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?

If he needs me to boost his confidence then he has much bigger issues to attend to.

I don't mind Nat's assessment - he's entitled to his opinion but the title of the thread is uncalled for. How would he like it if he had a bad day at work and his colleagues called him absolute crap? No need for it.

Agree with this. He wasnt even our worse player on the day, in fact i thought he was far from it so to single him out is just plain wrong.

I think its funny that people even bother comparing him to Black, and i guess those that do dont really know that much about Rugby League. Black did nothing yesterday apart from about 5 minutes in the game.

I think people need to get a grip, its a tough league and yes we probably should have won yesterday which after not playing that well shows theres a lot of potential in the team and we wont be the only team to go to Batley and lose this season just the same as any team can go anywhere and pick up wins like we have done at probably the two toughest places to go Sheffield and Fev. We will be there or there abouts.

I'm trawling through the threads now to find Nat's assessment of Handforth in the game against Dewsbury. I can't seem to find it

Didn't go yesterday due to work but over the games I've seen this year I think it is time Bowman was given a chance, preferably at 6 but if not he should be on the bench before Casey.
The comments about our pack not dominating are a bit worrying as last week they but in a great performance so that iconsistency needs to ironed out.
Getting dragged down by Batley's spoiling tactics is also a worry, they ALL should have known what they'd do and learnt to deal with it, the best way to stop it is by getting on with the game and winning it.

Having a plan B would help. Seems that if we don’t get a roll on and are allowed to steam roll through with our second row, then we have no other ideas.

The 2nd half yesterday, even with 12 men, demanded the half backs to get hold of the game. Even if your pack isn’t dominating, with that slope it should have been back to basics and kick deep into the corners and force the opposition to start for way down the hill. Chance is you will forces a mistake. But our kicks were poor, Batley making it back to at least the 40 line after the first tackle.

In fairness to some of the other posts, whilst they may be a bit over the top, it is tough games like these where you expect your senior half back to take control, especially when he knows the pitch so well.

One good thing, at least the sending off will solve the selection problem (not that it should be) over the wingers for a few weeks, not that I’d pick anyone before White and Worrincy anyway.

1st time this season we have had a selection issue for me.

In the centres/wing we have gone from been strong to weak.

We have Nanyn, Tyrer, Heaton, Reittie all out.

i see it as Rob with Patto, and White with .... James Haley to make a comeback to 1st team?

Other than Haley we'd be playing 2nd rowers out of position.

Is Tyrer's injury even that bad, saw him limping off at half time but wasn't sure how serious it was?

Anyway, concerning Friday I would definitely give Bowman a chance at 6 and have Handforth on the bench.

I remember Harrison saying at the start of the season that the squad has plenty of competition in every position and will pick players on form. Apart from Fev and Sheffield away and according to those I spoke to Dewsbury at home (I couldn't go), Handforth hasn't been anywhere near good form. Bowman should have his chance.

Our pack might not have laid the platform down the slope but Handforth is good enough and experienced enough to compensate for this, especially on a pitch he knows so well.

Tyres has said on twitter its looking like his medial knee ligament and could be out upto 3months but needs a scan to confirm it.fingers crossed for him

Even Stevo said that halfbacks can't play behind a beaten pack - tonight during Mondaaaay Niiiight Fooooooootbaaaall.

So there, and he's an expert.

So [ithat's[/i his momentum rule!

I have given it a couple of days to come around from Sunday so that I can be slightly more objective than I probably would have been. It will take me a bit longer to forgive Rettie though because his actions hurt the team.

Handforth didnt have his best game like probably 50% of the team ; thats why Batley beat us.
What I could see watching Handforth is that he desperately wanted the team to win and like us was becoming very frustrated with people not stickling to a gameplan and doing plain dumb plays. He is there to execute the coaches plans and then people kick the ball dead on the oposition line at 16 each rather than passing to him.

He got loads of stick from Batley with the "went for the money" chants , then probably looked on here and got more stick. We felt a bit down, I wonder what he felt like on Monday morning?

He is our player and I think we ought to treat our players with a bit more respect. He isnt a quicksilver half back, we all know that but given half a chance behind a pack doing their business can control a game.

On to Swinton and if he plays I am sure the Hx supporters can give the guy some encouragement to play well. If he does I am sure our very short memories will erase last week and we can all move on.
Up the Fax!

Well said intercepter, couldn't agree more. I too have held back while the dust settled on a disappointing loss that we could and should have won.

The thing is, batley deserved to win, blacky was destined to have a say in it and our ex batley lads were going to get stick from them. Why they then get it from us is hopefully driven out of frustration and nothing else. Handforth wasn't the reason We lost, he was part of a team beaten by a side that were more determined to win.

That said, we have no god given right to beat anyone. The posts stating how inconsistent we are maybe need to remember twelve months ago. We were certainly consistent then when we couldn't buy a win and were bottom of the league early on.

This season we have lost two games and are top, got seven points from the three hardest away games and apart from the Leigh game have done pretty well, handforth and all!

Those calling for blacky, however much in jest or frustration, need to think back to why rhino wanted someone like handforth. I loved watching Ben but we are top of the league

because of this set of players and not in spite of them.

Give the lads a break, the sending off cost us but in the heat of a game things happen, thats sport so get over it, go on Friday and back the team.