Match thread: 1895 Cup. Batley Bulldogs v Featherstone Rovers. Sunday 4th February 2024.

[sentoffagain2]

24 minutes ago, RobLambert said:

8th then.  lol

   As i said 7th or above would be a decent season.Do you think we will finish above any of the teams i have stated.I am afraid it is where we are at present and with no promotion under IMG criteria why would we be able to attract better players than the teams i think will finish above us.Win or lose the hard core of Fev supporters will be there but how many will call it a day.

[RobLambert]

16 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

   As i said 7th or above would be a decent season.Do you think we will finish above any of the teams i have stated.I am afraid it is where we are at present and with no promotion under IMG criteria why would we be able to attract better players than the teams i think will finish above us.Win or lose the hard core of Fev supporters will be there but how many will call it a day.

Totally respect your opinion but (other than Wakey) we're all in the same boat regarding no chance of promotion and reluctance to spend money on players as a result.  Nevertheless we have put together a very competitive but small-ish squad.  Still not really seen HKR's DR players, some key players to return and I think we may yet see another signing or two when the season gets underway properly - whether that be season long loans or whatever - but even as things are now I would think that some of the sides you have in your top 6/7 would be quite envious of some of the quality we have.  I think we should also bear in mind that if we're judging our potential on what we've seen so far - this is a very new team who haven't played together before - including a couple who have not played 1st team RL before. In answer to your question though if we don't finish above Batley and Sheffield something has gone very wrong imo and I think we should be looking at top 4     

[Dog forever]

8 hours ago, sentoffagain2 said:

   As i said 7th or above would be a decent season.Do you think we will finish above any of the teams i have stated.I am afraid it is where we are at present and with no promotion under IMG criteria why would we be able to attract better players than the teams i think will finish above us.Win or lose the hard core of Fev supporters will be there but how many will call it a day.

The thing is with Fev is they have spent wildly over the last few seasons to get promoted to sl. It never happened and thus has had to cut their wage bill carrying a smaller squad, but still plenty of quality. Also other clubs in the Championship have spent lots too, so maybe Fev might have to get use to loosing now and again rather than having things their own way, which in my opinion makes it more exciting for fans wondering weather you will win or lose , and not going to a game knowing it is a given .

[Fevrover]

It's took Batley 6 years to beat us at Batley ( not going too mention at PO Rd lol) and everyone go's into melt down. Things have ( and had to) change so we have just got to get behind the team and at least give it a few more games before throwing the towel in,and like said other team's have strengthened . Batley never make it easy for us anyway we shall see what next week brings.

[Michael Bates]

10 hours ago, RobLambert said:

Each to their own but, although losing to Batley (again) is disappointing, getting knocked out of the 'curtain raiser to the ladies cup final' will never be as disappointing as losing any league game for me.

Disagree, it's all about money and IMG points. More games means more money, winning this cup would increase our IMG score.

[Michael Bates]

14 hours ago, Rovers fev said:

fordy is the man for the job

Is he? Has he made any improvements over what Long was sacked for?

[RobLambert]

1 hour ago, Michael Bates said:

Disagree, it's all about money and IMG points. More games means more money, winning this cup would increase our IMG score.

Fair point

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, Michael Bates said:

Is he? Has he made any improvements over what Long was sacked for?

I don't know whether Ford will prove a success at Fev long-term, but he only took over for the last seven games last year and in my view we need to stop chopping and changing our coaches so much. Leaving aside the Covid year in 2020, we've had 10 different head coaches in the 10 seasons since Powell left, we could do with some stability especially as we're clearly at a rebuilding stage.

[Bat Lad]

good luck Fev rest of season

enjoyed today, pitch was a great leveller but we stuck it out for the win in the mud.

Fev will be reight no doubt about that

[Monkeymagic22]

56 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

I don't know whether Ford will prove a success at Fev long-term, but he only took over for the last seven games last year and in my view we need to stop chopping and changing our coaches so much. Leaving aside the Covid year in 2020, we've had 10 different head coaches in the 10 seasons since Powell left, we could do with some stability especially as we're clearly at a rebuilding stage.

I agree, Ford and his coaching team, should be given the full season, and then a decision made. Plus I doubt that there is the cash, to pay off Ford and then appoint another coach.

[The scrim reaper]

I don't agree with the IMG recommendations it's more or less the same ideas as when super league was formed but re-jigged, points for this points for that,it won't work look at wakey, ( until now) and Cas, for instance never met the criteria for the ground in 30 yrs but still allowed in SL Cas is an absolute dump! How these rules have been accepted il never know, for instance London broncos must have had a dozen grounds all over London with no real increase in crowds out of 8mil people yet get points for the catchment area yet fev a small town get bigger crowds and nothing! London  could finish mid table and yet still be relegated because they don't meet the points criteria for the ground wherever that is this year,it's all wrong! My point is this the super league dream is over for the time being for most championship clubs but  I believe not dead! believe me if it comes to relegating a mid table team there's going to be fireworks and more changes I'm sure of that!!   In the meantime the championship is still a good place to be to watch some great  rugby league!! 

