Sat 28th Oct: International: England v Tonga KO 14:30 @ Huddersfield (BBC)

[daz39]

1 minute ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

It would have been 

Have to say I am not an RFL basher but yesterday was appalling with absolutely zero apart from a small van selling England shirts 

What would it cost / take to bulk buy 300 little England flags to give out to kids and maybe have Rugbee mascot about? Maybe £150 for the flags and a couple of volunteers? 

Or like you say ring Giants and tell them to book thier normal burger van....a five minute call 

Like I say I am not an RFL basher but along with most RL fans not caring I am frankly done with travelling 340 miles in total and paying for hotels to be met with apathy for England games 

Put a game in driving distance of me and I'll go again but I won't be bringing my kids or dragging mates/wives with me (or mate's wives)

It must be a poor do if Huddersfield are even criticising the organisation of it.

[daz39]

Just now, The Masked Poster said:

Calm down son, it was a joke. I spent several of my hard earned in your city yesterday. I also love the McAlpine, it's a great stadium.

Hope you enjoyed it, Huddersfield has a lot to offer if you ignore the bad bits.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 minute ago, daz39 said:

It must be a poor do if Huddersfield are even criticising the organisation of it.

I've been so positive spirited when it comes to England games over 25 years !! 

This was just a miss too far for me

Enjoyed the game and seeing players like McMeekan and Newman so happy after the game in our end 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I've been so positive spirited when it comes to England games over 25 years !! 

This was just a miss too far for me

Enjoyed the game and seeing players like McMeekan and Newman so happy after the game in our end 

Game was meh but had a cracking night out. Life's what you make it. The game was only ever a part of the day out for me. 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

11 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

It would have been 

Have to say I am not an RFL basher but yesterday was appalling with absolutely zero apart from a small van selling England shirts 

What would it cost / take to bulk buy 300 little plastic England flags to give out to kids and maybe have Rugbee mascot about? Maybe £150 for the flags and a couple of volunteers? 

Or like you say ring Giants and tell them to book thier normal burger van....a five minute call 

Not bashing Huddy by the way...I like the ground 

Like I say I am not an RFL basher but along with most RL fans not caring I am frankly done with travelling 340 miles in total and paying for hotels to be met with apathy for England games 

Put a game in driving distance of me and I'll go again but I won't be bringing my kids or dragging mates/wives with me (or mate's wives)

Ditto. It does my head in. I drove for 8 hours there & back yesterday and I’ve two issues:

1. The RFL continue to make cursory, cheap, half-hearted efforts to promote the game. They didn’t market this one. They put it in a location where failure was more likely (a barely rugby league town, just a week apart from the same game up the road). They didn’t put any effort into the game day itself, it felt like a pre-season friendly.

2. Let’s be honest and also call this other part out though: The apathy of heartlands fans. People who expect their small town clubs to get special treatment, to be mollycoddled as if the game owes them something, and moan incessantly whenever the game tries something slightly different. But then who never bother to turn up to international sport on their doorstep, when England have a good team, against good opponents, and tickets are cheap as chips.

I’ve had enough of both groups to be honest. Part of me thinks the sport’s governing body deserves its fans, and vice versa. 

 

[Damien]

44 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

It would have been 

Have to say I am not an RFL basher but yesterday was appalling with absolutely zero apart from a small van selling England shirts 

What would it cost / take to bulk buy 300 little plastic England flags to give out to kids and maybe have Rugbee mascot about? Maybe £150 for the flags and a couple of volunteers? 

Or like you say ring Giants and tell them to book thier normal burger van....a five minute call 

Not bashing Huddy by the way...I like the ground 

Like I say I am not an RFL basher but along with most RL fans not caring I am frankly done with travelling 340 miles in total and paying for hotels to be met with apathy for England games 

Put a game in driving distance of me and I'll go again but I won't be bringing my kids or dragging mates/wives with me (or mate's wives)

It really is frustrating and as you say is expensive for many once everything is factored in. The World Cup games I was at last year was much the same experience. The only saving grace, for the ones I was at anyway, is that the crowds were quite good which helps immensely to the feel of the event.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Damien

[Dunbar]

21 hours ago, UTK said:

I'll admit I'd previously failed to see the fuss around Lees but he proved his worth last week IMO. 

