Nothus wrote:We did exactly the same thing with loan players
The distinction surely is that we had little choice because we'd just started up again after liquidation. In any case it's not a stick with which to beat Featherstone, it's simply an absurdity generally that we devalue our competition in order to get game time for super league fringe players.
hooligan27 wrote:Fev were winning with there starting 13 fairly easily in the first half. Second have a lot off these were swapped with the reserves as its what friendlys are for and leeds cam back. Shows that leeds acadamey is a lot better than a lot of the other clubs acadameys
So who do you think will win? Bearing in mind of course that Bradford:
hooligan27 wrote:Paradeing the Yorkshire cup but struggled to beat Halifax reserves no few quality players but not a team.
paulwalker71 wrote:I looked on the Featherstone website and the team that played yesterday looks to be an almost brand new team from what they were fielding last season!
I suppose the question would be whether they are fully prepared for the new season, or whether they are a bit more of a work in progress who will get better as the season goes on. Hopefully we are playing them at just the right time, before they fully gel!
The unknown factor for Fev is their DR arrangements with Leeds. Ironically, some of the players who played against them yesterday could be playing for them next week. Such is the bizarre outcomes of Dual Reg
Nope we are certainly not ready, we are well under cooked at this point in time.
RagingBull wrote:They were only playing against an under 19s side
Spot on team of kids turned us over.
So on paper and thinking with my head, at this point in time Bulls to win by 12-16 points for me. Good job the game is to be played on grass and I am am comming over to Odsal in the hope of a Fev win.
Joined: Dec 22 2001 Posts: 32126 Location: The Corridor of Uncertainty
Fev’s players should all be out to impress their new coach since he’s only just got here so they should be pretty enthusiastic.
I hear their centres are decent, that Teteh and the new Aussie guy were good versus Leeds apparently. Teteh is a big strong lad who takes some tackling so possibly we should have Webster and Evans in the centres to combat that. Their young lad on the wing from Hemel less so, I hope he’s opposite Ryan so we can take advantage.
"If you start listening to the fans it won't be long before you're sitting with them," - Wayne Bennett.
I don't have a problem with Fev doing it - they've had some issues financially and it's a way for them to compete but without having to spend as much. We had to rely on loans when we came back in 2017 when we started from nothing. What I do have a problem with is clubs like Leeds using a system that devalues the game as a whole.
Fair enough. There are definitely supporters of 1 or 2 Championship clubs who have used it as a stick to beat Fev with despite their having used it themselves on multiple occasions. Got no problem with someone disagreeing with the overall DR system itself.
On paper we (Fev) are right up against it this weekend and there's no doubt it's a good time for Bradford to play us from your point of view, our 30yo rookie coach arrived only just over a week ago and is up against the most experienced coach in the division, and five of our likely starters (including 3 pivots) only flew in from the other side of the world in the last 2 weeks.
We played ok in the 1st half last week against what was Leeds' U19 team plus Briscoe, Walters & Ormondroyd, but all our tries were basically bargeovers using superior strength, whether we can open up a full-time Championship team on such little prep remains to be seen.
On the plus side there does appear to be a very good team spirit building at the moment and we do have some talent in the team, but it might be a few weeks before we really start to gel. There's a bit more optimism amongst Fev fans than there was 3 or 4 weeks ago, but that's because the overseas players have finally arrived. Like FevGrinder I'm more hopeful than confident, but it will be an interesting and informative game.
Joined: Dec 22 2001 Posts: 32126 Location: The Corridor of Uncertainty
Put it this way I’m glad we’re playing you on Sunday rather than both our games being later on in the season. You’re bound to improve as you go along. How much depends on how players gel, who you get from Leeds and if the new coach is any good. If it all goes well I believe it’s probably between us and you for the 5th place spot.
"If you start listening to the fans it won't be long before you're sitting with them," - Wayne Bennett.
Joined: Jan 09 2011 Posts: 4337 Location: Shipley, Bradford
Likely line up's:
20. Brandon Pickersgill 2. Ethan Ryan 3. Jake Webster 4. Ashley Gibson 5. Jy Hitchcox 14. Jordan Lilley 7. Dane Chisholm 10. Steve Crossley 9. Matty Wildie 19. Jon Magrin 11. Matt Garside 12. Elliot Minchella 13. Mikey Wood
21. George Flanagan 16. James Green 8. Liam Kirk 25. Connor Farrell/29. Matty Storton
Kiedan Hartley Darren Forde Thompson Teteh Josh Hardcastle Conor Carey Ase Boas Watson Boas Scott Wheeldon Cameron King Anthony Mullally Brett Delaney Brad Day Jack Bussey
Not sure on how Featherstone would line up on the bench but I expect it to include Walters, Ormandroyd and possibly Lockwood/Harrison.
On paper our back line beats theirs hands down but it will be a tough game down the middle. And I think this is where we will win/lose it. Unless we let our backs do the damage. Bulls by 8-10.
BULLSBOY2011: 'Pain is temporary, Pride is forever!'
I don't think Chisholm is in good enough form to get in the side and Keyes is still out with back problems I think. I can see Wildie playing there with Lilley. Not sure if Gibson has recovered from his dead arm - if he has he might play right centre and Webster move to the left. The centres, halfbacks and fourth bench place are where I'm not sure what will happen.
"If you start listening to the fans it won't be long before you're sitting with them," - Wayne Bennett.
Must be a nightmare to coach against Fev as their line up could look so different on Sunday. This will be our toughest game for a long long time. We'll Need the same mental strength from the L1 final. When things our going against us, bite down on our gum shield and keep going.
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