Match 28: Rochdale Hornets (Away) Championship Shield
fevnut's musings
fevnut’s enemies
For more years than we care to
recall t6here have been three clubs that we enjoy to see losing. The first of
those is obviously them down the road. But we feel just as much animosity to
Wigan which stems from what they did to rugby league in the 1980s and their persistence
in believing that they are the only club that matters and their view that what
is good for rugby league as a whole is only what is good for Wigan. And that
has been shown to be the case yet again this year. The third club we always
liked to see getting beaten was always Leeds. It's largely jealousy over the
huge resources they can call upon whether that be rich backers or the large
catchment area from which they draw their fans.
A temporary and reluctant change of heart
But at this moment in time we are actually
wanting to see Leeds winning. Not because we have had a change of heart but
because we actually believe it to be for the good of our sport that they remain
in Super League. And it’s not so that we can maintain dual registration with
them. We have never liked dual registration (that’s a gross under-statement!)
although we do admit that for the most part it has been good for Fev. But then,
at the most crucial time, when we desperately needed support in the halves and
backs, Leeds badly let us down. So, we wouldn’t despair if Leeds getting
relegated ended our dual-registration.
This is a dangerous time for the
survival of clubs outside Super League, and that actually means the survival of
Rugby League as a whole. It seems to us that the voice of sanity that is Gary
Hetherington is desperately needed in Super League. It would be calamitous if
Leeds were to be relegated and Lenagan, McManus and their ilk were then to be
able to claim that their egocentric views were the unanimous opinions of the
Super League clubs. So come on Leeds. We need you in there. And then maybe we
can get back to wanting them to be beaten!
Last Sunday
A frankly worrying day. We came out of the Batley game with a 26-12
victory in the end but it was a poor display, a very poor display. It seemed as
if we have a distinctly unhappy bunch of players at the moment. The reasons are
fairly obvious but it has to be overcome. We know already that the Championship
Shield Final will be between Fev and Leigh but there is still the important issue
of home ground to play for. That could well be a major factor in who wins and
also some financial benefit to us. Before last week the signs were good. We
went into the first round of the Shield level on points with Leigh but with a 58
point advantage in the points difference column. Everyone seemed to be writing
off Leigh because of the even greater turmoil they seem to be in. It appears,
however, that they got stuck into the job in hand in a far better manner than
we did, beating Sheffield 68-6. The result was that our points difference
advantage was reduced to just 10 in just one round.
We need to finish the season on a high by putting the Trophy
into our cabinet and that just won’t happen unless the team really buck
themselves up. Let’s see how it goes at Rochdale (against whom we have had one
or two surprise slip-ups in recent years).
Oh well …
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