Championship Talk: A dangerous situation?

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.

A dangerous situation?

IF most officials in the game weren’t so focused on the great structure debate, perhaps more attention would be paid to the growing trend of teams outside Super League playing with fewer than 17 men.

         

Up to this weekend that had happened a worrying 15 times in all - and would doubtless have been more had around 20 part-time players not come out of retirement to help their clubs avoid further situations.

         

It’s not just at the bottom end of League One either, far from it.

         

Championship teams Featherstone, Barrow, Batley, Dewsbury and Rochdale have all been short at some stage this year, and not just for away trips to Toronto either.

         

Featherstone had just 14 men for their recent Championship Shield game with Leigh - a match that to their immense credit they won - but experienced three-quarter Misi Taulapapa insists it “shouldn’t be happening”.

         

He said: “Clubs have a duty to do whatever they can to get a full team of players out there.

         

“That’s not my job - as players it’s our duty to go out there and give it our best.

         

“Trying to get 17 fit men on the field is out of our control.

         

“A few of the clubs in the Championship had high expectations of trying to get into the four and spending that bit of money but falling short.

         

“That’s what can happen when you try to get to that level and don’t make it.

         

“But it’s definitely not acceptable having teams short of numbers.”

         

Aside from the obvious bad look it has for the sport at a professional level, there is also a safety issue to consider, something Barrow coach Paul Crarey raises in the current issue of Rugby League World.

         

Crarey said: “You get injuries anyway but you can normally bring them off as a precaution.

         

“If you’ve got 13 or 14 players out there you can’t do that because it’s a matter of surviving for your team.

         

“Out of the 14 players we had in Toronto, two of them were amateurs as well, and their bodies aren’t used to it.

         

“The rules say we can do it but is it a dangerous situation?

         

“If the kid would have hurt himself badly then somebody’s got to take responsibility for that.

         

“We work so hard in some areas of player welfare but then in other areas we tend to let ourselves down.”

         

Early signing deadlines, finances and the lack of a reserve grade have all been cited as contributing factors to the problem - but it’s one that needs serious focus from the game’s governing body before 2019 kicks off, or they risk the situation getting worse.