Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sat Jul 18, 2015 2:53 pm  

8ULL5HITT4 wrote:

I'm not sure Jimmy Lowes is that clever. I suspect that he set a target and congratulated the players on achieving that. All along he has stated his mantra...it's not how you start, it's how you finish. I know a lot of our fans get worked up about him and his communication skills but if he gets us over the line all will be forgiven. I'm sure we all could do a better job, obviously. Were it possible it would make perfect sense to just hand over the points to Leigh but I think the players would go on strike. They will want to play despite risking injury or suspension. That's the difference between me and them........ We can't afford many more injuries when we embark on the culmination of several months preparation.

JIMMY LOWES HAS NEVER BEEN A PLAYER OR COACH WHO DIDN'T WANT TO WIN. IT IS NOT IN HIS NATURE. WE HAVE ONLY BEEN GOING FOR 7 MONTHS MIRACLES WILL TAKE A LITTLE LONGER.

[Bulliac]

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:12 pm  

Bully_Boxer wrote:

There is difference even between it not really mattering and not believing they can win a match. All Jiimy is saying is that although they're turning up to get a win, the result isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. I'm sure what he is looking for is a big improvement in recent performances from his players.

I think that's absolutely correct, the 17 on view will want desperately to win and I've no doubt will bust a gut to do so.

What happens when the coach has higher priorities though, is that the preparation and training done is tailored to the ultimate goal [ie. doing well in the eights]l, rather than the winning of this particular match. So, as there is no demand for a 'peak' performance this weekend, the team might well have not done much resting in between the hard work and may possibly be a bit jaded [ring any bells?] and the benefit from the hard work won't be seen in the Leigh game but will be felt later.

To be honest, I wouldn't be shocked to find they have been in full pre-season mode since second spot was tied up. Whatever happens though, we desperately need the the halves back in the fold or we won't have any chance.

[Bulliac]

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:34 pm  

j.c wrote:

Yep the nucleus of the team has been there for a few season now but there has been quite a few changes this season,Worthington,Dixon,MoiMoi,Hock and Higham have all come in and are a bit more than just squad men.

Maybe Lowes and some of the players have had a bit of a shock at some of the quality down here?
Should you not go up this season then i hope you do become stronger,Halifax have a good team and i thing they will go to a full time club if they finish in the top 4,the same does for Sheffield which will be great.


I really hope all your first team players are back and firing on all cylinders come the qualifiers,we could do with both clubs taking points of the likes of Salford and wakey to put real pressure on them when they play the other sl clubs

To be honest, speaking for myself, I don't think it's the quality of teams which has been a surprise, neither the decent sides at the top nor those, errm, somewhat less so at the bottom. For me it's the officials.

Now, I don't want to knock unduly, since our officials are clearly nowhere as experienced as the ones we were used to in SL [mind, we moaned at them too..] and some of them look to be barely out of school [or is that just my age..?] it's more to do with how the games run.

Leigh are a pretty quick side so you must have noticed how, whilst in SL the PTBs seem to be played at the speed of the quicker side, in our division it seems that they run at the speed of the slowest. There also seems to be much more 'getting away with things' in our division, virtually the whole gamut from forward passes to standing square, getting back the ten, I could go on. I try to be fair, these younger officials do have to learn and gain experience [and they don't have the 'in-goal' judges either],though I've not seen one who looks ready for 'higher things' as yet, but that has been the biggest difference, imo.

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:44 pm  

Bulliac wrote:

To be honest, speaking for myself, I don't think it's the quality of teams which has been a surprise, neither the decent sides at the top nor those, errm, somewhat less so at the bottom. For me it's the officials.

Now, I don't want to knock unduly, since our officials are clearly nowhere as experienced as the ones we were used to in SL [mind, we moaned at them too..] and some of them look to be barely out of school [or is that just my age..?] it's more to do with how the games run.

Leigh are a pretty quick side so you must have noticed how, whilst in SL the PTBs seem to be played at the speed of the quicker side, in our division it seems that they run at the speed of the slowest. There also seems to be much more 'getting away with things' in our division, virtually the whole gamut from forward passes to standing square, getting back the ten, I could go on. I try to be fair, these younger officials do have to learn and gain experience [and they don't have the 'in-goal' judges either],though I've not seen one who looks ready for 'higher things' as yet, but that has been the biggest difference, imo.

