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.
Bulls staring at
mountain
BRADFORD Bull’s latest defeat - a
28-14 loss at Rochdale on Sunday - has made coach Geoff Toovey’s remit of
surviving relegation all the tougher.
The
Bulls still sit rock bottom of the Championship on minus two points and just 12
matches to save their current status.
If
you ignore for now the conspiracy theories
that state Bradford will be allowed to stay in the competition whatever their
league position - and there are plenty of those around - then the task ahead of
Toovey and his squad is a significant one.
They
have been battling against the deduction of 12 points for entering
administration and then reforming the club right from the start,
with tenth place always likely to be a difficult assignment in such a
competitive league.
Tenth
is the first position of guaranteed safety, and last year was occupied by
Oldham, who finished with 20 points.
Getting
to that kind of level would require a major sequence of wins between now and
the end of the campaign, something the Bulls haven’t
got anywhere near aside from a five from seven return early in the season.
The
survival total may be lower this year because wins haven’t
as yet been as evenly spread across the competition as in 2016, and Bradford
may have more targets to reel in.
But
it is still going to require a level of consistency that isn’t
easy to attain with such a young and inexperienced squad.
Toovey
has made it clear that he wants to add to his ranks before the transfer
deadline, and the club is currently scouring the market down under. What they
are able to come up with could be pivotal in their survival attempt.
Dane
Chisholm was the kind of X-factor player that could have made the difference,
so his season-ending knee injury is a major blow.
What
does help the Bulls is the current system - the mid-season split means that
they will play the seven teams immediately above them in the Championship
Shield, avoiding the competition’s best sides.
But
all of the teams they face will also be either scrapping for survival or hoping
to lift a trophy, and their ability to win tight, desperate matches will be
crucial.
Their
remaining five league matches are also key, and picking up points before the
split would offer a major confidence boost and possibly start some momentum.
Two
of them are at home to teams they are looking to reel in, in Oldham this
weekend and Swinton on the final day of the regular season.
In
between they have three tough tests - away at local rivals Halifax, home to
runaway leaders Hull KR and then a trip to unpredictable Batley.
On
recent form, any return from those three matches would be a significant bonus.
But
it is the games against the clubs immediately above Bradford that will define
their fortunes between now and September.
No comments:
Post a Comment