Its a pity Our League can't switch TV coverage this weekend from the points fest at Cornwall to what should be a cracker at Swinton.
For my two penneth I can't see us overhauling North Wales and we will end up like last year having to compete in the final (fingers crossed) at an away venue. Keighley are just a machine this season and could well replicate next year what Barrow have done this season, which brings me onto Workington where it would appear to have gone pear shaped somewhat and the begging bowl is appearing.
Promotion is key but has to be backed up with justified finance or all the euphoria around the initial result of winning the final is for nothing.
Yes, it's sad to see things have gone wrong for Workington.
I could see us beating Swinton away or N Wales away again in the play-offs if it comes to that but it's just a shame any victory is unlikely to be in front of our own fans. Winning at home in a final would help boost our fanbase. To compete at a higher level we'll need as many fans coming though the gate as possible.
As Workington have shown, the Championship is a tough league with no easy games.
Anyway, objective number one is getting promoted. We can worry about what happens next once we're in the Championship.
Good point DM regarding home fans in a final it would have been really good to have done that but the early season results at home knocked that in the head. It will be interesting to see what we can write on here after 4th September
When you look at the potential for away fan numbers visiting the Eco Power if we were to achieve promotion compared to now its a no brainer and I have said it for years that should be the target (at least)
Weekend Results: London 68, W Wales 18; Cornwall 12, N Wales 36; Dons 26, Rochdale 20; Swinton 22, Keighley 26; Midlands 36, Oldham 41.
An excellent win for the Dons. We’re still in fourth place but now two points ahead of Rochdale.
Swinton were beating Keighley 20 points to 8 at half-time. Thankfully Keighley recovered to win.
Basic table: PLD, PTS, PTS DIFF : GAMES TO BE PLAYED (in that order) Keighley 16, 32, +657, Hunslet (H), Dons (A), N Wales (H), Rochdale (A) N Wales 17, 28, +344, Rochdale (H), Keighley (A), Swinton (H) Swinton 16, 24, +348, W Wales (A), Hunslet (H), Oldham (H), N Wales (A) Dons 16, 24, +222, Midlands (A), Keighley (H), Hunslet (A), London (H) Rochdale 16, 22, +179, Cornwall (H), N Wales (A), W Wales (H), Keighley (H)
We’re likely to finish on 30 points if we don’t beat Keighley, 32 points if we do.
Swinton seem likely to get 30 points if they lose to N Wales, 32 points if they win that one.
N Wales might lose all three and finish on 28.
Rochdale can only get 30 points if they win all four including beating Keighley.
It all looks really interesting with plenty of permutations possible.
N Wales v Swinton is a key game. If N Wales win they reach a minimum of 30, which becomes 32 if they beat Rochdale.
If we get to 32 points, we might finish second but that would need N Wales to beat Swinton and then lose to Rochdale and Keighley.
If N Wales lost to Swinton, Swinton may get 32 points and beat us on points difference.
My hunch is that if we beat Keighley, we’ll finish third with either Swinton or N Wales finishing second.
If we lose to Keighley and finish with 30 points, fourth place looks most likely.
Weekend Results: London 68, W Wales 18; Cornwall 12, N Wales 36; Dons 26, Rochdale 20; Swinton 22, Keighley 26; Midlands 36, Oldham 41.
An excellent win for the Dons. We’re still in fourth place but now two points ahead of Rochdale.
Swinton were beating Keighley 20 points to 8 at half-time. Thankfully Keighley recovered to win.
Basic table: PLD, PTS, PTS DIFF : GAMES TO BE PLAYED (in that order) Keighley 16, 32, +657, Hunslet (H), Dons (A), N Wales (H), Rochdale (A) N Wales 17, 28, +344, Rochdale (H), Keighley (A), Swinton (H) Swinton 16, 24, +348, W Wales (A), Hunslet (H), Oldham (H), N Wales (A) Dons 16, 24, +222, Midlands (A), Keighley (H), Hunslet (A), London (H) Rochdale 16, 22, +179, Cornwall (H), N Wales (A), W Wales (H), Keighley (H)
We’re likely to finish on 30 points if we don’t beat Keighley, 32 points if we do.
Swinton seem likely to get 30 points if they lose to N Wales, 32 points if they win that one.
N Wales might lose all three and finish on 28.
Rochdale can only get 30 points if they win all four including beating Keighley.
It all looks really interesting with plenty of permutations possible.
N Wales v Swinton is a key game. If N Wales win they reach a minimum of 30, which becomes 32 if they beat Rochdale.
