fevnut's blog: Toronto v Fev

Match 26: Toronto Wolfpack (Away) Championship

fevnut's musings

The Best Competition is the Championship

Going into the last week for the Super League and the Championship before the split into the 8s it is amazing how the two differ. In Super League everything is done and dusted with nothing to play for in the last round. What a difference in the Championship! One week to go and only one team, Toronto (of course), has a definite place booked in the Qualifiers. Only a single point separates 2nd place from 6th place. And still SKY show comparatively meaningless Super League games whilst ignoring the amazing round of Championship games even though they own the televising rights for those games. Thursday’s offering is Saint Helens v Warrington. Whatever happens in that match Saints will finish in first place going into the 8s and Warrington will finish in the Top 4. We say to SKY “Use it or lose it”. Surely it is time to negotiate with another broadcaster to take the rights to Championship matches and to actually do a regular broadcast. Having been regularly attending Championship ties and watching Super League on television we have absolutely no doubt which makes for more compelling viewing.

Gutted

We’re gutted with the result against London Broncos. It was always going to be very difficult against a fulltime team when we are down to less than the bare bones in the most critical positions on the field. Maybe the final result became even harder to take after we had performed so magnificently in the first half and gone in with a 7-0 lead brought about by a piece of sheer magic from loanee Aaron Smith and that drop goal from Ian Hardman, the very first of his career in his 373rd game. The team gave their all but it just wasn’t good enough on the day.

Dual Registration

We have never liked dual registration and it really let us down in the end. It just shows how relying on it (we understand the financial reasons) is so dangerous. The fact is that you will always be dependent on the Super League partners. If ever there was a game when Fev needed Leeds support it was last Sunday. Leeds had a fairly easy game against Widnes but still chose to go with the two Briscoes on the wings and played Ryan Hall in the centre even though they had Jimmy Keinhorst available and he is perfectly capable of filling the centre spot. In fact, Keinhorst is the only Leeds player to have scored a hat trick this year. They could easily, and with no detriment, let us have Luke for this critical match. Even worse was the fact that they knew perfectly well that we desperately needed a half back but instead of letting us have Jordan Lilley they have sent him on loan to Bradford. It just shows that to build dual reg into your season plans is fraught with danger. We feel betrayed by the Rhinos and it leads us to the conclusion that the main reason for Leeds entering into this partnership is to help them look at our players with a view to signing them.

Oh well …

Championship Talk: Down to the wire

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.

Down to the wire

IT was a weekend of seismic results in the Betfred Championship.

Halifax’s 19-14 defeat of Toulouse and London Broncos’ 14-7 win at Featherstone have put those two clubs in pole-position for the all-important Qualifiers places, and leaves Fev and Leigh on the outer praying for late miracles.

Toulouse, London and Fax know that their places are assured if they can beat Dewsbury, Barrow and Rochdale respectively this weekend.

Featherstone travel to table-toppers Toronto and Leigh host Sheffield, both clinging onto the hopes that victories in their own game and a shock result elsewhere could still see them sneak into the top four.

But Halifax and London have earned their places in the box seat with gutsy, nervy wins last weekend.

Shane Grady’s 74th minute try was just enough for Richard Marshall’s side against their French opponents, who had led by a point at that stage following Mark Kheirallah’s penalty.

Defeat would have seen Fax outside the four ahead of the final round and long-odds to make the Qualifiers for a third time in four seasons, and they owed much to their defence standing firm in the dramatic closing moments.

A little further along the M62 Featherstone led London 7-0 at half-time, only to see Keiran Dixon’s long-range interception try spark a Broncos stampede.
Dixon also booted a goal line drop out over half the length of the field and into touch in another decisive moment, to leave Danny Ward standing on the edge of a Qualifiers campaign in his first season in charge.

It would be remiss as well not to mention two huge results in League One last weekend.
Just 12 weeks after having 90 points put on them by Keighley, Coventry Bears produced a remarkable turnaround to beat the Cougars 30-20 in what is probably the biggest win in the club’s history.

And on Sunday a bumper 6,441 crowd saw top two Bradford and York battle it out at the Provident Stadium, with the Knights edging a memorable clash 30-28 having led 24-0 early on.

Bulls coach John Kear used the build-up to that game to invite new Super League chief executive Robert Elstone to the match and see first hand the value of rugby league outside the top flight.

You couldn’t fail to be impressed by the scenes at Odsal, and with Toronto also pulling in over 7,000 against Rochdale there is much to be positive about in the bottom two tiers at present.

