Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:39 pm  

I understand referee's will make a wrong decision and you do not see me on the back of referee's on here but a decision from one referee still irks me, who I will not name but people will recognise from the details.

It involved a Leigh v Castleford Super League game at LSV mid season. Castleford were attacking and dropped the ball. The Ref waved play on, claiming the ball had gone back (fair enough). Play continued through a few more pair of hands and Cas then broke through the Leigh line and scored. The referee signalled for the video ref, and crossed his arms, stating.

"I am giving no Try, just double check it was a knock on"

Interesting. If I was the controller of referees I would have had him in the office asking why he did not send it up as try. If he was saying it was a Castleford knock on further back, so no try, why did he not stop play and blow for it ?? Why did he allow play to continue when he thought it was a knock on?

I do not like to see this man officiating Leigh games. I will be open and honest about that.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:24 pm  

Because he wasn’t sure and wanted to check, he gave the VR the correct ‘No Try ‘ call because there was a possible knock on. By the same reasoning, he wasn’t sure so he didn’t blow for it.
If they hadn’t scored it would just have been a decision in play that the ref either got right or not.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:53 pm  

You can't blame NJ. He knew he wasn't good enough in SL and tried to fall on his sword but was obviously talked out of it. He knew he was out of his depth with SL & NRL players. He tried his best. That's all you can ask of anyone. DB wouldn't get a more experienced coach and have NJ as assistant because DB wouldn't have been allowed to interfere with a top coach in charge. No blame on NJ at all. We will come back stronger. We've been here before and survived.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:40 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

Setting up your academy is really worth it. Done properly it could save your club in future crises. If we hadn’t had an academy we wouldn’t have been able to put a side out at the beginning of 2017 and that could’ve meant the end of the club. Players that come through the academy are usually more loyal to the club and liable to stick around. Look at the long serving players Leeds have had through their academy. At ours we lost some to big clubs (Trueman) but kept others (Ryan) simply because of that loyalty. We’ve got 12 academy products in our squad.

As for competition from other clubs there is plenty of talent out there that is passed over. We’re far from the biggest club in Yorkshire yet our academy is 4th in the league table. It’s about the quality of coaching and a genuine pathway to 1st team as much as it is down to club prestige and money. God knows prestige and money is in short supply in Bradford. Also if Newcastle can run a very decent academy up there in football land then Leigh certainly can.

I’d also recommend a reserves team too as it can net plenty of 19 year olds and over that have been put on the scrapheap by other clubs. If us, Fax and Keighley can afford it you can, even on a tighter budget.

If you have any good 19 year olds on account, they'll be off to pastures new. You build em the elite will take them.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 12:52 am  

Harold Rigby Jnr wrote:

Yes, but Leigh would have been in the ascendancy from a flying qualifiers start but it is all irrelevant. The club also made some poor decisions but my point was to highlight that we also suffered some terribly bad luck with a very competitive team, mainly holding its own, first season back in SL.

Irrelevant..

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:34 am  

Harold Rigby Jnr wrote:

This is very true, and to add context. If Jack Smith had correctly called out Nick Scruton for not getting to his feet at the PTB and awarded Leigh the most blatant RL penalty I have ever seen, Leigh would have finished 3rd in the 8's and auto qualified. That is the margin.

You still had numerous chances to score tries as you were virtually camped on our line after that decision, but you didn't and couldn't score.

But as a Rovers fan I agree going down after not finishing bottom is just plain wrong and hard to take. Huddersfield were bottom the year we went down and Widnes have finished bottom two years in a row but now get yet another chance to save themselves.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:44 am  

g_balls wrote:

You still had numerous chances to score tries as you were virtually camped on our line after that decision, but you didn't and couldn't score.

But as a Rovers fan I agree going down after not finishing bottom is just plain wrong and hard to take. Huddersfield were bottom the year we went down and Widnes have finished bottom two years in a row but now get yet another chance to save themselves.

