CHRIS CHESTER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME

SACKED - former Hull KR Coach Chris Chester

On Wednesday morning Hull Kingston Rovers issued a short statement advising that Head Coach Chris Chester had been stood down and that his assistant Willie Poching will be taking temporary charge of the team for Friday night’s home fixture against St. Helens.

Less than 6 months after leading Hull Kingston Rovers out at Wembley for the Challenge Cup Final for the first time since 1986, Chester finds himself out of a job.

The rumour mill started on Tuesday afternoon and by late evening it was sweeping my Twitter timeline like a forest fire – in my experience these rumours are generally true and this was confirmed on Wednesday morning.

A few questions:

Is it the right decision?

Is three games enough to judge him on?

What about the number of injuries the squad has?

Is Chester the only man responsible?

Who will replace him?

Whether the right decision has been made by the Chairman Neil Hudgell and his Board of Directors will only be judged in a few months when a new coach has been installed and whether the effect is a positive one or not.

Supporters can only see what happens on the pitch for 80 minutes on a weekend and are never really privy to what is happening behind the scenes.  Are the players happy? Do they respect the coach? What is his man management like? Does he motivate them? Is there unrest in the camp? Have the Board lost confidence?

There are a whole host of questions that we don’t know the answers to that will have had some bearing on the decision made by Hudgell – a decision he will not have taken on a whim.

From this supporters point of view the performances so far this season have not been greatly surprising – with the squad we have I was fully expecting us to struggle and was pleasantly surprised with the round 1 performance against a strong Castleford Tigers side whilst the round 2 defeat at Warrington Wolves was hardly a shock – it is getting to something though when my 12 year old son says that a 30 point defeat isn’t too bad.

With 1 point from two tough opening games last Sundays home game against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats was already being billed as a must win game in some quarters.

Whether that was the case doesn’t really matter. The fact is it was a game we all expected to win and win fairly comfortably.

That didn’t happen and the team turned in a fairly hapless and frustrating performance that was greeted by a chorus of boos at the end of the match - believe me, it takes a really poor performance for Hull KR fans to boo their team off but I think the fans were actually looking at the bigger picture and were venting their frustrations at the situation the team is currently in.

Forget the injuries and suspension of John Boudebza, it is clear the players on the field, apart from a small minority, do not seem overly interested. 

The fact is as well that they don’t seem particularly well coached at the moment, there are a lot of dropped balls and poor passes and the attack seems to lack imagination, cohesion and inspiration. The one thing we could do for the majority of last season was score tries – that now seems to be a struggle even though we outscored the Wildcats three tries to two on Sunday and bombed twice as many chances.

I’m not sure how Chester can be judged three games into a season when he has not had the opportunity to field his full strength team, but I do know that the ultimate responsibility for results and performances drops at the Head Coaches door and it was also clear to see before the season started that our squad was paper thin both on numbers and in quality.

If your team ends the previous season 10^th in a 12 team league you would say that they need to strengthen considerably – this Rovers squad is weaker than it was last year and was left desperately short on numbers in the event of an injury crisis.

That injury crisis has bitten very early in the season and a 27 man squad, which includes one 16 year unlikely to be involved this season, is virtually down to the bone. We had Terry Campese, Shaun Lunt, James Donaldson, Josh Mantellato and Kevin Larroyer unavailable for the Wakefield game through injury with John Boudebza serving the second of a 4 game ban with a couple of others playing injured – this all left Chester short on options.

More injuries were picked up in the Wakefield game with Liam Salter re-injuring the shoulder that he had operated on in the closed season, Ben Cockayne was already suffering from a rib injury which curtailed his involvement on Sunday and Chris Clarkson and Albert Kelly both picked up knocks.

No good news whatsoever.

The amount of injuries we have at the moment leaves us barely able to name a 19 man squad for this Friday’s game against St. Helens and, undoubtedly, some players will be taking the field with painkilling injections.

Wasn’t the number of injuries we got last season one of the reason’s Chester overhauled his backroom staff at the end of last season?

Wasn’t the players new style preparation and management designed to prevent an injury crisis?

Maybe in a tough sport like rugby league that’s just not possible.

What the team is currently lacking both on and off the field is strong leadership.

Last year’s star man, Albert Kelly, is clearly struggling with second season syndrome and the weight of expectation on his shoulders – he, and the supporters, desperately need to know when club captain Terry Campese will be back on the pitch alongside him.  

However, as good as Campese is, all of our woes will not just disappear when he, hopefully, returns to the fold.

There are big problems that need fixing and these were not all down to Chester I am sure.

He has had a very experienced assistant, Willie Poching, alongside him for the last 15 months and modern day legend Jamie Peacock is the club‘s Rugby Manager.

Poching’s appointment at the end of 2014 was hailed as a major coup.

The former Samoan international had spent a number of years assisting Tony Smith at Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves and was used to being in winning environments.

He has been held responsible by some Rovers supporters for the team’s poor defence, rightly or wrongly, and his retention, whilst possibly temporary, has not gone down too well.

It may seem unfair dragging JP into this as he only joined the club full time in January but he has been involved with the club regularly since he was appointed last March and is responsible for recruitment and retention.

As I mentioned earlier the recruitment for 2016 has been poor leading to a weaker squad than we had last year when finishing 10^th.

Peacock’s appointment was lauded as a stroke of genius by the supporter’s and others within the game and he has made some bold statement’s about his intention to take Hull KR forward – now is the time for him to stand up and start producing.

All he has been responsible for so far is reducing the number of Hull born academy players in the squad and bringing in players who can’t make the grade at Leeds Rhinos.

