https://www.totalrl.com/halifax-swoop-f ... -halfback/

https://www.totalrl.com/halifax-swoop-f ... -halfback/

Ticks two boxes, in the halves and Connor will be taking over the kicking duties from ST if he is on his way.

Why you let Robinson go and kept Johnston all those years is baffling.

What do you base that on?

Never thought robinson got a fair crack of the whip first time around clearly played too similar to muzza .Johnston always played his own game rather than a controller type . The halves were the main failing of marshall. To me you had to have played at half at some stage like powell and Sheridan to coach a half because it's so intuitive to the individual player imo.

Just never rated Johnston, he doesn't have the "feel" for the position that you need in a half back, he's a fair runner in broken play and that's about it. Robinson isn't flashy but he has a good kicking game and is more creative in the passing game than Johnston imo.

Last time at Fax he didn't rip up any trees but by all accounts he's come on leaps and bounds at York. He'll give us some much needed pace that's for sure, good goalkicker too.

I think with Muzza going then Robinson will be able to take more control of the game, there was always a contention between the 2 of them. Jonno is a more individual player and never going to take control of the game, more a hooker to me, running from acting half-back.

Working hard and smart and you can't ask more than that. https://t.co/O2gUcynX3r?amp=1

Working hard and smart and you can't ask more than that. https://t.co/O2gUcynX3r?amp=1

Delivery will be the watch word. Never say something until its nailed on to get it, otherwise it's just words.

They are simply saying what is going on behind the scenes, on the playing front namely trying to improve the squad.

In the past the club has been heavily criticized for saying nothing and having no ambition.

Up until the very recent past it would have been no surprise to all of us if the club had folded.

Considering everything that has been going on I'm amazed they can say anything with such positive intent.

Anyone can say anything but delivering something is what counts. The team now looks decimated . Its grab hold of the reins time for the CEO

The current BOD grabbed hold of the reins last year when they replaced the previous group, it's not a future event.

To see where the club actually stood and before they could deliver anything they had to begin an in depth examination of the clubs position in every respect and it turned out there was a huge amount of work to be done across the entire club.

The delivery began then, which was to prioritize the areas of importance and tackle them one by one.

A year further down the road and with the Covid impact to be factored in the club are simply letting the supporters know what is happening as of this point in time, i rather know the news good or bad than be told nothing.

On the playing front, SG rightly wants to build his own team, the club understands that and are backing him as much as they can.
As a result several players are being released to make room for, if possible quality replacements which is much better than just signing anybody.

(It usually turns out that you don't get some but you do get others, you can't force players to sign and those that don't want to we don't want anyway and is part of the vetting process.)

The key part of these decisions is that it's an "informed delivery" in real time, that after all the challenges and having and continuing to have in depth scrutiny of where we stand what the club are saying is positive.

They way this Covid pandemic is going it may well not be over even into next year.

In the meantime BoD.
Thanks for all your hard work and letting us know what's going on.

Correct. I've been dissolusioned many times over the past few years with what I see as a lack of ambition from our club. For the first time ever I can accept that in the short term. With the situation we all find ourselves in the priority is to ensure the long term survival of the club and build from that. Some clubs will possibly not get through this and we as fans must back those who are working hard to make sure that Halifax RLFC not only survive but eventually thrive and get us back to where we all want to be. Up The Fax!

With nothing to compare the events of this year it’s been surreal and our attention has naturally been focussed on trying to adapt and on keeping safe.
With everything being in lock down and all the general uncertainty it was hard to see anything but a downhill path for the likes of Fax with so many ticks in the negative column.

Coming into this and next season we have a clubs income based on.

Finishing outside the top 5 last year.
Indifferent start to and early scrapping of this years league comp.
Early elimination from this years Challenge Cup.
Reduced central funding to name just a few of the challenges.

At worst I thought we could fold.
At best, middle to bottom table and relegation battle.

If we ever get back on the field it could still be but at least it’s not what the club are working towards.
What a massive effort from the club, it’s sponsors, supporters etc in view of all that’s been going on.

Yes a great effort by the bod.

My main worry going forward is that many fans might have got out of the habit of attending so crowds will be hit further which applies to all clubs.

And as I keep banging on about, no new fans because of the prohibitive 19 quid fee.

Sorry for the doom mongery but I fear for many clubs.

Excellent Post from Faxcar keep the Faith

Yes I can see that happening, it seems like a decade has gone by since we last played and a long time still to go before we will be playing again and people do move on.
A key motivator to rekindle existing interest or attract new interest is a winning team and the club have identified the need for that.

Covid needs to be beaten before we can have any crowds because we can’t afford to play behind closed doors and who knows how long that will take.

Let’s say it is beaten, admission fees is a major income stream and obviously impacts on what you have to spend on players for example.

All, or at least the vast majority of the clubs would need to cooperate in lowering admission fees and set a general “going rate” for what the players would be paid.
To slash gate prices as a stand alone club could mean you end up with low calibre players because if the better ones can get more elsewhere then they will likely go elsewhere.



Normal life and the game as a whole is facing so many challenges it’s hard to come up with a solution that solves everything.

