Bit unfair on both cases I think. Firstly while I agree Casey probably shouldn't be in the first team yet, he has been playing out of position and apart from today he hasn't played that badly. And I completely disagree that Bowman isn't good enough, again while he has his faults and inexperience he does have a really creative touch to him in attack and that showed in the NRC game at Dewsbury. I expect you'll disagree with me but considering the lack of activity from Handforth at the moment I can't see anything wrong with playing Bowman at 6, give him a few games (not just the odd half) and I'm sure he'll start to find his feet. Karl and Matt must be able to see the potential if they both kept him on...

Apart from when he took the line on setting up Manning's try. Can think of at least two other occasions where Handforth ran at the defence.

Both Handforth and Thackery have played much better over the last three weeks and look to be getting their partnership going. I think come the end of the season, a lot of their current detractors will be telling everyone how they always rated them!

Handforth was a marked man today they were after smashing him I have heard, it worked as second half he disappeared, when we needed his kicking game he didn't do it, you have to use that stupid Victorian era slope especially going down the hill!
We lost our cool, I feared that having so many ex Batley players we may get some reaction plus their fans would be goading us and we did, Rettie sent off and Robinson flopping before that fight at the end, both stupid.
We need to learn to focus on the job in hand, no personal vendetas even if the Ref allowed a lot of hands in the tackle and play the ball, you just have to get on with things and ignore it.
We got sucked in and lost our structure although I still don't see one some games?

Jeeeez! we had an off day!

the ref was crap for both teams and completley lost control!

We should have won, and would have if Patto kicks the goal! or if Casey doent kick it away when we should be dropping the goal!

Reittie was daft and wont play again for 4-5 weeks. (suspension/dropped)

Onto Swinton - We have no right to win every game. This is a tight league and if you dont perform, and lack abit of the 'rub of the green' you will likely loose.

we didnt loose because of Tiger. They targeted him the whole game, as they did with Reittie. Wayne popped 1st.

We are still top, and are a better team than Batley.

Awesome away support too!!!

Clearly some of the moaners on here have never played rugby and watch a totally different game to me.
Fax were matched, if not bettered, by a huge Batley pack and thus your half backs wont impress /dominate if that is the case.
These two lads at half back are going to need support not headlines like this trail has.You dont become a bad player overnight and Tiger was always one we feared playing against when he was in a Batley shirt!
Its a really tough league this time and all the top teams will take points off each other.
Dont lose sight of the fact we are still TOP of the league despite losing-that happens in sport-teams do lose!
Accept it, get behind the team and rest asured those boys will be as disappointed as we are -I know I played rugby for 34 years!!!!
Keep the faith-see you loyal supporters away on Friday night.

I've literally no idea why handforth is being singled out. We were strong down that right side. Trouble was the ball never made it there near the line due to awful brain explosions at key times. If players ignore calls and do their own stuff, what can tiger do? Casey had a mare, and was very un-sinfield like.

We got drawn into batleys niggly game and lost at it. We always do. It was obvious the referee would allow Batley to spoil the game, but we couldn't handle that and lost our discipline.

Bad day at the office but we move on. But I do agree with an earlier poster...Halifax fans can be miserable. It's off-putting sometimes

Everyone will have their own opinion on Handforth but how will having a thread title calling him "absolute crap" help him or the team play better?

Maybe Nat can change the headline if he's found his dummy.

No reason to change it. In my opinion he was absolute crap yesterday. If your pack is getting beaten you get the ball in your hands and run at the line to try and make something happen. Yes everybody has off days but I haven't seen anything from him all season apart from a good few kicks and a lot of arm waving. One play summed him up yesterday; Penky took the ball in close to their line and managed to create a sizeable gap, he then picked out Handforth with the pass, did Handforth go for the gap? No, he dropped it off to Robinson to do instead, by the time he had done that the gap had closed enough for them to tackle him.

He is not an upgrade over Jones or Beswick (on the rare occasion he played HB) and defo not an upgrade over Blacky. The game was there to be won, our entire team failed to do that, but winning close games is in a half backs job description, just how many times did Blacky, Branighan or Holroyd do it for us in the last few years. I hope to be proved wrong, but that will only be done on the field. I shall purchase the Fev DVD to see it that changes my opinion of him!

save thi sen a fiver Nat.
Handforth did NOT have the awesome game some suggested at Fev. He was ok tand there it ends. The fact that runners from all over the park were strolling up the field without a hand being laid on them was not Handforth's doing. Chucking interceptions for full lengthers was NOT Handforth's doing. Leaving gaps for the fat lads to run into and score like stand offs was not Handforth's doing.
I know I have a downer on Handforth and (unlike the Batley brethren) haven't seen anything since he left us to change my mind. BUT, objectively speaking, Handforth was ok in Fax's romp at our gaff. Nowt more than that.

As you know I don't like making predictions cos it can all so oft bite you on the @r_se. But I know I'm not the only one who feels that the half back at Fax are too inconsistent and may (That's [uMAY[/u) be costly in the final analysis. We will see!

So that's a no then. Great boost for his confidence. Great support Nat - well done.

Don't understand some of this quote......didn't we score [utwo[/u tries and one conversion in the second half and Batley score [uone[/u try plus a conversion, two penalties and a drop goal?