T'Other Side: Toronto Wolfpack

T’Other Side: Toronto Wolpack

Toronto Wolfpack 2018 Shirts

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Paul Rowley

Whether you like or not the style in which Paul Rowley’s teams play, the fact is that his record as a head coach is pretty remarkable. He was caretaker coach at Leigh for a month in 2008 and then was assistant coach under Neil Kelly and then Ian Millward. He took over as head coach at the beginning of 2012 with the club in big financial problems and remarkably guided them to second place in the Championship. He then took them on to be the most powerful club in the Championship before resigning just before the start of the 2016 season. In April that year he was appointed as the coach of Toronto Wolfpack who were to enter League One in 2017. In their first year they won promotion to the Championship winning all 15 league fixtures.

In his playing career Paul was a hooker and other than his time with home club, Leigh, he also played for Halifax and Huddersfield. He won 4 England caps.

  

Captain: Josh McCrone

Signed for this season, Josh McCrone is an Australian halfback who joined Toronto from Saint George Illawarra Dragons for whom he made 28 NRL appearances during 2016 and 2017. Prior to that he was at Canberra Raiders from 2009 to 2015 making 133 NRL appearances for them.

At the back

Liam Kay is one of a host of former Leigh players in the Toronto squad. He is a free scoring winger and topped Toronto’s try chart in 2017 with 27 touch-downs. He is Toronto’s top try scorer this season so far with 26. Although best known for his achievements at Leigh, he started his career with Wakefield in 2012 and had a loan spell with Doncaster. He played for Ireland in their 3 World Cup matches last year. Gareth O’Brien joined Toronto from Salford in March and has become their regular fullback. His career started at Warrington in 2011. He played for 4 different clubs in 2013 having loan spells with Castleford, Saint Helens and Swinton. In the next two years he continued to play occasionally for Warrington but also went on loan to Swinton (again) and North Wales and then signed for Salford in 2016. Back in 2010 he played for the England Academy. Nick Rawsthorne is a powerful centre who has joined Toronto this year from Hull FC, having started his career with Halifax. He has scored 15 tries so far this year. Another signing during this season, Chase Stanley joined Toronto in late March from Canterbury Bulldogs. He has played in the NRL for St George, Melbourne Storm as well as Canterbury and is a New Zealand international.

In the halves

The usual halfback pairing is Josh McCrone (see ‘captain’) and Ryan Brierley. Scottish international Ryan is another of the former Leigh players having started there in 2012. In 2016 he joined Huddersfield Giants and then linked up with Paul Rowley again in March 2017. He has a terrific burst of speed and is Toronto’s main goal kicker. In fact he is the only Toronto player to have taken goal-kicks so far this year. Should either McCrone or Brierley be unavailable, Toronto also have Aussie Blake Wallace who joined them last year from Queensland Cup side Central Queensland Capras.

At Hooker

Toronto have a strong combination of hookers. Bob Beswick is now in his 15th season having started his career with Wigan in 2004. After leaving Wigan he played for Widnes and then Halifax, before joining Leigh in 2012. He has played 22 games for Ireland. Less experienced but highly rated is Andy Ackers who had two seasons with Swinton and then a couple more with London Broncos before joining Toronto for this season.

In the pack

Jack Buchanan plays at prop or loose forward. He is an Australian and began his career in the NRL with Wests Tigers, coming to England to join Widnes in 2016. After two years there he was signed, this year, by Toronto. Darcy Lussick joined Toronto in April from Manly. He is a prop forward and has played 1”0 games in the NRL with Manly and Parramatta.  Second rower, Cory Paterson is another Australian (and former Leigh player). His career began in 2007 with Newcastle Knights and in 2011 he was signed by North Queensland Cowboys. In 2013 he joined Hull KR but returned to Australia to play for Wests Tigers the following year. In 2015 he joined Salford and then had 2 years at Leigh, joining Toronto this season. Ashton Sims was recruited from Warrington for this year. He is a Fijian international prop forward who has played more than 220 games in the NRL for Saint George, Brisbane and North Queensland.

The Fev connection

There are no former Toronto players currently in the Fev squad.

However, Toronto have had four players in their squad who have played for Rovers. They are Jack Bussey, Reni Maitua (now retired), Richard Whiting and Greg Worthington.

Past Matches against Toronto Wolfpack

Past Matches against Toronto Wolfpack

LAST TIME

Fev v London Broncos: Teams and Scorers

Fev v London Broncos: Teams and Scorers
Championship Round 22

fevnut's blog: Fev v London

Match 25: London Broncos (Home) Championship

fevnut's musings

Huge!

