Sunday's referee: Rochdale v Fev

Sunday's Referee

We can't list the previous Fev matches with this referee - there aren't any! Well strictly speaking we should say he has never refereed an official match because he was in charge for our pre-season game against Halifax.

Having started in 2016, before this year he was predominantly used for League One matches but he seems to have risen up the pecking order and is now mainly doing Championship games.

T’Other Side: Rochdale Hornets

T’Other Side: Rochdale Hornets

2019 Matches

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Matt Calland

Rochdale have today (Friday) named Matt Calland as their new head coach. He was previously the head coach at Halifax from 2008 until July 2011 and was their coach when Halifax beat Fev in extra time at the 2010 Championship Grand Final.

His began his playing career with Rochdale in 1990 and then moved to Featherstone in 1993. He left Fev to sign for Bradford in 1995 and in 199 he went to Hull FC. In 2001 he returned to Rochdale and he retired after playing 3 games for Huddersfield in 2003. However, later that year, he started playing again with Rochdale and then spent his final season, 2004, with Hull Kingston Rovers.

He was primarily a centre and in 1996 he was a substitute for England against France.

Captain: Lee Mitchell

Lee Mitchell provides the team with Super League experience. He made his début with Warrington in 2007. In both 2010 and 2011 he made appearances for Leigh on dual reg as well as playing on loan for Harlequins RL in 2011.

In 2012 he signed for Castleford and then spent 2013 in Australia playing for Burleigh Bears. On his return he joined Whitehaven, spent 2015 at Batley and then joined Rochdale in 2017. In 2007 he played for the England U18 team.

New Signings for 2019

Three of last year’s Whitehaven squad joined Rochdale along with, then coach, Carl Forster.

Dan Abram, halfback or fullback, has played in every game this season and taken every one of Rochdale’s goal kicks. His father, Darren, also played and coached the Hornets. Dan made his début for Barrow in 2016 and also played for Cumbria that year in a match against Scotland. He moved to Whitehaven last season. This year, so far, he has taken every one of the Hornets goal kicks

Shaun Ainscough, wing, has joined from Batley. He will be much remembered by Fev fans for the end of the match between Fev and Batley in 2015. Something he will have tried to forget! He began with Wigan in 2009 and in 2010 had loan spells with Castleford and Widnes. In 2011 he moved to Bradford and Whitehaven in 2014. He joined Batley in 2015.

Ellis Gillam, second row or centre, made his professional début with Whitehaven last season having joined them from the Warrington Wolves academy. He played in 28 of Whitehaven’s 30 matches last year and scored 7 tries.

Stuart Howarth, halfback, is the third of the recruits from Whitehaven. In 2010 he played a couple of games for Blackpool on dual reg from Wigan. In 2011 he joined Wakefield and then Salford in 2012. He spent most of 2013 on loan at Saint Helens and in 2014 he played a game for Barrow on dual reg. In 2015 he moved to Hull FC and played for Doncaster on dual reg before being transferred back to Wakefield in mid-season. In 2016 he went on loan to Bradford and joined Workington for 2017 and then Whitehaven last year.

Liam Carberry, loose forward, has had a career somewhat blighted by serious injuries. He was in the academy at Wigan, during which time he played for the England Academy. In 2012 and 2013 he had games for South Wales Scorpions on dual reg. In 2014 he joined Widnes and played for Whitehaven on dual reg in 2015 before signing for Whitehaven in 2016. In 2017 he was at Swinton but didn’t play (professionally at least) last season.

Jordan Case, centre or second row, played for Rochdale from 2013 to 2017 and spent last year at North Wales. He is a former England Academy international.

Jack Cottington, prop, is a youngster who was in the Warrington Academy

Paddy Flynn, centre, spent last season playing for Thatto Heath ARL but is no stranger to the professional game. He was with Widnes from 2008 to 2016 where he played 177 games. In 2016 he played 10 games for Castleford on loan. In May 2017 he signed for Sheffield.

