2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:34 pm  

Seen as we have no game this week to talk about from what you have seen so far this season were do you think we need to strengthen for next season. I will go with fullback.,halfback,and secondrow and will leave my opinion on the coach until the end of this season.

Re: 2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:41 pm  

It depends on what ambition the club has really, also what funding/format will be in place. If we are happy with a top four finish I think the present squad is perfectly adequate for that. Aiming higher I would have another second rower and another prop at least. Woody at fullback looks fine and Robinson at half has yet to prove himself again as has Harris who is very hit and miss. As for the Coach, SG will be judged at the end of the season. He would not have been my choice and there have been a few horrendous performances to date but if a coach is judged on improving players and results he will have at least another year especially if he achieves a top 3/4 finish. We'll see. Up The Fax!

Re: 2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:18 pm  

In my view at the moment we have a lot of good solid reliable players definitely good enough to get the team into the top 4. Up until last couple of games JWH has been a revelation this season but other than that what the team seems to lack is an "x factor" player someone who can get the crowd out of their seats and turn a game that's not going well. In the recent past we've had Penky, Ben Black and Rob Worrincy in his pomp that could do that - I think Robinson is a good half at this level but top of my wish list would be a really good pacy s o to go with him. I accept this may be unrealistic with our budget - but we do need someone to get the crowds excited again.

Re: 2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:24 pm  

I would be looking for a fast winger, and another quality centre. A big prop or loose forward (they seem interchangeable these days) that can break the line or at least dent it. As for second row if we could sign Hewitt he would do for me. If a top quality half back became available and we could afford one then why not. Widdop`s coming home?



As for the coach? Well we should have beaten Bradford and if we had.... That one was down to the players so give the coach to end of season and review then.

Re: 2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:51 pm  

For me 2022 planning will unfortunately have to be the finances. Furlough and no rent has masked many of the perennial financial problems at the club . The off field structure of actually having an MD albeit he didnt charge a wage for several years will be a large gap to fill. As to overall delivery of a financial plan on budget I think that will dictate what we see on the field . This years squad looks capable of delivery particularly if Simon Grix improves Only he knows if he has the drive and will to better himself . Personally I still have my doubts but it is worth persevering and helping him to improve . He could start by at least trying to be more dynamic in his video clips

Re: 2022 : Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:01 pm  

As it’s been for many years the pack is the problem.Get on top of teams and the rest falls into place quite easily.Take out the strike of Springer and Borough and we had a virtual amateur match last Sunday.Need half a dozen players in your squad that hurt the opposition like Fev not two.

Re: 2022 : Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:23 am  

As said it depends what the ambition is. If it is to aim for 3rd or 4th then we got it right this season and with a couple of additions we should be able to do that again next year. If its more than that then we probably need 2 quality wingers, another good centre, at least one half back, Amir Borough, and another prop/second row. That's probably how far we are away from the top teams. By the sounds of it Springer was dropped again becuase of his tackling but as we saw against a lower team it literally left us with no impact at all. Id also imagine from the lack of minutes that Morris did he probably should not have been playing which was a big loss in regards to impact.

There were a video out before the start of the season where Ian Croad was interviewed and basically said we had started planning as if there will be no central funding next season. The result of that is likely a drop in quality in the championship as some players simply quit but it also means there are going to be a lot of quality players available on reduced wages. I hope the top two have a back up plan if they do not go up because their squads look to be expensively assembled and with Leigh also coming down I think they could fall apart again as they have very few players signed up past this season and will need to put together a whole new team again. Its going to be survival of the fittest next year and beyond.

Re: 2022 : Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:01 am  

Isn’t the key question how much money is available for us next year compared to the rest of the league.

The loss of some sky money will result in all championships clubs having less to spend. I suspect Leigh will be an outlier as after relegation this year will still have Derek’s financial support.

We have been reasonably good in recent times at getting sponsorship, although our balance sheet will be ok now I suspect that will be mainly due to government schemes directly or via the RFL, and some of which money will need paying back over next couple of years.

It’s a real difficulty for the Board. I believe our present chairman has been one - if not the one - of our biggest sponsors in recent years, and most other board members give up huge amounts of time but can’t add money they don’t have. So I see no cash help there.

So I suspect if we do go for a big push and extra recruitment it will be down to all players in league getting smaller share of smaller pot and us managing to get every penny in we can.

Glad I’m not on the board!

Re: 2022 : Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:18 am  

Apart from a couple of teams who may have the support of benefactors the rest are faced with the same problems and it's who from these can put a successful team together with what they have. Spending loads of money doesn't guarantee anything as can be seen by a number of examples over the years with York being the club this time round but obviously they bigger the income streams the more chance you have. Echoing the thoughts of many, Craig Lingard was having a real go at the RFL in the this weeks RL press and the local news for still not knowing what if any central funding will be available next year. https://www.batleynews.co.uk/sport/othe ... rd-3307838 Closer to home there is still some uncertainty what the implications are concerning our BOD following on from recent events which will also play a major part in what lies ahead for the club.

Apart from a couple of teams who may have the support of benefactors the rest are faced with the same problems and it's who from these can put a successful team together with what they have. Spending loads of money doesn't guarantee anything as can be seen by a number of examples over the years with York being the club this time round but obviously they bigger the income streams the more chance you have. Echoing the thoughts of many, Craig Lingard was having a real go at the RFL in the this weeks RL press and the local news for still not knowing what if any central funding will be available next year. https://www.batleynews.co.uk/sport/othe ... rd-3307838 Closer to home there is still some uncertainty what the implications are concerning our BOD following on from recent events which will also play a major part in what lies ahead for the club.

Re: 2022 : Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:30 pm  

Some really good points so far. I don't know if anyone saw a online interview i think with one of the directors in pre season he talked about the club in his words surviving 2020 consolidating 2021 and thriving in 2022 what this actually means for next season i don't know but i look forward to finding out.