Referee for Hull KR (Home): June 4

This Week's Referee

There have been many occasions when fevnut has been asked questions like: Who's the referee today? Have we had him before? Where's he from?


So we thought we would answer those questions in our blog.

Below you will find a list of his previous occasions officiating in Fev matches and also his record for this year.

On the Bank Holiday, just passed, Scott Mikalauskas got to referee his first Super League Match. The Penalties/Sin-Bins/Sendings Off for that match are not yet available.

fevnut's blog: Hull KR (Home)

Match 19: Hull Kingston Rovers (Home)










fevnut's musings






Blackpool

So, Leon Pryce has decided to retire. He once infuriated the Aussies by telling them that he preferred Blackpool to Bondi. Much as I enjoyed watching Leon playing I couldn’t disagree with him more. Mind you I have never been to Australia let alone Bondi Beach but I couldn’t possibly like it less than I like Blackpool. I first went there for a Union conference and I loathed the place! Then I went to a Labour Party conference     at Blackpool and loathed it even more. Since then, the only thing that has ever got me to return has been to watch my beloved Fev and after three visits to the Summer Bash I think I would rather go to Castleford than Blackpool!! Last Saturday was AWFUL. Well, not quite as awful as the year before but it was getting on that way. What is it that makes us play so poorly at the seaside. We seemed to be totally uninspired and for me, that has to be down to the halfbacks and hookers. They have played and combined really well in many games this year but on Saturday we seemed to be totally devoid of any creativity. The only bright spot was John Davies who has been a joy all year. But even John can’t get us a win when simply nothing is being created. One thing really worrying is that it seems that when we are failing to play well in attack our defence seems to fall apart and that has to be a matter of mentality. It’s what happened to us in the Qualifiers last year and I hoped that this year we might have the strength of character to overcome such problems. People have said that we seem to play at our worst when we are in front of the Sky cameras but that can’t be the answer because we put in a tremendous team performance in front of the cameras just a fortnight before. I don’t understand it but I desperately hope that Jon Sharp does because he has to put it right very quickly with our next three games being against Hull KR, Bradford (who played really well against Hull KR in Blackpool) and Leeds Rhinos who are sitting 3rd in Super League. There are a lot of tough matches coming up - we need the team to be creative and mentally tough.

With the top four places in the Championship now clearly between just 5 teams we have included in the blog a listing of the remaining fixtures for those 5 teams. In the page list on the right hand side the link is entitled ‘Top Five: Remaining Fixtures‘.                          

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ANDY KAIN

We mentioned earlier the retirement of Leon Pryce. Well, Andy Kain also announced his retirement this last week. I feel quite glad about that because I have loved watching Andy play but when he was playing for Dewsbury at Fev this month he seemed to be such a pale shadow of the player who played for us for many years. Under the coaching of Daryl Powell, that halfback partnership of Andy Kain and Liam Finn was a huge factor in the league success topping the table four years in a row.

It was a great halfback partnership in true Rovers tradition with the intelligence of Liam and the cheeky, inspirational and lightning fast play of Andy.

Many will know that with 128 tries Andy lies fourth in the list of all time Rovers try scorers. What many of you will not be aware of is that he scored more hat tricks for Fev than any other player in our history. Paul Newlove lies in second place on that list with eight but Andy crossed the line three times or more on eleven separate occasions.

So, in retiring I wish Andy all the best for his future and want to express gratitude for the huge enjoyment in watching him play over the years he was with us. And when I go to Toulouse at the end of July I will also remember the attempts of Fev fans and players to keep him under control at ‘The Melting Pot’ on one of our previous visits!

Gareth Walker's Column: June 4th (Summer Bash Lessons)

fevnut's blog is absolutely delighted to have received permission to bring you a regular column from Gareth Walker.

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.

Summer Bash lessons

WITH a record crowd of 16,444 - including a bumper 11,557 on day one - and plenty of cracking action on the field, there was much to admire in this year’s Summer Bash.

          Here’s five things we learned.

1. Bradford Bulls aren’t done yet

It might have been another loss for the Championship’s bottom club in Blackpool, but after a tough recent run of form, their 20-19 defeat to table-toppers Hull KR was filled with hope.

          The Bulls - still on minus two points and currently eight adrift of safety - pushed the high-flying Robins all the way in a thrilling day one finale.

          Dane Chisholm - making his second debut for the club - produced a hugely encouraging display that should boost the side’s confidence.

          But they will be well aware that this weekend’s clash with Dewsbury is even more important.

