more and conceded less if completely at the races. 

Brad Walker seemed to hobble off which would be a concern as we head to Batley next week, he's been quality these last 2 weeks and will only improve as the team do.  

Gale and Chizzy seemed to cause them lots of problems which was nice to see. Some poor kicks to end sets again though and that seems to be a reoccurring theme from Chizzy, it needs improving quickly. Giving better teams 7 tackle sets off their 20 won't get us very far. Some of his attempted tackles on the wing were bordering on pathetic, I can't think of a valid excuse for any of it. Teams will watch that and target it and score plenty every week. 

Whilst nice to get the win, it was disappointing to concede 24 points against that side. Still lots to improve on, in particular in defence, but a win is a win 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Indigogo

[Mr Hicks]

Thought attack was much better today which shows when your pack is getting you up field your halfs can do there job.

Defence really concerns me we have gone back to we will score more than you which we were playing 2 seasons ago. The problem is if a good team does put 20 or 30 points on you then you can forget it. I would rather win 24:6 than 44:24. If you dont concede you cant lose.

Hope the club are actively searching for at least one or maybe two props as we are still light in the pack. Hope Walker isn't badly injured he was quality until he went off but never returned. 

Batley will be a wounded animal next week so defence will be key on there slope.

[Angelic Cynic]

A reminder of League 1.

I could be positive and suggest incremental improvement over the 3 games;but in reality it may be the opposition got gradually poorer.

Pleased with the win and the upward trajectory.

Poor attendance. 

Lots of work needed for improvement on and off the field.

Early days yet,though.

Is it too early for new blood? Still the first calendar month of the season.May need a kick-start,perhaps.

[Indigogo]

1 hour ago, Mr Hicks said:

Thought attack was much better today which shows when your pack is getting you up field your halfs can do there job.

Defence really concerns me we have gone back to we will score more than you which we were playing 2 seasons ago. The problem is if a good team does put 20 or 30 points on you then you can forget it. I would rather win 24:6 than 44:24. If you dont concede you cant lose.

Hope the club are actively searching for at least one or maybe two props as we are still light in the pack. Hope Walker isn't badly injured he was quality until he went off but never returned. 

Batley will be a wounded animal next week so defence will be key on there slope.

Totally agree with all of that. Whilst looking likely to score on every attack we also looked likely to concede every time we were attacked.

Batley by all accounts have been poor the last couple of weeks and fingers crossed we can go there and perform. I'm concerned that their props will be too big and over run us giving them the majority of possession and with the way we are defending that's not a good sign.

On a side note, I saw Ben Crooks in the bar after the game, he's out for 10 weeks after having an op this week on his thumb. Also rumour has it Jack Miller will be on the bus home with the Newcastle lads!

[Indigogo]

32 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

A reminder of League 1.

I could be positive and suggest incremental improvement over the 3 games;but in reality it may be the opposition got gradually poorer.

Pleased with the win and the upward trajectory.

Poor attendance. 

Lots of work needed for improvement on and off the field.

Early days yet,though.

Is it too early for new blood? Still the first calendar month of the season.May need a kick-start,perhaps.

Probably a combination of the 2. Whilst the opposition have gradually decreased in quality I think we've improved week on week. Now we have our spine playing, hopefully that carries on.

[POR]

13 hours ago, Mr Hicks said:

I would rather win 24:6 than 44:24. If you dont concede you cant lose.

Yes and No Mr H as a FEV fan I hate it when we concede tries especially sloppy ones we should have stopped but in reality I couldn't care less as long at the final hooter we have one more point than the opposition you say  I would rather win 24:6 than 44:24. but you still only get the same number of points no matter what the score 

Similarly yesterday FEV rested a few players but still beat Whitehaven 76-4 but if it had ended up 76-75 it would still have been the same two points

 

[Indigogo]

2 hours ago, POR said:

Yes and No Mr H as a FEV fan I hate it when we concede tries especially sloppy ones we should have stopped but in reality I couldn't care less as long at the final hooter we have one more point than the opposition you say  I would rather win 24:6 than 44:24. but you still only get the same number of points no matter what the score 

Similarly yesterday FEV rested a few players but still beat Whitehaven 76-4 but if it had ended up 76-75 it would still have been the same two points

 

Think it's the manner in which we conceded thats the issue. If we play that way against a more established side then we will concede more and likely score less, and lose the game as a result. 

