Pre Season Friendlies.

[Mr Hicks]

How did people think yesterday went?

I dont look too much into friendlies because usually your playing a team in a higher division or team you are better than. Yesterday was a little different in regards that we were playing a team who we should be fighting for top spot with.

I know people say it's only a friendly and the result doesn't matter which is true but yesterday they were head and shoulders above us in everything we did. They were fitter (Kesikhad a bigger belly than me), much more organized, quicker line speed etc.

My worry is both teams are at exactly the same point of pre season and it looked like we are way behind them at this moment in time.

We have players to come in and we will get fitter and hopefully we will be ready for the season but Oldham look a class act.

Can't see Cas bringing a very strong team it's not beneficial to weather team apart from us brushing up on our defence. Halifax will probably bring a stronger team and by then we should see improvement and players back in who missed yesterday. 

[Dovster]

1 hour ago, Mr Hicks said:

How did people think yesterday went?

I dont look too much into friendlies because usually your playing a team in a higher division or team you are better than. Yesterday was a little different in regards that we were playing a team who we should be fighting for top spot with.

I know people say it's only a friendly and the result doesn't matter which is true but yesterday they were head and shoulders above us in everything we did. They were fitter (Kesikhad a bigger belly than me), much more organized, quicker line speed etc.

My worry is both teams are at exactly the same point of pre season and it looked like we are way behind them at this moment in time.

We have players to come in and we will get fitter and hopefully we will be ready for the season but Oldham look a class act.

Can't see Cas bringing a very strong team it's not beneficial to weather team apart from us brushing up on our defence. Halifax will probably bring a stronger team and by then we should see improvement and players back in who missed yesterday. 

I really don't take the scores or performance too seriously at this point. It is all about peaking at the right time and you do learn more from losing. I am sure the coaches learnt a great deal. It's an opportunity to give the squad some game time. We do have a much changed team from last season and this will take time to settle down. 

I did enjoy yesterday despite the result and hope the boxing day games become a regular event. It was nice to watch some rugby and catch up with friends that I would not see generally at this time of year. 

I did think the crowd was disappointing and hoped we would get 1k.

 

[Indigogo]

3 hours ago, Mr Hicks said:

How did people think yesterday went?

I dont look too much into friendlies because usually your playing a team in a higher division or team you are better than. Yesterday was a little different in regards that we were playing a team who we should be fighting for top spot with.

I know people say it's only a friendly and the result doesn't matter which is true but yesterday they were head and shoulders above us in everything we did. They were fitter (Kesikhad a bigger belly than me), much more organized, quicker line speed etc.

My worry is both teams are at exactly the same point of pre season and it looked like we are way behind them at this moment in time.

We have players to come in and we will get fitter and hopefully we will be ready for the season but Oldham look a class act.

Can't see Cas bringing a very strong team it's not beneficial to weather team apart from us brushing up on our defence. Halifax will probably bring a stronger team and by then we should see improvement and players back in who missed yesterday. 

There wasn't any surprises for me yesterday and I fully expected Oldham to win quite convincingly, I said so on post on the Oldham forum last week.

From yesterday's squad there's probably 6 starters to come in. Mark Ioane and Lewis Hatton are likely to be our starting props. Alex Bishop will be the starting half back with Jack Miller. Josh Martin and Dee Foggin-Johnstone are potentially our starting wingers. Aaron Brown is likely to come in somewhere in the pack. Brandon Pickersgill didn't start either and he is going to be our full back. 

Then you've got to take into consideration the players that were playing. Codey Downey, Billy Walkley, Danny Salkeld, Ben Dean and Aaron Harlow-Stephenson were all making their senior debuts. At times it might have looked like men against boys, but that's cause it was.

In short, I don't expect what we saw yesterday to be anything what we look like team wise come the start of the season and its definitely not a time to panic.

Looking at the positives, I thought both Will Maher and Jordan Schofield both looked good, those couple with Ioane and Hatton should mean we have a strong set of props. Billy Walkley looked really lively as well and could be a good one.

One thing I would say is that I really don't see Ben Stead as our second 9. He got ran over a few times and he's just too small and not strong enough defensively to play there. 

 

[Rach]

On 27/12/2023 at 14:18, Indigogo said:

 

 

One thing I would say is that I really don't see Ben Stead as our second 9. He got ran over a few times and he's just too small and not strong enough defensively to play there. 