2. Rochdale-Oldham matches rarely disappoint

Rochdale Hornets pulled themselves two points further clear of the relegation zone by overturning an 18-point deficit against their local rivals in the first Championship game.

          The two teams had already played out a nail-biting draw this season, and often contest captivating games.

          With four cards - one red and three yellows - some spectacular tries and that remarkable turnaround, this was one of the games of the weekend.

3. London Broncos are firmly back on track

Arguably the most impressive overall performance of the weekend came from Andrew Henderson’s Broncos in their 42-16 demolition of top four rivals Featherstone.

          After a shaky spell earlier this year, the capital club have now won six in a row to move back up to third in the Championship table.

          With props Eddie Battye and Tom Spencer due back from injury imminently after being out since round two, they look well placed to secure a Qualifiers spot and then kick on.

4. Dewsbury enjoy playing Batley

Dewsbury Rams have only won four matches this season - three of them against local rivals Batley.

          The latest triumph was not one for the purists, but they edgy 13-12 win on the west coast keeps their survival hopes firmly alive.

          Coach Neil Kelly has lost what some would see as some key members of his squad in recent weeks - but on this evidence those that remain have the heart for the battle ahead.

5. League One is worthy of its Summer Bash slot

The Blackpool action kicked off with the League One Cup final - and Barrow and North Wales served up an absolute cracker.

          Underdogs Crusaders were level going into the closing stages of a see-saw clash, before Danny Morrow’s 75th minute try sealed matters.

          It was a terrific way to start the weekend and provides third tier clubs with a deserved day in the spotlight.

T’Other Side: Hull Kingston Rovers

T’Other Side: Hull Kingston Rovers

Head Coach: Tim Sheens

It is hard to imagine any coach in Rugby League who has a more glittering CV than Tim Sheens. After playing his entire career as a forward with Penrith Panthers he became their head coach in 1984. After three years he moved on to Canberra Raiders and led them to becoming NRL Champions three times. He spent four seasons developing North Queensland Cowboys at the beginning of their NRL involvement before taking over at Wests Tigers and again leading them to winning the NRL. He has also coached New South Wales in an Origin series. As Australian National Coach he was in charge for two Four Nations wins and the 2013 World Cup.

In 2016 he was named in the Penrith Panthers Team of Legends.

Captain: Shaun Lunt

Having begun his playing career with Castleford Tigers in 2005, he moved on for a three year spell with Workington Town. Then he joined Huddersfield Giants in Super League and was their regular hooker for several years. He moved to Leeds Rhinos on loan during the 2012 season and was a member of their Grand Final winning team. He joined Hull Kingston Rovers in 2015. Art representative level Shaun has played for Cumbria, England and England Knights.

At the back

Andrew Heffernan has already scored 14 tries this year making Hull KR’s joint top try scorer. He is an Australian and was signed for this season from Penrith Panthers. So far this year he has played regularly at centre but can play in any of the back positions. Thomas Minns is a product of the Leeds Rhinos Academy. In 2013 he played for the first team three times and also for the England Academy team. He spent 2014 on loan at London Broncos and 2015 at Featherstone before becoming a Hull Kingston Rovers player in 2016. Winger Ryan Shaw is the other joint try scorer. He has also played for England Academy and at club level he has appeared for Barrow, Leigh, London Broncos and Bradford before joining Hull KR last year.

In the Halves

Jordan Abdull is currently at Hull KR on loan from Hull FC. He is a stand-off and is the only ever present so far this season. He is yet another former England Academy player and has had previous loan spells with Doncaster and Featherstone. Zach Dockar-Clay, who can play at either halfback or hooker, was signed at the end of March from Penrith Panthers and is a former captain of the Junior Kiwis. Jamie Ellis is on a season long loan from Huddersfield Giants and is KR’s main goal kicker with a remarkable record this season of 96 goals from 110 attempts. If Jamie Ellis is not available to kick then the duties fall to Zach Dockar-Clay who has also been very successful with 8 out of 9.

In the Pack

Aussie, Maurice Blair, joined Hull KR in 2015 from Gold Coast Titans. He has played over 100 NRL matches for Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm and the Titans. At representative level he has played for the Australian Aborigines and the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII. At prop forward Rob Mulhern has become a regular (usually coming off the bench). He started at Leeds in 2014 and played for Hunslet in 2015 under dual-reg. In 2016 he joined Hull KR. He is an Ireland international. Hugely experienced prop, Nick Scruton, joined Hull KR this year from Wakefield. Before joining Wakefield he played for Leeds and then Bradford and is an England international. He has, so far, made 295 career appearances so a landmark is coming soon.

