Sat 23rd-Sun 24th Sept: The Betfred Championship (Non-TV) Match Thread

[Phil]

2 minutes ago, Wolfey Rovers said:

Not many would have predicted Fax 7th at the begining of the season. You have to question if that 1895 cup run and victory hindered them in the long run or not. Listening to the game they had no steam at all.

We were shocking, Swinton obviously wanted to stay up more than we wanted to make the playoffs.

Some Fax players need to take a long hard look at themselves. I’m not sure Liam Finn will be massively impressed with some of them. 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

York finish with a points difference of 0 after 27 rounds. Can't imagine that's happened many times before!

5 city teams in the playoffs.

[Stirlin]

11 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

Rhys Lovegrove, and the players who left ,all seem to have had more success since leaving than the club. 

Mr Henderson & Brenden Santi certainly proving the point.

Hendo left in 2022 .

[georgeb1]

Good job for fax that grix announced he was leaving , would have been hung , drawn and quartered if not

[Roger York]

What an amazing end to the season so many twists and turns. You have to feel for Keighley fan’s heartbreaking last day.

Even though Fev won the league in a canter it’s been exciting to the end and still the play offs to go anything could still happen.

 

[AB Knight]

45 minutes ago, RBKnight said:

 

Meanwhile, I'm struggling to think of a more calamitous Championship coaching decision in the last few years than Keighley's sacking of Rhys Lovegrove....

I blame IMG 

[Ragingbull]

On 21/09/2023 at 18:18, Ragingbull said:

Its been an absolute minefield all season long for people trying to predict the winners in the Champ

I just feel there will be a big twist somewhere this week.

Not sure where it will be,  but Swinton winning and in turn relegating Keighley and knocking the Blue Sox out of the playoffs  would be just perfect.  

Love being right

See ya later Keighley 

Blue Sox fans will be in meltdown 

Up the Lions!!

[Fevrover]

40 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

Love being right

See ya later Keighley 

Blue Sox fans will be in meltdown 

Up the Lions!!

Oxy won't he'll be along later with his usual expert  explanations. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Fevrover

[Just Browny]

At the start of the game, Halifax gave a guard of honour to Dan Fleming and Kyle Wood, and all of the players brought their kids onto the field. Which, while cute, didn't seem to set the right tone before a crucial must-win game, in my miserly opinion. Even so it wasn't until after Halifax had scored the first try that their intensity dropped and Swinton took a grip on the game.

Ben Crooks was taken off the field in real discomfort and in a position that I've never seen a player adopting before, fully hunched over. Hope he is OK.

[Colin James]

10th place finish for the mighty Lions. Every single pre-season prediction had us bottom. I'll be honest even as a fan I didn't see us winning many games having been last to recruit coming through the play-offs and probably the smallest budget in the league. Some big scalps too away at Batley and Halifax and beating Sheffield and Toulouse at home.

Tough on Keighley but you have to say they caused their own problems. All that negativity from the board around IMG and sacking the coach has come back to bite them. 

[Magic XIII]

2 hours ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Pleased Swinton survived, gives us an away game within 50 miles.

Makes no odds to us as its still 150+ miles (unless we get promoted and then its 180+ miles)

[Phil]

45 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

 

Ben Crooks was taken off the field in real discomfort and in a position that I've never seen a player adopting before, fully hunched over. Hope he is OK.

Yes I’ve never seen a player adopting that posture, looked to me like a back injury.

Fair play to Swinton they were the best team on the day 

[Johnny Ringo]

Nail biting stuff at the bottom of the table, Barrow already safe but pleased Whitehaven held on by thier fingertips at the expense of Keighley, it was back and forth up and down for 40 mins right to the end and London just doing enough to help the Cumbrians survive and guarantee another season of Cumbrian derby days. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Johnny Ringo

[kiggy]

All those Whitehaven fans having a go at the young ref yesterday, he did make mistakes, but he disallowed a contentious PJ Lima try for TO. If that stood, Whitehaven would be down...that ref deserves a Whitehaven beer next time he is up there.

[Gooleboy]

3 hours ago, Colin James said:

10th place finish for the mighty Lions. Every single pre-season prediction had us bottom. I'll be honest even as a fan I didn't see us winning many games having been last to recruit coming through the play-offs and probably the smallest budget in the league. Some big scalps too away at Batley and Halifax and beating Sheffield and Toulouse at home.