Edited February 5 by The scrim reaper

[The Phantom Horseman]

That first 25 minutes was a real horror show both in terms of ball retention and discipline. We only had 6 sets during that time, and scored a try from the scrum on one of them. We completed 2 of the 6 sets with kicks, and knocked on inside our own 40m on the other 3.

Meanwhile, when Batley had the ball, we conceded a 6 again after the 5th tackle on their 1st set, and gave away another 6 again on their next set, after which they scored. Two sets later we conceded a penalty which they kicked, another two sets later we gave away a penalty for a high shot, then another penalty on the next set (which they missed). After one more set completion from Batley, we gave away another 6 again after which they scored.

We then had a spell of sustained pressure during which we didn't really threaten to score against some very good Batley defence. But to be honest in a relatively even game on a boggy pitch, if you're 12-6 down after 25 minutes playing with the slope and the wind behind you, you're not going to win many games at Batley.

In fairness I thought we played well for the first 30 minutes in the second half to claw our way back into the lead before the discipline issues came back again in the last few minutes, it was an unusual game for Mount Pleasant as both teams played far better going up the slope and both showed poor discipline and ball control playing downhill.

Really as others have said the disappointing thing is that we're out of the 1895 Cup so early, I think most of us were not expecting fireworks in terms of performances during the early weeks of the season at least but we didn't really give ourselves much chance yesterday.

Going forward, our senior players need to show more composure and leadership, Addy in particular won't look back on his moments of ill-discipline with any pleasure. The handling errors are more understandable given the conditions, but not the lack of discipline. I do wonder if some of our senior players thought they could get away with more with the young ref, but if they did, they hadn't done their homework - Cameron Worsley has consistently been just about the strictest ref in the league in terms of giving penalties, 6 agains and cards, got no problem with that and he was just as strict for both teams but we seemed determined to test him out.

I don't think we should over-react to the performance, a 1-point defeat against a very tenacious Batley in the mud, especially with the disadvantage of playing downhill first half, isn't really such a shocker - we've suffered worse defeats against them when we've fielded much stronger teams - and we should all have realised that we're likely to suffer a lot more reversals this year than in the last two seasons as the rebuilding gets under way.

 

 

 

[Bat Lad]

13 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

That first 25 minutes was a real horror show both in terms of ball retention and discipline. We only had 6 sets during that time, and scored a try from the scrum on one of them. We completed 2 of the 6 sets with kicks, and knocked on inside our own 40m on the other 3.

Meanwhile, when Batley had the ball, we conceded a 6 again after the 5th tackle on their 1st set, and gave away another 6 again on their next set, after which they scored. Two sets later we conceded a penalty which they kicked, another two sets later we gave away a penalty for a high shot, then another penalty on the next set (which they missed). After one more set completion from Batley, we gave away another 6 again after which they scored.

We then had a spell of sustained pressure during which we didn't really threaten to score against some very good Batley defence. But to be honest in a relatively even game on a boggy pitch, if you're 12-6 down after 25 minutes playing with the slope and the wind behind you, you're not going to win many games at Batley.

In fairness I thought we played well for the first 30 minutes in the second half to claw our way back into the lead before the discipline issues came back again in the last few minutes, it was an unusual game for Mount Pleasant as both teams played far better going up the slope and both showed poor discipline and ball control playing downhill.

Really as others have said the disappointing thing is that we're out of the 1895 Cup so early, I think most of us were not expecting fireworks in terms of performances during the early weeks of the season at least but we didn't really give ourselves much chance yesterday.

Going forward, our senior players need to show more composure and leadership, Addy in particular won't look back on his moments of ill-discipline with any pleasure. The handling errors are more understandable given the conditions, but not the lack of discipline. I do wonder if some of our senior players thought they could get away with more with the young ref, but if they did, they hadn't done their homework - Cameron Worsley has consistently been just about the strictest ref in the league in terms of giving penalties, 6 agains and cards, got no problem with that and he was just as strict for both teams but we seemed determined to test him out.

I don't think we should over-react to the performance, a 1-point defeat against a very tenacious Batley in the mud, especially with the disadvantage of playing downhill first half, isn't really such a shocker - we've suffered worse defeats against them when we've fielded much stronger teams - and we should all have realised that we're likely to suffer a lot more reversals this year than in the last two seasons as the rebuilding gets under way.

 

 

 

Excellent post mate just about sums it up

Fev will bounce back in the league 

Looking forward to seeing you all early March, and maybe the pitch is a bit better  !!!!

 

[phildog]

Sorry to be a but of a squib, but Fev needs as a club to sort out a band of about 40 supporters who were pointed out by the referee as being verbally abusive and I believe were asked to leave but who were replaced by a few more at the end who did the same, all using the C word at him. I was sat near a group in the stand who were really jovial folk, took the game as it was a d we gad a great afternoon. You don't need that group tainting your reputation. It was a tough game in tough conditions, those conditions were shared by 3 young men in blue as well, let's not forget that.

[Fevrover]

We've got some great supporters who are Rovers mad but we don't need these ' idiots' ? for want of a better word causing trouble and bad language it's not a good look and we all get tarred with the same brush. Fans should put their energy into getting behind the TEAM not the officials and opposition supporters.

