Fev Players: Scrum-halves

ALL THE ROVERS SCRUM-HALVES

ALL THE ROVERS SCRUM HALVES

Here is a list of everyone who has ever played at scrum-half for the Rovers from the beginning of our professional era in 1921 up until the end of last season (2018). They are listed in the order of appearances in the starting line-up as a stand-off.

We’d take a bet that no other club has two unrelated players who have played more than 300 games at scrum-half with the same surname! There are nine players who have been at scrum-half for more than 100 matches but the two at the top of the pile are Deryck Fox at 350 and Don Fox at 307. Deryck never played anywhere else all though he did have 3 games when he started on the bench. Don played a total of 363 games for Rovers with a few at centre early on and in the latter stages at Fev he often played at loose forward. Amazingly, Rovers played 215 matches with Don Fox partnered in the halves by Joe Mullaney.

The very large number who only played one or two games at scrum-half includes quite a few who only ever played that many games for Rovers first team but it also includes several who made the odd appearance at scrum-half playing out of their usual position. In that category are players such as Jack Hirst (our first international who was usually a centre), and Keith Bell (usually loose forward). With just one match at number 7 is one of Fev’s greatest names and the winner of the Man of Steel award in 1983. The only time it has been awarded to a coach rather than a player. We are, of course, referring to Allan Agar who is a Fev legend even though he only played 4 matches for Rovers and two of those were as a sub!

Fev and Widnes: Comparative Match Stats

Fev and Widnes: 
2019 Comparative 
Match Stats

fevnut's musings #9: Peter Fox - Our Hero

fevnut's musings

Peter Fox - Our Hero

We had planned what to write about this week, but when the news came through that Peter Fox had died there was no question that those plans had to be scrapped and instead we wanted to write about our hero.

Although this blog deals in great part with statistical facts we will leave recording of the facts about Peter knowing that many others will be documenting those.

We simply believe that Peter Fox was the greatest of rugby league coaches. Not long ago there was a post asking people who they thought was Fev’s best coach and the answers were almost unanimous in citing Peter. But what makes him so singular is that he is held in such great regard by the players as well as the fans. On the desk at the moment is the book by Williams and Lush which has the title of ‘Peter Fox - The Players’ Coach’.

When we moved into the area and started to come to Post Office Road it was amazing to come to a professional sports club which made you feel so welcome. Even more extraordinary was the way Peter was happy to talk to fans. In many conversations with him we learned virtually everything we now know about the game. He was the greatest of rugby league thinkers, a great motivator and such a nice person and that is why we will all miss him so much.

But Peter wasn’t ‘Mr Nice Guy’. He was highly principled and that often led to conflict with club officials and administrators. Almost certainly the reason why he coached lots of different clubs. He wasn’t prepared to stand and support decisions that he knew were wrong. And we admired him all the more for that.

It is so sad to think that we will not see Peter again. A unique, wonderful man and the greatest of rugby league brains. Our condolences go to his wife Joan and the rest of his family, and Peter’s family includes the entire rugby league community.

Halifax

Just a few words about the game in the fog. It was an awesome performance, well what we could see of it felt that way.

To beat Halifax 46-16 is a very big achievement. Fev’s highest ever score in a league match against Fax came in 1973 when Fev won by 50-8 but last Sunday was the second highest number of points Fev have scored against them in 132 league encounters.

Not only did our pack show wonderful dominance but, for us, the most pleasing aspect was the quality of the passing. It was slick, it was speedy and it was accurate.

If Ryan Carr can achieve that so quickly then the future looks bright. That is so long as the combination of coach and players remains reasonably stable. The last thing we want to see is yet another major change in our coaching and players.

Championship Talk: Rams and Bears show their teeth

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.

Rams and Bears show their teeth

TWO teams whose early season stars continued to rise last weekend were Dewsbury Rams and Coventry Bears.

       

In the Championship, the Rams were tipped by many to struggle under Lee Greenwood this year, not least because they lost a number of established players, and the new coach admitted that some he had brought in may not be up to this level.

Some arrived from the amateur game, others having been released elsewhere - but Sunday’s 20-20 draw at Barrow Raiders was the latest indication that Greenwood’s team are not willing to make up the numbers this season.

In fact, they could have won all three matches to date, having allowed a 16-point lead to slip against York - who have been so impressive elsewhere - in their opening match, before then accounting for Swinton Lions.

