In baseball in the US, as players advance through the minor league farm system, there’s a thing they call the double-A jump. Long article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/the-double-a-jump-2/ In short, double-A is the level at which any flaws in a prospect’s game, which might not have been noticeable previously, will be exposed. I think when we see stars of the academy system or league 1 struggle in SL, it is much the same thing. I’m less enamoured than most with the reserves concept - but done well (and therefore probably expensively), it could be a better gauge of readiness for SL and a chance for young players to improve out of the spotlight. However, it just basically brings league 1 in-house, i don’t think it adds very much from that POV.

In baseball in the US, as players advance through the minor league farm system, there’s a thing they call the double-A jump. Long article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/the-double-a-jump-2/ In short, double-A is the level at which any flaws in a prospect’s game, which might not have been noticeable previously, will be exposed. I think when we see stars of the academy system or league 1 struggle in SL, it is much the same thing. I’m less enamoured than most with the reserves concept - but done well (and therefore probably expensively), it could be a better gauge of readiness for SL and a chance for young players to improve out of the spotlight. However, it just basically brings league 1 in-house, i don’t think it adds very much from that POV.

That was definitely the case at Wakey, and Radders even admitted that, but if we'd had a reserves side, those lads could've been getting their fitness up in the preceding weeks instead of being chucked in at the deep end.

To be fair, Sneyd, Griffin and Westerman wouldn’t have had time to play any games. Radford said after the game, it was shoite or bust and we busted trying to keep top four alive.

The main advantage of reserve grade is it allows young players to gain experience by playing alongside seasoned players. In the past every A team had a couple of old heads to give the youngsters the benefit of their experience. As some posters have stated it would also allow injured players to regain match fitness

I don’t think the potential benefits of running reserve teams are greatly in question. Cost-benefit, is a bit more challenging.

I guess what i’m curious about is how people think SL clubs should structure their squads to make it feasible (i.e. fixtures are not cancelled problematically often) and worthwhile (i.e. the standard is sufficiently high to assess and prepare players for SL). I don’t think recent attempts have really worked in those regards, and it needs some better planning.



A bit of lead-in time is likely required if they want something more than ad hoc friendlies, so that seems sensible. Without a structure for SL in 2019 yet announced/agreed, it’s even tougher to organise anything more formal.

On the subject of Liam Harris, I didn't think he was ready for Super League when playing for Donny earlier this season. He was very good in the games we dominated but didn't quite look the same player when openings and opportunities had to be worked for. I could see his game developing though through the good coaching of Richard Horne.

It's hard to judge him on what he's done playing for you as he been playing behind a beaten pack. His defensive weaknesses have been exposed in the Hull games I've seen but I think it's far too early for you to give up on him. He plays with a good attitude and I'm sure he'll be learning from these experiences. As others have mentioned, it won't be a good thing if his confidence gets knocked too much though.

He perhaps needs a season playing in the Championship where he'd be challenged more than he was at Doncaster but not quite put under the pressure he's been put under at Hull.

With regards to Hull running a second team, I'm not sure how that will affect the DR arrangement with us. I've always been a supporter of all Super League teams having a reserve grade but I wonder whether there are enough players around to sustain a proper competitive reserve grade competition?

Super League reserve teams will be made up of first teamers who aren't being picked or need game time after coming back from injury, along with some youngsters who may have been lost to the game when becoming too old for academy sides. I see this as the positive benefits to the game from having a reserve grade.

The additional question is whether Super League reserve teams will also be made up of players who would normally be plying their trade in the Championship or League one? Or will those players prefer to continue playing competitive games at their present clubs?

I suspect the answer to that may come down to money. If playing reserve rugby for a Super League team pays more than playing for a Championship or Championship One side, players may gravitate to the Super League reserves.

If that is the case, the knock on effect is then perhaps that Championship and Championship One clubs will try to raid the amateur game to make up their squad numbers. Would that make life tougher for the community clubs to survive?