If we get to 32 points, we might finish second but that would need N Wales to beat Swinton and then lose to Rochdale and Keighley.
If N Wales lost to Swinton, Swinton may get 32 points and beat us on points difference.
My hunch is that if we beat Keighley, we’ll finish third with either Swinton or N Wales finishing second.
If we lose to Keighley and finish with 30 points, fourth place looks most likely.
Weekend Results: West Wales 6, Swinton 94; Rochdale 34, Cornwall 14; Midlands 18, Dons 52; Oldham 60, London 6; Keighley 60, Hunslet 18.
Keighley technically need one more point to be certain of being champions. Their exceptional points difference makes them impossible to catch even if they lost their last three matches.
The Dons had a good win to consolidate their place above Rochdale.
Remaining games in date order: Saturday 20th August: W Wales v Midlands; N Wales v Rochdale Sunday 21st August: Cornwall v Oldham; Dons v Keighley; Swinton v Hunslet
We could perhaps do with Rochdale winning at N Wales but should we lose to Keighley, they may go back above us. Rochdale will probably drop points later against Keighley anyway. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday 26th August: Hunslet v Dons Saturday 27th August: London v Midlands Sunday 28th August: Keighley v N Wales; Rochdale v W Wales; Swinton v Oldham
Potentially tricky for the Dons following up so quickly after the Keighley game. We can't afford to lose to Hunslet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 3rd September: N Wales v Swinton Sunday 4th September: Dons v London; Midlands v Cornwall; Oldham v Hunslet; Rochdale v Keighley ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the last round of games, it's handy that N Wales are playing Swinton on the Saturday as we'll know exactly what we need to do on Sunday.
As well as the League Grid above, I've also included the play-off structure. I'm presuming it's the same format as last season.
Weekend Results: West Wales 6, Swinton 94; Rochdale 34, Cornwall 14; Midlands 18, Dons 52; Oldham 60, London 6; Keighley 60, Hunslet 18.
Keighley technically need one more point to be certain of being champions. Their exceptional points difference makes them impossible to catch even if they lost their last three matches.
The Dons had a good win to consolidate their place above Rochdale.
Remaining games in date order: Saturday 20th August: W Wales v Midlands; N Wales v Rochdale Sunday 21st August: Cornwall v Oldham; Dons v Keighley; Swinton v Hunslet
We could perhaps do with Rochdale winning at N Wales but should we lose to Keighley, they may go back above us. Rochdale will probably drop points later against Keighley anyway. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday 26th August: Hunslet v Dons Saturday 27th August: London v Midlands Sunday 28th August: Keighley v N Wales; Rochdale v W Wales; Swinton v Oldham
Potentially tricky for the Dons following up so quickly after the Keighley game. We can't afford to lose to Hunslet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 3rd September: N Wales v Swinton Sunday 4th September: Dons v London; Midlands v Cornwall; Oldham v Hunslet; Rochdale v Keighley ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the last round of games, it's handy that N Wales are playing Swinton on the Saturday as we'll know exactly what we need to do on Sunday.
As well as the League Grid above, I've also included the play-off structure. I'm presuming it's the same format as last season.
Teams two to six play-off. There’s a bit of a scrap between Hunslet and Oldham for the last place.
I don’t realistically see how we can now finish second. If N Wales beat Swinton when they meet we can’t catch N Wales. If Swinton win, their points diff murders us. Swinton’s other game is at home to Oldham.
The way we could finish third is if N Wales lose to Keighley and Swinton (by a few hopefully) whilst we beat Hunslet and London by cricket scores in an attempt to get above N Wales on points diff. They’re presently 122 better than us.
If 40 points are knocked off N Wales' balance in their losses to Keighley and Swinton and we add more than 80 to our balance against Hunslet and London we can turn that deficit around.
In week one of the play-offs, Team Two gets a bye whilst Team 3 is at home to Team 4.
Next Weekend: Friday: Hunslet v Dons Saturday: Keighley v N Wales Rochdale v W Wales Swinton v Oldham
Last games: Sat 3rd Sept: N Wales v Swinton Sun 4th Sept: Dons v London; Midlands v Cornwall; Oldham v Hunslet; Rochdale v Keighley.
Weekend Results: Cornwall 12, Oldham 32; Swinton 38, Hunslet 12; Dons 18, Keighley 48; W Wales 4, Midlands 36; N Wales 28, Rochdale 24.
Bad results all round for the Dons with N Wales and Swinton both winning.
Teams two to six play-off. There’s a bit of a scrap between Hunslet and Oldham for the last place.
