Inexperienced halves. Not enough beef up front. That combined with a below par performance from Dwyer at dummy half and a fairly solid Dewsbury display was why we lost today IMO.

Ta for that, not sure inept is the word, look at any decent club, without the leader on the park they struggle. Probably more of any issue than no props

A couple of things jumped out at me yesterday

Firstly the inabilities and inexperience of our half backs. They created nothing, they didn’t look like ever creating anything, the oppo didn’t need to think, their team mates were unsure, it’s a major problem I am afraid and needs to be addressed, as we are coming up against seasoned halves who know how to move a side around the park.

I think this lack of leadership led to Dwyer becoming a hooker come half, running across the line rather than doing what he does best , run at the oppo. His performance was diluted, probably out of frustration.

Secondly our go forward. Only Thackeray looked like breaking the line, the rest, were impotent. I liken it to cricket, we’ve got medium fast bowling attack with one quickie, but we need 4 quickies !!!!! No doubt Wallace and Everett will be better with a year under their belt, but we will not reap the rewards this year that’s for sure.

Finally, Ben Farrar, what on earth does this man contribute to the team, anyone ?

We scored all three tries down the flanks where we had a clear and demonstrable advantage in terms of pace. Unfortunately for most of the game we tried carrying the ball up close around the ruck, where Dewsbury had a clear and demonstrable advantage in terms of bulk and savvy.

The decision making in the half backs was non-existent. They seemed to think that Lovegrove was the only option, bless him Rhys played his heart out, but the predictability meant the Dewsbury's big lads were always waiting for him. Got really frustrated seeing the wingers waving their arms and pleading for the ball, they shouldn't need to, we should have gone wide after a couple and exploited our advantage. Get small nippy guys running a lump like Pryce around the place and he'll soon be wheezing like an old carthorse.

Had a long chat with Hendo in the bar afterwards, and his main point, that he kept returning to, was that we're a team full of kids with no old heads to guide them. Which kind of backs up the points made by others on here that we lack on-field leadership.

I really hate digging out individuals but I find myself asking the same question every time I go to the Hive!

When you look at it we lost Adamson, Cordoba and Foran. Slyney , Mathers and Bartheua are injured. I think the only one left out of the "leadership" team is Wes (not sure about Farrar?).
This will do the young lads good, getting plenty of game time/experience. I honestly think Leigh will go up this year and the division will be a little tighter next year. I just hope that we still have the financial backing of Hughes to keep the squad together (I think we will as I get the impression we are looking long term and he is backing Hendo)

Maybe we should take the Salford approach ask for postponements till we get the injured players back

No leaders. No craft at 1, 6 and 7. At the very least, let's get Naiqama and Farrar into ball-playing positions. And I know Farrar looks anonymous at left centre but he does create tries (6 assists this year) so why not put him at 6?

As it stands, it's depressing. Made more depressing by Hendo's apparent belief that he can't do much about it.

So, to recap:
Rudderless on the park. We had 8 months to recruit and we got it wrong. (again)
Players smiling in the bar afterwards. Rewards for success, but no consequences for failure.......it's cancerous in any business but double so in pro-sports
Coach unable to do anything about it. Inspirational stuff


Owner making sounds about hanging in there for a few more years. Great, because the last half dozen have been an overwhelming success.
663 fans at the game......thank god we don't rely on business acumen to survive



As a supporter, I want my team to succeed. I want them to be playing against the best opposition and I want them to be producing superstars of the game. I accept that they won't always win and that they will maybe spend a decent spell in the lower division in the coming years, but what I expect as a supporter is the club to be run properly, giving it a chance of success and being back in the top tier on merit.

Which team is that exactly?

Joey put together a team which I imagine he thought would be good enough to take a run at first time promotion. Of that team, one of the first choice halves hasn't played and one has gone home with the gaffer. Of the props, one went home, one hasn't played and one has been out most of the season. I thought his recruitment had chances, and as you'll have seen from the rest of the thread the weak points of the side are the very places we're short of bodies.

Players are professionals. When the game ends, (unlike me) they generally don't take the angst off the pitch - if they did, they'd be depressives. I'm sure that there's anger and disappointment in the dressing room, but they also have a part of the job to front up to the punters and sponsors, and go home to a life. I have bad days at the office, I don't stew about it, I decide what I need to do to stop it happening again. Watch any old NRL game and the players are smiling and joking on the pitch after a loss, they haven't even left the field of play.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about losing to Dewsbury, even though on paper we're evenly matched, but I went to the pub and got some banter about the loss and went home looking forward to beating Hunslet.

Can only echo what everyone else has said deeply disappointing. in summary and this should please Jim Pooley/Gutterfax/any other aliases in use:
1. we need a half back/leader who can lead, ours currently add nothing - they may be good in the long term but are not ready
2. Why when you have a small pack keep playing one man run down the middle rugby? (the cricket analogy was spot on)
3. re points 1&2 we need to big grizzled props and one decwent half back
4. Stop laying on in the tackle to the point you give away penalty after penalty, and learn to catch the ball - surely a pre-requiste for a professional rugby player
5. develop a kicking game - we rarely get repeat sets, Dewsbury got at least 3

So overall a combination of lack of players/guile, appalling completion rate, and rotten tactics. Positives....................... we tackled reasonably well at times.............

