Gareth is a top rugby league journalist who has one very exceptional distinction. He chooses to write about matters pertaining to the Championship and League One.
Although this blog is devoted to Featherstone Rovers it is always good to read opinions about matters relevant to us, but not specifically about us. We hope you enjoy reading Gareth's column each week.
Part-time heroes
IT’S that time of year when we hear Super League
coaches talk about the difficult extra workload placed on their players over
the Easter weekend.
The
likes of Warrington’s Tony Smith have long been opposed
to playing two matches in four days, believing that it has an impact on players
that goes beyond the holiday period.
But we
rarely hear much about the demands placed on the part-time players in the
Championship, which is arguably even greater.
Okay,
the competition might not be quite as quick or physically demanding as Super
League.
But
neither is there the kind of recovery treatment available that top flight clubs
enjoy, at least for most of the competition.
Part-time
players deserve more credit generally in rugby league and never more so than
over Easter.
This
year it’s also a weekend that could shape the seasons of
several clubs - with Toulouse and Rochdale just two examples.
The
French side are flying at the moment on the back of five straight wins, the
latest of them a 58-18 demolition of Oldham at weekend.
Sylvain
Houles’ side are currently second in the table and look a
good bet for the top four - but we will learn lot more about their credentials
after the two Easter games, which are against fellow full-time sides London
Broncos and Hull KR.
As
Houles noted: “We’re playing probably the best two teams in the
competition back-to-back.
“It would be hard playing them with a week apart and we’ve got three days, but I’m happy where we are.”
Rochdale,
in contrast, have not won in five after their flying start to the campaign,
seeing a 24-point lead evaporate at Batley on Sunday.
Over
Easter, they play Sheffield and Swinton - two games that could determine
whether they are looking up or down for the rest of the campaign.
Similarly
the Eagles - so inconsistent to date - play Rochdale and Dewsbury.
And the
same goes for most of the other Championship clubs, with faltering London
facing two huge tests against Toulouse and then at Batley.
Bradford’s bid to get to zero points sees them play top four
contenders Halifax and Featherstone, with Rovers also travelling to Hull KR.
Managing
players’ recovery and availability is a big part of the
week-to-week job of a Championship coach, and that gets magnified over the
Easter period, especially those that are part-time.
We’ll all have a clearer idea of how the season is set
to pan out come Monday evening.
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