So far we haven’t been able to play well against top-half teams but have easily dispatched the bottom teams like Oldham, Whitehaven and Swinton. A better performance today would show we can be more competitive as the season goes on. In terms of crowds etc, I think going to Fev which is fairly awkward to get to, especially on public transport, for a game you can watch for free is less of an indicator than if we got a below 3000 crowd for the first game with no restrictions.
True but you would think that the first important away trip in over a year would attract a decent following. I remember going to Rochdale in 2019 and there been over 900 Widnes fans there at a minimum.
I think it must in part be due to the restrictions putting people off. We have traditionally always had a good hard-core away following. We used to take over Dewsburys stadium, fill the end behind the sticks at Halifax etc. To not sell 300 tickets for a semi final is a shame. A few years ago I would of said 700 to 1,000 fans. Like I say u don't know how much all this covid stuff is putting people off and how much is down to the club struggling and the potential of an away stuffing and a long drive home.
Is Featherstone on the amber list!!!!!
Know what you mean Spike, I was at Rochdale too and it was packed with Widnes fans...so was the Leigh semi.
I think if we were playing someone on this side of the Pennines we would have sold out 300 but I guess people have changed their habits and it will be interesting to see whether those habits return.
Also, let's be honest, its a really nice day to be sat in a beer garden somewhere....
Well we proved we have guts to fight for a win and can be proud of the overall display, despite some woeful passing we are going in the right direction, lets hope no serious injuries
Well we proved we have guts to fight for a win and can be proud of the overall display, despite some woeful passing we are going in the right direction, lets hope no serious injuries
Every team raises their game for a cup match as perfectly exhibited today with Swinton but today shown we are not that far away and the quality is in the squad, the challenge is to replicate that type of effort and performance on a more consistent basis.
I can't believe all the negative comments on the board after today's game.
I was there and I left the ground disappointed because I thought we did enough in the second half to win the game.
It all came down to wrong decision making in the final pass after we broke the line.
If we play like this for the rest of the season we will win most of our remaining games.
I agree. And to return to the subject heading of the thread, this game makes me feel that we are actually in a much better place than the Whitehaven and Oldham games did. Let’s hope we can kick on and move up the table.
There were enough bad ref calls right under the camera to show that we were denied possession several times in that first half.
The point surely is that there is a 'team' spirit that many thought had gone with administration. We need as many bodies in the ground as we can muster this weekend - get a bit of togetherness back.
A win this coming weekend against one of the top teams in the Division, will be important to show that we have moved forward from the abysmal start to the season. A fighting defeat will be no good.
The problem once again will be having fit forwards available. In addition to Jewitt and Tomkins, there must be a question mark over the fitness of Cook plus any injuries picked up yesterday.
I am beginning to feel that Jewitt is a luxury we can't afford. Better with a fit, but maybe lesser, player. Tomkins must be nearing the end of his recovery I hope, but O'Neill has been a pretty good stand in tbh.
We have set a new benchmark at Fev and that has to become our norm. Just hope that the bodies will recover well. Nobody carried off but plainly a few knocks.
Note that Matty Smith mentioned that he is looking to get into coaching and seems to be having an influence on some of our youngsters.
Could we manage FT next season, or a half and half squad?
Can't see how we could transition to FT or even half/half without an influx of cash. Finishing higher up the league might bring a few more quid in but the difference between the cost of a full time and a part time squad is huge. London are only able to do it because David Hughes seems happy to pump lots of money in to fund it.
I don't see any point in doing a hybrid FT/PT until we get back to having an academy.
It works for Bradford, for instance, as they have 8/9 full-time players who can train with the academy. For us, having 8/9 full-time players would just mean they can do gym sessions or whatever in the day, rather than any actual rugby, which is effectively just the club paying them to keep fit, which they should be responsible for as PT players anyway.
See Fev have taken Darcy Lussic on loan. The Heatheringtons, or somebody, have a hand in the Fev funding. I can't believe that their fan funding is any better than VIQI, given their fan base.
You are probably right James, our funding is always going to be lower than most so the way into SL looks less and less likely.
Gary Hetherington (and Ralph Rimmer) were in the directors box yesterday...