Talking of the reserves, when and where will the games be played, will they do 'double headers' with the main team or will they be played mid week on a training ground?
Where do Leeds United play there reserve or whatever they're called now games ? Is it true Liverpool play there's at St Helen's?
Talk of them playing at Fev for some games i believe.
They have had meetings about it all being regionalised and not playing any Lancashire teams so i dont know how many games they will actually play but that hasnt been confirmed.
Would be good if ST holders got free entry as I probably would go and see a few of the games
I’m pretty sure that’s what happened in the 80’s when I used to go watch the A team with my dad. Seems a very sensible proposal.
I’m sceptical about how seriously the A team will be taken by Leeds. It has the potential to be a good breeding ground for talent that isn’t quite ready by 18, and for those who would need a way back from injury etc.
Some of my most fun times watching Leeds, we’re watching the John Holmes led A team and “Stormin” Norman Francis scoring for fun.
I’m pretty sure that’s what happened in the 80’s when I used to go watch the A team with my dad. Seems a very sensible proposal.
I’m sceptical about how seriously the A team will be taken by Leeds. It has the potential to be a good breeding ground for talent that isn’t quite ready by 18, and for those who would need a way back from injury etc.
Some of my most fun times watching Leeds, we’re watching the John Holmes led A team and “Stormin” Norman Francis scoring for fun.
I think Sinfield is a big advocate of the reserve comp so maybe it will be taken more seriously?
In a perfect world the reserves would be the next best 17 that wernt selected for the first team that weekend, with all teams taking that approach and all players motivated. The reality is different unfortunately.
Imo, maybe an optimistic one, the current system is going to be the best we'v had, the duel reg is an extra, higher level, layer of development to what we had the last time the reserves was here. The best 4 or 5 will be at Fev, depending on Fevs needs, while the reserves gives the lads who arnt young physical specimens more time to develop. A player like Louie McConnell will benefit massively from the reserves imo, he's a quality player, Plays a lot like Trent Merrin, but he isnt blessed with the natural size or power of an Oledzki, Holroyd, Dupree, Trout, Mustapha at such a young age...The extra year or two in reserves, before a duel reg stint and he could easily end up one of the better youngsters we'v got.
It's funny I was thinking the same re. McConnell. Captain of a very good academy side for a reason - but he needs some more time to see how he develops physically. Gone under the radar a bit but is a good player.
Say we do sign Leeming (?); what if he or Dwyer gets injured, and Johnson is out on DR? We've tended to use it for players who are unlikely to be needed in first grade for a while, or players who are on the outer and need to be in the shop window still to get another deal elsewhere.
There are definitely circumstances where going out on DR is beneficial for a player's development, but there are plenty of Academy lads who've come straight through the system into first grade too.
I still think our own reserves team has come at the right time with us having a batch of talented lads coming through over the next year or two.
Say we do sign Leeming (?); what if he or Dwyer gets injured, and Johnson is out on DR? We've tended to use it for players who are unlikely to be needed in first grade for a while, or players who are on the outer and need to be in the shop window still to get another deal elsewhere.
Can think of plenty of occasions over the last couple of seasons where we've pulled players back from DR as and when needed? That's the point isn't it?
It's funny I was thinking the same re. McConnell. Captain of a very good academy side for a reason - but he needs some more time to see how he develops physically. Gone under the radar a bit but is a good player.
Say we do sign Leeming (?); what if he or Dwyer gets injured, and Johnson is out on DR? We've tended to use it for players who are unlikely to be needed in first grade for a while, or players who are on the outer and need to be in the shop window still to get another deal elsewhere.
There are definitely circumstances where going out on DR is beneficial for a player's development, but there are plenty of Academy lads who've come straight through the system into first grade too.
I still think our own reserves team has come at the right time with us having a batch of talented lads coming through over the next year or two.
Thats why DR is viewed as a favourable system by the superleague clubs, they have control of which players are available for DR on a weekly, even day by day, basis. If Johnson was earmaked to play for Fev on a sunday, but Dwyer got injured friday morning, we can just pull Johnsons availability to Fev for that weekend and use him ourselves. Its not great for Fev and its one of the reasons a lot of Championship clubs fans dont like the DR system.
Yeah ther'l always be one or two come through without going on duel reg or loan, Walker being the obvious one, but looking at the current crop...Handley, Oledzki, Smith, Newman, McCllelland, Trout, Broadbent, Muizz, Dupree, Walters, Johnson, A Suttcliffe, D Waite Pullan have all played championship rugby as part of there development, think the club sees it as a massive part of the players progression. Just my opinion, but i cant see that changing with reserves being back.
Last edited by mattsrhinos1978 on Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
The Leeds/Fev DR arrangement has worked really well for BOTH clubs, far more so than for nearly every other DR link-up.
Fev have been able to slot quality players into the team, and almost to a man they have all arrived with an excellent attitude to playing Championship RL.
Leeds have benefitted with some younger fringe players getting regular gametime in a good-quality Championship team in meaningful games, often in front of fairly good crowds. There are plenty of them who have come on in leaps and bounds which has made that leap to SL so much easier. Newman was one of those in 2018 but this year the progress of Alex Sutcliffe and McLelland, in particular, has been off the charts.
Sutcliffe was virtually a forgotten man prior to this season, indeed he was only drafted into the Fev squad when Cam Smith was pulled out late one day, but he has progressed steadily to the extent that if he were a Fev player rather than a Leeds one Fev would have been inundated with enquiries from SL teams.
McLelland looked a bit lost on his first couple of games for Fev but made dramatic progress and was giving some good Championship teams all sorts of problems in the play-offs, helped by having Chisholm as the other half to take some of the pressure off him.
Who knows whether those two will play more for Fev or for Leeds this season, but players of that calibre surely aren't going to be playing for the reserves (as others have noted, five of Fev's reserve team from last season have been nominally promoted to Fev's 1st team with a view to playing the the Leeds reserve team).