I don’t realistically see how we can now finish second. If N Wales beat Swinton when they meet we can’t catch N Wales. If Swinton win, their points diff murders us. Swinton’s other game is at home to Oldham.
The way we could finish third is if N Wales lose to Keighley and Swinton (by a few hopefully) whilst we beat Hunslet and London by cricket scores in an attempt to get above N Wales on points diff. They’re presently 122 better than us.
If 40 points are knocked off N Wales' balance in their losses to Keighley and Swinton and we add more than 80 to our balance against Hunslet and London we can turn that deficit around.
In week one of the play-offs, Team Two gets a bye whilst Team 3 is at home to Team 4.
Next Weekend: Friday: Hunslet v Dons Saturday: Keighley v N Wales Rochdale v W Wales Swinton v Oldham
Last games: Sat 3rd Sept: N Wales v Swinton Sun 4th Sept: Dons v London; Midlands v Cornwall; Oldham v Hunslet; Rochdale v Keighley.
Fixtures: Saturday 3rd N Wales v Swinton Sunday 4th: Dons v London; Rochdale v Keighley; Oldham v Hunslet; Midlands v Cornwall.
How we finish second: Can’t be done as Swinton or N Wales get points next week.
How we finish third: We beat London and overtake the losers of Swinton v N Wales on points difference.
How we finish fifth: We lose to London and Rochdale beat Keighley How we finish fourth: We beat London but don’t overcome the Swinton/N Wales points diff or we lose London with Rochdale losing to Keighley.
The winner of the Oldham v Hunslet game will finish in the last play-off place. A draw will suffice for Hunslet.
Dons and points diff: We’re 78 points adrift of N Wales and 253 adrift of Swinton. Realistically we can’t overtake Swinton. We need Swinton to beat N Wales by as many as possible (which will come off their 78, and we need to score as many as we can). If we can beat London by 78, it would guarantee we’d be above N Wales providing they lost to Swinton.
As the N Wales v Swinton game is on Saturday, we’ll know exactly what we need to do before Sunday’s kick-off.
Weekend Results: Hunslet 20, Dons 32; London 38, Midlands 34; Keighley 50, N Wales 16; Swinton 35, Oldham 6; Rochdale 102, W Wales 4.
The Dons recorded a good win whilst Keighley did us a favour by putting a few points on N Wales.
Rochdale massacred W Wales but that’s not likely to affect us.
London Skolars quite surprisingly beat Midands with Swinton overcoming Oldham.
Fixtures: Saturday 3rd N Wales v Swinton Sunday 4th: Dons v London; Rochdale v Keighley; Oldham v Hunslet; Midlands v Cornwall.
How we finish second: Can’t be done as Swinton or N Wales get points next week.
How we finish third: We beat London and overtake the losers of Swinton v N Wales on points difference.
How we finish fifth: We lose to London and Rochdale beat Keighley How we finish fourth: We beat London but don’t overcome the Swinton/N Wales points diff or we lose London with Rochdale losing to Keighley.
The winner of the Oldham v Hunslet game will finish in the last play-off place. A draw will suffice for Hunslet.
Dons and points diff: We’re 78 points adrift of N Wales and 253 adrift of Swinton. Realistically we can’t overtake Swinton. We need Swinton to beat N Wales by as many as possible (which will come off their 78, and we need to score as many as we can). If we can beat London by 78, it would guarantee we’d be above N Wales providing they lost to Swinton.
As the N Wales v Swinton game is on Saturday, we’ll know exactly what we need to do before Sunday’s kick-off.
Excellent one again DM, Fourth it is IMO. Does that mean we are at home in the first round? I can't recall the play off format.
Thanks Wilf. The play-off format is shown on the image. I'm assuming it's the same format as last season. You know the RFL though, they like to keep things secret! Click the image to enlarge.
If we finish fourth, we're away to team three in the first round. Finishing second or third makes life much easier.
I've got a feeling Swinton will beat N Wales and we'll know what points diff we've got to aim for against London. The last thing we want is for N Wales and Swinton to draw!
Wilf Grimshaw wrote:
Excellent one again DM, Fourth it is IMO. Does that mean we are at home in the first round? I can't recall the play off format.
Thanks Wilf. The play-off format is shown on the image. I'm assuming it's the same format as last season. You know the RFL though, they like to keep things secret! Click the image to enlarge.
If we finish fourth, we're away to team three in the first round. Finishing second or third makes life much easier.
I've got a feeling Swinton will beat N Wales and we'll know what points diff we've got to aim for against London. The last thing we want is for N Wales and Swinton to draw!