The last time we removed our Head Coach, back in July 2014, Chester moved from his assistant’s role and took charge of the team that hammered St. Helens 40-10 in our very next game – he was then handed a 3 year contract but the end of our season was a disaster and we missed out on the play offs and performed really badly in the Derby at the KC Stadium.

I’d love to see the players respond to the change in coach like the class of 2014 on Friday night – we desperately need a positive performance let alone the two points.

Personally, I don’t see Poching being the board’s choice to replace Chester long term. There is no need to panic and he may hold the position for 2 or 3 games but who will become the new Head Coach of Hull Kingston Rovers in the near or not too distant future?

A number of names spring to mind instantly.

I have just ruled out Poching and Peacock has unequivocally expressed, many times, that he does not want to coach.

Former Leigh Centurions Head Coach Paul Rowley will surely be near the top of the list even though he has no Super League coaching experience and failed to get the Centurions into Super League last year despite having by far the strongest squad in the Championship – the way they capitulated in the middle 8’s was worrying for such a talented squad.

Former Hull KR favourite James Webster has Super League coaching experience at both Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats as assistant to Richard Agar and as Head Coach of the Wildcats himself and had a spell as Rovers coach back in 2005 in between the reigns of Harvey Howard and Justin Morgan. He was one of the main architects of the resurgence of the club and still lives in the area. He is currently the Head Coach of the newly merged City of Hull Academy and would be a popular choice amongst supporters.

And what about Justin Morgan himself.

The team has gone downhill since he left and, as yet, he has not had another Head Coach’s role in the game having left Rovers at the end of the 2011 season. He spent one year as an assistant at Canberra Raiders before being employed as a Video Referee for one year and has since spent two years as an assistant at Melbourne Storm under Craig Bellamy. He is currently getting ready for his first campaign as an assistant at New Zealand Warriors.

Morgan left the club on good terms with the fans and is still friends with Neil Hudgell – whilst it is not always recommended to return to your former hunting grounds in case you ruin your reputation I am sure his appointment would be seen as a positive one, especially having gained a further three year’s coaching experience assisting in the NRL.

Former England coach Steve McNamara may well view the position as an outstanding opportunity.

Even though he has recently signed a new two year extension to his contract as an assistant to Trent Robinson at Sydney Roosters, he is a Hull lad and may see this as the perfect opportunity to both break back into Super League as a Head Coach and to come back home.

I can guarantee that this would not be a popular appointment with the vast majority of Hull KR fans and not just because he is a former Hull FC player.

For a variety of reasons rugby league fans never warmed to McNamara as England coach and his coaching abilities are still viewed negatively from his time at Bradford even though I think he did an excellent job with England.

I am sure the likes of John Kear and Brian Noble will also be mentioned although I belive those two have had their time as top level coaches and Iestyn Harris may also throw his hat into the ring.

I’m not sure who it will go to and I am certain that there will be names outside of those that I have mentioned above who will want to be given the opportunity to turn this team around.

I would like to see an experienced coach who can inject some passion back into the team and have them playing confident and attractive rugby league again – my choice would be one of Webster or Morgan.

Finally, good luck to Chris Chester and thanks for getting us to Wembley – I hope you are back in the game soon.

6 TALKING POINTS.....FROM SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 2

1.        

Corey Thompson - hat trick hero.

There were three outstanding performances this weekend and Widnes Vikings top my list with their total destruction, 56-12, of last year’s treble winners, Leeds Rhinos.  It’s clear that the Rhinos are struggling and question marks need to be raised about their recruitment, pre-Ferres that is, and their injury toll is mounting but this was all about the quality of the Vikings performance.

The style and fluency of their rugby took the Rhinos apart and Brian McDermott’s men have lost their opening two league games for the first time since 2000 and are looking up on the rest of the league whilst Widnes look down from the very top.

Quite simply, it was the shock result and the performance of the weekend. 

The Vikings were widely tipped to finish in the bottom two this year and they still might, Wakefield won their opening two fixtures last year and we know what happened after that.

Click below to see highlights of the Vikings demolition of the Rhinos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQW_5euYFk

2.     

Ben Murdoch-Masila

The above performance was closely followed by the Salford Red Devils opening the round on Thursday night with their own destruction job, 44-10, on St. Helens.

There were so many outstanding performances. Half backs Michael Dobson and Robert Lui controlled the game with Lui looking extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands and he rightfully took the man of the match award.

The most exciting performance though, for me, came from Ben Murdoch-Masila.

The big forward, signed from Penrith Panthers where he couldn’t get near the NRL side in 2015, completely destroyed the Saints and they just could not handle his powerful running out wide.

Defensively the Red Devils also looked solid whereas the Saints where all at sea and, at times, looked like they had taken the field together for the first time.

The only down side for Salford must have been the attendance of 4,389, this was lower than the corresponding round 2 fixture last year when the Red Devils got hammered by the Saints. The Red Devils have an exciting team now and the fans need to show their support.

Click below for the highlights of the Red Devils defeat of St. Helens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlbVJoFLJpw

3.        

Fetuli Talanoa - try scorer for Hull FC.

Hull FC produced a second consecutive dominant display and comfortably defeated Catalans Dragons in the South of France – their first win their since 2010.

They played some great rugby and scored some outstanding tries and never really looked in trouble. This performance has sent my Hull FC friends into raptures and some of them have booked their Grand Final tickets already.

I said last week that this game would be a good marker for these two teams for the coming season – it showed that Hull have real promise and belief and will be a difficult team to beat whilst the Dragons where disappointing with big Dave Taylor only starting to rumble when the game was gone.

