Match thread: Championship Round 10: Featherstone v Sheffield. Sunday 7th May 2023.

[The Phantom Horseman]

15 minutes ago, Rovers fev said:

Just me who didn’t think we played that bad, was a tough game against a side who are 3rd in league and came with a good game plan and exicuted it perfectly, proud of all of lads who played today and put in a massive shift in the heat and got a brilliant result 

Interesting take and some fair points. I don't think we lacked effort but we made hard work of it. Bit clunky in attack and our right-hand-side defence was vulnerable throughout with players dashing out of the defensive line etc.

Sheffield are a good team who as you say came with a game plan and stuck to it, there were some instances of foul play that were missed by the officials (two swinging arms from JSL in the first few minutes), we got a bit rattled at times but perhaps understandably so. Poor Lacans came in for some very rough treatment, all 5 foot 5 of him.

We are still unbeaten in the league but I think we all know that's perhaps a bit flattering, we certainly aren't as dominant as the table suggests.

Looks like ET and Leilua join the long-term casualties.

Good to win ugly sometimes but we will need to be better at the business end of the season.

[Phil Briscoe]

Joey made some great breaks and looked unplayable at times but came up short defensively a few times. JSL clearly came with a point to prove and a chip on his shoulder after we released him last year. He overstepped the mark quite a few times but ironically if he’d have played with that level of commitment and aggression last year he’d probably still be with us. Ye they had a game plan to slow us down and niggle and hope we reacted. They’re a good team with ball in hand so may have been better served sticking to playing rugby. Moors showed us some glimpses of what we’ve been missing and it would be a big boost to get him fully fit and in the 17 going forward. We keep finding a way to win which is probably the most positive thing about today.

[gazza77]

46 minutes ago, Rovers fev said:

Just me who didn’t think we played that bad, was a tough game against a side who are 3rd in league and came with a good game plan and exicuted it perfectly, proud of all of lads who played today and put in a massive shift in the heat and got a brilliant result 

Sheffield played on the edge and overstepped it a few times, but I'd broadly agree with your comments. Our attack looks pedestrian at times, but you've sometimes got to credit the oppositions defence as well. 

[sentoffagain2]

   The players deserve credit for keeping on and getting the win in the end.Sheffield were on top when they had 3 sin binned to our 1 and the extra effort told on them in the end.They could have edged in front if that cross field kick had been caught at 22-20.We didn't create enough during the middle part of the game.Corey Aston had the best game i have seen him play and i thought him and Thacks outplayed ours.We may be a bit rusty but i would like to see a better kicking game and more flair in attack.Get the ball out wide quicker.Briscoe in no mans land again for the wingers try in the first half.And the one in the second half near the scoreboard Gale kept his position but never tried to make a tackle.I don't think we could grumble if the match had ended in a draw.Very little between the teams this afternoon.

[Wolfey Rovers]

I don't think deans buying into everything at the moment. Is he carrying an injury? Rather be at Warrington? He's had 3 scratchy performances in a row now. It's up to longy to fire him up again 

 

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

10 minutes ago, Wolfey Rovers said:

I don't think deans buying into everything at the moment. Is he carrying an injury? Rather be at Warrington? He's had 3 scratchy performances in a row now. It's up to longy to fire him up again 

 

Suspect he's carrying a knock/niggle: was down on his haunches for a while before taking the second conversion and was checked on at least once by the physio after that during the first half

[Fevrover]

2 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Suspect he's carrying a knock/niggle: was down on his haunches for a while before taking the second conversion and was checked on at least once by the physio after that during the first half

In fairness as has been mentioned he was a marked man today - literally.

[elppaxr2i]

Get out of jail card played today 

Missed a halfback general today to organise us

I like both Dean & Lacans but they dont work well in the same team as your 6 & 7 

Neither could organise a thing 

ET is clearly the forwards general for me -also a big miss

[haskey]

Far too many mistakes, especially when having the ball. Poor defence on Briscoe/ Joes wing. Looks like Hall will get a run out now. To me Sheffield came to spoil and went over the top hence the bins. We are still top but we MUST play better than that, with some more hard games to come. JSL for them was a missile gone wrong. Still 2 points is 2 more.

[sentoffagain2]

49 minutes ago, elppaxr2i said:

Get out of jail card played today 

Missed a halfback general today to organise us

I like both Dean & Lacans but they dont work well in the same team as your 6 & 7 

Neither could organise a thing 

ET is clearly the forwards general for me -also a big miss

  We do need a ball handler in the forwards and Taylor does that.But players need to play what they see more if someone makes a break support him.Jones had a couple of bursts in the second half with no support.Agree about the half backs.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Tubbs' post-game interview on YouTube is "interesting", basically a six-minute moan about the officiating without mentioning the three times the smallest player on the field Thomas Lacans was taken out (one head high, two late hits), nor the impact JSL's early antics had on the game.

 

[gazza77]

1 hour ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  We do need a ball handler in the forwards and Taylor does that.But players need to play what they see more if someone makes a break support him.Jones had a couple of bursts in the second half with no support.Agree about the half backs.

I've always thought Bussey is best at 13 as a ball handler. I accept Taylor is great at that role, but the logical replacement to me appears to still be in the 2nd row. 

[Daft old hooker]

56 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Tubbs' post-game interview on YouTube is "interesting", basically a six-minute moan about the officiating without mentioning the three times the smallest player on the field Thomas Lacans was taken out (one head high, two late hits), nor the impact JSL's early antics had on the game.