Spot on! If I were David Hughes I would appoint you Hendo's mentor - you seem to know more than the present incumbent!

Spot on! If I were David Hughes I would appoint you Hendo's mentor - you seem to know more than the present incumbent!



Not rocket science, suspect most LB regulars would come up with the same analysis. The worrying/sad point is the props/completion rate (maybe more) has been around for the past three years!

London Broncos. Not sure why you felt the need to ask that?

Probably because of your incessantly negative posts about anything and everything to do with London Broncos

London Broncos. Not sure why you felt the need to ask that?

sorry. I didn't realise that positive posting was a requirement on this forum!
London Broncos, 6 seasons ago as the "misunderstood" harlequins RL had 2,900 more fans paying 50k a game into the coffers of the club and we had the visits of Wigan, Saints and Leeds to look forward to. Forgive me for not getting moist at the thought of redemption v another bunch of part timers after another embarrassing loss to a bunch of part timers.
If you and the other apologists on here can't see that David Hughes is the problem, then god help the club.......without central funding RL in London is dead.

If you need proof of this, look at what has happened to the skolars since we stopped drip feeding them.........

Jp from what I see no positive posting is not a requirement of the forum as you well prove, however constant living in the past is pointless we are where we are that's in the doldrums, constant comments about people stealing a wage at the club achieve what? Actually is there anyone at the club you do like. As for Mr Hughes and central funding, without Mr Hughes at the moment there is no London broncos, there is no central funding the rfl would let us die.

And ain't that the truth. We all know David Hughes is a poor man manager and decision maker, but he's all we've got right now. The RFL have shown their hand, they are not interested in anywhere outside the heartlands.
It's just a shame that Mr Hughes largesse means a long slow decline rather than an instant implosion (if he'd walked away).

I am not negative just for the sake of it. I want the club to succeed but under its current ownership model, that will not happen.
As for the clubs future without Hughes, better we get used to existing without him than kidding ourselves we are ever getting back into SL.

Are you saying Broncos wont succeed with or without Hughes and that fans should accept a more successful team at a lower level.

Assuming Hughes pulled the plug and cancelled all of Broncos debts what could be reasonably expected?

Whilst we were in SL, hughes ability to make multiple errors in judgement cost us fans and ultimately our top flight status.......do you honestly think it'll be any different in the lower tiers?

Look at where we are now...not looking backwards, but forwards. This is not about his errors, but the continuation of errors.....

We are one of 3 Full time squads in a division of 12 and have played nearly half our regular season games this year. We currently sit 7th on the Table, behind the other 2 pro teams who are 4 and 5 wins ahead of us and 3 wins behind 3rd. Our aspiration now will be to make 4th, which will enable us to lose to Bradford and Leigh again, as well as 4 SL sides, with our only glimmer of hope the game v Sheffield. FANTASTIC.
In the process of getting to this "target" we have currently been watched by about 3,300 people who will have delivered about 13k in revenue per game to our "host", down 40% from 25k last year. Our owner has "pledged" to keep us going for the immediate future, but he did that in 2012 before crippling the club in 2013. Our coach is not a seasoned pro. He has enthusiasm, but I am sure Grima and Powell did too......enthusiasm wins nothing other than a salary from Hughes it would seem. Grima, the man who was supposed to lead us to the promised land is gone, as are his "mates" and we are adrift with 13 regular season games to go and not much going for us in respect to 2016 either unless Leigh/Bradford go up.
We are still negotiating 2016 with the "host"and are not an attractive proposition to the grizzled northern championship type players we need to get out of this division, whilst our own kids are neither tough or hard enough at this stage.

....the alternative? He walks and the club either sinks or swims. I suspect survival would be in the next division down which is probably where we need to be to start again. Hughes propping us up isn't good for the game or the club....but I am sure it makes him feel better!

You probably lost most folk on the 3rd or 4th line there mate, turned into a drone.

We know, doubt any of us on here would actually argue any different. Question is so what? What are you able or going to do about it, apart from cheer the team on. Fact is that's all we as fans have the ability to do.

Micky Supporters of many clubs; whether that be Rochdale Hornets or AFC Wimbledon; thankfully don't accept your analysis of what we as fans can do. I'm confident we could build a successful and sustainable club using the drive and expertise of Broncos supporters, even if this means going backwards before going forward as you hint at. The best chance for success on such a project would be to try and negotiate a smooth transition, rather than having to rebuild after collapse.

Nkom,
That may be so but it then raises the question 2013 when the club was down to a total of 6 personal and probably a couple of days away from being declared a non entity, the fans that were going to step in and take over were not there.
Simple fact fans trying to get rid of the club's banker would only succeed in making the club non existent unless they can find some other provider of funds.

The fans were there, as witnessed by me canvassing people outside the Stoop at the Huddersfield game at that time! If push came to shove at that time we could have resurrected the Club although season 2014 might have been at a push! You're right to point out how difficult it would be, which is why I say a smooth transition has to be the best way for ANY new regime, whether supporter led or not.