We get some games that are big ones and then occasionally there is one that is huge! Sunday’s game against London definitely comes into that category. We’ve been trying to get ourselves in a really positive mood about it. Recalling matches where we had to win games at the end of the league season.

There was that one against Leigh in 1998 when we had to not only win, but win by a big margin. And we did it finishing with a 58-4 victory which included a hat trick from one of our favourite imports - Danny Baker and a brace from our newly announced commercial manager - Karl Pratt. Even though we only just got into the play-offs on the last day of the league season we, of course, then got within a whisker of winning the Grand Final and a place in Super League.

And then there was the unforgettable match on a Wednesday evening in 2013 when we had to not only beat Sheffield Eagles but also deny them a bonus point to put ourselves in with a chance of claiming the league leaders spot on the Sunday following. We won it well enough but it was a real nail biter because Sheffield scored in the 75th minute to bring the score to 34-24 and put them into a bonus point position. The hooter was about to go and all looked lost when Liam Finn put up a high kick towards our right wing at the railway end. What more glorious sight than watching Will Sharp soar into the air to catch the ball above the defenders and touch down to end the match at 40-24 (Liam converted) and deny Sheffield that bonus point. We went onto win the final game 46-8 away at Hunslet. In the end the Hunslet match didn’t matter because we left the ground to the news that Sheffield had lost unexpectedly at Doncaster.

The big question

Not only can we do it, but who on earth is going to be playing at halfback? What a season! Ridyard injured, Tom Holmes injured and now Matty Wildie suspended. What a situation to have going into this most crucial of games? There’s no one left in the squad who looks as if they can realistically fill in and there doesn’t appear to be a dual reg option with Jordan Lilley having gone on loan to Bradford. It really does re-enforce the desperate need for the RFL to insist on clubs returning to running reserve teams. Let’s hope that Mark Campbell, Dav Longo and John Duffy can pull a rabbit (or rather a stand-off) out of the hat!

Discipline

Earlier this week we posted a page (see link below) that shows what an awful disciplinary record we have had this year. Too many penalties given away with the consequence of putting ourselves in peril by the field position we regularly hand to the opposition. Too many yellow cards leaving us playing with less than 13 players on the park for 10 minutes. Too many red cards. And as result, of course, important players banned for vital matches.

Matty Wildie has done a fantastic job for us this year and I hope that he continues to play for Fev for many years. But to get banned for such an important match for foul and abusive language to an official is quite frankly appalling. It really is about time that our players took a more responsible attitude and considered the consequences on the club, their team mates and the loyal Fev fans.

http://fevblog452.blogspot.com/2018/06/championship-teams-disciplinary-records.html

But …….

Upcoming Birthdays: July 22nd to August 4th

Upcoming Birthdays: July 22nd to August 4th

Fev and London: Comparative 2018 Match Stats

Fev and London: Comparative 2018 Match Stats

Sunday's referee: Fev v London Broncos

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 his record for this year.

Jack Smith is a former Royal Marine who was seriously injured in Afghanistan. After his recuperation he took up refereeing, made rapid progress and very quickly he was appointed to the full time list and was refereeing Super League matches. But he decided that he wanted to spend more time with his family and developing a business so he went back to part-time. Now he mostly referees in the Championship with occasional Super League ties. More often than not, as you can see from the records below he is appointed to Championship matches involving the top clubs.

T’Other Side: London Broncos

T’Other Side: London Broncos

LONDON BRONCOS 2018 SHIRTS

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Danny Ward

After three years as head coach at London Broncos, Andrew Henderson has now moved on to become the assistant coach at Warrington Wolves and this year London Broncos appointed Danny Ward as their head coach. He had been working as assistant since 2015 and before that he spent two years coaching the Broncos U19 team. This is his first head coach position. In his playing career he was a prop forward and made his début at Leeds Rhinos in 1999. He stayed at the Rhinos until joining Castleford for one season in 2006. That was followed by one year at Hull Kingston Rovers before moving to London Broncos (then Harlequins RL) in 2008. He retired in 2011. In 2004 he made one substitute for Great Britain against New Zealand in that year’s Tri-Nations competition.

Captain: Jay Pitts

Born in Ossett, Jay Pitts started his career with Wakefield, making his début in 2008. In July of the following year he was signed by Leeds. In March 2012 he moved on to Hull FC. Then, in 2014, he had loan spells at Doncaster and Bradford Bulls before signing for the Bulls before the 2015 season. Last year he joined London Broncos and played in every one of their 31 matches. He plays at either loose forward or second row.

