Re: Fev match thread : Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:15 pm  

Any news on Ben Kavanagh?

Re: Fev match thread : Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:50 pm  

Bets'y Bulls wrote:

TBF i think Mathers made the covering tackle before Fev scored 2nd try and wasn't in position to defuse kick

this. Mathers had made the tackle that lead to the kick, covering for Welham and Caro who were no where to be seen. If anyone was at fault for the try it was Ferguson who was caught ball watching and should have collected the kick.

I wasnt impressed with mMathers signing but he did little if anything wrong today. It was to be expected that he wouldn't be upto speed fitness wise as hes had no pre-season. The match fitness will come with time. I'd hope that Thomas will get a chance in at least one of the next two games while Mathers works on his fitness ready for Leigh game.

Lauaki didn't do much wrong whilst on the pitch it was just the short duration that was a big issue, especially when we were already a prop down due to Kavanagh's injury. If thats all he can manage then we need to have 3 props on the bench to accomodate him. Far from convinced what he adds on the pitch warrants that. Once Clough and Kavanagh are fit Lauakis going to have a real struggle on his hands retaining the fourth prop spot as Walker already offers more and would imagine Clark will too.

Re: Fev match thread : Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:52 pm  

Bets'y Bulls wrote:

TBF i think Mathers made the covering tackle before Fev scored 2nd try and wasn't in position to defuse kick

You recall correctly. He made a good tackle but unfortunately Fev exploited the lack of FB as he was trying to get back into position.

Hopefully Lowes intends to give Oscar Thomas plenty of opportunities to prove he is a capable pair of hands at FB. We've also got Campbell to come back into contention so players will have to be on their toes.

Re: Fev match thread : Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:17 pm  

I thought both teams played well given the conditions. Far less errors than I expected .Fev look a well drilled side - some nice moves which will lead to points against many teams. I was impressed with our defence, Fev's second try excepted.
The new players did not disappoint.Mathers was sound in defence and organising others. Welham will prove to be one of the best centres in the Championship- his partnership with Caro looks promising. Kavanagh looked very steady before his injury- hope it's not as serious as it appeared. And Haggerty and Walker were more than adequate
As regards the use of subs, I do agree with the criticism of Luauki. With Kavanagh's injury we were already reduced to 16 and Luauki's ridiculously short spell effectively made that 15.5. Which placed a big burden on Sidlow ( who was superb) and to some extent Walker.
Five minutes into the second half Fev forced a goal line drop out. I watched Luauki walk to the goal line and lean against the post with his back to the opposition. At first I thought he'd been injured but then I saw him trot off and be subbed- never to be seen again. He is simply not fit.I would have much preferred to see Mellor on the bench. Of those forwards in the full squad who are not injured surely Fleming and Walshaw could have made a better fist of it.

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:04 am  

A steady if un-spectacular performance yesterday. Most disappointing thing for me was the metres made by the Fev forwards after the initial collision.

[Bullseye]

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:16 am  

Stockwell & Smales wrote:

A steady if un-spectacular performance yesterday. Most disappointing thing for me was the metres made by the Fev forwards after the initial collision.

I thought that too. Our line speed was slow and their big lads dominated ours (apart from Sidlow). We were lucky they didn’t seem to have a pacey dummy half. Somebody like Mickey Higham would make mincemeat out of that kind of defending.

While Sidlow was immense I wasn’t so sure about our other props. It’d be harsh to judge Kavanagh given his injury but Lauaki wasn’t on for long enough (down to Lowes or down to Lauaki’s lack of fitness?) so a lot fell onto Walker who offloaded well a couple of times but seems to run a bit too laterally and was outsized by the Fev pack.

In the backrow we were outmuscled a bit at times. Olbison got absolutely mullered on a few occasions and we often got picked up and carried back to where we started. Bringing Ferguson on helped us sort that out a bit thankfully.

I know the modern technique is to stop the offload but a few times we could’ve done with a defender going lower to stop the momentum after the initial collision. We allowed a lot of offloads. Luckily we scrambled really well and defensively we looked solid on our line. Our backs were well on top even if our forwards weren’t.

With Kavanagh probably out for the Whitehaven game Lauaki surely has to do more minutes? How long is Crossley out for?

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:24 am  

As a Fev fan, fair play to Bradford fans for their honest assessments of both sides on this thread. Am sure you'll travel in numbers for the return fixture like last year, and hopefully it will be a closer game this year!

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:39 am  

Bullseye wrote:

I thought that too. Our line speed was slow and their big lads dominated ours (apart from Sidlow). We were lucky they didn’t seem to have a pacey dummy half. Somebody like Mickey Higham would make mincemeat out of that kind of defending.

While Sidlow was immense I wasn’t so sure about our other props. It’d be harsh to judge Kavanagh given his injury but Lauaki wasn’t on for long enough (down to Lowes or down to Lauaki’s lack of fitness?) so a lot fell onto Walker who offloaded well a couple of times but seems to run a bit too laterally and was outsized by the Fev pack.

In the backrow we were outmuscled a bit at times. Olbison got absolutely mullered on a few occasions and we often got picked up and carried back to where we started. Bringing Ferguson on helped us sort that out a bit thankfully.

I know the modern technique is to stop the offload but a few times we could’ve done with a defender going lower to stop the momentum after the initial collision. We allowed a lot of offloads. Luckily we scrambled really well and defensively we looked solid on our line. Our backs were well on top even if our forwards weren’t.

With Kavanagh probably out for the Whitehaven game Lauaki surely has to do more minutes? How long is Crossley out for?

Pretty much spot on Bullseye. Losing Kavanagh was a big blow as he's impressed me in the friendlies. Walker certainly put himself about more and made more of an impact than Lauaki or Crossley ever did last year. Probably ended up doing more minutes than he should. I'm not too alarmed about us losing the forward battle as we effectively played with 15 men yesterday and had two props. Throw Clough, Clark and Kavanagh back into the mix and we're a different animal. I'd like to see us use Clough, Sidlow, Walker, Clark, and Kavanagh all in the same game with one going in at loose. If Clough and Sidlow end up doing 65+ minutes again when everyone is fit then Lowes will have learnt nothing and we'll suffer same fate as last year.

I thought our backs were excellent, particularly defensively.

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:53 pm  

I thought Mathers had a great game, he was constantly talking to the line, letting people know where to go. Exactly what he said he would do in his interview which was refreshing. Some good try savers too. I would sooner see a defensive fullback, look what happened last year when we had an attacking one (Shaw) couldn't tackle a meat pie and it cost us a fair few tries.

Welham was outstanding in defence, he held off well when he needed too and read the game well. In my opinion one of the signings of the year, just needs to hold the ball more. Kavanagh is a very good prop, shame to see him injured. Hope he's back soonish. Lauaki is fitter, anyone at the Cas game saw he played pretty much a full half. Caro took his tries very well and his defensive work was also solid!

Nice to see everyone in at the end when Briggs punched Addy though, especially Walker. It is about time we had a bit of k**b in the pack, haven't had it since Elima.

Credit to Featherstone though. They came with a very very good side and their pack was good. I was impressed by the Number 17 (Ormanroyd i htink). Put himself about a bit. If they can keep that side fit I would say they could get into the top 4 regardless of the 4 fulltime teams. Good win to start the season.

Re: Fev match thread : Mon Feb 08, 2016 3:03 pm  

Can't see Thomas playing much this season in all honesty. Mathers will more than likely need to get injured.

If Gaskell gets injured then Purtell goes to six, if Addy gets injured the Purtell will go to seven.