Agree totally. Ruck speed especially is a disgrace most weeks. Leatherbarrow and Bloem seem to have been the best this season. They at least talk to the players and keep more control. Merrick the worst of a bad bunch IMO.

Matt Thomason was the best but I think he got promoted to SL then fell out with the men in charge and quit.

Warren Turley has been injured as has Ginger George Stokes so I think we have had a few officials bumped up from lower down the usual 'pecking order' to the Championship this season... and you can tell!

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:21 pm  

Rarebreed wrote:

JIMMY LOWES HAS NEVER BEEN A PLAYER OR COACH WHO DIDN'T WANT TO WIN. IT IS NOT IN HIS NATURE. WE HAVE ONLY BEEN GOING FOR 7 MONTHS MIRACLES WILL TAKE A LITTLE LONGER.

Your in second place in the championship after only 7 months.I don't see the Broncos in contention,why would you need a miracle?
It's happening now..WHY WAIT!

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:11 am  

This is taken from the Graniud http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/j ... ames-lowes Lowes revealed he holds little concern about the side’s recent form, instead insisting that he is looking at the bigger picture: promotion back to Super League at the first attempt. “Fans want to see us win but if it doesn’t quite go as planned then they have not got to be so disappointed,” he said. “We’ve got to get through these next two games and prepare ourselves for the middle eight. If we have to sacrifice not being at our best for the next two games in order to win promotion, what would the fans rather have?”

This is taken from the Graniud http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/j ... ames-lowes Lowes revealed he holds little concern about the side’s recent form, instead insisting that he is looking at the bigger picture: promotion back to Super League at the first attempt. “Fans want to see us win but if it doesn’t quite go as planned then they have not got to be so disappointed,” he said. “We’ve got to get through these next two games and prepare ourselves for the middle eight. If we have to sacrifice not being at our best for the next two games in order to win promotion, what would the fans rather have?”

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:56 am  

Blotto wrote: This is taken from the Graniud http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/j ... ames-lowes Lowes revealed he holds little concern about the side’s recent form, instead insisting that he is looking at the bigger picture: promotion back to Super League at the first attempt. “Fans want to see us win but if it doesn’t quite go as planned then they have not got to be so disappointed,” he said. “We’ve got to get through these next two games and prepare ourselves for the middle eight. If we have to sacrifice not being at our best for the next two games in order to win promotion, what would the fans rather have?” I'll take promotion. My only real concern is that I'm not convinced that Lowes can lead the team to that goal

Blotto wrote: This is taken from the Graniud http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/j ... ames-lowes Lowes revealed he holds little concern about the side’s recent form, instead insisting that he is looking at the bigger picture: promotion back to Super League at the first attempt. “Fans want to see us win but if it doesn’t quite go as planned then they have not got to be so disappointed,” he said. “We’ve got to get through these next two games and prepare ourselves for the middle eight. If we have to sacrifice not being at our best for the next two games in order to win promotion, what would the fans rather have?” I'll take promotion. My only real concern is that I'm not convinced that Lowes can lead the team to that goal

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:13 am  

roofaldo2 wrote:

I'll take promotion. My only real concern is that I'm not convinced that Lowes can lead the team to that goal

Unfortunately there is a lot more than the ability of the coach that militates against us getting promotion. There are 8 coaches Involved and 4 will fail. As it's not a level playing field the failure of aSL club to retain their spot would be a sad indictment of the coach...or is it not that simple. I didn't expect promotion this year but next year we need to show progress and we need to know how to identify that progress.

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:44 am  

8ULL5HITT4 wrote:

Unfortunately there is a lot more than the ability of the coach that militates against us getting promotion. There are 8 coaches Involved and 4 will fail. As it's not a level playing field the failure of aSL club to retain their spot would be a sad indictment of the coach...or is it not that simple. I didn't expect promotion this year but next year we need to show progress and we need to know how to identify that progress.

That said, this year could be an excellent opportunity for you, (and us at Leigh) the way things are at Wakefield and Salford, at the moment. Of course, we then have to see off 'Fax, who are in form, and Sheffield!

[Bulliac]

Re: Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions : Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:50 am  

Realistically, promotion this year, particularly under this new system, was always going to be a long odds bet. Even for Leigh, who with time to prepare were always the obvious candidates, are definitely on the outer when it comes to taking on the SL clubs - even if many of their fans are a bit on the gung-ho side!

Do we have a chance? Well, yes - of course we do, where there's life there is always hope, but it's a pretty slim one, and even slimmer with no half-backs.