I thought the Dragons would challenge for a top 6 place this year but they will need to improve hugely on this performance to achieve that. I also can’t understand why the Dragons are selecting Tony Gigot over Morgan Escare at full back. Gigot is a very good player but Escare gives his side the x-factor and they look to be lacking that at the moment.

For Hull FC, consistency has got to be the target. They have the squad and ability to challenge for a top 4 place but need to win tough games on a regular basis.

Click below for highlights of Hull Fc's victory at Catalans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_GOX94jgLw

4.           

Mark Percival - knee injury.

In the wake of Mark Percival’s knee injury suffered against Salford on Thursday night, Saints coach Kieron Cunningham has called for the type of tackle that caused the injury, which will see Percival miss at least 12 weeks, to be banned altogether.

In the aftermath of Michael Shenton’s season ending knee injury and the resulting 4 match ban handed out to John Boudebza, it was clear to see that the challenge by Salford’s Adam Walne was very similar to Boudebza’s and the result was the same, an injured player leaving the field in a lot of pain and with an extended period out of the game ahead of him.

The difference was that Walne was not put on report, by the same referee who put Boudebza on report, and the Match Review Panel found that he had no case to answer – confusing to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong, Walne did not deserve a ban but as I have said recently we just want the Match Review Panel to be consistent – in this case it hasn’t been. And if we are to ban the type of tackle that has resulted in two bad knee injuries then, as I see it, the only way to do so is to ban tackling from behind in a situation where a player is held up by one or two defenders and instruct defenders to tackle from the side or in front, however impractical that may be.

Also, staying on the Disciplinary front I was surprised to see there was not even a mention of Olivier Elima’s late challenge on Hull FC hooker Danny Houghton. Houghton was lifting his head from a seated position and the Dragons forward dropped his full weight onto his neck and compressed his chin into his chest – a potentially very dangerous offence which was penalised but which I thought warranty further scrutiny.

James Donaldson - dislocated wrist.

5.

We have just completed Round 2 and already injuries are decimating some teams.

Hull Kingston Rovers started the season with an understrength squad low on numbers in my opinion and released a number of local born squad players at the end of last year – they are now seriously struggling with injuries and suspensions with 6 players injured and 1 suspended from a squad of only 27.

From The Wolves game on Sunday, back rower James Donaldson has been lost for 10-12 weeks with a dislocated wrist whilst injury ravaged prop Mitch Allgood is having a scan on an injured thumb. Moves into the loan market may be required.

Huddersfield Giants have 6 first teamers out including the influential Danny Brough, Joe Wardle, Eorl Crabtree, Scott Grix and Craig Huby and have suffered the immediate retirement of Luke Robinson in the last week but they need to be congratulated for the resilience they showed in taking the Wigan Warriors down to the wire on Friday night.

Champions Leeds Rhinos where without Stevie Ward and Jamie Jones Buchanan for the start of the season but are now missing Beau Falloon and Danny Maguire with Carl Ablett, Ashton Golding and Tom Briscoe also likely to miss the World Club Series match with North Queensland Cowboys on Sunday after suffering injuries in the hammering at Widnes.

The only club without injuries at the moment are the top of the table Vikings. It’s a tough sport, but what do we do about player welfare that we don’t do now?

6.

It’s been said before and I need to say it again – video referee’s need to present, in some form or another, at all Super League matches – not just those on Sky TV.

Tom Lineham, Kallum Watkins and Denny Solomona all scored tries at the weekend that where not covered by the Sky camera’s and could have easily have been wiped out with a second look – it is difficult for officials watching and running at full tilt to be 100% sure when players are diving through the air at high speed in a tangle of bone and muscle.

There are camera’s of some form at all games – therefore, why can’t we have an official set up somewhere in the ground who can play the footage back and be in contact with the referee – it doesn’t need the big screen and surely won’t cost a lot of extra cash.

Either have a video referee at all games or scrap it altogether and have a level playing field and just accept that the officials are human and will get it wrong sometimes.

None of the tries I have mentioned above had any real influence on the final scores although Lineham’s will have knocked the stuffing out of any potential Hull KR recovery and put the game beyond them.

Have a look at the photograph below and tell me Lineham’s right foot was not in touch – and look where the linesman is!!

THE OUTRAGEOUS BANNING OF JOHN BOUDEBZA.

Hull KR hooker - John Boudebza

I can’t ever remember the type of storm that has been caused by a decision made by the RFL’s Disciplinary Panel as there has been this week over the 4 match ban handed out to Hull Kingston Rovers hooker John Boudebza for his tackle on Castleford Tigers captain Michael Shenton in last Sunday’s Round 1 Super League match.

My timeline on Twitter has been full all week of discussions and arguments regarding the severity of the ban or the fact that Boudebza was charged at all.

I was at the Hull KR v. Castleford Tigers match on Sunday and whilst it is not always the best vantage point to be sat in a stand 80 yards away I can honestly say that I did not see anything wrong with the tackle at the time.

I have also viewed the video many times on YouTube and have seen nothing to change my views.

Have a look for yourselves – I’d be surprised if you haven’t already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgx2k8YtWI0

In my mind, the RFL Disciplinary Panel’s decision to charge Boudebza with Grade B Dangerous Contact was wrong.

However, if you read the rule below which covers the charge against Boudebza and then watch the YouTube link above then you may well have an understanding of why the charge was brought.

‘’Rule – 15.1(i) Detail – A defending player, in effecting a tackle, makes dangerous contact (either direct or indirect) with the supporting leg or legs of an attacking player who has been held in the tackle by a defender(s), and who is deemed to be in a vulnerable position, in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player.’’

