Match Thread: Championship Round 19, Widnes Vikings v Featherstone Rovers, Sunday 11th August 2024

[The Phantom Horseman]

So we got the tough 2 points against Batley, and now the first of three very difficult-looking games in the remainder of August.

We got the better of Widnes at the Millennium Stadium earlier this year, but only with a late comeback after Widnes looked to have got on top in the second half.

They're 5 points ahead of us in fourth and will be very much fancying their chances of beating us for the first time in five years. I read on their forum last week that they had an uninjured squad to pick from, certainly they do seem to have had less of an injury-impacted squad than plenty in the Championship and they seem to have responded well to their current coach.

We should have Connor Jones back, but will still be without Gaz Gale and Dec Patton. Wellington Albert is expected to be back in contention and will be itching to play against his former club, but we have a fair bit of competition for those middle spots. I can see us starting with Hardcastle in the centre this week and playing 3 middles plus a hooker on the bench, but that might still mean Albert, Kamano (if back available) and Arnold are vying for one spot. I guess the other alternative is giving Addy a rest after he filled in at 9 last week, but he seems very keen to play every week even carrying knocks.

This is likely to be very tough but it would be a huge boost if we could notch another win.

Edited August 9 by The Phantom Horseman

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘This week’s referee: Widnes Vikings v Fev (Championship Round 19)’

Access the information by clicking on the link below.

https://bit.ly/4duZLGr

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

39 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

So we got the tough 2 points against Batley, and now the first of three very difficult-looking games in the remainder of August.

We got the better of Widnes at the Millennium Stadium earleir this year, but only with a late comeback after Widnes looked to have got on top in the second half.

They're 5 points ahead of us in fourth and will be very much fancying their chances of beating us for the first time in five years. I read on their forum last week that they had an uninjured squad to pick from, certainly they do seem to have had less of an injury-imapcted squad than plenty in the Championship and they seem to have responded well to their current coach.

We should have Connor Jones back, but will still be without Gaz Gale and Dec Patton. Wellington Albert is expected to be back in contention and will be itching to play against his former club, but we have a fair bit of competition for those middle spots. I can see us starting with Hardcastle in the centre this week and playing 3 middles plus a hooker on the bench, but that might still mean Albert, Kamano (if back available) and Arnold are vying for one spot. I guess the other alternative is giving Addy a rest after he filled in at 9 last week, but he seems very keen to play every week even carrying knocks.

This is likely to be very tough but it would be a huge boost if we could notch another win.

Given Gadwin's history of leg injuries I'd be tempted to leave him out on their pitch.

[marklaspalmas]

6 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Given Gadwin's history of leg injuries I'd be tempted to leave him out on their pitch.

I wonder if the same logic would apply to Albert and his comeback could be delayed?

[The Phantom Horseman]

16 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Given Gadwin's history of leg injuries I'd be tempted to leave him out on their pitch.

Fordy was asked about leaving players out on the Widnes pitch in his Radio Leeds interview after the Batley game and he replied "I just don't think we're in that spot where we can manage people, we've tried to manage people all season and it's not worked, I was getting messages about Bussey today '60 minutes, can we get him off', no, absolutely not, he needs to get out there and get us this win, we'll manage them in the off-season." So I suspect it will be the best 17 available who are picked.

Edited August 6 by The Phantom Horseman

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

5 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Fordy was asked about leaving players out on the Widnes pitch in his Radio Leeds interview after the Batley game and he replied "I just don't think we're in that spot where we can manage people, we've tried to manage people all season and it's not worked, I was getting messages about Bussey today '60 minutes, can we get him off', no, absolutely not, he needs to get out there and get us thiswin, we'll manage them in the off-season." So I suspect it will be the best 17 available who are picked.

Not particularly good things for a coach to be saying with regard to player welfare.......

Edited August 6 by Les Tonks Sidestep

[The Phantom Horseman]

3 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Not particularly good things for a coach to be saying with regard to player welfare.......

Hmm. I suspect coaches are constantly being badgered by S & C coaches etc to limit players' minutes when returning from injury etc but given we know there are players playing every week up and down the league with painkilling injections etc I'm not sure that anything he said there is out of order. At times there have been 3 artificial pitches in the division, and I don't think it's unrealistic to expect fit players to play in those games.

[J Phil Loxton]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Hmm. I suspect coaches are constantly being badgered by S & C coaches etc to limit players' minutes when returning from injury etc but given we know there are players playing every week up and down the league with painkilling injections etc I'm not sure that anything he said there is out of order. At times there have been 3 artificial pitches in the division, and I don't think it's unrealistic to expect fit players to play in those games.

It's also weird that Widnes who play on their ground every other week almost have little in the way of injuries. Same goes with Sheffield, though I know little about their injury list. But we have to remember that we have two key players missing that have nothing to do with injuries. Adding to that being without Connor Jones due to his sad news back home had left a big hole in our squad. A few teams seem to be having an injury crisis added to some lengthy suspensions. Its never ending this season. But as far as Fev go there's light at the end of the tunnel in the next couple of weeks and would be a real boost to fans and players alike if we could get something out of Sunday's match with Widnes.

