Discuss the game here.

I think this will be a very very hard game. Halifax have clearly had a mid-season kick up the ar5e and they pushed Leigh close before taking Doncaster to the cleaners in the last game. They will be pumped for this.

Did they pick up any suspensions from their scrap with Leigh?
There was an article from the rfl recently but I couldn't make sense of it...

Edit: Never mind, found it now. Bracek and Tyrer are both suspended, Manning is free to play.

Even as we are now, on a bad day we are still much too good for Halifax. Bulls by plenty.

I would go as far as to say the Bulls by at least 64

Err, have some of you guys already forgotten how our home tie against them went?
I think this one will be close, but hopefully we have learned our lesson from a few weeks ago and won't take these guys lightly.
I can't see there being more than a few scores in it.

Admittedly the first half against them last time out was probably our worst forty minutes all season, but the following twenty minutes got the job done and we kept our noses in front, on a crappy night weather-wise, and got a win.
I see things going rather differently in Blackvegas. Although I'm not sure we'll do 'em by 64 points (although in the words of a certain Newcastle manager, I would LOVE it), for me we are good value for a 4 to 6 score win, allied hopefully with a strong defensive performance.

On a side note, I'm really looking forward to the summer bash, and not just because its three miles from my front door. I just hope the RFL doesn't come at it half cock and makes the experience a positive one for the fans in attendance.

I was actually joking

This is going to be a hard game if we don't arrive with our rugby heads on. We also don't have a good wining record at these weekends as far as i remember we have only won 1 and lost all the rest some with the help of the man in the middle "Gaffer"

Depends on which Bulls team turn up. Could be a little rusty after our week off, or we could be re-energised, and put in a good performance. Think Fax will come out firing again and really get stuck in, but we should have too much for them, especially if we play like we did against Sheffield. But Fax have been improving in last few weeks so i expect a tough game.

Would like to see Blythe get a run out at centre.

I actually feel Fax may well have learnt from their earlier defeat at Odsal and may well [inot[/i quite come out all guns blazing, and therefore burning themselves out in the first half, as they did then. Whatever they do, I think we should be too strong for the part-timers, physically, mentally and with skill, though no doubt, Fax will treat the game as a cup final.

As I've said all along, I still feel that teams doing this to us are really doing us a favour in giving us practice at that intensity for the middle eights.

By 'eck! You lot are arrogant, condescending beggars. It's no wonder you're so well thought of in Halifax.

I hope the team aren't as over confident. Fax hate us and these games have a kind of cup final feel as we know from magic weekends so form goes out of the window.

Pretty tough and with the week off last week I hope we don't start off slowly and give away a lead.

Bulls by 12 I think .

Cup of coffee 0% mmmm

Rather than just rant at us do you want to explain which posts you find so unacceptable. I really cannot fathom what it is that makes you take umbrage sometimes other than assuming everyone watching Bradford is Satan.

Well maybe it's because there are more of us???
I suppose I'm now the anti-christ to our Halifax friend, anyone know where I can get an eye of newt for the stew???

I think we are all anti-christ according to plenty of Fax fans. It simply doesn't matter how reasonable you make your post about the forthcoming game, they'll find some way of accusing you of being arrogant. It really is taking a chip on the shoulder to the next level. It's a field full of potatoes on the shoulder. By the way most fax fans think we'll win too, but they are allowed to say that whereas we aren't: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=583023

I think we are all anti-christ according to plenty of Fax fans. It simply doesn't matter how reasonable you make your post about the forthcoming game, they'll find some way of accusing you of being arrogant. It really is taking a chip on the shoulder to the next level. It's a field full of potatoes on the shoulder. By the way most fax fans think we'll win too, but they are allowed to say that whereas we aren't: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=583023

Looking at the link Pumpy, his wife thinks that we will win. I wonder if he will lock her in the cellar for been so arrogant

You've got to laugh though Roger, on the simple basis that we've got a full time team, you would have to assume that logic would dictate that we'd be favourites - even if wishful thinking is driving you to believe the opposite!

Mind, if I were in their position, [iI'd[/i be the one searching desperately for reasons to believe logic can be turned on its head, too. At the end of the day, who knows? It may well happen and it's what makes us fans.

Although it's a bash I hope they don't take it too literally. Apparently they set about Leigh a couple of weeks ago and provoked a reaction.

judging from Jimmys comments about the pitch and the incitement to brawl created by the RL's naming the event a bash, I would say his game plan is going to be the equivalent of crickets forward defensive stroke: forwards to control the game and defence and discipline a priority, backs keep it tight too. so my prediction is bulls by 6. As others have said, what we also get out of it is the intensity that we dont always get. There is an argument for a bigger score which is that we seem to keep our best game for the teams towards the top, and go to sleep with the bottom half teams. so bulls by 8. bins Fax 2 Bulls 0, harry secombe's not not playing otherwise 2 - 3.

Will the pitch really be that bad? It hasn't been used for a few weeks since all the fans ran onto it and forced a match to be abandoned last month has it?
I'll be really disappointed if it's a mudbath by the time we play on it. I definitely agree with Jimmy's line of thinking in that playing this event at Blackpool makes no sense and the whole event is largely redundant. If the pitch is a mess it will just add insult to injury.

Another possible model for the bash weekend would be to play each game at one of the home grounds of the two contestants.

So for example Bulls v Fax could be at Halifax, Leigh v Featherstone at Leigh etc.

Difficult to allow enough time for the fans of the other clubs to get to the next match though with your model....

Isn't this a classic case of we are the poor relation from the RFL, they just gave us the bear minimum to get a weekend of rugby.

When we were in SL I knew that the lower leagues were largely ignored by the RFL and, for the most part, the media in general.
But it wasn't until we were relegated that I realised just how badly the lower leagues are neglected by the governing body, and how nobody but those involved first hand seem to give a sh*t.
This has only been compounded by the farce that is Sky owning the rights to televise games from our division, but not actually bothering to do so. At least Premier Sports made an effort and their coverage was actually really good.
Now we get barely anything and there isn't even a highlights package anywhere, not even the rfl can be d to get something up on the Championship website.

All this has made me do is respect those clubs who have been in this division for such a long time, and neglected for so long. If we are ever lucky enough to get back in to Super League, I will continue to follow the Championship action as much as I can, because we have already seen this season that there is some real quality below super league and it is a crying shame that it is largely being ignored.