Scott Moore, hooker or halfback, was ‘not available’ to play rugby league last year. His career began back in 2004 as a 16 year old (the youngest ever Super League player) with Saint Helens and he remained there until 2011 although he had loan spells with Castleford (2008) and Huddersfield (2009). In 2012 he signed for Widnes but was released in April and then joined Huddersfield. In 2013 he played for North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and joined London Broncos in 2014. In 2015 he joined Castleford but moved on to Wakefield in mid-season. In 2017 he played for Bradford. At representative level he has played for England U18, England and England Knights.

Nathan Reidy, prop, is a 20 year old who has joined from the Wigan Warriors Academy

Mike Weldon, second row, made his professional début as a Sheffield player last year.

Callum Wood, hooker, has been signed from Orrell Saint James ARL. Last year he played for England U19 in the European U19 Championship.

Dual Registration and loan signings

Rochdale have a dual registration agreement with Warrington Wolves. So far, in 2019, seven Warrington players have played for Rochdale: Sitaleki Akauola (prop), Matt Davis (forward), Jack Johnson (wing), Luis Johnson (second row), Harvey Livett (loose forward), Pat Moran (prop) and Ellis Robson (loose forward).

They have had Jack Higginson (Leigh) and Adam Lawton (Salford) on loan this year but both are now back with their parent club. Joe Ryan has on loan to North Wales but is now back at Rochdale.

The Fev connection

Neither the Rochdale or Fev squads have players who have ever played for the other club.

Championship Talk: Seaside fun

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK

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.

Seaside fun

THIS year’s Summer Bash is just two weeks away now - but what do the key figures involved think about the event?

Rugby League World asked players, chairmen and coaches whether the annual trip to Blackpool has a future - and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s a great day out for the fans,” Bradford coach John Kear said.

“We’re a sport, but we’re also in the entertainment industry. Anything that can give us a feel-good factor and an occasion has got to be a good thing for us.

“These matches mean a lot to the players. It’s like anyone in their job, you want to be recognised. It’s a very public platform when you’re on national TV and it allows you to strut your stuff.”

Kear’s enthusiasm is shared by Leigh full-back Gregg McNally.

It’s something the lads look forward to, a new experience at a ground you wouldn’t normally play at, and it’s on Sky at a time when we don’t get many matches on there,” McNally explained.

“If you’re a part-time lad who’s got aspirations to go to the next level and possibly move to a better club, it puts you in the shop window.

“There are always Super League clubs watching these matches because there are often dual reg players playing, and you never know what might come out of playing well.

“It’s like the Challenge Cup, it’s good exposure for players at this level.”

Swinton chairman Andy Mazey also backed the event - while adding that it is not yet reaching its full potential.

Mazey said: “I like it. Exposure and TV coverage is something our division doesn’t get much of, and I’m a great advocate of anything that increases the profile of our game.

“I believe it’s important for the players.

“There are guys not getting the credit that they deserve, and this is certainly a great opportunity for lads to maybe catch the attention of bigger and better things and put themselves in the shop window.

“But I think we could do a lot more if I’m honest. I’ve had conversations publicly recently about the commercial performance of the sport outside Super League, and I don’t think we do enough collectively.

“As clubs and as a sport, we could still do a lot more outside of Super League, and that covers a bit of everything.

“In my view the uncertainty over whether the Summer Bash would be televised this year won’t have helped, but we could also do a lot more in terms of pooling resources and looking at Championship-wide commercial deals instead of all looking after our own plots of land.

“I think we could work together in some of the bigger events to get more money in the overall pot.”

* To read the full article, see the current issue of Rugby League World magazine, available now

Barrow v Fev: Teams and Scorers

Barrow v Fev:
Teams and Scorers
Championship
Round 12

Barrow v Fev: 19 man squads

Barrow v Fev: 
19 Man Squads

19 Man Squads

Fev and Barrow have now both announced their squad for Sunday. 

We have placed players into positions with guess work largely based on the line-ups for the teams in recent matches. 

