So far our recruitment for next season is going pretty well but once again people on Facebook & elsewhere seem to think we are assembling a team that could win promotion back to SL. This IMO is going to be a task that will take up to 3 to 5 years & may not even happen at all.
Most posters on Facebook especially seem to think we are already stronger than last season. Are we? I'd say currently we are about the same overall but are weaker in the pack. 4 forwards have left for Ottowa, 3 props, and in Wilde we have lost our best defender. So far 2 of the props have been replaced. Cook is probably the best of them but he is not automatic first team choice at Castleford. Jewitt was once a useful forward but Hull KR moved him onto Barrow after he suffered several bad injuries. IMO signing Jewitt is a risk injury wise although I appreciate our coach has worked with him before & knows him well. It is rumoured Clough is returning but again he did not exactly set the world on fire the last time he was here.
I think the twins contributed more to our team than the majority of supporters appreciated & we shall have to wait & see if the incoming replacements perform better than they did. Cook may well do but I am not so sure about the other 2 props, assuming Clough arrives.
In the financial position we are in we cannot afford or attract better than we are doing & we have done well IMO to retain our spine of Owens, Smith, Tomkins & Baker & hopefully Lyons will be added to that. So while I am fairly happy with the progress made & I appreciate it is still only August with more to come I do think some people need to take a step back or they are going to be disappointed when promotion does not arrive next season. Toulouse, London & Leigh will all have stronger squads. I think our target realistically is to make the play offs.
I think its good people are excited because it was all doom and gloom around the club in the last 2 years of the Rule era. I think the more of a buzz there is, the more likely it is people buy Season Tickets and carry on with VIQI.
Re the squad, unless a number of rabbits are pulled out of the hat, it is not likely we finish 1-3. We should be aiming for 4-5 and see what happens from there.
Let's not forget that the very short season in 2020 aside, we have had 3 consecutively very poor league seasons: I think when push comes to shove come next September, most people would be content if we were sat in 5th.
In my view getting into SL over the next two or three years is quetionable anyway. The NA saga is still unfolding and, as CJ says, there are stronger, better financed squads than ours already on that quest. So whoever gets there is likely to have a massive fight to stay there simply because the NA teams potentially bring money into the SL package and, in the SL eyes, make it a more marketable commodity.
Realistically our aim has to be to consolidate after our financial mess and build a base ready for whatever comes along. I just wish that TS had come along sooner, or could stay longer, but whatever, where we were trying to take all comers with a very young squad we should now be a harder team to overpower by strength alone.
We could still recruit pack strength as the Covid washdown comes along, and that seems to be part of the plan. TS has a remarkable knowledge of the game and seems to have established contacts with players over his time in the UK and we can only hope that that will be an advantage. The interest created since TS's arrival is good for the club and, with reasonable success, should raise our image again.
I agree that promotion is rather optimistic atm and failure in that shouldn't be seen as fatal provided we are better placed financially through better crowds and have a good quality coach for future seasons.
I think people over complicate the championship, any team with a spine of Owens, Craven, Smith, Tomkins should be finishing a head of Sheffield, Halifax etc
We’ve got the best coach in the division by far, by fullback, probably best scrum half and best 9. I don’t think we will finish 1st but top 5 has to be seen as realistic
Our main worry must be how much can we afford this year! We can all build a team but cash is the limiting factor in the real world.
Honestly, im just looking forward to getting back in the stands and supporting the lads.
Our last couple of seasons in SL were torture and i really wasnt enjoying watching the vikings anymore, and it felt like i was turning up out of habit. Now im happy for us to build responsibly in the championship and look to the future with a well run club that plays at the level its crowds can support.
I dont think we will be competing for SL next season, and thats ok by me. let fev and Leigh chase the dream while we rebuild our club, and just get back to enjoying our Sundays with the Vikings.
Feel the same as you Tony it was painful in Superleague and I don't trust the RFL wanting all these expansion clubs. So let's build nicely and be very competitive in the Championship. If we get big money investment and can compete in Superleague, then I am for promotion. Unfortunately we are not lucky like Wakefield.
I don’t think anyone in their right mind is expecting us to go up if Leigh Toulouse and London are all FT and have much more expensive/quality sides than us and I think fans can to an extent accept that
however with the spine, experience and leadership 5th place has to be a minimum expectation. I wasn’t confident this season because I thought our pack was still to at risk of being bullied in the dog fight games and there is a lot of them in this league. But I’m a lot more confident with Cook and clough who have both been consistent figures for their respective SL sides over the last few seasons and Jewitt if he can get over his injuries from 2 seasons ago
I think people over complicate the championship, any team with a spine of Owens, Craven, Smith, Tomkins should be finishing a head of Sheffield, Halifax etc
Worth noting that we had that spine last season and still lost at Dewsbury, and were hammered at home by London.
It would be nice to think that we haven't signed all of our starting 13 players yet, but let's see. Another experienced prop wouldn't go amiss.
I think people over complicate the championship, any team with a spine of Owens, Craven, Smith, Tomkins should be finishing a head of Sheffield, Halifax etc
Worth noting that we had that spine last season and still lost at Dewsbury, and were hammered at home by London. It would be nice to think that we haven’t signed all of our starting 13 players yet, but let’s see. Another experienced prop wouldn’t go amiss.
But that spine didn’t start in either of those games. Which was one of the problems.
Think how we go next season will depend on squad numbers 20+. The starting 17 is more than good enough. Depth of our squad will be crucial.
In the limited time we had the dual reg with Wire wasn’t the best. Patton coming in for a game at 7 and then at 9 just didn’t work. Hopefully we can build a decent sized squad of our own players.
A competent Championship side is fine by me - let them sort the SL out first. If it goes as I think it will it will be an international Sky TV show. Not my bag I'm afraid.
A good game each week is just what we need, with more wins than losses and some good fast rugby. The losses early this year were down to being out bullied and we are on the way to beating that.
Looking at some of our games and you can see that Jay and Ted ran to the tackle, long strides and no intent to break the tackle. Not good enough I'm afraid. I was hoping that TS could get them off-loading but time ran out. Great lads, all heart, hope that they enjoy Ottawa.
Good lads the Chapelhows but unfortunately hardly broke tackles for such big lads.
I think a few on here will be pleasantly surprised.
Hope so Mick, the more you look at SL it has become a wealthy man's power game. Can't see any team without financial backup getting far tbh, and that lets us out!