The term in brackets (direct or indirect) gives the RFL Disciplinary Panel a lot of room to move and that is what has led to this charge, I believe.

It is clear that Boudebza had no intention of going anywhere near Shenton’s knee’s and his initial contact with his shoulder is much higher up around the lower part of Shenton’s body, he did not originally aim to even make contact with his legs.

Boudebza then attempts to pull Shenton to the ground and this is when his body comes into contact with the back of Shenton’s knee causing the injury. No intent, no maliciousness – just a rugby tackle that is made countless times in matches throughout the world every week. (and by the way I know there doesn't have to be any intent or malice required)

The result of the charge and subsequent hearing was that the Disciplinary Panel decided to upgrade the charge from a Grade B – which carries 1 to 2 match ban – to a much more serious Grade D and ban Boudebza for FOUR MATCHES. Yes, you read that right – FOUR MATCHES.

Every rugby league fan I have spoken to in person and on Twitter cannot understand what has happened this week.

I do not like any player receiving a season ending injury whether it is in round 1 or round 20 and I have written previously about my disdain for the cannonball tackle.

If Boudebza had carried out such a challenge and caused this injury I would have been one of the first to hold my hand up and say ban him.

But FOUR MATCHES for the tackle you have witnessed in the above video is DIABOLICAL and OUTRAGEOUS.

I don’t know who mans the Disciplinary Panel these days and views the videos – I know it used to be former players – but whoever it is does not understand rugby league. They have minutely followed the letter of the aforementioned rule and not allowed common sense or rugby league knowledge have any say in proceeding – it appears in fact they have neither of these things.

A good way to judge whether a tackle is illegal or not is to look at the reaction of the players around the tackle at the time it occurred – on this occasion you will clearly note that not one Castleford player reacts negatively towards Boudebza and they are just ready to carry on with the game until Shenton is unable to regain his feet.

The referee, Richard Silverwood, did not blow up for a penalty and only put Boudebza on report when he realised that Shenton was injured.

The only people claiming that Boudebza’s tackle was illegal were Tigers coach Daryl Powell and Shenton himself.

I think the comments Powell came out with in the immediate aftermath of the match where outrageous in themselves and were basically saying to the RFL – ‘’that was a bad tackle, my star player and captain is out for the season, what are you going to do about it? We can’t have this in our game etc etc’’

He vastly overplayed the seriousness of the challenge and I believe that these comments have been heard by the powers that be and have led to this ridiculous decision.

Powell deserves to be warned about his future conduct.

Hull KR immediately appealed the decision and another panel sat on Wednesday night and made the decision to uphold the 4 match ban.

I honestly expected the Appeals Panel to reduce the ban to 1 or 2 matches – how gullible am I??

Rovers had kept their own counsel all week and allowed the necessary procedures to be completed before releasing a statement on Thursday via Chairman Neil Hudgell, in which he states:

"Yet again the RFL disciplinary process has shown itself not fit for purpose.

"In inadvertently reaffirming the same four match penalty before taking submissions, it can be reasonably assumed that the decision of the appeal panel had been pre-judged to support the initial flawed findings, even though this was meant to be a rehearing of the matter from new. I invite anyone to review the tackle and tell me it doesn't happen 20 times in every game.

"In this instance a serious injury occurred and I have every sympathy with the player but you cannot ban a player for inflicting an injury caused by the type of tackle effected literally hundreds of times over a season.

"It is appalling that the RFL official 'prosecuting' was allowed to introduce inadmissible evidence. He chairs the match review panel and has never played the game. None of the serving members involved in this process have coached in many years, if at all, so have no experience of modern tackling techniques.

"In finding the tackle was 'careless' it defies logic that the panel then stepped outside the normal range of penalties for the grade of offence. It is equally appalling that the Castleford head coach can make post-match comments intended to inflame and prejudice this matter, something in relation to which we ought to complain, but expect it to fall on deaf ears.

"It is a sorry situation when a senior figure in one club goes out of their way to publicly influence the suspension of a player at a rival club. Our fans have talked about boycotting the return fixture in protest, and I have every sympathy with their frustrations.

"I feel desperately sorry for the player, who is distraught, to now be labelled the sort of player who inflicts serious injury on another.

"The match review panel and judiciary have set themselves a very high bar here in maintaining a consistency throughout the season, one I'm prepared to wager they don't have the necessary skill set of seeing through beyond round three."

These are strong and interesting words from the, sometimes, outspoken Rovers Chairman and it is a statement that gives us an insight into what happens at these hearings and maybe raises vital questions about the veracity of the Disciplinary Panel and the procedures it follows.

He also makes a worthy point about the stain on Boudebza’s previously unblemished reputation.

A stain that he does not deserves in any way, shape or form.

Boudebza is a popular player with the fans at Hull KR and we all know that John is not the type of player to even attempt to inflict an injury on a player.

For what it is worth, I think the people responsible should front up to the media and explain how they came to this decision to make things much clearer - not just to the supporters and the player and club involved but also to the players who are carrying out the same type of tackle every weekend.

Hudgell makes an important point about consistency – which is all everyone really wants to be fair – and states that he is ‘’prepared to wager they don't have the necessary skill set of seeing (consistency) through beyond round three."

After Thursday night’s match between Salford Red Devils and St. Helens they now have a challenge in the very next round to see how consistent they are going to be.

St. Helens Mark Percival was injured in virtually the same way that Shenton was on Sunday and was helped off with, what could or could not be, a serious knee injury.

Interestingly, it was the same referee, Silverwood, but no player was put on report – why??