On Sunday they were six points ahead at Barrow, where not many teams have prospered in recent years, before the home side levelled matters late on.

Greenwood has openly admitted there is still much to come from the Rams, so a three-point return from their opening three matches is a very solid starting point.

With experienced halves Paul Sykes and Simon Brown steering them around the field they should not be underestimated.

Meanwhile 200 miles south in Coventry, the Bears were producing one of the results of the season so far by beating hugely fancied Newcastle Thunder 32-28 - their second straight win of the campaign so far.

Tom Tsang’s side beat both Keighley and Hunslet last year - but their coach was unequivocal about how significant defeating a team including the likes of Liam Finn, Misi Taulapapa and Alex Rowe was.

Tsang said after the game: “A lot of hard work has gone into that and for me - having been here for eight years and seven how we’ve built - that’s the highest high we’ve had.

“Newcastle are obviously tipped to be in the top two this year, and for the boys to just give them no respect and rip into them from the first minute is exactly what we’ve been asking for.”

This weekend the Bears take part in one of the most attractive fixtures in all three leagues when the relaunch of Keighley comes to Cougar Park for the first time in a competitive game.

Two clubs who know what it’s like to do it tough - in different circumstances - will take to the field with much to be optimistic about for the future.

It should be a cracker.

Sunday's referee: Widnes v Fev

This Week's Referee

What are the RFL playing at? 5th match of the season and we've had Jack Smith twice and this is the third time we've got Marcus Griffiths! Let's hope it's a good omen as we've scored more than 40 points this season on the two occasions he has been the ref.

T'Other Side: Widnes Vikings

T’Other Side: Widnes Vikings

2019 Matches

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Kieron Purtill

Kieron Purtill was appointed head coach at Widnes during the off-season. He had stepped up to the position of caretaker head coach at Leigh last year following Neil Jukes’ resignation at the end of February. Leigh had lost 3 out of 4 matches. They suffered two more losses after that but he clearly got the team together and they went on to win 11 matches on the trot. Kieron was made permanent head coach of Leigh in late May, his first head coach permanent position having been generally in the role of assistant coach. Back in June 2008 he was assistant coach at Huddersfield Giants and stepped up to the position of joint caretaker coach for the rest of the season alongside Paul Anderson. Incidentally, the person who left Huddersfield in 2008 leading to Kieron becoming acting head coach was Jon Sharp!

As a player Kieron was a halfback or centre and spent his entire short playing career with Leigh from 1998 to 2002 although he did spend time at Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants but never got to play in their first teams.

Captain: Hep Cahill

Hep Cahill was appointed as Widnes captain this year following the departure of Joe Mellor to Toronto Wolfpack. He joined Widnes in 2012, after a one year spell with Crusaders RL in 2011. In 2009 and 2010 he played in the NRL with Melbourne Storm. He has also played for the New Zealand Maori team. Beware, in his schooldays he was a New Zealand kick-boxing champion!

New signings for 2019

Widnes signed 4 new players in the off-season and have also taken Dom Speakman (formerly at Dewsbury Rams) on trial.

Without doubt, thir most prominent signing is Anthony Gelling, who spent last season at New Zealand Warriors after spending 6 seasons with Wigan Warriors. He also played one game on dual reg for Workington. He is a Cook Islands international. Gelling’s addition to the squad gives them potentially the most powerful centre partnership in the Championship alongside Krisnan Inu.

Widnes have signed Liam Hood and Jack Owens from Leigh Centurions.

Liam Hood is a hooker who started at Leeds Rhinos in 2009. In 2015 he joined Salford and then Swinton in 2016. Whilst at Leeds he played for Dewsbury (loan) and Hunslet (dual registration).

Jack Owens is a fullback who is a prolific try scorer and goal-kicker. He made his début for Widnes in 2011. He was at Saint Helens in 2016 and 2017. During 2017 he played on loan for Sheffield Eagles and then signed for them in July of that year before joining Leigh in 2018. He was an England Academy international.

The Widnes front row has been enhanced by the signing of Adam Tangata from Halifax. He is also a Cook Islands international and played alongside Anthony Gelling in the 2013 World Cup. As a junior Tangata played for the Canberra Raiders U20s team.

Dual Registration and Loans

Widnes Vikings do not have a dual registration agreement and nor do they currently have any players on loan.

