2017 Match 1: Halifax Away (Championship)fevnut's musings
I found myself at the pre-season
game against Leeds Rhinos with very mixed feelings. It’s because I can well
remember years when we have had a great series of pre-season games followed by
a big let-down when we got into proper competitive matches. A case in point was
three years ago when we had a magnificent pre-season winning all our matches
including those against Wakefield and Hull and promptly lost to both Dewsbury
and Doncaster in our first four proper games. We never got into a real rhythm
until Danny Evans (as caretaker) and then Andy Hay took over in May and we
promptly put a run together and only lost two of the next thirteen games.
I’m really looking forward to
seeing how the team pans out this year. The backs look by far the strongest for
many a year and I find it really difficult to see who Jon Sharp will leave out
of the starting line-up. What that means is that we would have to be incredibly
unlucky this season to be filling the three-quarter line with several players
playing out of position, particularly in the centres and that should be really
beneficial to our attacking potential.
Last year, Ian Hardman, Brad Tagg and Jamie Cording all played a
substantial number of games there. All three are good players but centre is
certainly not their best position. There was also Liam Blockley who, when he
played, looked right out of his depth. With Misi, Chris Ulugia, Luke Briscoe,
James Duckworth, Josh Hardcastle (what an exciting prospect he is), Kyran,
Scott Turner and Jason Walton to pick from we should be able to avoid using
forwards or full-backs in the three-quarters in 2017!
The pack also looks considerably
stronger. Richard Moore has been excellent in pre-season. Much as I like the
lad, I can’t see us calling on Jordan Baldwinson much this year.
Let’s all hope for some
consistency. There are always going to be the odd game when the team doesn’t
click, but last year we had three truly awful performances - Oldham and
Sheffield away and Halifax at Blackpool. I can’t see this squad sinking to that
level.
So, it’s ‘UTR’ with some real
optimism for the campaign to come. I hope I’ll feel the same way come August
after we have made it into the qualifiers and start giving four super league
teams a really tough encounter.
T'Other Side: Halifax
Head Coach:
Richard Marshall
Now into his third year as coach at Halifax, after a widely acknowledged highly successful first year but last year did not go quite so well.
His playing
career started at Halifax where he spent six seasons. When he left Fax he had
spells at Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants, London Broncos, Leigh Centurions and
Swinton, retiring in 2007. He played two
games for Ireland in the 2003 European Nations Cup. Richard’s playing position
was prop or second row.
New Signings for 2017
t Ryan Boyle (Castleford Tigers)
t Shane Grady (Dewsbury Rams)
t Jack Mead (Bradford Bulls)
t Morgan Punchard (Lock Lane ARL)
t Rob Worrincy (Sheffield Eagles)
The highest profile signing
is undoubtedly Ryan Boyle who
arrives from Castleford Tigers after a loan spell with Halifax last year. This
powerful prop has made a52 Super League appearances and has also played for
England U18 and Ireland. Shane Grady
has played for Widnes, Dewsbury and Australian club, Thirroul Butchers, and
played in Super League for London Broncos. Jack
Mead is a young winger who was with the Bradford Bulls Academy and Morgan Punchard is definitely one for
the future. He is a very promising young halfback or hooker who gave an
excellent display in the pre-season match against Rovers on Boxing Day. Rob Worrincy returns to Halifax having
played for them from 2009 to 2014. He began his career with Castleford Tigers.
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| Ryan Boyle |
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| Ryan Punchard |
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| Rob Worrincy |
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| Shane Grady |
The
Fev connection
In the Fax squad are three
players who have played for Rovers. Ben
Kaye was a very popular hooker for three years and Gareth Moore filled the scrum half position for two years. Will Sharp was a great favourite during
his time with Fev from 2013 to 2015. He scored many crucial tries including the
last minute ones against Sheffield which took Fev into the play-offs in 2013
and the one which beat Batley in 2015 when Fev snatched victory by scoring 22
points in the last six minutes!
TODAY: PREVIOUSLY - FEBRUARY 5TH
Rugby
League
The first (professional) match ever played by
Featherstone on February 5th was away to Huddersfield in 1927. Fev won 6-0 with tries by Jim
Denton and Billy Clements. During that season Rovers won 21 of their 38 matches
and for the first time finished in the top half of the table, a precursor to a
tremendous season the following year when they finished 3rd.
In 1995,
the last full season before the summer era, Rovers beat Wakefield Trinity 22-15
at home. It was of little consequence as both teams were relegated. Rovers
relegation was as a result of a late change of plan by the RFL in order to make
way for London and Paris. Rovers tries
were scored by Darren Hughes, Brendon Tuuta and Graham Southernwood and Mark
Aston kicked 5 goals.
On the international scene England beat ‘Other
Nationalities’ 33-16 at Workington in
1921 and in the 1949 European
Championship Wales beat England 14-10 in front of nearly 10,000 spectators in
Swansea. Despite that result, Wales finished last, the Championship being won
by France.
World Events
In 1850, an adding machine using depressible
keys was patented in New York.
In 1870, the first moving picture was
shown to an audience in Philadelphia.
Also in the world
of cinema, in 1937 Charlie Chaplin’s
first ‘talkie’, Modern Times, was released.
In 1945, Winston Churchill arrived at
Yalta for the conference with Josef Stalin and Franklin D Roosevelt that was to
draw up plans for post 2nd World War Europe.
The House of
Commons voted in favour of same sex marriage in 2013.
Birthdays
1788 Robert Peel, British Prime Minister and
founder of the British Police Force.
1840 John Dunlop, Scottish developer of the
pneumatic tyre.
1970 Ben Ainslie, British sailor and
winner of 4 Olympic gold medals.
1985
Rémi Casty, current captain of
Catalans Dragons.
1992 Neymar, Brazilian and Barcelona
footballer.
1996 Jordan Abdull, now with Hull Kingston
Rovers and played for Featherstone last year on loan from Hull FC.