A failure of consistency immediately.

The Salford player involved – I’m not 100% sure who it was so I will not name them – tackles Percival from behind just like Boudebza did with Shenton.

Again, there was no reaction from the players, no penalty awarded – just an injured player leaving the field of play in obvious pain.

If the RFL are to be consistent then the Match Review Panel MUST think long and hard about bringing the same charge against the Salford player than they have against Boudebza – if they do not then questions will need to be asked and answers given.

The RFL Disciplinary Panel have put themselves in a corner with the Boudebza case and must show consistency – if not then Hudgell will be proved right immediately and there will need to be a serious review of the Disciplinary Panel’s procedures AND personnel.

SIX TALKING POINTS....... FROM SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 1

Sandow scores v. Leeds Rhinos.

1.

Warrington Wolves looked like a team who could be back challenging for honours again in 2016 after a lacklustre, by their recent standards, 2015 after a superb performance in their 12-10 win over Leeds Rhinos. I always thought that Chris Sandow would have a big impact on Super League and although he struggled at the end of last season after his early move from Parramatta, he looked to be in top form against the Rhinos and scored a superb solo try to open the scoring. Ben Currie was also outstanding for the Wolves whilst prop Jordan Cox showed why Hull KR should not have released him with an outstanding debut from the bench.

Danny Maguire injured v. Wolves.

2.

Meanwhile, the Wolves opponents and defending treble winners Leeds Rhinos will be fielding predictable calls that they won’t be the force that they were last season when they took out the Challenge Cup, League Leaders Shield and Grand Final. It would have been a struggle to be that same force anyway without losing the quality and experience of the players that they have. I have said before that I don’t think that the replacement players they have brought in are anywhere near the standard that they needed to fill the huge holes left and on Thursday night they looked a little bit slow and unimaginative at times. They weren’t helped by losing new Captain Danny Maguire to injury in the first half, he will be out for around 8 weeks, and his half back partner Liam Sutcliffe was also struggling as well. I thought Jordan Lilley, who played as back up hooker to Rob Burrow, was outstanding.

Danny Houghton - outstanding v. Salford.

3.

Hull FC started off the season as expected and easily defeated Salford Red Devils 42-20 in an attacking display that has got all of my Hull FC friends creaming in their pants and fully expecting that the Super League trophy be handed over immediately to take up residence at the KC Stadium. It would be fantastic for the sport if a new team away from the only 4 clubs that have won it since 1998 – Wigan, Bradford, St. Helens and Leeds – could win the Grand Final and whilst I expect Hull FC to have a much improved season (he says through gritted teeth) I’m not sure that they will be good enough to take out the Grand Final. Their squad is very strong and if they fail to make the top 6, MINIMUM, then I think they will need to look at their Coaching set up. This week’s round 2 game away at Catalans Dragons will be a good marker for their season to come.  
See highlights of the Hull Fc win here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvg4UIHAKB4

'The Coal Train' - Dave Taylor.

4.

Talking of the Dragons, I was really impressed with Dave Taylor on his debut against the Warriors on Friday night. He is a huge man with a big reputation who has never really fulfilled his potential in the NRL despite playing 8 games for Queensland in State of Origin and a solitary Test Match for Australia back in 2012. He has lost his way a little bit over the last couple of years and there was even talk of him heading to Japanese Rugby Union before the Dragons came in and offered him a lifeline in Super League. The Coal Train is only 27 years of age and may have the best years of his career ahead of him if he can keep away from the fine French cuisine in the South of France. I was also impressed that the Dragons stuck to their task against the Warriors where, in previous years, they would have fallen away and conceded a hatful of points. I think the Dragons could end up in the top 6 this year if they can get 3 or 4 wins away from home but the loss of hooker Paul Aiton for the next few weeks with a pectoral injury will be a blow.
See this link for some Dave Taylor career highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyc8KdPIcj8

Michael Shenton - out for the season?

5.

It is never good news when one of a team’s pivotal player’s, and captain, is ruled out for possibly the entire season so early in the year. It has been confirmed that Castleford captain Michael Shenton may miss the rest of the year after suffering an ACL injury to his knee in the 16-16 draw at Hull KR on Sunday. Call me a biased Hull KR fan if you wish, but there seems to be a little bit of a witch hunt going on from the Castleford area towards French hooker John Boudebza who was involved in the tackle that Shenton was injured in and I have to say that I think the comments emanating from Castleford coach Daryl Powell and Shenton himself are totally out of order. I think those comments have gone a long way to helping the RFL Disciplinary Panel decide to ban Boudebza for FOUR MATCHES rather than the usual 1-2 matches for a, supposed, Grade B offence. The fact that he was charged was ridiculous enough but FOUR  MATCHES is a disgrace. I was at the match on Sunday and could see nothing wrong in Boudebza’s tackle and I have watched it back since and have the same view – Boudebza did not throw himself at the back of Shenton’s knee’s at all and there was no malicious intent to hurt Shenton. It is clear to see on the video that none of the Tigers players reacted as if the tackle was dangerous. I note also that no comment has been made about a more dangerous cannonball tackle carried out by the Tigers forward Lee Jewitt in the first half.  Unfortunately, rugby league is a tough sport and injuries happen – sometimes players need to be cited and banned for the challenges they make, this wasn’t one of them and I am outraged at this decision.  Check out the link to the match highlights and decide for yourselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgx2k8YtWI0 
The match itself was played in poor conditions and was a tough outing for both sides. Italian international Josh Mantellato was the hero for Rovers as he scored two acrobatic tries and kicked a last second conversion of his to level the scores. Former Hull KR star Jake Webster replaced Shenton and was outstanding, scoring two tries.