The Fev Connection

There are no players in the current Fev squad who have played for Widnes. Danny Craven is the only member of the Widnes squad who has played for Fev which he did on loan from Widnes in 2016 making 24 appearances and scoring 8 tries and kicking 5 goals and a drop goal.

Fev v Halifax: Teams and Scorers

Fev v Halifax: 
Teams and Scorers
Championship
Round 4

Fev Milestones: February 24th

Fev Milestones

We will be keeping you up to date with any upcoming career appearance and scoring milestones for members of our 2019 squad.

Assuming he plays against Halifax, James Lockwood will be making his 150th appearance for Fev.

Fev v Halifax: 19 Man Squads

Fev v Halifax: 
19 Man Squads

Fev and Halifax have both announced their 19 man squads for Sunday. Here they are. We have placed players into positions with guess work largely based on the line-ups for the teams last week. With plenty of backs we have put Jack Render at 19. Other than that it's really difficult to know who else might be left out. We have put John Davies there purely on the grounds that he might not have fully recovered from his illness, but we hope he has and that he will be playing! 

Where are they now? : A fevnut special

a fevnut special
Where are they now?

Over the last few years there has been a very large turnover of players at Rovers. It got us to thinking how many players who have played for Fev are now playing for other clubs. Well the answer is a massive 89! 

So we thought we would present two tables showing them all. The first table lists the players in alphabetical order.The second shows them by their current clubs.

The lists are of all players who have appeared for Rovers, and that includes those who played with us on loan or dual registration.


In Alphabetical Order

By Club

fevnut's musings #8: Lost connection

fevnut's musings

Lost connection

One of the sadder consequences of the huge turn around in player squads that has become commonplace in recent years is it makes it much more difficult to achieve the sort of bond between Fev fans and players that used to exist. It’s definitely still there but not to the same degree.

Like many others, we used to be on first name terms with virtually all the players. Friendly chats were the norm when we met them whether that was at the ground or out and about. They were friendships that grew season upon season and we really knew them as people as well as players. That sort of relationship between the fans and players at Featherstone and was a real part of the Fev identity.

Another consequence is how much harder it is to recognise individuals on the field. There was a time when as soon as a player ran we knew who it was because of their running style, and makes it much more enjoyable for the fans when you recognise who is who. If Deryck Fox passed to Trevor Clark and then it went to Jeff Grayshon who slipped an offload to Paul Newlove, you would immediately know exactly what was happening and who was involved.

We started to think about how the turnover, loans and dual reg combined have led to there being so many players who have played for Fev and are now at other clubs and we compiled a listing you can find on another page under the title ‘Where are they now?’. You can find that a link to that listed on the right hand side of this page.

Luke Briscoe

Many congratulations to Luke on scoring his 50th try (and 200th point) for Fev at Leigh last Sunday.

Leadership

It is far too early to come to any firm conclusions about our ‘new’ squad but one area that is giving us some concern is the issue of leadership on the field. The Boas brothers are making a great contribution in the half-back positions but they do not seem to be taking the sort of firm grip on the team that we expect from half-backs in leading the team around the field. Maybe it’s because they are settling in, maybe it is just not in their nature. But at Leigh last week it was clear that we did need someone who could fulfil this crucial role.

Goal Kicking

Watson Boas is providing the tem with some tremendous ‘ball-in-hand’ kicking. The best for quite a time, but we are a bit worried about him as our first choice place kicker. He does not seem reliable enough. It is early days but a record of only 9 out of 14 (64%) is not good enough for a first choice kicker. It could prove to be critical in close games. His kicking style is rather odd and the way he kicks with his instep does not suggest that he could become capable of kicking goals from wide out. We need to have a more reliable kicker with Watson being a very good back-up.

Penalties

We have been pleased to hear Ryan Carr emphasising the importance of team discipline and really hope that our woeful area in this respect last year will be dealt with. But having said that, our performance last week was marred by the giving away frankly stupid penalties. The final penalty count was actually 11-8 in our favour. Penalties given away by opponents are always welcome but out of our control. It is really important to keep the penalties we give away as low as possible.

Positivity

Only last week we wrote about the huge potential of this Fev team and anything written above is in the manner of a critique and should not be taken as any lessening of our excitement about the coming season. Indeed we did say that there were bound to be blips when there are so many players who need time to learn how to play together as a team. We take the performance, particular early in the second half, against Leigh as being just such a blip! It’s going to be a tough one (again!) against Halifax but we can do it! Yes, we can.