What Widnes are doing is playing the system, apart from potential benefits in the 8s coming bottom is irrelevant. What is important is strengthening and having a squad fit for the 7 games, that's what they did last year and the same again this

Same as when Wakefield announced the same half way through the 2015 (??) season

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 8:45 am  

Bullseye wrote:

Setting up your academy is really worth it. Done properly it could save your club in future crises. If we hadn’t had an academy we wouldn’t have been able to put a side out at the beginning of 2017 and that could’ve meant the end of the club. Players that come through the academy are usually more loyal to the club and liable to stick around. Look at the long serving players Leeds have had through their academy. At ours we lost some to big clubs (Trueman) but kept others (Ryan) simply because of that loyalty. We’ve got 12 academy products in our squad.

As for competition from other clubs there is plenty of talent out there that is passed over. We’re far from the biggest club in Yorkshire yet our academy is 4th in the league table. It’s about the quality of coaching and a genuine pathway to 1st team as much as it is down to club prestige and money. God knows prestige and money is in short supply in Bradford. Also if Newcastle can run a very decent academy up there in football land then Leigh certainly can.

I’d also recommend a reserves team too as it can net plenty of 19 year olds and over that have been put on the scrapheap by other clubs. If us, Fax and Keighley can afford it you can, even on a tighter budget.

Exactly so, it does not take genious to recognise that our near neighbours in Wigan, Saints and Wire have an ongiong policy of signing as many potential future stars as possible from wherever they can, not because they need them but from fear of not having them, they cannot possibly keep all the lads that come through their junior ranks, so we hear that a lot turn and walk away from the game because of lack of opportunity, Leigh geographically sits comfortably between those big clubs, it can becone an haven for those lads rejected by those clubs.

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:00 am  

ColD wrote:

What Widnes are doing is playing the system, apart from potential benefits in the 8s coming bottom is irrelevant. What is important is strengthening and having a squad fit for the 7 games, that's what they did last year and the same again this

Same as when Wakefield announced the same half way through the 2015 (??) season

I well recall the games in the SL v Widnes at the LSV they scored 37 points, at their place they scored 36 points, no need apparently to play the system in those games then, when they did play the system they only managed 24 points at the LSV, so 3 short of 100 in 3 games and 3 victories, are you actually criticising Widnes or congratulating them for being so astute? I wish we had been that clever!

Re: Jukes ‘ The Million Pound ‘ mistake : Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:47 am  

TOMCAT wrote:

I am genuinely sorry to see Leigh down at the moment. I hope that you find your way and make it back to the top flight at some point. But I think some of your fans are being unfair to your owner Derek Beaumont. His passion for the club has been plain to see. To question his commitment at this stage is unfair. If as I have read on here, he and his company have lent the club £1.7 Million AND if as I have also read on here he has said he will bite the bullet and take that debt with him when he leaves. I don't know what more he could do for the club he obviously loves. Accepting that he cannot put anymore into the club, he has done right by you by leaving you in the best possible position he can to find new backers, Good luck to you for the future.

Thanks for your post I share your views also. Being a Chairman/Owner of any sporting club has its ups and downs and, the ups always seem to coincide with the good times! Clearing out my loft the other day I came across a batch of the 'Rugby Leaguer' which was a weekly Rugby Paper which ran for many decades until its demise.
The back page of an edition in April 1975 has the headline; Harding Quits After Threat! Harding of course was the incumbent Leigh Chairman and Leigh at that time were performing badly! Harding had been the GB Tour Manager of the Ashes winning 1970 team and also, Chairman when Leigh beat Leeds to lift the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 1971 so his credentials were first class however, fans have short memories when times get tough!
Whilst Harding's situation is not exactly the same as Beaumont's, they were both Club leaders!
I feel we have been desperately unlucky these past couple of seasons, last season we were a very competitive team particularly for a club that had not been in the SL for twelve seasons! We did recruit a very strong alround squad and, we were the envy of many. Our left wing partnership of Willie Tonga and James Clare had the potential to have been amongst the best in SL however, I don't think they ever played together due to untimely injuries? This season our Marquee signing Kurt Baptiste played all of 20 minutes before asking to be released from his Contract and high tailing back to Australia! It just shows how difficult it is to put a squad together when your major signing, behaves like that
Incidentally, a lot of the Rugby League fraternity consider us to be a failure however, we have won 15 of our last 17 league matches with the only two reversals coming against Toronto! The match at the Summer Bash should never have been lost and had not, we could be lining up in the Middle Eights which, was our intention at the beginning of the season! Just shows the margins that exist in the Championship today!