 

Few things, first time Steady's played at 9 at this level , having played in the halves or full back for the past few seasons and he'll be the first to admit that it will take him a couple of games to get up to speed on the work rate and physicality in the middle of the park having defended out on the flanks for all that time  ..

Secondly Kesik only played 20 mins and Ben played the last 60 , normally your hookers would be spelled far more frequently than the Oldham game .

Oh and Fozzie praised him for his defensive efforts in the post match interview ...

As for being too small ...Paul Moses one of the Keighley Greats and hooker of this parish would have probably needed a decent pair of 70s platforms to be as tall as Steady ...#justsaying 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Rach

[Indigogo]

13 minutes ago, Rach said:

Few things, first time Steady's played at 9 at this level , having played in the halves or full back for the past few seasons and he'll be the first to admit that it will take him a couple of games to get up to speed on the work rate and physicality in the middle of the park having defended out on the flanks for all that time  ..

Secondly Kesik only played 20 mins and Ben played the last 60 , normally your hookers would be spelled far more frequently than the Oldham game .

Oh and Fozzie praised him for his defensive efforts in the post match interview ...

As for being too small ...Paul Moses one of the Keighley Greats and hooker of this parish would have probably needed a decent pair of 70s platforms to be as tall as Steady ...#justsaying 

 

 

They'll be a reason he's not played at 9 until this stage of his career. 

Nothing wrong with Steads effort and endeavour, but the amount of times he was run over was noticeable. Apologies if that upsets you as you're his number one fan

If you ask Mr Moses, he was a half back until his later years. When playing at hooker he didn't defend in the middle #justsaying

[Mr Hicks]

On 28/12/2023 at 15:05, Rach said:

Oh and Fozzie praised him for his defensive efforts in the post match interview ...

 

When I ran the London marathon I was told so many times how well I did but unfortunately I was never contacted to run the marathon in the Olympics. 

Nobody is knocking his effort but these days a teams spine is lead by players who specialize in those positions. I don't think for one minute Ben would let the team down if we had injuries in the no 9 position but unfortunately if one of those games were against Oldham he would be out of his depth.

Yes he will certainly hold his own in this division in the halfs but he wont be first choice but good luck to him when his chance comes.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Mr Hicks

[Mr Hicks]

Interesting chat with someone today who went to the Oldham game. No card machines working on the top gate so was told to go to the bottom gates. They got to the bottom gates and was told the same thing. They were then let in free of charge as were others in the same predicament. Card machines were working in the bar.

So cash only turnstiles but when I got there the queue was very long with only one gate operating. That gate had no change and piles of £20 notes in a tub. Fortunately I had quite a few £1 coins which I swapped him for a £10 note. Once that had gone I have no idea what they did.

Why wasnt money being taken away from the gate and more change given to the attendants. 

Once in the ground not a single pie left. All the above before the game even kicks off.

In my eyes this is so unprofessional and is a continuation from last season. We may scrape through this season doing it with the exception of when we play Bradford as I cant see big crowds this season but this needs seriously addressing sooner than later. 

[Buzzer90]

On 28/12/2023 at 15:19, Indigogo said:

They'll be a reason he's not played at 9 until this stage of his career. 

Nothing wrong with Steads effort and endeavour, but the amount of times he was run over was noticeable. Apologies if that upsets you as you're his number one fan

If you ask Mr Moses, he was a half back until his later years. When playing at hooker he didn't defend in the middle #justsaying

Pretty sure they’re family!…

[Indigogo]

10 hours ago, Mr Hicks said:

Interesting chat with someone today who went to the Oldham game. No card machines working on the top gate so was told to go to the bottom gates. They got to the bottom gates and was told the same thing. They were then let in free of charge as were others in the same predicament. Card machines were working in the bar.

So cash only turnstiles but when I got there the queue was very long with only one gate operating. That gate had no change and piles of £20 notes in a tub. Fortunately I had quite a few £1 coins which I swapped him for a £10 note. Once that had gone I have no idea what they did.

Why wasnt money being taken away from the gate and more change given to the attendants. 

Once in the ground not a single pie left. All the above before the game even kicks off.

In my eyes this is so unprofessional and is a continuation from last season. We may scrape through this season doing it with the exception of when we play Bradford as I cant see big crowds this season but this needs seriously addressing sooner than later. 

I paid cash at the top gate and there wasn't any change then either, it took ages to gain entry.

