London Skolars (H)

[horbury ram]

Match officials

 

• Referee: K. Moore
• Reserve Referee: P. Clayton
• Touch Judge 1: B. Brocklehurst
• Touch Judge 2: J. Wood

 

[graham fisher]

After the last two games against which I believe to be our main contenders for automatic promotion it will be nice to get a game that we can rest one or two players so they can get over their injuries.

l think it will go down to points average at the end of the season so the next two or three games gives us a chance to pile up some points. I know Doncaster beat London 60-30,but I think they missed a massive opportunity to build up their points as I think they went 60-6 up.

Anyway it’s all about us and not what other teams around us are doing. 
I’ll go.

Rams 64

Skolars 10

Fts Carr

Mom Turner

Att 450

[horbury ram]

Josh Guzdek has signed for the Skolars on loan, in contention to play on sunday He joins another Sheffield Eagle player ,Jason Bass also on loan at the London club

 

 

 

[Blind side johnny]

10 hours ago, horbury ram said:

Josh Guzdek has signed for the Skolars on loan, in contention to play on sunday He joins another Sheffield Eagle player ,Jason Bass also on loan at the London club

 

 

 

 

Out of favour at Sheffield or moved South?

[Blind side johnny]

This is another of those games that should be a routine win but requires discipline and professionalism throughout the match. As others have commented it is possible that points difference could decide the top places at the season's end, so the team needs to avoid conceding sloppy points.

Sykes will be suspended for the Cornwall game so probably will turn out for this one. I expect to see a pretty well full-strength side given that we have a blank date the weekend after. I hope that Whiteley is fit an available for this game - his go-forward from our own half is always a big positive.

Rams 54 - 12 Skolars

FTS: Butterworth

MoM: Butterworth

Att: who knows?

[Therein73]

It's a bit of a conundrum really...... do we go full-strength and aim for as big a win as possible or do we play some of the fringe players for match fitness and / or experience reasons ?

Be good to see Collinson and Jordan given game time as they were both looking really good before their respective injuries.... Luke Littlewood looks promising and this is the sort of game we can afford to let him have 80 minutes in and build his confidence. Coventry, Wilkinson, Summers and Collins need game time as well ......... But probably not all in the same game. 

It's a dilemma for LF and his coaching team ........ but better than scratching round for players and D/R 'recruits'

One aim on Sunday should be to NOT concede a try...... we do some amazing work on defence only to let soft tries get put against us and it would be good to see the opposition nilled - regardless of who they are.

RAMS to win by 50+

MOM ........ I'm not even going there  

[Crown Flatter]

I too want to see our discipline Improved, be it our defence (to obviate those silly lapses, as mentioned above), but more so the players’ personal discipline when frustrated and the tactical side, by avoiding being offside and by not allowing set restarts. This is the type of match to practise better discipline.

It would be great to see our opponents nilled, but lately the Skolars seem to enjoy second half superiority, having scored the same, or more, in that second period (as in our game at The New River Stadium and at Doncaster last week when they scored 30 to Doncaster’s 24).

I would imagine LF will select a “weaker” strongest side for this one, perhaps to the tune of:

Restall; Davey Dixon, Jordan, O’Connor, Whiteley; Collins, Littlewood; Beckett, Butterworth, Coventry; Davies, Garside; Collinson (not sure who the goalkicker might be though).

Subs: Sykes, Ferguson, Summers, Walker.

18th man: Wilkinson 

Dewsbury 62-16 London Skolars

FTS: Whiteley 

MoM: O’Connor

Att: 402

Edited May 26, 2023 by Crown Flatter

[KC Ram]

If we are aiming to not only win but also improve our points difference we can’t afford to not have a proven goal kicker in the team. So either Sykes or Turner will need to play.

[the old nine ole]

Just for info ... Caelum Jordan is a decent kicker!!

[graham fisher]

20 hours ago, Crown Flatter said:

I too want to see our discipline Improved, be it our defence (to obviate those silly lapses, as mentioned above), but more so the players’ personal discipline when frustrated and the tactical side, by avoiding being offside and by not allowing set restarts. This is the type of match to practise better discipline.

It would be great to see our opponents nilled, but lately the Skolars seem to enjoy second half superiority, having scored the same, or more, in that second period (as in our game at The New River Stadium and at Doncaster last week when they scored 30 to Doncaster’s 24).

I would imagine LF will select a “weaker” strongest side for this one, perhaps to the tune of:

Restall; Davey Dixon, Jordan, O’Connor, Whiteley; Collins, Littlewood; Beckett, Butterworth, Coventry; Davies, Garside; Collinson (not sure who the goalkicker might be though).

Subs: Sykes, Ferguson, Summers, Walker.

18th man: Wilkinson 

Dewsbury 62-16 London Skolars

FTS: Whiteley 

MoM: O’Connor

Att: 402

I wouldn’t make too many changes as we’ve got next weekend off. There’ll be no Whiteley as he’s away for his sisters wedding,and Jack Coventry as joined Midlands on loan. 

[Crown Flatter]

4 hours ago, graham fisher said:

I wouldn’t make too many changes as we’ve got next weekend off. There’ll be no Whiteley as he’s away for his sisters wedding,and Jack Coventry as joined Midlands on loan. 

Wilkinson has gone there too, both for two weeks. 

[coolie]

A level of caution in this one

Their scoring points and know where the try line is, if our attitude in this one is not first rate, we could struggle to reach some of the score predicted on this thread

Dewsbury by 30 if we play well, I wanna see better individual performances from certain players who didn't play to their capabilities last week. 

I professional performance needed

[Wakefield Ram]

Really strong performance today all round. Played some really good rugby, plenty of offloads and backing up and great to see Lewis Carr get an overlap to use, couple of great runs today to set up tries. Ferguson was another level. Bailey O'Connor is getting better each time I see him play, has real quality.

Thought London played well, well organised, didn't do a lot wrong, but a thoroughly professional Rams performance.

[Crown Flatter]

London Skolars didn’t allow us to settle for the first ten minutes and when Restall scored the first of his three tries I thought the flood gates might open, but the Skolars stuck to their task. Davey Dixon scored the next try after about twenty minutes’ play and it was lovely to hear a little voice behind me shout, “My Daddy”!  He then scored the next too, but still the Skolars weren’t letting up and looked lively with ball in hand, whereas we kept dropping the ball, or was it the referee and his team seeing things the opposite way to my viewing? It wasn’t until shortly before half time when our next try came, on this occasion it was the turn of the increasingly developing Bailey O’Connor. My thoughts of the first half were that we were maybe trying too much to score with each set and with the visitors stymying our efforts, not forgetting our man in charge and his (to me) odd decisions.

Second half commenced with our visitors on the attack, got close to our line and sure enough, we nodded off,  O’Callaghan (and probably most spectators) saw the gap created at the play the ball and he dived over the line. It took around a further ten minutes for Dewsbury to recover, but then got into more of a rhythm with two quick tries, by O’Connor and Garside, followed then by scores from Collins and Restall with his second. For me, the try of the match came when Lewis Carr broke free, jinked lieft and right over some 60 metres, drawing in the defence and shortly before being tackled, managed to offload to the always backing up, Restall for his third try of the game.

I think we were all particularly pleased and enjoyed seeing Dale Ferguson with his barnstorming runs, his ability to pass the ball when wrapped in the arms of opponents and today, on his 250th career appearance, set up three tries and he deservedly received the Man of the Match award.