[DaveyJalfrezi]

1 hour ago, J Phil Loxton said:

It's also weird that Widnes who play on their ground every other week almost have little in the way of injuries. Same goes with Sheffield, though I know little about their injury list. But we have to remember that we have two key players missing that have nothing to do with injuries. Adding to that being without Connor Jones due to his sad news back home had left a big hole in our squad. A few teams seem to be having an injury crisis added to some lengthy suspensions. Its never ending this season. But as far as Fev go there's light at the end of the tunnel in the next couple of weeks and would be a real boost to fans and players alike if we could get something out of Sunday's match with Widnes.

I don’t think Sheffield have anymore injuries than anyone else, and certainly not sustained on the artificial pitch.

[The Phantom Horseman]

54 minutes ago, DaveyJalfrezi said:

I don’t think Sheffield have anymore injuries than anyone else, and certainly not sustained on the artificial pitch.

To be fair I don't think the players have much to fear from Sheffield's pitch, it's the spectators suffering soft tissue injuries trying to stand on that grass slope that's the issue!

[sentoffagain2]

15 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

To be fair I don't think the players have much to fear from Sheffield's pitch, it's the spectators suffering soft tissue injuries trying to stand on that grass slope that's the issue!

  On a hot sunny day they wont let you sit on the grass.Stewards keeping people off.Health and safety i suppose a bit like us with the standing terrace.

[RobLambert]

4 hours ago, J Phil Loxton said:

It's also weird that Widnes who play on their ground every other week almost have little in the way of injuries. Same goes with Sheffield, though I know little about their injury list. 

Maybe Sheff have had injuries but Aston plays them anyway.......

[RobLambert]

4 hours ago, J Phil Loxton said:

But as far as Fev go there's light at the end of the tunnel in the next couple of weeks.

Yeah fingers crossed.  Brad Day was put on report though wasn't he.  I have no idea what that was about but the way things have gone recently that's another ban - whatever he did...

[bigbaldnmad]

Not sure that Brad Day was put on report, I think he was the captain on the field at the time. 

I thought that it may have been Harry Bowes, from watching the game through on FRTV, though who can tell these days.

[Cas rover]

Listening to FRTV, there no. 9 complained to ref about something and ref spoke to Brad and said he would report it as he didn't see what happened. 

[Michael Bates]

16 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Not particularly good things for a coach to be saying with regard to player welfare.......

He's a professional blame avoider if you listen to anything he says. Never takes ownership of anything.

[The Phantom Horseman]

9 hours ago, bigbaldnmad said:

Not sure that Brad Day was put on report, I think he was the captain on the field at the time. 

I thought that it may have been Harry Bowes, from watching the game through on FRTV, though who can tell these days.

It was definitely Bowes, he used his legs as a lever to bring Burton to the ground, he might get charged with dangerous contact. The reason the ref spoke to Day was he was acting captain on the field.

Edited August 7 by The Phantom Horseman

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘T’Other Side: Widnes Vikings’, our comprehensive guide to our next opponents.

In it we include their 2024 squad, their stats for this season and the details of their last match.

Other features include a list of their 2024 results, profiles of their coach and captain and a section that takes a look at players who have played for them and played for Fev as well..

Access the page by clicking on the attachment below.

https://bit.ly/3w8trZI

 

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘Past Matches against Widnes Vikings’, an informative listing of all the matches between the two clubs.

You will also find the details of the last match between us, the overall record of results and records in the matches such as highest scores, record winning margins etc.

The results section is divided into league matches, challenge cup games and other competitions such as play-offs, premierships, national league cup, John Player Trophy etc.

Access the charts by clicking on the attachment below.

https://bit.ly/4d4mBoG

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘Fev and Widnes Vikings: Comparative match stats’.

n.b. This page covers the comparison over the whole season so far. We now also include comparisons over the last 5 matches giving a clearer picture of current form.

Take a look by clicking on the link below.

https://bit.ly/3WXDwnb

[The Phantom Horseman]

On 07/08/2024 at 09:39, The Phantom Horseman said:

It was definitely Bowes, he used his legs as a lever to bring Burton to the ground, he might get charged with dangerous contact. The reason the ref spoke to Day was he was acting captain on the field.

Bowes has been given a 1-game ban, as I suspected it was under the banner of dangerous contact. He'll be able to play at Widnes but not at Bradford.

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘Fev and Widnes Vikings: Comparative match stats’.

n.b. This page covers the comparison over the whole season so far. We now also include comparisons over the last 5 matches giving a clearer picture of current form.

Take a look by clicking on the link below.

https://bit.ly/3WXDwnb

[fevnut]

fevnut has posted ‘Fev and Widnes Vikings: Comparative match stats’.

n.b. This page covers the comparison over the whole season so far. We now also include comparisons over the last 5 matches giving a clearer picture of current form.

Take a look by clicking on the link below.

https://bit.ly/3WXDwnb

[The Phantom Horseman]

20-man squad named. Connor Jones returns, Kamano still missing, Barley drops out (so no Dual Reg this week) which isn't especially surprising with Hardcastle likely to start at centre after his impact off the bench last week. Harris and two of the middles will presumably miss out (see MarkLasPalmas' thread).

https://www.rugby-league.com/match-centre/match-preview/2267004

 

Edited August 9 by The Phantom Horseman

[Michael Bates]

9 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

20-man squad named. Connor Jones returns, Kamano still missing, Barley drops out (so no Dual Reg this week) which isn't especially surprising with Hardcastle likely to start at centre after his impact off the bench last week. Harris and two of the middles will presumably miss out (see MarkLasPalmas' thread).

https://www.rugby-league.com/match-centre/match-preview/2267004

 

Aekins is injured I believe