He sat alongside McMeeken as the only England forwards to not register a missed or ineffective tackle, while also topping the tackle count with 39. His linespeed during the first 30 minutes killed any chance of momentum from Fonua-Blake and Fotuaika. 

Granted he didn't add much carrying the ball but he was England's most important defender, Burgess and subsequently McMeeken were strong enough to carry the offensive load while he shored up the defensive line.

84 run metres was an improvement on 39 from game one but still had the slowest play the ball of the English forwards which suggests he got dominated a few times in the ruck.  But topped the tackle  count with 39 made (2 missed tackles and zero ineffective tackles).

I thought McMeeken was excellent again - very good go froward and only one missed tackle, he is becoming a very good international middle forward and at 29 he will be around for a couple of years yet.

We do need to see a few of our young forwards step up in the next few years with a number of our key middles close to the end of their careers.

 

[bobbruce]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

84 run metres was an improvement on 39 from game one but still had the slowest play the ball of the English forwards which suggests he got dominated a few times in the ruck.  But topped the tackle  count with 39 made (2 missed tackles and zero ineffective tackles).

I thought McMeeken was excellent again - very good go froward and only one missed tackle, he is becoming a very good international middle forward and at 29 he will be around for a couple of years yet.

We do need to see a few of our young forwards step up in the next few years with a number of our key middles close to the end of their careers.

 

The one thing you get with Lees is he does the hard stuff not usually appreciated by fans but always by the players you play with. As he’s often one of the first players putting kick pressure on and also one of the first players there on kick chases. These things arent usually associated with props which is probably another reason it doesn’t get spotted. I suppose you need a pack with balance you couldn’t play 4 Walmaleys or Burgessesas as your props. You need players to fit in with them who aren’t quite as good in yardage but take up the slack on the work rate. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by bobbruce

[moorside roughyed]

On a more positive note,as an Oldhamer it was nice to see kids from Saddleworth Rangers on the pitch helping with the flags. Was there any teams from your area doing this? It was all great to see.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, Leonard said:

Game was meh but had a cracking night out. Life's what you make it. The game was only ever a part of the day out for me. 

Yeah to an extent I agree and in fairness it has been a weekend away.....hotels and beer relatively cheap 

Just want RL to try harder 

[Dunbar]

15 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

The one thing you get with Lees is he does the hard stuff not usually appreciated ban fans but always by the players you play with. As he’s often one of the first players putting kick pressure on and also one of the first players there on kick chases. These things arent usually associated with props which is probably another reason it doesn’t get spotted. I suppose you need a pack with balance you couldn’t play 4 Walmaleys or Burgessesas as your props. You need players to fit in with them who aren’t quite as good in yardage but take up the slack on the work rate. 

Agreed.

What I think Wane has done well in this series is mix up the yardage forwards in Hill and Burgess with the good mobility and defensive workrates in Lees and McMeeken.  We have managed to maintain defensive energy and intensity well in these two games.

[moorside roughyed]

5 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Yeah to an extent I agree and in fairness it has been a weekend away.....hotels and beer relatively cheap 

Just want RL to try harder 

I really think the rfl need to go to Twickenham when England are in town. The atmosphere is electric. Yes I feel Rugby league is the better product in my eyes but the "fan experience" the RFU provide is we need to be at. At Huddersfield yesterday it was pretty poor. The RFL need to shout rugby league from the rooftops, sadly they don't seem to be doing that.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, moorside roughyed said:

I really think the rfl need to go to Twickenham when England are in town. The atmosphere is electric. Yes I feel Rugby league is the better product in my eyes but the "fan experience" the RFU provide is we need to be at. At Huddersfield yesterday it was pretty poor. The RFL need to shout rugby league from the rooftops, sadly they don't seem to be doing that.

Having a shopping trolley with a box of programmes and asking a girl to stand and sell them was amateur. 

