RugbyPowelly

I’ve not been able to attend the last couple of games and so can’t directly comment on performance. We must have all realistically expected this to be a hellish season, the team is weaker than most be based on Dewsbury resources is as good as we’re gonna get. The pack is too soft and too often we lack natural creativity. However I do feel we show quality at times. It’s discipline, leadership and sometimes (mental and physical) fitness that we mainly lack. If we can turn our good 30 minute spells into 60 minute spells then we should pick up points- not loads but some. In Fergie we trust.

I can’t see a win here unfortunately but I do see it close. We look generally ok but need to get sharper in a lot of areas + have more discipline, more play making and more leadership (so not much then ). 24-18 is my predication

I thought we played well. We lack grunt through the middle and an experienced leading hand on the pitch talking & driving us through the game. I know Sykes is an experienced guy but he doesn’t play that ‘director’ part. Loads of improvement and we were second best, but not by much.

Outside looking in I’d also say 14th tbf. I’ll keep the faith though.

There’s a game with Featherstone on Saturday but it’s behind closed doors

On another day we win that game. How it goes.

Agree with that about Ferguson

It was declining but has been on the up especially since Covid times. It’s bigger than ever and take a slice from Rugby Union. 2023 recorded the highest total NRL attendances of all time.

All SL games being shown live on Tv is a strategy. Kill or cure in my opinion. It could raise the whole profile of the sport and bring in hundreds of thousands of new followers who would then perhaps also go to the games and enjoy the atmosphere etc. Or it could just stop people turning up in the stands and the sport fizzles away. Australia proves rugby league is a sport where a country can completely back it and fully enjoy all aspects of it - bringing it to the mainstream. So god hope IMG works.

I think you make some great and valid points. I just can’t see how it will improve either. Not without losing the identity of our club and if we lose that, is there any point?

Which are?

All of them from the half backs to the props. As I said, be good to ‘experiment’. My point was let’s keep an open approach. With a young squad like ours and lots of prospects it would be good to try some. Nothing to lose after performances we’re getting so far.

Poor all round. I did think we got back into the game in the second half slightly but I can’t help but think that was because at 30 up Bradford took 20% off their efforts. Poor discipline, no strong leadership, weak decision making and a lack of co-ordination were obvious. I do get the sense we can actually convert chances into points but we need ball-in-hand in their half more to give the backs a chance of doing that. This pack is struggling at this level. Some lads seem to have a guaranteed starting spot in the team but I think Fergie needs to experiment now and see how mixing it up can work. I know we’re only 2 games in, but it’s clear just doing the same thing each week will mean we get beat.

We need to be able to say we saw effort, interest, leadership and enthusiasm after the game tomorrow. Hopefully with a bit of good ability shown at times too. That would be a win for me.

Was he just poking the bear to try and get a big response? It can work.

Hard to say directly. We didn’t spend a lot on recruitment and put more effort into the existing young squad- which was always risky as despite good results last year there were issues in most games that needed addressing- mainly defensively. Against better teams these cracks were always going to show more. So the training field is the key area to work on. My opinion is that it is the forwards where the main issues are but Fergie should be the best person to get those working better. I do hope that the lads really bounce back next week. I think they will- maybe not win but put out a better performance.

Shambolic today. These games can show a lot of ring rust but wow, that was bad. No discipline, no set plays executed and no clear leadership on the pitch. The big lads just can’t defend- in both co-ordination and wanting to get stuck in. Can only get better I suppose. A big response most definitely required.

I agree with Ronan Dixon in particular, loves it!

Was always going to be ridiculously tough. But I thought they did ok and it’s good a lot of players had some minutes before next week. Still need to bolster that defence but against good SL competition I thought it was a decent performance. I think there’s a lot of more fringe players seriously and rightly fighting for first team spots which is great! Especially in the forwards.

I thought we played ok. The backs look dangerous and could score a try out of most half opportunities. I think the forwards need more work, a lot of missed first tackles and we didn’t wrap the tackle up quickly allowing Fev to break out too often + not enough yards made making the backs work too much for those half opportunities. But with a good old big forward as head coach he should be able to develop the pack better than anybody and so lots of hope for the season ahead. But we do need to sort the first hits out + driving the ball forward more. It seems clear it’ll be a tough season but we need to turn those inevitable few games that are close into wins.

Seen this lad a few times. Always caught my eye as a good energetic prop who likes to get stuck in hard. Exciting prospect.

Interesting choice. Good luck to him.

Agreed. But it is a forum to discuss stuff like this, not just praise and say all fine. I’m just discussing

These are the issues for me, but there were many, many good points - but focussing on the development areas is the best way forward to improve imo. 1. defensively in the front line there were gaps even though players were in position, which allowed teams to break through easily. This shouldn’t happen. Players need to ’attack’ everything at all times. 2. There was a lack of executed set plays. Largely because of a lack of co-ordination in the line + ‘missing’ players. This resulted in a lot of missed opportunities and the ball being handed over. Was frustrating at times as we should have scored a lot more points. 3. a lack of communication (normal with young teams) but it did seem it was get the ball and then look at what options were available. And in defence it could be a scramble. 4. Players didn’t seem to be where they should be and so it was all uncoordinated. I am being picky, they smashed it last season. But we need these things ironing out in the championship if we want to stand a chance.

How it all transpires next season. I hope I’m very wrong.