Luke Robinson - immediate retirement.

6.

Both Danny Brough and Eorl Crabtree have said recently that the Giants were light on numbers and needed to bring some new players in, especially in the wake of the unexpected loss of Brett Ferres to Leeds Rhinos. The Giants suffered other blows to their squad on Friday night at St. Helens with first choice full back Scott Grix dislocating his shoulder, which will give him a lengthy spell on the sidelines, captain Brough suffered a dead leg and is unlikely to be fit for round 2 and Joe Wardle is out for a month after damaging a quad muscle. Add in injuries to Craig Huby and Kyle Wood in pre-season and the last thing they needed was one of their most experienced players, Luke Robinson, to announce his enforced and immediate retirement from the game. Robinson has a hip injury and has been told that his continuation in the sport will severely handicap his future well-being. He will be a big loss to the Giants but it is only right that he is thinking of his future away from rugby league and ensuring that he can be the husband and father he wants to be for many years to come. The Giants are giving a trial to former St. Helens, Hull FC and Bradford Bulls winger Jamie Foster and were also close to signing Hull FC utility back Curtis Naughton on loan for 2 months as cover for Grix until FC held this signing back due to potential injury problems of their own. I think the Giants will need to strengthen much more if they are to challenge for top 4 again this year.

SIX TO GO - COACHING MOVES, ACCOUNTABILITY AND WALKING WOUNDED

STRIFE AT LEIGH

This is Neil Jukes!!!

It was a shock to hear of the resignation of Leigh Centurions Head Coach Paul Rowley just 10 days out from the start of a Championship season that the Centurions are expected to dominate and which may culminate in them joining the Super League elite for the 2017 season.

My first thought was that he must have been offered a Super League job and that he was on his way over to East Hull to take over from Chris Chester at Hull KR such has been their woeful pre-season performances.

Having said that, I don’t think that even Rovers owner Neil Hudgell is quite ruthless enough to sack his coach before the season proper has even started.

The Centurions have built a squad of Super League standard with a number of last season’s Salford Red Devils best performers – Rangi Chase, Corey Patterson, Harrison Hansen, Reni Maitua – jumping ship and dropping down a division to add to an already powerful unit including Greg McNally, Ryan Brierley, Fui Fui Moi Moi and Gareth Hock.

The surprise loss of their very well respected coach so close to the start of the season leaves the club in a slightly shakier position than expected although the quick response in handing the Head Coaches positon to Rowley’s assistant Neil Jukes, with the backing of Rowley and the players, should steady the ship. I always wondered who that guy was sitting next to Rowley when I watched Leigh play – now I know. 

The question now is whether Jukes has the ability and strength of personality to lead this very talented group of players in the same way that Rowley did or will his coaching style have a negative effect on the squad.

Without doubt he will want to do things his way and will make some changes – however small they will have either a positive or negative effect on how his team play.

A few hours later speculation was rife that star man Brierley had a get out clause in his contract in the event of Rowley leaving the club – it never rains but it pours in Leigh but Derek Beaumont has stressed that this is not true and that Brierley will not be leaving the club for the Leeds Rhinos, Salford Red Devils or anyone else who is seemingly interested in his star asset.

The statement issued by Rowley, citing personal reasons, was very vague and has led to a lot of the speculation that has ensued – including both Rowley and Brierley heading over to the Marwan Koukash paddock a few miles down the road.  

Koukash posted a photograph of him and Beaumont on Sunday morning down at one of Koukash’s stables – they were either talking compensation or that rumour is way off the mark.

The main thing is that, hopefully, all is well with Rowley and his family as ‘personal reasons’ can cover a multitude of things and doesn’t necessarily have to be about a man’s family or personal life.

New England Coach Wayne Bennett.

WAYNE’S WORLD CUP??
The other big coaching news over the weekend was the speculation that the RFL were set to replace Steve McNamara as England Head Coach with the legendary Wayne Bennett.

The press in Australia were confident over the weekend that the RFL had already made an offer to Bennett and, despite denials from the hierarchy on Sunday evening, it has now been confirmed that McNamara will not continue in the role and that Bennett will take on the part time position in conjunction with his Broncos job.

Most English fans have not warmed to McNamara – he’s not particularly good at the PR game and most people probably think he got the job by default in 2010 by being just about the only English born coach in Super League at the time.

However, I will defend him and say that he has made big strides with this England side.

Not just with performances on the pitch but with the quality of the back room staff and the facilities that the players now have at their disposal when they are in camp – there is no scrimping on quality these days.

The powers that be have been made to realise that the players are highly tuned elite athletes and McNamara has insisted that they be given the facilities that other elite level international teams would receive in other more high profile sports – hence their use of the England football teams training facilities at St. Georges Park in the build up to and throughout the Kiwi Test Series last year.

It also appears that the players are fiercely loyal to McNamara and realise how far their treatment and preparation has come in the last 5 years and they are now, potentially, on the cusp of having a very successful team that has a real chance of winning the 2016 Four Nations that will be held in the UK in November and has just beaten the no. 1 ranked team in the world in a 3 match Test Series.

Is this now the right time to bring in a new coach from outside of the current set up?

Even if that man is Wayne Bennett?

Bennett has won 7 NRL Grand Finals (6 with Brisbane and 1 with St. George) and 3 World Club titles (2 with Brisbane and 1 with St. George) and has also coached Queensland to State of Origin success and was coach of Australia in 1998, 2004 and 2005 – the man has the midas touch and in his first season back at the Broncos last year took them to within, literally, seconds of their first NRL title since 2006.