Not hard to have a programme stand at the entrances, with the name on top so everyone can see it.

Easy wins at £5 a pop.

[moorside roughyed]

4 minutes ago, Leonard said:

Having a shopping trolley with a box of programmes and asking a girl to stand and sell them was amateur. 

Not hard to have a programme stand at the entrances, with the name on top so everyone can see it.

Easy wins at £5 a pop.

Indeed it was mate. It was pretty poor. They need to seriously pimp it up if games like this are to be taken seriously. The atmosphere outside the ground reflected the weather-drizzle. The programs mustn't have been selling,I even saw a steward trying to flog them in the stands.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, moorside roughyed said:

Indeed it was mate. It was pretty poor. They need to seriously pimp it up if games like this are to be taken seriously. The atmosphere outside the ground reflected the weather-drizzle. The programs mustn't have been selling,I even saw a steward trying to flog them in the stands.

Giving a poor your girl the job if selling them I'm not surprised. 

Both games the merchandise seemed to be selling well. But needed a bigger van with more hands to process orders faster. That's the sort of thing I might buy, but bollards to queuing overly so I walk off. 

Inside the ground the concession areas were cramped with massive queues. Not the ground's fault, it is what it is, but it's again leaving money on the table if people can't get served quickly and should be a factor is stadium selection. Same with Totally Wicked either having bars shut or selling out. 

For a cash strapped game, there's easy money not being taken there. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Leonard

[Guest]

Worth noting Leeds were playing Huddersfield at home. That's obviously outside of the RFLs control and probably they announced Tonga series prior to this season's soccer fixtures.

Might have trimmed a bit off the attendance. 

[meast]

4 hours ago, The Masked Poster said:

Dave T is right, you really do have a persecution complex. 

No I don't, I'm just fed up of people criticising Huddersfield, either the Huddersfield club, the stadium, the town etc.

How is it the fault of the people of Huddersfield, or the Huddersfield Giants or their supporters that the RFL can't fill the stadium for an international match which is open to everyone in the country?

I've seen it all over social media and on here that it's Huddersfield's fault that "only" 11,000 turned up to the stadium in Huddersfield to watch a test match involving the national side, yet, St Helens pulls in 1,000 more and no one pulls St Helens down.

Of course I am going to defend my town, my club and our supporters when we are blamed for the RFL not selling out the stadium, I am more than happy to accept that Huddersfield Giants aren't very well supported and that Huddersfield should do more etc but it should apply across the board, not just to Huddersfield.

[meast]

3 hours ago, Leonard said:

Odsal?

Well, anywhere really as seemingly, every person in every other place that's not called Huddersfield will turn out in force to watch the national team, Odsal as well as every other ground should be packed to the rafters seeing as it appears that only Huddersfield people won't turn out.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, meast said:

No I don't, I'm just fed up of people criticising Huddersfield, either the Huddersfield club, the stadium, the town etc.

How is it the fault of the people of Huddersfield, or the Huddersfield Giants or their supporters that the RFL can't fill the stadium for an international match which is open to everyone in the country?

I've seen it all over social media and on here that it's Huddersfield's fault that "only" 11,000 turned up to the stadium in Huddersfield to watch a test match involving the national side, yet, St Helens pulls in 1,000 more and no one pulls St Helens down.

Of course I am going to defend my town, my club and our supporters when we are blamed for the RFL not selling out the stadium, I am more than happy to accept that Huddersfield Giants aren't very well supported and that Huddersfield should do more etc but it should apply across the board, not just to Huddersfield.

Second test seen at Huddersfield. Saw NZ there a few years back. Both times had a cracking night out afterwards and the RL has been a good base for a day catching up with friends. 

I don't think you need to worry. Most other sides complaining are hardly pulling 20k a week.

 

 

[Damien]

30 minutes ago, meast said:

No I don't, I'm just fed up of people criticising Huddersfield, either the Huddersfield club, the stadium, the town etc.

How is it the fault of the people of Huddersfield, or the Huddersfield Giants or their supporters that the RFL can't fill the stadium for an international match which is open to everyone in the country?

