Half term report. : Tue May 19, 2009 9:46 am  

So, half way into the season, what do we all think of the season so far?

IMO, on the pitch we are as competative as we have been since we returned to TW2.
The only two teams to put us to the sword so far this year are probably the other 2 most improved sides in the comp, with HKR deserving 2nd spot and Huddersfield being far better than their recent result against Salford would point to.
The Squad looks settled and with players signing contract extensions, the future is looking good. Big Mac said he wanted us to win the comp this year and on our day, we can beat any side....so why not. I doubted him when he said we could win SuperLeague......but not any more.
The reserves are doing well, which points to strength in depth and that is definitely something new for us.
We are not conceding penalties and are cutting down on the error count, which points towards dicipline and concentration being at the forefront of Big Macs game plan and even better, we are grinding out wins where previously we would have lost games.
If we had turned up agianst Catalan and kept our heads against Wigan, we would be joint top of Superleage.

Off the pitch, we have a new General Manager and just as importantly, the offer of assistance from Mr Evans and the Union guys, so crowds will improve. The Wakefield crowd was out biggest since 2000 v the Wildcats and I am sure we will see more initiatives for future games.

All in all, a massive improvement over the last couple of years in all areas (except maybe ticketing )

Re: Half term report. : Tue May 19, 2009 12:06 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

So, half way into the season, what do we all think of the season so far?

IMO, on the pitch we are as competative as we have been since we returned to TW2.
The only two teams to put us to the sword so far this year are probably the other 2 most improved sides in the comp, with HKR deserving 2nd spot and Huddersfield being far better than their recent result against Salford would point to.
The Squad looks settled and with players signing contract extensions, the future is looking good. Big Mac said he wanted us to win the comp this year and on our day, we can beat any side....so why not. I doubted him when he said we could win SuperLeague......but not any more.
The reserves are doing well, which points to strength in depth and that is definitely something new for us.
We are not conceding penalties and are cutting down on the error count, which points towards dicipline and concentration being at the forefront of Big Macs game plan and even better, we are grinding out wins where previously we would have lost games.
If we had turned up agianst Catalan and kept our heads against Wigan, we would be joint top of Superleage.

All in all, a massive improvement over the last couple of years in all areas (except maybe ticketing )

I'd agree with pretty much all of that except I'm not yet convinced we'd win a string of matches against the best other sides to win Superleague.

We were well beaten by two good sides (Huddersfield & HKR) and should really have won the other two games we lost, but I can't recall feeling we were fortunate to win any of nthe eight we've won, I felt we were the better side and deserved victors in all those games. The level of progress on the field so far has been far in excess of what I'd hoped for. We do seem to have been relatively lucky with injuries so far though - we don't seem to have had several key playmakers out at the same time or loads of forwards out at the same time which seems to happen at some stage in most seasons.

half term report : Tue May 19, 2009 12:34 pm  

I think we're pretty handily placed and if at the start of the season someone had offered me 4th place at this stage I'd have taken it no problem!

Think one of the things I'm most pleased about is that when our defence is good, its really good! Most of the senior players seem to be in good form (although one or two look a bit of a way off full fitness) and the younger guys coming in are doing well too. If we can keep things together and cut out the suicide passes ( FFS guys remember the Wigan game!) maybe a home play off tie is a real possibility.

: Tue May 19, 2009 3:27 pm  

On the pitch we've done surprisingly well, defying my prediction of finishing in the bottom four.

Off the pitch its still a bit of a shambles, if we're honest.

: Tue May 19, 2009 3:30 pm  

The Penguin wrote:

Off the pitch its still a bit of a shambles, if we're honest.

But it is getting better.

: Tue May 19, 2009 5:22 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

But it is getting better.

Ticketing apart, yes. On Sunday myself and the other two season ticket holders that I sit with were prevented from taking our seats because other people were in our seats. Even showing these people our season tickets with the Block, Row and Seat Numbers written were very reluctant to move because "the ticket office sold us these seats".

Will the ticket office ever learn?

: Tue May 19, 2009 7:55 pm  

Surreyben wrote:

Ticketing apart, yes. On Sunday myself and the other two season ticket holders that I sit with were prevented from taking our seats because other people were in our seats. Even showing these people our season tickets with the Block, Row and Seat Numbers written were very reluctant to move because "the ticket office sold us these seats".

Will the ticket office ever learn?

Please let Paul Blanchard know as at the forum he agreed this was unacceptable.

Re: Half term report. : Wed May 20, 2009 4:19 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

So, half way into the season, what do we all think of the season so far?

IMO, on the pitch we are as competative as we have been since we returned to TW2. ...
Off the pitch, we have a new General Manager and just as importantly, the offer of assistance from Mr Evans and the Union guys, so crowds will improve. ...

Hilighted the two key words there. One would hope that winning ways will draw in the crowds, you finally appear to have everything else in place. Historically you have not managed to hold it in place two years in a row, so next year will be fairly telling. One would wish you luck, if one weren't a Catalan fan.

Re: Half term report. : Wed May 20, 2009 4:28 pm  

belgianxiii wrote:

Hilighted the two key words there. One would hope that winning ways will draw in the crowds, you finally appear to have everything else in place. Historically you have not managed to hold it in place two years in a row, so next year will be fairly telling. One would wish you luck, if one weren't a Catalan fan.

Re: half term report : Sat May 23, 2009 8:29 pm  

Rob from Erith wrote:

I think we're pretty handily placed and if at the start of the season someone had offered me 4th place at this stage I'd have taken it no problem!

Think one of the things I'm most pleased about is that when our defence is good, its really good! Most of the senior players seem to be in good form (although one or two look a bit of a way off full fitness) and the younger guys coming in are doing well too. If we can keep things together and cut out the suicide passes ( FFS guys remember the Wigan game!) maybe a home play off tie is a real possibility.

After the Saints game I am feeling much more chirpy about a top 8 place - we did after all compete with the best team in SL and could have nicked it. However we are still not playing well. I think getting into the top 4 is a tall order for us because I think others have stronger squads which will tell on us later. (Robinson and Haggers injuries are a worry, and Im hoping Williamson is not too bad)
Wigan and Wire are not that far behind us and we must now start getting some consistency and make sure we win our home games.
Nice to see the other lesser known youngsters pushing in