If Luke Cresswell is fully fit he may well play at fullback with Ritson moving to the wing. 

Looking at the forwards available to Fev, we have placed John Davies as a travelling reserve in order to give him longer to recover from the tweak he got on Good Friday.

We have guessed that Tom Holmes will come off the bench to give him some game time and ready to replace Jack Bussey the following week when Jack will be suspended.

Fev and Barrow: 2019 Comparative Match Stats

Fev and Barrow: 
2019 Comparative 
Match Stats

Championship Talk: Battling Bulldogs enjoy Easter

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK

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.

Battling Bulldogs enjoy Easter

WHEN Wayne Reittie was sent off half an hour into Batley’s Good Friday clash with local rivals Dewsbury, it wasn’t shaping up to be a particularly productive Easter weekend for the Bulldogs.

Moments later Michael Ward was sin binned to leave Matt Diskin’s side down to 11 men.

When Daniel Igbinedon touched down for the Rams to give them an 8-0 lead, Batley’s frustrating start to the Betfred Championship campaign looked certain to continue.

But after Alistair Leak dragged the Bulldogs back into the game just before the break despite still being two men down, Matt Diskin’s side scored 14 unanswered second half points to secure a memorable 20-8 win.

Four days later they backed that up with a gritty 32-18 victory over a Swinton side that had enjoyed their own Good Friday derby win against Rochdale, Sam Wood and Louis Jouffret scoring doubles.

After their stirring home victory over in-form Widnes, it made it three league wins in a row for the Bulldogs.

In between those was a disappointing Challenge Cup exit at Doncaster that hinted their early inconsistency was still an issue.

But Diskin will now be focusing on the positives of those three straight Championship wins, which pulls them clear of the relegation scrap developing below them.

In fact, Batley are now as close to the top five as they are to the bottom two, and Diskin will be hopeful that they can continue to look up rather than down for the remainder of the campaign.

The Bulldogs boss was, by his own admission, disappointed by his side’s start to the season, which saw them win just one of their opening eight matches despite some impressive recruitment.

       

But those two Easter wins in the space of four days could help to shape their 2019 fortunes.

There’s no lack of talent in the Batley side.

Halfbacks Dominic Brambani and Jouffret offer a mix of creativity and attacking danger than can threaten any defence in the competition, and Reittie, Johnny Campbell and Dave Scott are a potent back three on their day.

Leak is among the Championship’s most underrated players, and there’s no lack of size in the pack, where James Brown and Dane Manning are among several experienced players.

This weekend their new-found form will be severely tested at home to a Leigh Centurions team that is four points and three places above them in the table.

But if Batley are serious about pushing up rather than looking over their shoulders, then these are the kind of matches they will be targeting for wins.

fevnuts musings #17: What a Great Week!

fevnut's musings

What a Great Week!

1.  Good Friday

We have to admit that there have been times this year when we have become rather despondent. A feeling brought about by constant changes in the team but more importantly by the lack of leadership on the field. It is something we have written about on more than one occasion.

Then we got to Good Friday! What a performance. Without any doubt whatsoever the best team performance we have seen for a long time. And significantly it was achieved with only one dual reg player and only one loan player. And it was that loan player that seemed to be the important ingredient. And, praise be, it is a loan player we have for the rest of the season, not just for a month.

They say that one player doesn’t make a team but here was an example where he did just that. What Dane Chisholm brought was first and foremost leadership. You could clearly see how he was organising the whole team and beyond that he was showing all the other attributes that are needed in a scrum-half. Namely intelligence, looking for opportunities and passing that was both well-timed and moreover accurate.

An accurate pass is not necessarily one that is straight to a player but one that is placed in such a way that a player can run on to it without losing any momentum.  It is the way you get the backs sweeping forward and finding spaces.

You couldn’t even begin to grasp what Chisholm achieved by just watching him. He had the effect of lifting the whole team, everyone playing to, or near to, the top of their ability. It meant that centres and backs were getting the ball in situations where they could use it well and not be used all the time as simple ball carriers as has happened so often in recent games.