I’ll be honest and say that I would prefer England to be coached by an Englishman and it is vitally important that a pathway is put in place for the next Head Coach to work alongside Bennett during his tenure so that there is a seamless continuity when Bennett leaves the post – I am assuming at this moment that he will not look to extend the contract he has been given that covers this year’s Four Nations and next year’s World Cup.

The man I would have alongside him is Leeds Rhinos Head Coach Brian McDermott. As far as I am concerned I would have been more than happy for McDermott to have been given the job now but I can understand that it must have been difficult to look anywhere else once a coach with the reputation of Bennett had put his hat in the ring.

As successful as McDermott has been I am sure he, or whoever was chosen, would chomp at the bit to coach alongside Bennett and pick his brains.

I do have some sympathy for McNamara but we did struggle to beat an under strength Kiwi side last year and some of his selections could be strange at times and I felt that we needed someone who was used to winning big games and could get even more out of the players than they are currently giving – there are 2 big tournaments in 2016 and 2017 and England have a pool of talent that has probably not been matched since the early 1990’s.

Don’t forget that Bennett was involved in the New Zealand coaching set up prior and during the 2008 World Cup Finals in Australia which the Kiwi’s, headed by Stephen Kearney, won for the first time.

If the same thing happens with England then I don’t think we will be complaining too much about the Head Coach being an Australian.

PLAYER ACCOUNTABILITY

Mitchell Pearce should know better.

I have three young boys who play rugby league at U13s, U10s and U7s and all of them have their favourite players within the game who they look up to and want to be like – my 7 year old son, for example, is forever copying the Ken Sio try from last season’s Challenge Cup semi final (including the little finger wag at the camera). It will be the same the world over in all other sports as well but let’s just stick to rugby league for now.

There will be young and impressionable Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants fans who will be looking forward to the new season still wondering why one of their best players are playing for other teams and not theirs anymore.

Justin Carney and Brett Ferres are highly talented players and were major parts of their club’s squad – they were not just bit part players – they made a real difference to their team and were also huge fans favourites.

Carney had a try scoring record of more than one a game in his Tigers career – that’s phenomenal – and Ferres has been one of the best back rowers in the game for the last 3 to 4 years – hence the amount of interest in both players when they became ‘’available’’.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m an adult and I have spent enough of my life around open age rugby league teams to know what happens on a boy’s night out and what the consequences can be.

Many of my team mates during the years have indulged in long running affairs or one night stands and they would all be discussed, sometimes in detail, in the changing rooms before and after training on a Tuesday and Thursday night and in the bar afterwards.

You will be familiar with the old saying ‘’what goes on tour, stays on tour’’ and everyone reading this who has been involved in open age rugby league (or any team sport for that matter) will be fully aware what that means.

Call it loyalty or call it downright stupidity – the fact is that if you dobbed a team mate in for having an affair or a one night stand you would not last that long in the changing room and there would be some kind of retribution.

However, the biggest taboo and something that you did not even contemplate was having a relationship with a team mates wife or partner.

It is the biggest error that you could ever make and if it was discovered whilst it was happening there would be up roar, arguments, fights, threats – everything that you needed to de-stabilise what used to be a harmonious and smoothly running operation – it didn’t matter if it was a young kid or one of your best and most experienced players – they would be out of the door and out of the club full stop. YOU JUST DON’T DO THAT TO YOUR TEAM MATES.

Carney and Ferres have found out that the same rings true at professional level.

What they also needed to realise is that they are accountable for their actions and not only will there be repercussions personally and professionally but there will also be parent’s out there who will be dealing with some uncomfortable questions from their young Carney and Ferres fans.

Put simply, they need to be whiter than white and understand that their behaviour has repercussions, not just for themselves, but also for their club and the game in general and they must be made to realise that they also set an example for the next generation of rugby league fan and player.

In the UK the media spotlight is not as great as it is in Australia but the newspapers are not going to miss out on the opportunities that Carney and Ferres handed to them on a plate but on the other side of the world Rugby League players are like our football stars over here and are seen as fair game.

There have been plenty of ‘scandals’ in the Australian game over the last few years and Sydney Roosters half back Mitchell Pearce was involved in one of them only a couple of years ago when he was dropped from the New South Wales State of Origin squad and fined A$20,000 for an incident in a nightclub involving a female.

Pearce, the co-captain of the Roosters, doesn’t seem to have learnt his lesson or realised that he is accountable for his actions, that the media spotlight is much brighter in Australia or that he has a legion of young fans that look up to him and want to be like him – cue awkward questions for parents again.

I don’t think what he has done is particularly nasty or malicious – I believe Carney and Ferres are guilty of far greater errors of judgement – but the fact that he has mirrored the previous incident to a certain extent by trying to force himself onto a female who had rebuffed him is worrying and needs dealing with – also, I don’t understand this seemingly Aussie RL players interest in dogs!!!

Pearce obviously needs some help and has admitted as much and has been removed from the Auckland 9’s squad and the upcoming visit to England for the World Club Series.

At the end of the day 90% of professional sportsman will have been involved in a piss up at some time or another – it is unfortunate in this day and age that we live in a world that is now interested in this type of incident more than ever before and will pay big money for the type of video that was made of Pearce during Australia Day.

Why someone even thinks about videoing this type of behaviour and then selling it on is beyond me, but that does not take any responsibility away from Pearce.

ALL players need to be aware what affect their actions can have on the game and, in particular, young fans who are the future of the game.

Jonny Lomax

RETURN OF THE FALLEN

It was good to read last week that St. Helens full back Jonny Lomax is only a few weeks away from yet another come back from serious injury.