The Fev Connection

Three members of the Hull Kingston Rovers squad have previously appeared for Fev. Ben Cockayne had a very successful loan spell with us in 2011 scoring 11 tries in 9 matches and played in the Grand Final winning team. Thomas Minns spent 2015 at Fev and scored four tries in a match against Sheffield Eagles. Last year Jordan Abdull played 5 times during a short loan spell from Hull FC.

There are two members of the Hull KR squad who have fathers who played for Fev. Chris Clarkson’s dad, Micky Clarkson, played 63 games for us between 1998 and 2001. Mitchell Clark is the son of much loved former Featherstone hooker, Trevor Clark who is a New Zealander and played 125 games for Fev between 1998 and 1992.

There are also three members of the current Fev squad who have played for Hull KR. Ian Hardman spent a year there, on loan from Saint Helens, in 2007. Keal Carlile was a Hull KR player from 2012-2015 and Frankie Mariano was there at the start of his career in 2009 and 2010.

Today: Previously - June 4th

Today: Previously  -  June 4th

Rugby League

Rovers have only played three games previously on June 4th and they have all been in the current millennium.

In the Northern Ford Premiership in 2000 they scraped a 13-12 win against Hunslet at the South Leeds Stadium, the winning drop goal coming from Andy Heptinstall.

In 2006, Dewsbury Rams came to Featherstone but left after 34-14 defeat. For Dewsbury a try and a goal were scored by Liam Finn who was also sin-binned for deliberate offside.

Finally, in 2009 Fev played away at Oldham in a National Rail Cup Quarter Final and won 32-18. The team that day was:

Ian Hardman; Jon Steel, Andy Kirk, Tommy Haughey, Tommy Saxton; Kyle Briggs, Andy Kain; Jonathan Fallon, Joe McLocklan, Stuart Dickens, Matty Dale, Tim Spears, Jamie Field.  Subs: Jack Lee, Joe Hirst, Waine Pryce, Tony Tonks.

The Fev tries were scored by Joe McLocklan, Tommy Haughey, Joe Hisrt, Jon Steel, Matty Dale and Andy Kirk. Stu Dickens kicked 4 goals and League Express newspaper named Andy Kain as the Man of the Match.

So, three games and three wins. Let’s hope 2017 makes it four out of four!

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In 2006, three matches were played in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup. Leeds beat Harlequins RL 36-18, Huddersfield went to Salford and won 44-14 and Warrington won away by 40-36 against Hull KR.

In the same year, down in National League 2, Celtic Crusaders were starting their charge up to Super League (and down again!) and they beat Keighley Cougars 58-18.

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We have found just two representative matches that took place on June 4th. In 2006, Russia defeated Serbia in Belgrade by 44-6 in a World Cup qualifier. In 2009, Malta beat Norway 30-20 at home in a European Bowl match.

World Events

In 1070, Roquefort cheese created

In 1647, King Charles I taken prisoner in English Civil War

In 1896, Henry Ford takes his first motor vehicle through the streets of Detroit

In 1913, Suffragette, Emily Davidson, throws herself in front of the King’s horse during the Derby.

In 1929, George Eastman demonstrates the first technicolour movie

In 1944, 5th army liberates Rome from Mussolini’s troops

In 1964, Geoff Boycott makes his test debut

Birthdays

1604 Claudia de Medici, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

1738 George III, King of Great Britain

1907 Patience Strong, English poet and journalist

1932 John Drew Barrymore, American actor

1948 Bob Champion, English jockey and trainer

1971 Tommy Martyn, RL player (Oldham, Saint Helens, Leigh Centurions and Ireland)

1975 Russell Brand, English comedian

Fev v London (Summer Bash) : Teams and Scorers

Fev v London (Summer Bash) : Teams and Scorers

fevnut's blog: London (Summer Bash)

Match 17: London(Summer Bash)

fevnut's musings

52-10, big win, but a bit troubled too

As I walked away from the ground last Saturday I wasn’t feeling as good as I thought I should have been after a comprehensive win like that.

Thinking about last season, we did so well to get into the Qualifiers, but then collapsed ignominiously in those matches. But we did get the extra funding that is being sensibly used to strengthen Rovers both on and off the field. We’ve seen how extra money like that can be wasted with stupid decisions which end up putting clubs in peril, a prime example being the Sheffield decision to go fulltime in 2016.