As i seem to recall he asked to leave due to taking on a new job at the time and felt he would find it difficult to commit to the travelling. May or may not be the whole story , we may never know (or care?)

Unfortunately I can't see a multilateral change by all the clubs.

For a start there are the likes of Beaumont at leigh who will do a great disservice to the championship with his blinkered selfish club ambitions. Toronto also ironically ruined our league last season as they were impossible to compete with.

We need radical changes starting from next season.

Covid certainly appears to be forcing all clubs to drastically cut the wage Bill. Hopefully fax are ahead of the curve with players becoming available elsewhere and just wanting a job rather than how much will you pay. You wouldn't fancy rugby league as a profession currently . The above may in turn bring less expensive entrance fees becoming an option because as you say fuzzy 19 quid and 20 odd at the likes of bradford just doesn't cut it in today's world.

Too right ohmetoe. I will keep banging on about the 19 quid until I am blue in the beak. It's terrible value for money. You can get a burger and 6 pints for less in the pub. Only the avid loyal supporters are sticking with the club.

It's alright some on here saying we are stuck with it but we MUST address the entrance fee above all else otherwise we will never get anywhere.

Well to continue the discussion.
Absolutely the entrance fee at £19 is a lot of money at any level of rugby and if say just a man and his wife go to the game and have a burger and a plastic cup of tea it’s a big dip into the pocket.
I’m not aware of anyone saying we are stuck with it, just wary of the consequences of the proposed alternative.
The season ticket options are the main way of reducing the overall costs but they don’t suit everybody.
I would expect avid loyal supporters to stick with their club and certainly not be criticised for doing so but even then only to a point.
I can only speak for myself but if it ever got to having only enough money to take care of the family needs or going to a rugby game then the club would come second.
Getting the entrance fee right is a continuing balancing act and one that every BoD at every club past and present give a lot of thought to and we can be sure the Fax BoD are doing so as well.
Set it too high and it could price people out, set it too low and you lose a significant amount from a key income stream.
There is no evidence to suggest that reducing the entrance fee attracts enough new or former supporters back to the game with the numbers required to make up the difference.
As stated before, operating with less income affects the club in every area including player recruitment.
The less you have to spend on players on average brings the quality of performance down and visa versa, that’s why as you stated Toronto walked away with it, at the time they bought their way to the top.
The lower the performance the poorer results and you have a losing side.
There is plenty of evidence to show that it’s results that counts, a winning side gets people coming, a losing side quickly sees hundreds if not thousands stay at home as per the fickle fan syndrome.
Cutting tens of thousands from the clubs income is a massive gamble, is this the responsible MUST thing for our BoD to do at this point in time?
There simply isn’t a fix all answer because if there was all the clubs would be doing it instead of them all struggling along year after year with the same old and now new problems to deal with.
Once we realize there isn’t a panacea and as DG stated it’s a cyclic inherent part of the game that is independently incapable of meeting the financial demands required for it to flourish then it’s easier to accept.

I aren't criticising the loyal supporters, faxcar, not at all. Far from it. Indeed, I'm one of those supporters!

My underlying concern about the sport in general stems from my own attitude ................ I attend now more out of "a sense of duty" than being entertained.

In the past 25 years the entrance fee has quadrupled whereas the average salary has doubled, thereby Rugby League is progressively pricing themselves out of the entertainment industry, particularly as television and online options have improved significantly as a much cheaper value for money alternative.

That's why I think the sport should act now. The Championship in particular should exercise a very strict LOW salary cap meaning they're essentially only utilising part time players so we can MULTILATERALLY get the entrance fees right down and get the fans back and the communities more interested. Situations where we have bank rolled clubs like Toronto and Leigh are killing our league. We shouldn't be having full time pros playing against part timers - it's awful to watch (hated our home game against Toronto last season, couldn't wait for it to end - just imagine if a "newbie" decided to stump up 19 quid to watch that? Never to be seen again I reckon),

Just my take.

Yes I agree many of the game are as flat as the proverbial.
Bit of repetition here but the only way to be better entertained is to get better players but as the ability goes up so does the cost.

As a rough guide if a club has say 1000 paying adults at £19 a game x 13 homes games that’s £247.000.
If you cut it to £10 that’s £10,000 x 13 = £130,000 with a loss of £117,000 in one hit.

The clubs are caught in the financial dilemma we have both mentioned and if we thinks £19 is a lot just think that for many past and present board members the amount they have poured in that figure had multiple zeros on the end!!

I can see some clubs cooperating but can’t see the high fliers bringing their standards or ambitions of getting into SL down to the lower levels of the rest of the pack.

It’s interesting to compare how some recent suggestions on the forum are advising what the BoD should do and how much they differ, for example.
Stay as a stand alone club.
Vs.
Merge with Huddersfield and play at the Shay.
Vs.
Move out of the Shay and play at Batley.

Get more financial initiatives up and running and bring more money into the club.
Vs.
Slash over £100 grand off the gate receipts.

It would be hilarious, but likely catastrophic to have us lot as the current BoD trying to implement anything,
I wonder how our current BoD are going to please everybody