2.    Easter Monday

So, we lost - but fevnut is not complaining! Part time Fev against a Toronto team that is full time and loaded with players who have stacks of Super League and NRL experience.

We gave them one hell of a game and it is significant that their comeback in the last five minutes was only achieved after Dane Chisholm had received a knock that left him heavily restricted and forced him out of the middle onto the wing.

The Fev team played wonderfully and we left the ground feeling really positive about the game and our prospects despite losing.

3.   Wednesday April 24th - Rule Changes

Well done the RFL! Well done the Match Officials department!

We don’t often say that but this time they have listened to what a lot of us had been saying. There have made major and hugely important changes in the interpretation of the rules around the play-the ball. It should cut out a huge amount of the cheating that has been going on.

The full statement that has been issued can be found in our fevnut special (Changes to Play-the Ball Rules) which can be found with this link:

https://fevblog452.blogspot.com/2019/04/fevnut-special-changes-to-play-ball.html

Briefly, it states that a player deliberately throwing the ball into an opponent at the play-the-ball will himself be penalised and not the defender. They will also be penalised for stepping over a player on the ground and heeling the ball into him and also for placing the ball on a defender on the ground.

fevnut believes this is real progress but hopes that they will also toughen up on moving off the mark and also on tackle players holding down the player who has tackled them.

But this is real progress and should make for a better game, especially if they now review the protocols for obstruction as well.

Sunday's referee: Barrow v Fev

Sunday's Referee

The referee for Sunday's game was briefly a full-time referee doing mainly Super League matches but he went back to being part-time wanting to devote more time to his family and business. 

He started refereeing in 2015 and has so far done a total of 95 matches.

This year he has had charge of 8 Championship, 3 Super League and 3 Challenge Cup games.

This is the only week when we can't bring you his overall record. That is because the latest issue of League Express came out before the Easter Monday ties.

fevnut Special: Changes to Play-the-Ball rules

fevnut Special: 
Changes to Play-the-Ball rules

The following additions/amendments to 2019 referee policy have been introduced with immediate effect:

Placing the ball on the defender lying on the ground – It is the responsibility of the player playing the ball to place the ball on the ground at their feet. If necessary the player should step backwards to ensure this can be done. OUTCOME – If the ball is placed on the tackler, this will be ruled a knock-on.

Moving off the mark / stepping over to deliberately place the defender in the ruck - It is the responsibility of the player playing the ball to place the ball on the ground at their feet, and not to advance off the mark - if necessary the player should step backwards. OUTCOME – The player in possession will be penalised for moving off the mark if deliberately stepping over a defender to place them in the ruck.

Playing the ball into a defender in the ruck – The player playing the ball should maintain balance and control when heeling the ball to the acting half-back. OUTCOME - In this situation the player in the ruck will be penalised if hit by the ball - or if in the opinion of the referee the half-back is prevented from picking the ball up. EXCEPTION – A penalty will be awarded against the player playing the ball if the ball is forcibly heeled back with the intention of contacting the defending player with the ball.

Passing into an opposing player – Any ball passed into an opposing player in and around the ruck, in any direction, will be deemed to be acting against the spirit of the game. OUTCOME - The passer will be immediately penalised.

Steve Ganson, the RFL’s Head of Match Officials, explained: “A number of high-profile incidents during and before the Easter weekend have shown certain teams or players acting contrary to the spirit of the game, in a manner that has infuriated fellow professionals, broadcasters and, crucially, supporters.

“After internal consultation, we have therefore decided to make these changes to referee policy with immediate effect, applying throughout the game. This is an unusual step, but not unprecedented – and we hope it will be welcomed by coaches, players and supporters.

“There is a meeting of head coaches next week, followed by the regular meeting of the RFL Laws Committee, at which these matters will be discussed, along with the situation regarding obstruction which has also been provoking a lot of discussion.”