The goal for Rovers is Super League but we need to build incrementally year on year so that when we do get promotion we are strong enough to sustain it. Those 2016 Qualifiers showed that we were nowhere near at the required level.

We were overwhelmed and in consequence lost the team spirit that had built in the Championship run-in.

So the team needed to be strengthened and in my mind there were 2 goals for the 2017 season.

The first was to get into the Championship Top 4 again and so into the Qualifiers. Tht appears to be harder than it sounds. In the first year it was Leigh, Bradford, Sheffield and Halifax that made it and only Leigh repeated it last year. They were joined by London, Batley and Fev.

This year Batley look to be out of it and there is going to be an almighty battle between Fev, Toulouse, London and Halifax to get into the Qualifiers. Last week all the top 5 won and the gap between 5th and 6th is now 8 points. But if we hold our nerve we should stay in the top 4.

I thought that the second target for this year should be for the team to learn how to be more consistent and to put in 80 minute performances. Only then, could we seriously hope to start challenging the bottom 4 from Super League.

And that is what was troubling me last week. Yes, it was a good win but there were periods of the game (in the second half) when instead of seriously taking a weak team apart we started to lose our structure, the ball-handling which had been so good in the first 40 fell apart and we failed to push on. With the halftime score at 32-4 and Dewsbury demoralized we should have got to at least 70 points by the end.

Of course, there have been some really good performances, notably against Halifax in the Cup, but we need to be far more consistent.

The next run of games will really test if we have what I takes … London in the Summer Bash, Hull KR at home, Bradford away and then Leeds in the Challenge Cup.

The measure of success won’t be winning them all, it will be whether we can put together consistently good performances with no repeats of last week’s second half!

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Toronto again

I like the idea of Toronto playing in our League. But they should never have been allowed to put together a team so strong that they end up beating a very good Barrow side, who had previously won seven out of seven, by 70 points to 2.

Just as worrying was the visa issue which meant that four Barrow players couldn’t go. What is going to happen when clubs make signings in mid-season. It may well be that those new players won’t be able to get to play in Toronto because they haven’t had time to sort out visas. If the Canadian government want Toronto to have the chance to play in a professional competition then they need to establish a much easier system for the players of other clubs to be able to get into Canada. It should be a requirement if Toronto are to be allowed to remain in the ‘English’ leagues.

Referee for London at Summer Bash: May 27th

This Week's Referee




There have been many occasions when fevnut has been asked questions like: Who's the referee today? Have we had him before? Where's he from?

So we thought we would answer those questions in our blog.

Below you will find a list of his previous occasions officiating in Fev matches and also his record for this year.

And if anyone asks me "Have we ever had him before?" this time I shall probably scream! RL fans love to celebrate milestones: 100th try, 250th appearance, 1,000 point etc. etc..

Well here we have a special referee milestone: This is the 50th time that Gareth Hewer will be refereeing a Rovers match.

There are, of course, fans who believe that every referee is biased against their team. So on this special occasion fevnut wants to say something about Mr Hewer. Ever since his first Rovers match at home to Rochdale 13 years ago, I have found him to be one of the most consistent of referees and that is the most important quality. In the heat of a game we all get to think that the referee has made some awful decisions. Well no-one is perfect. But when I have been to check out videos of games that Gareth Hewer has been in charge of the fact is hat in the vast majority of cases it turns out that he was right and I was wrong. I don't know why anyone does this job. It has to be so thankless. But I'm glad that Gareth Hewer does it and I have the utmost respect for him.

Today: Previously: May 27th

Today: Previously  -  May 27th

Rugby League

In all the years since 1921, only on two occasions that Fev have had a match on May 27th. That is not as surprising as it looks at first glance because until RL changed to summer in 1996, May 27th was after the season had ended.

Both occasions resulted in resounding victories for the Rovers. In 2007, during a season in which we won promotion out of National League 2 we defeated Swinton at home by 42-4. Steve Dooler and Dean Colton scored two tries each and the rest of the tries came from Danny Kirmond, Paul Hughes, Jamie Field and Tommy Haughey.

In 2012 we travelled to the South Leeds Stadium for a Championship tie against Hunslet, winning 54-10. Despite it being only 5 years ago there are only 3 members of that team who are still in the Fev squad. The team was:

Ian Hardman; Jack Briscoe, Andy Bostock(T), Greg Worthington, Tom Saxton(T); Andy Kain, Liam Finn(T/9G); Anthony England, Ben Kaye(T), Stuart Dickens(T), Matty Dale, Jon Grayshon, Jon Hepworth(2T).  Subs: Andy Ellis, James Lockwood(T), Nathan Chappell(T), Dominic Maloney

Liam Finn’s nine goals were part of his world record of 41 consecutive successful goal kicks which he set on June 14th at Keighley.