I've seen it all over social media and on here that it's Huddersfield's fault that "only" 11,000 turned up to the stadium in Huddersfield to watch a test match involving the national side, yet, St Helens pulls in 1,000 more and no one pulls St Helens down.

Of course I am going to defend my town, my club and our supporters when we are blamed for the RFL not selling out the stadium, I am more than happy to accept that Huddersfield Giants aren't very well supported and that Huddersfield should do more etc but it should apply across the board, not just to Huddersfield.

This is not true at all and there is a thread where the selection of St Helens as a venue and the attendance there has got as much criticism as Huddersfield. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Damien

[GeordieSaint]

2 hours ago, Dunbar said:

84 run metres was an improvement on 39 from game one but still had the slowest play the ball of the English forwards which suggests he got dominated a few times in the ruck.  But topped the tackle  count with 39 made (2 missed tackles and zero ineffective tackles).

I thought McMeeken was excellent again - very good go froward and only one missed tackle, he is becoming a very good international middle forward and at 29 he will be around for a couple of years yet.

We do need to see a few of our young forwards step up in the next few years with a number of our key middles close to the end of their careers.

 

Thought Lees was better with ball in hand yesterday. Still got dominated in many tackles but the yardage and carries were definitely up. As BobB has mentioned, the other areas of his game are and yesterday were outstanding, particularly defence. He’s got a hell of an engine. Thought he justified Wane’s decision to play him yesterday. Pleased for him. 

As for McMeeken. Excellent. Again.

Edited October 29, 2023 by GeordieSaint

[crashmon]

4 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

It would have been 

Have to say I am not an RFL basher but yesterday was appalling with absolutely zero apart from a small van selling England shirts 

What would it cost / take to bulk buy 300 little plastic England flags to give out to kids and maybe have Rugbee mascot about? Maybe £150 for the flags and a couple of volunteers? 

Or like you say ring Giants and tell them to book thier normal burger van....a five minute call 

Not bashing Huddy by the way...I like the ground 

Like I say I am not an RFL basher but along with most RL fans not caring I am frankly done with travelling 340 miles in total and paying for hotels to be met with apathy for England games 

Put a game in driving distance of me and I'll go again but I won't be bringing my kids or dragging mates/wives with me (or mate's wives)

100% this.   Why I have not bothered with any of the tests this year (apart from the France one earlier in season).

[EagleEyePie]

I was critical of Lees after the first test (and after the World Cup) but I'll admit I wasn't paying enough attention to the defensive efforts and how that can sometimes be worth more than strong carries, although his attacking input was much greater yesterday as well. His line speed and intensity has been excellent and when so much of the game plan seems to revolve around those initial defensively efforts following a kick it's obvious why Shaun Wane is so keen on him starting games. It's the same reason McIlorum has always been his favourite player, or why Ben Flower was such a key member of his Wigan teams over the years. That kind of defensive intensity is what Wane has always been about.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

4 hours ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

 

2. Let’s be honest and also call this other part out though: The apathy of heartlands fans. 

I'm bored of the excuses

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, meast said:

No I don't, I'm just fed up of people criticising Huddersfield, either the Huddersfield club, the stadium, the town etc.

How is it the fault of the people of Huddersfield, or the Huddersfield Giants or their supporters that the RFL can't fill the stadium for an international match which is open to everyone in the country?

I've seen it all over social media and on here that it's Huddersfield's fault that "only" 11,000 turned up to the stadium in Huddersfield to watch a test match involving the national side, yet, St Helens pulls in 1,000 more and no one pulls St Helens down.

Of course I am going to defend my town, my club and our supporters when we are blamed for the RFL not selling out the stadium, I am more than happy to accept that Huddersfield Giants aren't very well supported and that Huddersfield should do more etc but it should apply across the board, not just to Huddersfield.

Where have you got the idea that people are blaming the crowd on Huddersfield? They aren't, I can't think of a post that says that. It's the governing body that is copping all the heat, wind your neck in.

And maybe stop having a dig at Bradford or other clubs if you don't like people being critical of your own club? If you give it, take it.