Re: What next? : Mon Aug 28, 2023 3:10 pm  

Absolutely. Would be quite happy with him slotting in as official head coach and Eccles having the free reign as Director of Rugby to put in the broader structures I think we still need.

jbuzza wrote:

We should perhaps prioritise keeping Rhys Lovegrove on as coach as he seems to have made an impact.

Re: What next? : Mon Aug 28, 2023 6:51 pm  

Knocker_White wrote:

Absolutely. Would be quite happy with him slotting in as official head coach and Eccles having the free reign as Director of Rugby to put in the broader structures I think we still need.

Wouldn't surprise me if this happens.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:16 am  

BigTime wrote:

So far we’ve announced two are staying. Probably time to hear some more good news. I also think that whilst the jury is still out on some of our late doors recruits it would be good to know Butler is staying and the sp with the 4 overseas recruits. One assumes Whare and Norman are only to the end of the season. The latter in particular will be a loss so I hope we have our recruiting hats on. Broncos must be a more attractive option to players after this season which is some good news. If we can make a decent start next season it could be a good one. Alternatively we could all picking splinters out of our backsides perched on rotten ‘seating’ at Roslyn Park. Happy days.

I would hope to hear some positive news on retention before the end of the regular season. I guess its difficult for the club to get players to re-commit at this time of year, particularly the overseas contingent and whilst I'm not sure anyone would be spirited away by a SL club, there will surely be interest from the other established Championship clubs. You would also assume whichever club falls out of SL would be able to offer a full time environment, which is a consideration.
Would very much like to see us keep a hold of Whare and Norman and the fact they don't appear to have deals lined up for Elite 1 yet makes me hopeful on that front. Natoli, Parata, Bassett and Ulberg have become big parts of our squad and I'd like to see them retained.
I don't think we have seen the best of Waine on a consistent basis, however I would be happy to have him go around again with the benefit of a proper pre-season and some experience at this level.
Raiwalui and Albert look to be a bit on the outer currently, however I guess we'll see how the end of season plays out and what they are able to bring.
It certainly feels as though the uptick in performances and results has made the club a more attractive proposition. We will always face the challenge of geography and cost of living in terms of recruiting from the 'heartland', however I feel we've had a decent look at how the academy player x overseas talent could work moving forward.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 11:55 am  

Worth noting too a screenshot from a Skolars fans Facebook site has appeared online in which it's basically confirmed the club "may" have to drop out of the pro game.

There could be a medium to long term impact on Broncos / wider London RL depending on exactly what happens out White Hart Lane way.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 12:34 pm  

Halfdan of t'wide embrace wrote:

Worth noting too a screenshot from a Skolars fans Facebook site has appeared online in which it's basically confirmed the club "may" have to drop out of the pro game.

There could be a medium to long term impact on Broncos / wider London RL depending on exactly what happens out White Hart Lane way.

Would be a real shame if that's the case. Reading recent comments from Joe Mbu and he seemed to still be speaking about preparing for next season, but who really knows at the end of the day?

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 1:43 pm  

Knocker_White wrote:

Would be a real shame if that's the case. Reading recent comments from Joe Mbu and he seemed to still be speaking about preparing for next season, but who really knows at the end of the day?

Agreed.
I suppose Joe will continue to make preparations until someone tells him not to bother.
Seems Skolars have really struggled since we raided their squad last season.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 2:24 pm  

We certainly did Skolars no favours back then.
They do seem to be in a mess. No wins and a crappy stadium, it is hard to see that they have a future.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 3:42 pm  

RfE wrote:

Agreed.
I suppose Joe will continue to make preparations until someone tells him not to bother.
Seems Skolars have really struggled since we raided their squad last season.

What we did to them did neither club any favours. Interesting though that of all the dozen or so players we co-opted then dropped when reality set in only Juma and Thomas appear to have continued playing at Skolars. On e presumes the others have dropped out of the game (rather than play for Skolars). As for this year we had quite a few youngsters who may have benefitted from game time there but for whatever reason very few played at Skolars on loan. I. One Max Allen didn’t play in their last home game although I believe Jack Hughes did.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 3:51 pm  

Knocker_White wrote:

I would hope to hear some positive news on retention before the end of the regular season. I guess its difficult for the club to get players to re-commit at this time of year, particularly the overseas contingent and whilst I'm not sure anyone would be spirited away by a SL club, there will surely be interest from the other established Championship clubs. You would also assume whichever club falls out of SL would be able to offer a full time environment, which is a consideration.
Would very much like to see us keep a hold of Whare and Norman and the fact they don't appear to have deals lined up for Elite 1 yet makes me hopeful on that front. Natoli, Parata, Bassett and Ulberg have become big parts of our squad and I'd like to see them retained.
I don't think we have seen the best of Waine on a consistent basis, however I would be happy to have him go around again with the benefit of a proper pre-season and some experience at this level.
Raiwalui and Albert look to be a bit on the outer currently, however I guess we'll see how the end of season plays out and what they are able to bring.
It certainly feels as though the uptick in performances and results has made the club a more attractive proposition. We will always face the challenge of geography and cost of living in terms of recruiting from the 'heartland', however I feel we've had a decent look at how the academy player x overseas talent could work moving forward.

I agree with all that and your player assessment. Who knows who will want to move on of the Uk based players. I doubt many of us would have envisaged Batley being a bigger draw than London so we shouldn’t rule it out but it seems to me not worth the effort for, say Beinik, to move to a team like Bradford who appear marginally better than us but if a SL club weighed in that might be different. Trinity are the X factor here. They will be in the market for players and may take a punt. I wonder if Horsman might move on/ be moved on. As for the Academy prospects some haven’t figured at all eg Howarth so it will be interesting to see what we do. One assumes we should give them time to mature but game time is needed and whilst we have flirted with the bottom of the table that has been too big a risk at times.

I think we have a fair chance of retaining the Antipodeans we want although, as before, I assume we are a ‘summer job’ for Whare and Norman. The one I’m not sure about is Parata. I think his other job is property renovation/ development. I suspect it is North based where prices to buy fixer uppers are more manageable. If so an offer from Bradford, Widnes might be of interest to him.

Re: What next? : Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:12 pm  

We? We didn't do anything to the Skolars!
What Hughes did to the Skolars was just a faster version of what he has done to the Broncos.
The only difference is that at the Broncos you could argue it was consensual.