Tough on Keighley but you have to say they caused their own problems. All that negativity from the board around IMG and sacking the coach has come back to bite them. 

Pleased for you. I like Swinton, a great RL name. A pity Station Road has gone forever.

[Ragingbull]

Just checking in to make sure all our friends in Keighley and Halifax are all ok this morning

[OdsalBull]

Thanks for coming Keighley you won't be missed

[Phil]

1 hour ago, Ragingbull said:

Just checking in to make sure all our friends in Keighley and Halifax are all ok this morning

Fine thanks it’s a lovely sunny day 

[Click]

With everything the Keighley owners have said in the last year, I do find it quite hilarious that it was London beating them to send them down, while Lovegrove helps it all.

Feel sorry for the fans, no sympathies for the owners.

[northamptoncougar]

Not happy, I've never seen a team relegated by that points difference but it's our own fault and we go again.

I did say I'd rather be relegated than have Nigel Wood as my clubs owner and I stand by that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ragingbull]

40 minutes ago, northamptoncougar said:

Not happy, I've never seen a team relegated by that points difference but it's our own fault and we go again.

I did say I'd rather be relegated than have Nigel Wood as my clubs owner and I stand by that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You also said you would finish above us in the league.  That was utter BS as well

This is probably the last time Keighley get discussed on this thead. 

Im sure some of us will pop on to the League One match day thread at time to time next year to keep you company though dont worry. 

[OdsalBull]

1 hour ago, northamptoncougar said:

Not happy, I've never seen a team relegated by that points difference but it's our own fault and we go again.

I did say I'd rather be relegated than have Nigel Wood as my clubs owner and I stand by that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats on the not having nigel wood as an owner trophy and enjoy league one 

[Mumby Magic]

I'm a Bull and don't get all the baiting towards Keighley. Id rather they be in the Championship tbh.

[OdsalBull]

2 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

I'm a Bull and don't get all the baiting towards Keighley. Id rather they be in the Championship tbh.

Did you go to the game at CP? and also they had a lot to say earlier on in the year so if you can give it you have to be prepared to take it

[The Blues Ox]

21 hours ago, crashmon said:

I think about a coupe of months ago before the London v Fax 1895 cup SF, I asked which would you prefer winning the 1895 cup or making the playoffs.

Now I am curious to hear from the Fax fans has that has actually come to pass, in that you won the 1895 but missed out on the playoffs, which London will finish 4th or 5th.....

But maybe wait a day or two to calm down first

I'm still not sure if I know the answer to this. If you told me we would finish 8th at the start of the season I would have been fuming but then if you mention that we would also get chance to see our team win at Wembley I would probably have said that made up for it. I'm still kind of meh though, I'm grateful I got to go to Wembley with friends and family and thats a memory that I will hold for years to come where as to be honest the 8th place finish it's pretty much gone from memory already.

21 hours ago, georgeb1 said:

Good job for fax that grix announced he was leaving , would have been hung , drawn and quartered if not

I can't comment on yesterdays game as I didn't go, this is the least amount of games Ive been to since I started supporting Fax and I am struggling to find the enthusiasm apart from 2 or 3 games against certain clubs. That's not just because of this season, I think its my feelings about the sport in general and the direction it is heading in. Back to yesterday though and we have had a huge meltdown on the Facebook page and I get where people are coming from but that result is no surprise given the season we have had and in my opinion the new BOD made a huge mistake in offering Grix a new contract instead of getting rid of him after the emabarassing Batley 42-0 defeat.

That was the time to act and although I think Grix has done OK its just one of those situations where coaches get stale and you need to make a change. Despite what people have been saying, Ive been around rugby all my life be that watching, playing, or coaching and those players were not playing for our coach which I think in itself is a disgrace and you have to question the mentality of certain individuals but at the end of the day its always the coach that goes.

With nothing to play for on the field next season I will probably go to even less of our games next season, I am somehow hoping IMG mix stuff up with the gradings but I really can't see it as it stands suddenly getting my love back for the game at this level.

As for the playoffs, lets face it Fev deserve a shot at SL but York have done amazing to sneak in there and although I do like a bit of banter with the Bradford fans a 3rd place finish is good for them and although I don't buy in to the SL needs a strong Bradford BS, I don't think having a strong Bradford at a level they can sustain like the Championship is a bad thing at all. See you all next February(more likely tomorrow ).