[POR]

10 minutes ago, Indigogo said:

Think it's the manner in which we conceded thats the issue. If we play that way against a more established side then we will concede more and likely score less, and lose the game as a result. 

Exactly I if someone turns you over you say well done  them but if it's you being sloppy then its shame on you 

[POR]

20 hours ago, Indigogo said:

. Also rumour has it Jack Miller will be on the bus home with the Newcastle lads!

Newcastle Thunder is delighted to announce the signing of half back Jack Miller on a deal until the end of the 2023 season.

[Angelic Cynic]

7 minutes ago, POR said:

Newcastle Thunder is delighted to announce the signing of half back Jack Miller on a deal until the end of the 2023 season.

Surprised by that.I thought it was just going to be a loan.

It has made me very impressed by the former Academy players from Warrington and Leeds,both young fellas,who,when not selected,fight for their place and help out and encourage their teammates on matchday.The lad from Warrington being rewarded with selection,on Sunday.

I did hear a naughty rumour about Thunder and one of our contracted players a short time ago.It wasn't Miller.

You will have noticed that it seems York did not seem interested despite a guy at their club having had a close-up view of Miller during last season.

I think Miller will be able to demonstrate his skills with his kicking from the tee with a number of restarts at Post Office Road this coming weekend.

[Mr Hicks]

Lets put it this way.

If any one team in the championship lost there 6 or 7 for the season and had the opportunity to take Miller, Chisholm or Gale from us how many of them would choose Miller?

He was a favourite with fans and probably a nice guy but we are in a league where results matter and as Miller is totally untested in the championship before this is the reason he hasn't been picked. As fans we don't see him train so maybe it's based on training sessions. 

This happens at every level from Super league, Championship and Championship 1 even the NRL. A squad is a squad and nobody has the right to a starting shirt.

[Indigogo]

1 hour ago, POR said:

Newcastle Thunder is delighted to announce the signing of half back Jack Miller on a deal until the end of the 2023 season.

Aye, knew it was being announced today. He was in the bar saying goodbyes yesterday after the game against Newcastle, ironically.

[BD20Cougar]

Really don't like the narrative being pushed by our Facebook fans that Jack Miller has been in some way betrayed by the club. As far as I'm aware clubs weren't exactly queuing around the block to sign him up when Doncaster released him in 2019, now in 2023 he's (presumably) a starting halfback for an established championship side. It's professional sport, and it's a two way street.

I absolutely respect the guy, as I do every player who stuck with us through the bad years and I'd have loved to see him stick around. He would have no doubt have got plenty of opportunities throughout the season as there's obviously no way Chisholm and Gale are going to be fit and available for all 27 games but if he wasn't happy with being relegated to the status of squad player then

 1) Being a Keighley cougars player clearly wasn't as important to him as some seem to think.

2) The club absolutely made the right call allowing him to go. Can't have an unhappy camper in the dressing room.

I just hope that the whole debacle doesn't unsettle any of the other players as Miller was clearly highly thought of by the boys. Onwards and upwards and we keep our fingers crossed for no lengthy absences in the half back position.

[Angelic Cynic]

Miller was saying his goodbyes at the first home game of the campaign - the Monday night v Featherstone.

This the guy who was on a contract until ,at least,as far as I can recall,the end of this year.

This was the guy who was installed as captain by Rhys Lovegrove, and gained promotion under the same head coach.

Other players from the winning 2022 campaign have played for their places and been rewarded.

Added to the love-in from Cougars followers,on Faceberk,there were comments from the father of Miller,a former head coach at Doncaster,who also coached alongside Ellery Hanley while the club was owned by the fella who later became the agent for Luke Gale.

Very poor that head coaches should be subjected to such comments from other coaches.

 

However,I think Chisholm is also being targeted.

I always felt a little sorry for Ben Hardcastle. He introduced Rhys to the club.

Both he,and Ben Stead were reliable kickers - with Hardcastle doing okay while at Newcastle Thunder.

Should be one or two travelling to Kingston Park in June.

I don't know whether I need a Rhys Out or a Chiz Out,banner.

I do,sometimes,despair.

If Miller later heads to York...