Time to look to the future now.

A bit more geographical balance in the Championship next season with Hunslet and Doncaster being replaced by Oldham and Swinton. Well, that's how I read it.

If we are one of 4 full time sides, then it is vital we start well and usebthe home advantage of the plastic pitch to our full advantage.
We will need 2 game plans with 2/styles of play.....speed at home, strength and nous away......top 4 is a mus

It was a must this season.

We might as well go part time as at least there would be an excuse for being pants.

Bulls maybe reverting to part time, so Lowes said in his rant

Halifax are a big threat to the full times sides next year and even if Bradford do go semi-pro, they will still be a monster of a side. Leigh look like they will dominate again, but they may have cap issues to deal with, Sheffield will improve, so we need to make sure we make the Trailfinders place a fortress.
This year we were a "target' side for the opposition, but hopefully we will bot be such a "big game" for the so called "smaller" clubs.
One thing I have noticed from reports this year is that some of the games have involved our guys being "rough housed" If this is the case, then the club needs to record all games themselves and if we are on the wrong end of poor refereeing, we need to make the RFL aware of it.
I know it's sometimes easy to blame the ref, but there have been a few instances blatant favouritism such as the 2-10 penalty count a few weeks back......

Changing man, agree with all this. We could also try and give a bit back as well, play the ref

problem is out kids aren't "experienced' enough in the dark arts and therefore will get pinged more. We need to add some grunt and the likes of thakery needs to enforce/protect the kids....even if he spends some time in the bin. We need to make sure that we are not seen as soft touches, because the impression I get is that some teams knew they could bully us into submission.

We were 4 wins off the pace this year.........we were bullied in at least 4 games. Workington away, Dewsbury away, Fev at Home and Haven away. Sheffiedl ambushed us at the start of the season too.

17 wins from 23 will see us make the middle 8's......we're going to learn a lot about how much this squad has garnered from a pretty average first season together and we need a quality half (2 would be better) and some real nasty grunt up front IMHO.

Agree with all of this. We need at least two big grizzled forwards, who can intimidate teams back, we get pushed around too easily. Also need an organiser, team looked lost today, Henderson tried, Barthau also but neither really had an impact. Keyes looked lost.....

Dewsbury are recruiting well! Its going to be a tough season and one we need to be ready for and not underestimate

Let's see who Hendo brings in. I suspect we should start hearing now the season has finished

The plastic pitch may be an help to us, how many teams will use them regular, but I agree strongly with we lack experience, it is not that some of the youngsters don't have talent, but they need to be developed still and have someone on the pitch with them, surprise me if The Bulls go part time.

Plastic pitches are all well and good, the Skolars have one and the away sides love it!

Players these days have moved on from the claims of cuts and injury, plastic pitches have improved, but some players do take time to adjust with judging the how the ball reacts when kicking.

Certainly the bounce of the ball is different. We need to maximise any advantage that the pitch will give us.

All the games have to be recorded anyway and uploaded to a central RFL server for all to view.

Quote ="wire-quin"Bulls maybe reverting to part time, so Lowes said in his rant'" For which nonsense he has now been made to apologise: www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... atch_rant/

Quote ="wire-quin"Bulls maybe reverting to part time, so Lowes said in his rant'" For which nonsense he has now been made to apologise: www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... atch_rant/

Think the plastic pitch issue showed up last week, the bounce of the ball is different from on grass, hopefully we can benefit from that at home games if we are training on the same surface, it could play against us away though so swings and those round things.
Maybe after a season in the championship we can build on the good bits from this season. The difference has been highlighted elsewhere the difference between championship and sl is physicality and speed of the game, we were bullied off the park in a couple of games.
Target next year has to be middle 8s

At the risk of sounding negative. I was chatting to Hendo in the summer and asked who he thought had potential in our squad. He only came out with two names, and when I asked "What about the rest?" he shook his head.
Many of our youngsters have a lot of heart, but that shake of the head suggests our coach doesn't think they'll mature into the experienced players we need.

interesting comment.
I think part of the problem may be the training regime, proof of what local lads from London can do is evident with people like Dan Sarg, he left us being a good player, Wigan turned him into an excellent player. Look at LMS as another case of what can be achieved with the right approach. Even Hull KR harnessed the talent of one of our ex boys, ok he had a nightmare at Wembley but one of the most enthusiastic blokes out there.
There are lads that have the talent, we just struggle to develop that potential

I've watched the youngsters for years and a couple of things I've noticed year on year, is poor tackling technique(mainly use of arms rather than shoulder and body) and poor last plays in the opponents red zone.

On the subject of the yoof, an academy isn't a guarantee of every one reaching the grade. Disappointing if current view is that very few are ready though the recent grading might highlight the issue. Whether the change of coaching will over time improve things needs to be seen with the current crop or those that follow.

For next season hopefully the nucleus of the team will remain rather than a wholesale change that we've had for too many seasons one can remember. A chance for some consistency in understanding between players rather than the we'll get better as the season progresses. We need to start on the front foot and then get better, not constantly be chasing the league. Hopefully a good pre-season and some bulking up.

't would be a first