Warrington playing again on Thursday is “absolutely ridiculous”

[josie andrews]

Super League stalwart Gareth Ellis has blasted the decision to make Warrington play just five days after their Challenge Cup final triumph.

The Wolves defied the odds to beat St Helens 18-4 at Wembley but return to action this Thursday for an important league clash against playoff hopefuls Salford.

Prior to their cup success, Steve Price’s side were on a run of six consecutive defeats and are now at risk of losing their place in the top five.

And after several days of celebration, including an open-top bus parade on Monday, their players now have a short time to prepare for the vital Super League encounter.

“It is absolutely ridiculous that Warrington Wolves – the new Challenge Cup winners – are playing again on Thursday night,” Hull FC star Ellis said in his Yorkshire Post column.

“Steve Price’s side put in a terrific display to beat big favourites St Helens at Wembley on Saturday so to now ask them to play back in Super League at Salford on Thursday is just mind-boggling.

“I really can’t get my head around it to think that the Challenge Cup victors – even being the RFL’s showpiece event – are asked to roll out again so soon.”

Ellis was part of the Hull team that won the Challenge Cup in 2017 and were then required to travel to Leeds for a Super League game just five days later.

And despite the Black and Whites being in top-five contention with Warrington this season, Ellis is adamant the Wolves deserve more rest time and risk picking up injuries due to the short turnaround.

“You should be able to celebrate,” he said. “Fans do, players do and there is no reason whatsoever that any team involved in the final – the runners-up, too – should ever be expected to play on the following Thursday.

“I can’t think of a logical reason for it. There’s likely to be injuries so players will struggle to recover and be ready to play but of course there are those celebrations as well to take into consideration and player-welfare.”

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/warringt ... ous-21903/

[Wiganer Ted]

That was down to SKY of course, I wonder why?

[josie andrews]

That was down to SKY of course, I wonder why?

[southportcdm]

It's unfair but I'll be happy if we can take advantage of a win for Salford. I notice Price is only 'resting' four players. I think I'd have been tempted to rest most of the team that played on Saturday and let them enjoy their victory properly. They'll gain huge confidence from winning the final and I don't think finishing third rather than second will have a big effect on them. If they have to make another big effort on Thursday and still lose they could pick up more injuries and easily end up fourth or fifth. The key thing for us is to beat Wakey on Sunday.

[medlocke]

When did the population of this country become pussywhipped, It seems these super athletic players who are light years ahead of past players in healthiness and stamina bitch and moan about such short turn around's when past players would have put 70 hours in down't pit then play 3 games in 10 days, When did grown men turn into bitchy divas

[josie andrews]

When did the population of this country become pussywhipped, It seems these super athletic players who are light years ahead of past players in healthiness and stamina bitch and moan about such short turn around's when past players would have put 70 hours in down't pit then play 3 games in 10 days, When did grown men turn into bitchy divas

True.

My dad did a shift in the pit, came home had a bath, ran to St Helens, played the match then walked it home Those were the days!

[Firestarter]

I agree with both of you but a team shouldnt be punished for winning the challenge cup

[mickh]

I agree also on both counts, but, yet again SKY rules the roost.

Rugby League is being "pussywhipped" and we are accepting it! What happened to the Hearn takeover?

Mick

[josie andrews]

I agree also on both counts, but, yet again SKY rules the roost.

Rugby League is being "pussywhipped" and we are accepting it! What happened to the Hearn takeover?

Mick

That fell through because of not being able to come to an agreement with the RFL I think it was?

It's a case of the tail wagging the dog & the RFL just roll over on their back!

[josie andrews]

Daryl Powell is unhappy over ‘crazy’ fixtures as Castleford Tigers eye play-offs

THE decision to make Challenge Cup winners Warrington Wolves play just five days after their Wembley heroics has been described as “crazy” by Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell.

Warrington, who stunned hot-favourites and Super League leaders St Helens in last Saturday’s Cup final, are back in action tomorrow when they visit Salford Red Devils.

Originally scheduled for Sunday, the game has been brought forward for live television coverage on Sky Sports and the result could have a bearing on where Castleford finish the regular season.

Powell’s side are sixth in the table, one place behind Salford who hold the final play-offs spot on points difference.

They are also only two points adrift of second-placed Warrington so Powell, whose team visit the Cup runners-up 24 hours later, will be keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s outcome.

Powell expects Salford to maintain their recent good run and said: “Friday for St Helens to turn around is a tough ask, but Thursday is ridiculous.

“They will have been celebrating no doubt – and they should do – but that’s tough.

“It could easily create an unbalanced competition, I think the scheduling is abysmal.

“I don’t know whose idea it was, but it is what it is; if we win on Friday and Warrington lose on Thursday we are level with them.

“It is pretty tight, there’s nothing in it at all.”

Powell feels Castleford are still masters of their own destiny, though he rates their run-in as the toughest of any of the seven teams in top-five contention.

“We are going to need to win at least two of the three games, I would think,” predicted the Tigers coach.

He added: “After Saints we have got Hull at home and then we are away at Wigan so it is a tough run-in, but if we do get there we will deserve to be there and we will be a threat.

If not, we won’t have been good enough, but I think we are capable of coming up with three high-quality performances that’ll get us where we need to be.”

Powell gave his players last weekend off, but said they have actually stepped up the intensity in training since their 24-0 win at Huddersfield Giants 10 days ago.

He said: “I think we are already in play-off mode.

“We are looking forward to it, we had some decent sessions last week.

“We wanted to keep training fast; we know the games leading into the play-offs will be fast so we have stepped our training up a bit. The boys had some time off during the earlier Challenge Cup rounds, but we felt we needed to keep training going into what is going to be a really big game for us this week.”

Powell will name his initial 19-man squad today and is hopeful front-row forward Liam Watts will be in contention after missing two games due to finger and ankle injuries.


Meanwhile, former full-back Geoff Wraith, who played more than 200 games for both Castleford and Wakefield Trinity, has died, aged 72.

Born in Leeds, Wraith was 
considered one of the finest players in his position during the 1960s and 70s not to earn a Test cap.

He scored 48 tries for Wakefield in 227 appearances from 1964-74 before moving to Australia to join Brisbane club Northern Suburbs Devils.

Tempted back to England in 1975, he went on to play 216 times for Castleford, scoring 42 tries and collecting winner’s medals in the Player’s, BBC Floodlit and Yorkshire Cup competitions.

After joining the backroom staff at Wheldon Road, Wraith returned to Trinity as team boss for the 1984-85 season but lasted only 10 games, two of those as player-coach at the age of 38.


Leeds Rhinos coach Richard Agar insists he won’t take any risks with his squad for Sunday’s huge game at Super League’s bottom club London Broncos.

A Leeds win would effectively banish the threat of relegation for the Headingley club, with two games still to play.

Agar has yet to decide whether to call up back-rower Stevie Ward who has not played since 
suffering a knee injury six months ago.

“He is a bit closer,” Agar said of Ward’s prospects of featuring on Sunday.

“Whether we play him or not, we will make a decision a bit later.

“We are not going to rush him back, unless he feels 100 per cent confident and fitness-wise and strength-wise and mentally he feels good to go.

“He has had a full week’s training and he will come into consideration.”

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/r ... -1-9959792