I think we will win though.
I don't
I think we will win though.
I don’t
Well at least we know what's coming. Big Pack. Sykes and Finn with the kicking game. We've been caught out twice by them before, surely we should be well prepared to deal with them, with the injuries and covid looking better.
You can include me in the expecting a win category. Finn at 37 is comfortably the younger of their two halfbacks and they’ve already lost a game against Whitehaven this year. With most of our players back anything other than a win would be a big setback for us.
Dewsbury on their own small pitch with a big pack are a different proposition. On a bigger, faster artificial surface at home, against Finn and Sykes aged 37 and 39 respectively we should win.
The scores this weekend for Swinton, York and Featherstone against Wire, Wigan and Hull who are all top 6 SL sides puts our 68 nil drubbing against Salford into perspective. Defence must do better. Comes down to a combination of fitness and attitude.
Hopefully we will have nearly a full squad to select from, only Tomkins and cook ? Unavailable
bad news I’ve heard Lawton is fit to play next week
How many players can you keep happy in just one team. If someone does not play with no reserves etc. They won't be happy. I really don't see how we could have 19 20 quality players and 5 kids. The whole game is a mess. In Australia they feed off the amateur teams connected to clubs
Warrington and Saints manage with big squads. 20 good players isn't enough as you will almost always have more than 3 out injured or suspended. The 5 or 6 young lads can go out on 2 week loans to teams like North Wales and Barrow in league 1 for game time. At the moment we only had 20 players for the latest squad.
I think it is a shame for us as well as the wider game that the reserve league had to be suspended. Gave us cover options who maybe weren't up to first team standard but had some experience and also had the potential to give good amateur players an opportunity to prove themselves as having the potential to play at this level.
I think it is a shame for us as well as the wider game that the reserve league had to be suspended. Gave us cover options who maybe weren’t up to first team standard but had some experience and also had the potential to give good amateur players an opportunity to prove themselves as having the potential to play at this level.
Do we have any desire to run a reserve team though. We binned off the academy easy enough
Not bothered about the reserves in the slightest; but worried about where we will be in 5-10 years without the academy.
It at least gave us some sort of USP and reason for being.
We've played four games and virtually every single player we've got has played - think only two (and Tomkins) haven't.
We've got a squad of 26. That was 22 + the four young lads from the reserves. I think the reality is we should maybe have had a squad of 25/26 before the four lads from the reserves joined the picture.
That being said, it's a no win situation. You run an academy with the associated costs, and the likes of Fev/York/Swinton etc can spend whatever they like on a first team without having to run one.
In
Not bothered about the reserves in the slightest; but worried about where we will be in 5-10 years without the academy. It at least gave us some sort of USP and reason for being. We’ve played four games and virtually every single player we’ve got has played – think only two (and Tomkins) haven’t. We’ve got a squad of 26. That was 22 + the four young lads from the reserves. I think the reality is we should maybe have had a squad of 25/26 before the four lads from the reserves joined the picture. That being said, it’s a no win situation. You run an academy with the associated costs, and the likes of Fev/York/Swinton etc can spend whatever they like on a first team without having to run one.[/quote
The loss of academies shows a shrinking game tbh, and our game managers are orchestrating, rather than protecting the pathway for youth into the game generally.
To concede 68 points against anyone is simply not good enough. Look at Swinton yesterday, Jesus wept, if Salford put near 70 on us, imagine what that rabble down the could have done. I must admit I thought we would (at the very least) have waltzed into the playoffs at the start of the season, I am genuinely worried that we won’t even do that!
The Academy never produced any real world beaters IMO. The stellar amateurs from the town all signed for our rivals, Harry Smith, etc are lured away to more professionally run clubs. We can't compete. I think we are destined for a long stint in the lower leagues, until someone wins the Euromillions, and goes mental with their winnings.
Suck it up.
Paulie xx
To concede 68 points against anyone is simply not good enough. Look at Swinton yesterday, Jesus wept, if Salford put near 70 on us, imagine what that rabble down the could have done. I must admit I thought we would (at the very least) have waltzed into the playoffs at the start of the season, I am genuinely worried that we won’t even do that!
I said a few months back Capey , we had Toulouse London Fev and York with better squads than us. Nothing I've seen makes me think different and if anything I'd put Halifax into the mix to finish ahead of us.
Is finishing 6th in this league the height of our ambitions now .
The Vicar
We produced a decent number of players, but most are lower SL or Championship standard: indicative of the fact perhaps that we weren't able to get the Smith's, Richardson's, M. Percival's.....
That being said, the only way we have fielded a team at times was because of the academy.
Our best 2 Championship teams were 2001 and 2007. I can only think of C. Percival who was a Widnes product regularly playing in either of those sides, although Richie Myler should have played more. Maybe a sign that at this level, getting the best from wherever is the key to success and building a side full of academy produced players is for a well established SL Club.