I don't often buy food from the ground so can't comment on that but I've seen a few people mention it wasn't very good on boxing day. Hopefully it's sorted for next week's game as I envisage it will be much busier than Boxing day. 

[Mr Hicks]

I can see Ioane is in the squad for tomorrow and also foggin Johnston is missing but does anyone know who else is missing that will be first team players this season. I have lost track with the signings for this season. 

[Indigogo]

1 hour ago, Mr Hicks said:

I can see Ioane is in the squad for tomorrow and also foggin Johnston is missing but does anyone know who else is missing that will be first team players this season. I have lost track with the signings for this season. 

Dee Foggin Johnstone, Alex Bishop, Liam Copland and Cody Downey are missing from the squad. Everyone else is available as far as I'm aware. DFJ and Bishop are likely to be starters at a guess come start of the season proper. 

Danny Salkeld was a trialist that played against Oldham, but he isn't included in the squad. Not sure if that means the trial was unsuccessful or not. He played for his club side Stanningley in the Challenge Cup today.

Mark Ioane, Lewis Hatton and Aaron Brown didn't feature against Oldham and come into the squad. That should make us much more solid in the middle, though Cas have brought a strong squad so I dont expect too much tomorrow and I hope Jake gets a good send off.

[Ovenden Grunt]

What was the crowd against Oldham? We were looking forward to next week's game but at the prices on your website I think we'll give it a miss. These games are only training sessions in reality and those prices for OAP's are ridiculous   

[Mr Hicks]

Over a 1000. I think both clubs share the gate after expenses so it's another way of helping your club financially. 

Just think ourselves lucky we dont pay premier league football prices with 2 games a week at £60 to £100 each game just to sit and watch plus travel and food

[Indigogo]

1 hour ago, Ovenden Grunt said:

What was the crowd against Oldham? We were looking forward to next week's game but at the prices on your website I think we'll give it a miss. These games are only training sessions in reality and those prices for OAP's are ridiculous   

I don't think 15 quid for concessions is bad. That's just me though.

[Ovenden Grunt]

4 hours ago, Indigogo said:

I don't think 15 quid for concessions is bad. That's just me though.

It's £30 if there's two of you and to charge the same price for a friendly/training session as for a normal league game is daft in my opinion. 

[Mr Hicks]

What a shame that the RFL keep trying to complicate a very uncomplicated sport. Yesterday was a prime example. The play the ball rule seems to appear most seasons at the start of it then 5 or 6 games in they seem to relax the rule. I get just throwing a ball through your legs is penalized but seriously wants to go to game and constantly hear the referees whistle for incorrect play the ball. Probably 95% of play the balls aren't played to the letter of the law.

Yesterdays game was a very competitive friendly but surely common sense has to have some part to play it was reffed like it was a Grand Final. 

No blame on the referee he is doing what he is told but new rules brought in each season makes his job harder and in my opinion slows the game down.

[Indigogo]

13 hours ago, Mr Hicks said:

What a shame that the RFL keep trying to complicate a very uncomplicated sport. Yesterday was a prime example. The play the ball rule seems to appear most seasons at the start of it then 5 or 6 games in they seem to relax the rule. I get just throwing a ball through your legs is penalized but seriously wants to go to game and constantly hear the referees whistle for incorrect play the ball. Probably 95% of play the balls aren't played to the letter of the law.

Yesterdays game was a very competitive friendly but surely common sense has to have some part to play it was reffed like it was a Grand Final. 

No blame on the referee he is doing what he is told but new rules brought in each season makes his job harder and in my opinion slows the game down.

It was an awful watch truth be told. There was so many penalties and six agains, some of them I'm not even sure the players knew what they were for. All I can hope is that the players quickly get to grips with the new way otherwise the sport as spectacle will disappear. There's no way I'm paying money week in week out to watch a game with so much interruption.

That aside, I actually thought our performance in the first half was really good and it might sound daft, but for a good chunk we were the better side but lacked some cutting edge and/or composure. I'm sure that will come in time as relationships are built. I'm sure in League one we would have posted at least 3 or 4 tries. The second half was a different story with lots of interchanges and our main middles not being on the pitch. I think even at this early stage it's becoming quite apparent what our first 17 is going to look like, with maybe 2 or 3 positions up for grabs. 