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In 2006, in their first season in Super League, Catalans Dragons welcomed Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to Perpignan on May 27th and ran out 28-20 winners.

Warrington Wolves have twice played Leeds Rhinos in recent years and had very good results. In 2011 they beat them 42-6 at Headingley and last year they repeated the feat with a 52-18 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

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On tour in 1984, the British Lions beat Western Division (Australia) 36-30 in Dubbo. In 1988 they beat North Queensland in Cairns 66-16 and in 1992 they beat Islands Zone (PNG) 38-20. The only Lions test match was in Goroka in 1990 when they lost 20-18 to Papua New Guinea.

There have been two State of Origin matches on May 27th. In 1986 New South Wales won 22-16 in Brisbane but in 2015 Queensland were 11-10 winners in Sydney.

World Events

In 1703, Saint Petersburg founded by Peter the Great
In 1849, London’s Euston station opened
In 1878, Australia defeat MCC by nine wickets in amazing low scoring match (Aus: 41 & 12-1, MCC 33 & 19)
In 1896, 255 people killed by Tornado in St Louis, USA
In 1930, New York’s Chrysler Building opens to the public
In 1963, Jomo Kenyatta elected as first Prime Minister of Kenya

Birthdays

1837 “Wild Bill” Hickok, American cowboy
1867 Arnold Bennett, English novelist and playwright
1887 Frank Woolley, Kent and England cricketer
1907 Rachel Carson, American ecologist (Silent Spring)
1911 Vincent Price, American actor
1965 Pat Cash, Australian tennis player
1989 Rémy Marginet, French RL player (Fev in 2015)

Fev v Dewsbury : Teams and Scorers 

STOP PRESS: Gareth Moore

STOP PRESS: Gareth Moore

You can add an additional name to the Dewsbury Rams Squad. Today (May 17) Dewsbury have signed Gareth Moore from Halifax.

He was, of course, at Rovers for the 204 and 2015 seasons, making 45 appearances, scoring 21 tries and kicking 109 goals and 2 drop goals.

fevnut's blog: Dewsbury (Home)

Match 17: Dewsbury (Home)










fevnut's musings



Congratulations

I want to start this week by offering congratulations to Nigel Wood and the RLIF for restoring proper international tours and the Great Brain Lions to the international rugby league calendar. It is great news that New Zealand will be coming here on tour in 2018, Australia in 2020 and in between there will be a Lions tour to the southern hemisphere.

Sadly, however, these tours can never be like those that we loved in days gone by for one simple reason. Until 1995 any such tours took place during the season in the host country allowing the visiting team to play midweek matches against club sides. But now, with the move in England to a summer season, these tours will now take place in the off season when fixtures against club sides will not be a possibility. So, we won’t see a repeat at Post Office Road of two of the greatest days in Fev history. October 11th November, 1959 when the might Rovers beat Australia 23-15 and 2nd October, 1963 when they did it again, this time by 23-17.

and a brickbat

But it is not all good news from the sport’s administrators. I see that Roger Draper has been floating the possibility of the Challenge Cup final leaving Wembley. The man has absolutely no understanding of one of the most fantastic traditions that brings together fans from all clubs. A date that many put into their diaries as soon as it is announced. No matter who is playing there are fans who travel to Wembley every year. It is part of our heritage and not to be messed about by someone whose job is as an executive of Super League. The Challenge Cup is NOT a Super League competition and Roger Draper should leave well alone. I am utterly sick of Super League trying to run rugby league solely for the benefit of their clubs with no care whatsoever for the rest of the rugby league community. It is really time for the RFL to draw a proper line between themselves and the hierarchy of super league. The two must have very different remits and be seen to act accordingly.

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Challenge Cup Draw

What did you think when you heard that we were going to be playing Leeds Rhinos at Headingley? I was absolutely delighted. Not because I think we will win, but because it is an absolutely ideal opportunity at this stage of the season to see where we have got to compared to last year. In 2016 we were very patchy but scraped into the qualifiers with a magnificent run at the end of the Championship fixtures. But then we got slaughtered in the qualifiers. That first match against the Rhinos resulting in a 62-6 loss from which we never recovered. So the cup draw gives us a great chance to assess whether we have made any real progress and whether we can make a decent fist of it against Super League opposition. So it’s the performance I want to see more than the result.