 

Put him in the shh it house along with the referee and drop a rather large weight on it. 
ps that’s as clean as I can get my reaction 

[Rovers fev]

Dean is carrying a groin Injury and has been for the last 4/5 games 

[RobLambert]

5 hours ago, Rovers fev said:

Just me who didn’t think we played that bad, was a tough game against a side who are 3rd in league and came with a good game plan and exicuted it perfectly, proud of all of lads who played today and put in a massive shift in the heat and got a brilliant result 

Not for me.  Yes Sheffield might have come with a game plan to rattle us and the ref didn't control it that well but I thought we were outplayed and out enthused for most of the game.  Sheff scoring when we had a 2 man advantage was nothing short of embarrassing.  I doubt that we'd have won today without the sin-bins.  

Desperately short of ideas at times but at least we have some serious quality / class on the sidelines who should shake things up a bit. 

Thacks the best player on the pitch by a mile. Even Aston kicked a 40-20 (remember those).  We need another half back - maybe two (getting bored of saying that)

Edited May 7, 2023 by RobLambert

[sentoffagain2]

   Agree with most of that we do need to bring in a half back nothing coming from that department at present.If Ford gets fit his quick and long passes give our threequarters a chance of one on ones.Find the play as sterile as last season but the defence is much better structured.Next week probably not right for it but i would like Sean to tell the players forget the set structure. Play like you did at school or your amateur club.Be aware of whats happening around you ,talk to team mates about taking on the defence and slipping a short pass.A little chip forward or a run around by the half backs instead of setting up for a move three tackles down the line.Defence is ok so that is working no need to change that.Still think our best performances were Keighley away and York at home.

[elppaxr2i]

13 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Tubbs' post-game interview on YouTube is "interesting", basically a six-minute moan about the officiating without mentioning the three times the smallest player on the field Thomas Lacans was taken out (one head high, two late hits), nor the impact JSL's early antics had on the game.

 

To be fair, hes probably not going to mention their cards and JSL unless hes asked the question by the interviewer, with that being someone in house its probably never going to be mentioned

Fevs interview was the same - Long doesnt get asked nor talks about Dean getting sin binned 

[lingaro]

He didn't talk about tackling our players without the ball either. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

5 minutes ago, elppaxr2i said:

To be fair, hes probably not going to mention their cards and JSL unless hes asked the question by the interviewer, with that being someone in house its probably never going to be mentioned

Fevs interview was the same - Long doesnt get asked nor talks about Dean getting sin binned 

Yes but Long doesn't go on an extended whine about the officiating! The second and third sin bins that Sheffield got probably were a bit harsh for the actual offences, but they were a result of tempers getting frayed progressively as the game went on and the referee desperate to regain some control.

Aston brings up several decisions that he didn't agree with and is clearly implying that the officiating caused his team's defeat. It's yet another of those post-game interviews (like the ones Dunning often does) where he says things like "I've got to be careful about what I say" but then makes lots of passive-aggressive comments about the refereeing.

"It would have been quite an entertaining game if it had been allowed to be".

"Thirteen against ten? Really?"

"There's some questions that need answering because the two teams...had a dig but then it was just spoiled."

" I don't think it was our best game, but I don't think we were allowed to."

"I've got to be careful what i say because we get fined don't we...what happens to them?"

"My players have busted a gut today to come up with a performance and we just got let down."

"We played 10 minutes with 13 men, was it our indiscpline? Hmmm. Hmmm."

[Michael Bates]

Interesting to hear Aston's opinion on the refereeing. If Mr Grant had any bottle he'd have sent JSL off in the first 10 for punching Bussey on the floor. You'd think that would have stamped out the nonsense.

 

First 10 we smashed them but then seemed to lose intensity, especially in defense and made a lot of mistakes. Last 20 we went back to basics and it was enough to win the game.

 

I can't for the life of me figure out how we were caught so narrow to concede 12 v 10. Their winger was 5 yards wider than Gale. Have we been told to set up like that? 

 

We're crying out for Ford to be back, to have that experienced half directing the play as for all the good stuff Dean and Lacans have, our game management at times is absolutely terrible. 

 

Massive props to Bussey for one keeping his cool and two putting in an outstanding performance. 

[lingaro]

Yes Bussey was the difference not getting drawn yesterday shows how far he has come as a player. 

[Steve Slater]

14 hours ago, gazza77 said:

I've always thought Bussey is best at 13 as a ball handler. I accept Taylor is great at that role, but the logical replacement to me appears to still be in the 2nd row. 

I agree about Bussey, and can he can also share a small portion of the load at hooker of half-back if Jones or Wildie is unavailable or if Connor has to move to centre. He also has a kicking game and has a good long range drop kick in him which may become useful in the knock out stages?

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

19 hours ago, lingaro said:

Mystifying decisions at times I think they'll be a couple of bans mid week for the Sheffield eeeeaagles. 

Depends on whether the Club cite incidents or the ref sees things differently (for both sides) when reviewing the game. 

[elppaxr2i]

4 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Yes but Long doesn't go on an extended whine about the officiating! 

Thats probably because we scraped home and got the result

Had we lost, i think we wouldve seen something similar from Long to what Aston has come out with

Had Sheffield won, Aston wouldve produced an interview similar to what Longy has come out with on the game

Edited May 8, 2023 by elppaxr2i

[marklaspalmas]

1 hour ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Depends on whether the Club cite incidents or the ref sees things differently (for both sides) when reviewing the game. 

Can the club cite incidents, or is it left to the Match Review panel?