[Dovster]

14 hours ago, Mr Hicks said:

What a shame that the RFL keep trying to complicate a very uncomplicated sport. Yesterday was a prime example. The play the ball rule seems to appear most seasons at the start of it then 5 or 6 games in they seem to relax the rule. I get just throwing a ball through your legs is penalized but seriously wants to go to game and constantly hear the referees whistle for incorrect play the ball. Probably 95% of play the balls aren't played to the letter of the law.

Yesterdays game was a very competitive friendly but surely common sense has to have some part to play it was reffed like it was a Grand Final. 

No blame on the referee he is doing what he is told but new rules brought in each season makes his job harder and in my opinion slows the game down.

I think the RFL are having to follow the NRL in tightening up the PTB. This for the sake of the international game.

It was a hard watch at the start but it is up to the players to adapt. This will slow the game down naturally and should make it unnecessary for all the "laying on/holding down" which are the current tactics used to slow the game down.

I thought we played well yesterday in the most part against a very good Castlford team. I am still optimistic for the season ahead.

[Mr Hicks]

Does anyone have any ideas what is happening with Foggin Johnston. The club seem very reluctant to give any information out even though fans are asking the question. It seems to be more than just an injury or you would think the club would respond to supporters. 

Shame if he has decided to leave for whatever reason I have always rated him and he would have scored a lot of tries this season.

Edited January 20 by Mr Hicks

[Dovster]

Plenty of positives from todays performance. Thought we defended very well in the first half and made a good challenge in the second.

Conditions made it for a forwards battle and I thought we stood up well.

Hopefully there were no injuries to either team.

I'm definitely ready for next week. Hopefully the weather will be a little better.

[Mr Hicks]

1 hour ago, Dovster said:

Plenty of positives from todays performance. Thought we defended very well in the first half and made a good challenge in the second.

Would agree with that. We look certainly hungrier in defence than last season but failure to break teams down in open play does slightly worry me. I know we wont play the calibre of teams like Cas and Halifax but we didnt really trouble either teams too much.

Next week will be a truer test and think this will give us a bit better Idea where we are.

On a previous question of mine on here a couple of days ago regards DFJ if what i heard is true he wont be playing for us or anyone else in the foreseeable future. 

[Indigogo]

Plenty of positives today. We defended really well. Our pack is strong. I thought the young backs (Walkely, Downey, Lambourne) even though quite slight in stature, had a real dig and didn't shirk any responsibility. Brown played hooker for 80 mins in Kesik's absence, and looked competent there. 

Foster has mentioned in interviews that we haven't done much "good ball" (hate that phrase) training, you could certainly tell against Cas but I thought we looked more threatening today. We scored, Ioane knocked on putting the ball down and we forced 3 or 4 goal line drop outs. Today's weather was never going to allow free flowing rugby unfortunately.

We've also got Pickersgill, Thomas, Kesik, Bishop and DFJ (maybe) to come into the squad. All 5 would arguably be starting 13 or at least in the match day 17.

What's the story with DFJ then?

Edited January 21 by Indigogo

[footlongsub]

2 hours ago, Indigogo said:

Plenty of positives today. We defended really well. Our pack is strong. I thought the young backs (Walkely, Downey, Lambourne) even though quite slight in stature, had a real dig and didn't shirk any responsibility. Brown played hooker for 80 mins in Kesik's absence, and looked competent there.

BuT We nEed A HoOkeR?!

[Indigogo]

7 hours ago, footlongsub said:

BuT We nEed A HoOkeR?!

We do need a hooker. Glad you agree.

[Dovster]

11 hours ago, Indigogo said:

Plenty of positives today. We defended really well. Our pack is strong. I thought the young backs (Walkely, Downey, Lambourne) even though quite slight in stature, had a real dig and didn't shirk any responsibility. Brown played hooker for 80 mins in Kesik's absence, and looked competent there. 

Foster has mentioned in interviews that we haven't done much "good ball" (hate that phrase) training, you could certainly tell against Cas but I thought we looked more threatening today. We scored, Ioane knocked on putting the ball down and we forced 3 or 4 goal line drop outs. Today's weather was never going to allow free flowing rugby unfortunately.

We've also got Pickersgill, Thomas, Kesik, Bishop and DFJ (maybe) to come into the squad. All 5 would arguably be starting 13 or at least in the match day 17.

What's the story with DFJ then?

I think I've heard the same rumour and it's not fair to repeat in case it's not true. But possibly could be facing a ban.