At the back

Playing either on the wing or fullback, Kieran Dixon is a speedy try scorer well capable of scoring long range tries. He is also a competent goal kicker who can take over from Jarrod Sammut when required. Dixon played for the England Knights team in 2012 and 2013. His professional career began with the Broncos in 2012. In 2015 he was signed by Hull KR but returned to the Broncos in 2017. In 2014 he played for Hemel Stags on dual reg and played for Newcastle Thunder (also on dual reg) in 2016. Dixon is Broncos leading try scorer this season. Elliot Kear plays in the three-quarters or at fullback. He has played 20 times for Wales and is a genuine Welsh International having been born in Cardiff. He started with Crusaders and played in Super League for them and for Bradford Bulls. Usually at fullback is Alex Walker who has been attracting a lot of attention for his excellent performances. He made his Broncos début in 2014. He has had dual reg spells with London Skolars and Hemel Stags and played for Scotland in 2015. Rhys Williams is another genuine Welshman but this time hailing from North Wales. He has 23 caps for his country and scored a hat trick against Scotland in 2010. He began his career with Warrington and also played for Castleford, Salford and Swinton before joining the Broncos in 2015.

In the halves

Youngster, James Meadows, is in his first year having made his début in February he has already played 11 matches for the Broncos mostly at stand off and has also played for one game for London Skolars on dual reg. New Zealander, Ape Pewhairangi, is an Irish international! He has played at both stand off and centre this year. Before joining London he had been with Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels and New Zealand Warriors. Jarrod Sammut, is an Australian and a Maltese international. He is London’s main goal kicker and was also their leading try scorer last year when he scored 268 points. He usually plays at scrum-half but has also played at hooker. He spent 2015 and 2016 with Workington. He originally came to the UK to play for Crusaders RL and has also been in the squads at Bradford Bulls and Wakefield (from where he played 1 game for Fev on dual Reg).

At hooker

James Cunningham began the season as the regular starting hooker but recently he has also been playing at scrum-half. His career began at Hull FC in 2012. In 2014 he had a loan spell with the Broncos and in 2015 he played for Doncaster on dual reg before being signed by the Broncos in June. Newly signed from Lézignan a couple of weeks ago is Frenchman Eloi Pelissier. He is a highly rated French international who played for Catalans from 2011 to 2016 and for Leigh Centurions last year.

In the pack

Eddie Battye is one of those prop forwards who never takes a backward step. His career began at Sheffield in 2008 and he signed for Broncos in 2016. He has also played for French club Villeneuve Leopards. Matt Davis usually plays at loose forward but can also play hooker. He started with Broncos in 2015 and played a few games for Hemel on dual reg in 2016 and with London Skolars last year. (Not to be confused with … see below). Mark Ioane is a rumbustious prop forward. He is a New Zealander and has played in the NRL for both Gold Coast Titans and Saint George Illawarra Dragons. He joined the Broncos in 2016. In 2010 he played for the Junior Kiwis and was a member of the New Zealand Warriors team that won the Toyota Cup Grand Final. Yet to make his début is Prop Forward Daymeric Pelo who was signed from Limoux on July 11th. Tom Spencer is another prop forward who has started most matches this year. His career started with Wigan in 2012 and had loan or dual reg spells with South Wales and Leigh before signing for Leigh in 2014 and went on loan to Oldham in 2016. He joined the Broncos in 2017.

Dual Registration

London Broncos have a dual registration agreement with London Skolars that involves their younger players getting game time with the Skolars but does not usually lead to Skolars players turning out for the Broncos.

The Fev connection

There are three members of the London Broncos squad who have previously played for Fev. Welsh international, Michael Channing, was at Rovers in 2016. Scottish international, Ben Hellewell, came to Rovers for two seasons from the Warrington Academy in 2013. Both Michael and Ben played in last year’s World Cup. Jarrod Sammut (see above) played just one game for Fev on dual registration from Wakefield in 2014. During that match against North Wales he kicked 10 goals out of 10 attempts!

There are also four players who have appeared for Rovers this year and who have played for London Broncos. Brad Dwyer played for them on loan from Warrington in 2015. Richard Moore was with them in 2002 and 2004, Scott Wheeldon in 2012 and 2013 and Jason Walton in 2015.

Name Confusion!

On the playing roster at the Broncos are both Matt Davis and Sam Davis. But matters are even more confusing because there is also Matt Davies! As both Matt Davis and Matt Davies sometimes play in the second row it brings back memories of when Fev fielded second rowers both called Gary Price in the same match!