Lomax is somewhat the forgotten man – if not at St. Helens certainly in terms of international rugby league.

When people talk about the England full back spot it is always about whether Sam Tomkins or Zak Hardaker should be first choice and it will be great if Lomax can return to top form in 2016 and remain injury free for a significant period of time in order to put pressure on Tomkins and Hardaker.

Lomax has not had much luck over the last couple of years and has played only ?? games in the last 2 seasons as he has needed 2 knee re-constructions and has missed large chunks of both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

He is still young and is such a talented player that it would be such a shame if injury ruined his whole career.

Another player hoping to make a comeback from ANOTHER serious knee injury in the next few weeks is Hull KR skipper Terry Campese.

Campese had an outstanding start to last season before he suffered a bad knee injury in an innocuous challenge against Castleford Tigers last June.

This is Campese’s third knee re-construction in an injury hit career and Hull KR will be desperate for him to get back to full fitness and lead the team.

I hope I am wrong but I do have fears for Campese and his ability to handle a full season without injury.

Luke Robinson.

STAND TOGETHER

I completely agree with Luke Robinson’s recent comments about the increase in the wages of rugby league players and the increase, or lack of, in the salary cap.

Rugby League players, mainly at Super League level, are full time professional athletes who get nowhere near the financial recompense for their exertions that the likes of footballers, golfers, tennis players, cricketers or even rugby union players receive.

Ours is a working class game played, predominantly, by working class men who have grown up playing the game and dreaming of becoming a professional rugby league player.

More than at any time in the past, being a professional rugby league player is an opportunity to earn some really good money that can set them up nicely for the future.

I don’t know what top line rugby league players earn, I regularly hear figures bandied around of £100,000 to £120,000 per year for the top stars but I don’t know how accurate these are and there can only be a handful of players at each club earning this type of money, I would have thought, with our salary cap being just £1.825m per club.

I am sure that the vast majority of players will earn a lot less than this and that all players will look have their incomes added to and topped up by sponsorship and endorsement deals away from the club.

It’s not a bad life being paid to keep fit and play a sport you love.

I understand Robinson’s argument regarding the salary cap – I believe it has to be increased to enable us to compete with the NRL (£3.675m) and Rugby Union (£5.1m) – but the last thing we want to do is to give the clubs enough rope to hang themselves with but an increase in the cap may assist SL in stemming the tide of British players heading to Australia or RU and also of attracting the biggest names in the game over to the UK.

Robinson made many valid points but who does he have to help him do anything about it?

Since the SL players union League13 closed down last year there is no one body representing the highest level of professional rugby league players in this country.

The lack of support it received from the players themselves and, therefore, it’s inability to be taken seriously by the RFL meant that it’s founder, St. Helens Jon Wilkin, lost interest in banging his head against a brick wall and became so disillusioned that he see’s his future away from RL.

Robinson will get nowhere just having a pop at the RFL by himself – an opportunity has been missed to give the top level Rugby League players a mass voice to be heard and listened to by the RFL – if they act as a body of men rather than just a lone wolf they would have a far greater opportunity in changing the game, possibly, for the better and for standing up for their own rights.

Currently, the RFL can ignore any kind of whinge from the players and do what they want with fixture lists and short turn arounds etc because nobody is putting them under pressure.

The players are any sports most valuable commodity and this needs to be recognised and I can’t help but think that they have missed an opportunity to be represented properly and professionally.

WILL THEY EVER COMEBACK?

Andy Farrell

I wasn’t surprised to see that Andy Farrell was part of the cull that included the sacking of Head Coach Stuart Lancaster from his position with the England RU team after their poor World Cup performance.

What I was surprised to see a few weeks later was that he had been recruited as the new Defence Coach for the Ireland RU team.

My first thoughts were:

Was he offered a position in Rugby League?

Is there a position available for him in Rugby League?

Does he want to come back to Rugby League?

Our sport needs former players like this back in our game.

Not just for publicity but for their experience and coaching ability.

Without doubt there are so many more opportunities in Union, whether that is at club level or international level where we have four strong well run Home Nations who would all pay handsomely for the kind of ability that Farrell obviously has.

Will there ever be a time when we see the multitude of playing and coaching talent that has left our game return to benefit the sport that started their careers and, in which, the majority of them have spent 90% of their careers?

Do they owe anything to the game of Rugby League or have they given it everything they were required too already, on the playing field.

Farrell is just one amongst many.

There are quite a few former rugby league players and coaches in high profile positions. 

Wigan legend Shaun Edwards has been the long standing Defensive coach of Wales and was recently inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Mike Ford is the Head Coach at Bath, Joe Lydon was previously the England 7s coach and is now the RFU’s Head of International Player Development with added responsibility as the performance manager for the men’s and women’s 7s squads for the Rio Olympics, former Castleford star and coach Graham Steadman is the defensive coach for Cardiff Blues and has worked for both Scotland and Ireland national teams and former Widnes coach Neil Kelly was the Defensive coach for Romania at the recent RU World Cup.

Don’t forget that former GB RL coach Phil Larder was part of the England coaching team which won the World Cup in 2003 and was also a part of the British Lions coaching teams in 2001 and 2005. 

That is a huge amount of coaching talent that have had highly successful playing careers in rugby league that don’t look like coming back to the game – certainly not in the near future anyway.

This is why it is hugely important that when Kevin Sinfield ends his 2 year playing spell at Leeds Carnegie he returns to the Rhinos or to a prominent position within rugby league.

We cannot afford to lose any more talent than we already have.