Published at 10:30, Saturday, 17 July 2010

TOUGH DAY: Chris Young (left) and Andreas Bauer tackle Danny Maun during a hard afternoon at Batley PICTURE BY BILL WATKINSON

TO be quite frank, my whingeometer was registering off the scale as I left Mount Pleasant last Sunday.

It was not just that Batley had beaten Barrow, but the fact that a patched-up side with few standout players had shown the Raiders how to win a game through application and teamwork.

The poor tackling for the first two tries left me fearing the worst and with a sore foot – they aren’t half hard those metal stanchions when you kick them!

Don’t get me wrong, there was no lack of effort and endeavour from the Raiders, but at times we did not look like a team who had played together before, with no-one seeming to be taking control and directing the side around the field.

The withdrawal of Jamie Rooney undoubtedly had an impact, but with the players we have available we should be able to manage that situation.

If we are so dependent on Rooney then that is not a good position to be in.

Firstly, the opposition only has to counteract his threat to nullify our game plan and, secondly, it stops others from playing a role in guiding the team, which cannot be good for their development or confidence, as well as restricting our options.

As I have said, there was no shortage of energy and exertion from the team, but a lot of it was misdirected and spoilt by some basic errors when in possession of the ball.

The only consolation I could find was in reflecting on last year’s performance at Mount Pleasant, which was equally as unsatisfactory, but proved not to be the end of the world as we ran out Grand Final winners.

We will not be league champions this season unless Featherstone slip up badly, a point that several Rovers supporters visiting the ground were extremely pleased to bring to my attention.

The cost of travelling to support the Raiders is not insignificant and several people among the many who had made the journey pointed that out to me in no uncertain terms.

I have to agree that Sunday did not represent value for money, but as a supporter you have to take the rough with the smooth.

There are times during the season when the performance of the team is such as to be worth far more than the admission fee. That has to be weighed up against the times when they are less than good, and it must not be overlooked that over the past couple of seasons we have enjoyed far more ups than downs, which have left the fans with some priceless memories and days to remember for a long time.

So, to be philosophical about it – without the bad days the great days would not seem as special would they.

One thing I could not come to grips with was the decision to leave Jamie Butler on the bench until well into the second half.

His main attributes are his tackling and ability to trudge the ball forward when we are on our own line. He is not the sort of forward who will burst through tackles and run half the length of the field.

Bringing him on when we were playing downhill and needing to score tries seemed strange to me when he could have been doing the defensive duties of one of the more dynamic forwards earlier in the game.

In my view, he would have been better employed in the first half standing in front of the Bulldogs as they charged down the slope at the Barrow line.

His tackling when he did come on was exemplary, but the Raiders needed a bit more than that, at that time.

In a situation which is designed for him, I cannot remember one occasion when Liam Harrison received the ball at pace when we had the advantage of the slope in the second half and that probably typifies the type of afternoon it was.

That’s it said – I’m not going to blame the ref, the pitch or the injuries. Let’s just say it was a bad day at the office and move on.

The guys have a chance to banish those memories when we take on Halifax this Thursday at Craven Park in a televised encounter.

It is a must-win game for both teams in the battle for second place in the league and a better position in the play-offs.

Make no mistake about it, the look on the players’ faces after the Batley game showed that they were just as unhappy about the outcome as the travelling supporters, and they will be champing at the bit to show what they can do against Fax.

A good team display, with every individual concentrating on the task in hand for the full 80 minutes, should ensure the points, but it will not be easy.

And it is the very nature of supporting a team that those of us who felt crestfallen and angry following the Batley game will be there again cheering the Raiders on, as we hope for a victory that denies the visitors even a bonus point.

DAVE SEAR

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk