Are people wanting a reserve team for the sake of it? Any player worth their salt is snapped up by other clubs as we can't compete. I think at this level reserve teams don't pay off.

If you have a reserve team then this encourages local talent to play for the local club. if you dont they will go to other clubs who have reserve sides to get a good level of rugby. The reserve competition has some good sides in it this year St. Helen's, Warrington Wolves, Hull etc. Coming from South Wales we dont have the same problem down there as there is only one club to follow so youngsters want to be there. A few have moved North to be at SL Academy's but not many, Local youngsters want to play for the local club and a reserve team helps them to achieve that, not all reserve players will be good enough to make the step up but surely the last thing Halifax supporters want is a good local youngster coming back to play against the team with another team because they ran a reserve set up.

You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. We've lost some good reserves to SL clubs after we played them and they thought 'he's good, let's have him' but looking at last season we gave a few lads their chance and they took it well. I think if you run a reserve outfit outside SL you almost have to accept that your turnover of players will be high as SL clubs come and poach. You can't blame the lads for trying to make the most out of a relatively short career

But what if the likes of Morgan Punchard and Chester Butler do make it and want to play for their local club at the highest level then surely it will have been worth it. Yes you will lose players to Super League but that how life is you get offered a better job you take it or sometimes you stay where you are because you like the people you work for or the place you work and are appreciated. Swings and roundabouts some you retain some you loose but i would want players who want to play for the club rather than players who are directed to play through Dual Reg.

I think we agree with each other

I think we do

Apart from the young players who have a chance of coming through the ranks having a reserve side gives the other players at the club who are already at first team standard a chance to play if they are not currently in the first team for whatever reason, be it coming back from injury or whatever.
It may seem a contradiction though that since we are skint how we can run a reserve side with the importance of finishing in the top and the first team not looking strong enough.

[Not sure how much it costs to run the Reserve side. Halifax RLFC independent supporters trust raise money to help run the side i believe and not sure but dont think reserves get paid. they train on same nights as 1st team so wouldn't have thought extra funds needed for training facilities

Yes it is the supporters trust who raise the money and do a cracking job, I thought the figured was around £25,000 but could be wrong.
In the past I believe the trust asked the club what they would like the funds to be used for and the reserves were chosen.
I have sponsored reserve team players in the past but lost my job last year so couldn't afford to help out for this season but drop a few quid in the bucket at home games now I am back in work.
The club must have thought it through before this season started because retaining the reserves was in doubt at one stage, whether the extra money would have strengthened the first team sufficiently we will never know.

I'm expecting Punchard to be in the squad soon. The 6/7 combo needs a change at some point