[Steve Slater]

On 04/02/2024 at 21:19, sentoffagain2 said:

    Forgot Sheffield expect them to be above us challenging for a top 4 place.

So you're judging Fev on one performance and disregarding the poor showings from Widnes and Sheffield?

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, Bat Lad said:

Excellent post mate just about sums it up

Fev will bounce back in the league 

Looking forward to seeing you all early March, and maybe the pitch is a bit better  !!!!

 

Aye  - I'm not a fan of "binary" reactions to results where we're either unstoppable if we win/play well or heading for relegation if we lose/play poorly.

The truth is nearly always between those extremes. We're clearly not going to be as strong as we have been in the last 2 or 3 years, at least in the short term, and some of the things we did yesterday especially in the first half were really, really poor.

Once you've dug yourself into a hole going downhill in the 1st half at Batley especially on a wet, windy February, it's hard coming back though. As you know very well, if you're level, let alone six points up, after half an hour going up the slope in those conditions you're well on your way to winning.

Conversely, Batley fans are rightly ecstatic about the win and performance but I'm sure Moxon will have a few things he wants to point out too (Morton's offload the obvious one but a few other things too).

Fev's season could go either way but that wasn't a game to judge how the entire season will go in my view.

[sentoffagain2]

6 minutes ago, Steve Slater said:

So you're judging Fev on one performance and disregarding the poor showings from Widnes and Sheffield?

   I said a month ago that i thought we would finish about 7th.Why would i judge us on getting beat at Batley who have been a match for Fev sides with 3 times their playing budget over recent years.I don't see much difference in where we finish this season if we finish out of the relegation places.Winning the Championship is a worthy ambition but other than that teams are playing for nowt.It is a transition year for Rovers with a playing budget of below £500k  about half of last years.One thing i am looking forward to is seeing the team perform  well to win games instead of beating teams by 30 or 40 points without playing doing so.

[J Phil Loxton]

On 05/02/2024 at 11:53, Bat Lad said:

good luck Fev rest of season

enjoyed today, pitch was a great leveller but we stuck it out for the win in the mud.

Fev will be reight no doubt about that

A neutral fan would have really enjoyed that game. Batley for me deserved the win. I've said it and a lot more fans too is that Fev seemed to have little in attack BUT how much was that down to the tenacious Batley defence? I enjoyed the banter in the food area after the game when the Batley fans were singing AND FEV ARE IN THE BIN Great stuff.

[wasginger]

I must admit to being one of those fans that had a knee-jerk reaction to Sundays game. Mainly through struggling to see any future for the club after the past 2 seasons. I've got a season ticket for this season but my enthusiasm for the game in general has diminished. Those last 2 seasons I believe has done too much damage. The first loss can be explained by poor team selection from a coach who knew he was finished at Fev. Then last season if rumours are true about players being informed week of the semi-final they wouldn't be playing for Fev this season. Well what can you say about that. As far as less money for contracts this year is concerned, it had to happen, but during the close season the club appear to have been in hibernation, instead of communicating to the fans and at least try to lift the club out of the gloom it's in. There's plenty of questions that need to be asked regards the future of the club but not on social media.

[haskey]

Cracking post W . I just hope the club have read this post, as it sums up the state of things at the moment.

[Michael Bates]

100% agree with wasginger. The club seems to have taken last season's disappointment as a trigger to go into a keeping the lights on approach rather than looking to improve anymore, sad.

[sentoffagain2]

3 minutes ago, Michael Bates said:

100% agree with wasginger. The club seems to have taken last season's disappointment as a trigger to go into a keeping the lights on approach rather than looking to improve anymore, sad.

   Whats the point in improving our SL dream has gone we are now just like the other Championship clubs.Only Wakey Bradford and possibly Toulouse have a chance of being admitted to SL.We had our chance and have failed to grasp the opportunity more than once.Just hope that the Championship and League 1 clubs don't suffer too much from IMG .I wish they had the bottle to break away and not rely on the crumbs handed down from the top.

[Michael Bates]

We're at a crossroads as a club. We can either embrace the IMG criteria and attempt to improve, or sulk at how unfair it is and give up. It seems we're taking the latter approach as a club and a fan base. Will it be easy for us to become one of the top 12 IMG criteria scoring clubs in rugby league? Absolutely not, but we won't achieve it by not trying.

[Tubby]

13 minutes ago, Michael Bates said:

We're at a crossroads as a club. We can either embrace the IMG criteria and attempt to improve, or sulk at how unfair it is and give up. It seems we're taking the latter approach as a club and a fan base. Will it be easy for us to become one of the top 12 IMG criteria scoring clubs in rugby league? Absolutely not, but we won't achieve it by not trying.

But surely the savings made on players wages are an indication that we may be looking to improve other IMG points scoring criteria.  I'd have been more worried if we carried on spending big on the pitch at the cost of improvements elsewhere.  In the new IMG world, there are more important things than winning...

Although, there are of course points to be had for winning the 1895 cup.

This is modern Rugby League.