Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:05 pm  

paulwalker71 wrote:

Who on earth is responsible for conditioning these days?

I think it's someone from Halifax Town football. We didn't look to have any strength at all

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:06 pm  

snowie wrote:

if that is the player with the number 23 shirt he should be ashamed with him self, to turn out like that looks like the games gone back to the seventies

Snowie, that guy - Anthony Walker - actually played for your lot from 2014-2017. I assume he was a fair bit better conditioned than he is right now!

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:12 pm  

Today was the real measuring stick. Our first choice 17, barring 1 or 2 injuries, against a promotion chasing team. The result and performance shows us how far off the pace we really are. Featherstone looked well organised and disciplined and their fitness was far superior. We looked soft, slow and sluggish and some players look like they're carrying extra weight that they didn't have last year. We are just not good enough, simple as that.

Just imagine if we'd have won that Super League promotion place. It would have been a bloodbath this season.

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:33 pm  

One thing I will say is Fev beat Batley last week in a friendly. Batley went and comfortably beat Fax this week. We've had the marker laid down to us, never it's whether we can reach that level of performance Fev showed.

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:01 pm  

dddooommm wrote:

Today was the real measuring stick. Our first choice 17, barring 1 or 2 injuries, against a promotion chasing team. The result and performance shows us how far off the pace we really are. Featherstone looked well organised and disciplined and their fitness was far superior. We looked soft, slow and sluggish and some players look like they're carrying extra weight that they didn't have last year. We are just not good enough, simple as that.

Just imagine if we'd have won that Super League promotion place. It would have been a bloodbath this season.

I wouldn’t say it was a real measuring stick at all. A good test and in my opinion the result was expected, in fact I expected around 50-12. So the result was slightly better than I pictured (not that the score matters in a knockout comp), I think everyone knows (well anyone with half a brain about RL will) that Fev are the strongest side in the league. Based on the existing lads and the SL/NRL quality they have acquired since.

We had Dawson-Jones, Lilley, A.England and Murphy missing. You miss 2 starters it is a blow, you miss 4 starters then it’s a bloody hard task.

I’m not defending the performance but up at one point we were 24-16 down around 3/4 of the way through. Fev had two really good purple patches and capitalised massively. I’m not defending our performance. I expected more defensively and basic errors were made. Pickersgill was poor tackling, however in his defence it’s hard one on one as a FB with an attacker in full flow. We know he’s solid (not the best FB) and he’ll improve.

The real test is the first 6 games. Sheffield, Halifax, Dewsbury, Whitehaven, Swinton and Newcastle. Whitehaven is away and is a hard game and obviously the derby with Halifax. See where we are after those.

Disappointing performance but not the end of the world. Get those four back plus Hallas. Week off next week to recover and get an extra weeks hard work in. And of course after a year out this break will be well received after 3 games in quick succession.

Roll on Sheffield.

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:09 pm  

From the comments on here and social media it sounds like this was a rude awakening for a few supporters. Time to face reality, and the reality is that we're no longer one of the dominating sides in this division. Featherstone barely got out of third gear and put 40 on us, but then one look at the squads on paper and the result doesn't surprise me at all.
Having said that, we were missing 4 players who would probably be in the 17 and we also lost Hallas in the first 15 minutes, so played 65 minutes with only 16 players. Sort out fitness out and we will probably finish somewhere between 5th and 9th.

[Bullseye]

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:27 pm  

Sorting out the fitness is a priority. I've not seen us look this out of shape since the late 80s.

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:35 pm  

Brown should be nowhere near this team he offers nothing. Would prefer to see Foggin-Johnson on wing.

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:40 pm  

Stockwell & Smales wrote:

Brown should be nowhere near this team he offers nothing. Would prefer to see Foggin-Johnson on wing.

From everyone who played today, you pick out Brown for criticism?!

Re: Challenge Cup Round 1 vs. Featherstone Rovers : Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:41 pm  

One of the biggest problems I feel we have is that our wingers have no metre making qualities. Other than Dawson-Jones the wingers never get anywhere after fielding a kick or taking a drive. Which means our sets always start behind where they should.

DFJ wouldn’t offer much in that respect other than he has a bit of pace. But weight wise he loses metres after contact. Oakes is the only back we have that actually makes metres in yardage sets.

I honestly understand signing Brown as a back up but that’s all he is. He shouldn’t be starting. But you can’t blame the lad for that. He’s still fresh out of the academy really.