The 29 players were listed on the Website on Tuesday with the players allocated shirt numbers 1 through 29. Was that list shown elsewhere as well? I know who was allocated each number, the 1 to 13 looked like they were allocated positionally and close to what looked like the first choice starting numbers.

Now my lack of knowledge time (there's lots !) Does Will Lovell play both Centre and Second Row? I see he was allocated Number 11.

In my view he was a square peg in around hole playing centre, without pace, mobility and defensively poor. Those same attributes apply to second row, but he's more of a second row.

He can't pass either.

Little harsh on the skipper maybe but we shall see.

Agreed.

Truth hurts, Lovell is an abysmal player.

And one of the best in the current squad..

How low we have fallen...

The days of yelling "Give it to Rhys" and listening to Mark Ione's partner shouting encouragment from the stands are long gone

.....were still falling in my opinion.
The thud will be about May/June when we are involved in a relegation battle.

I reckon you’re right- coach with no experience at this level, many of the players likewise. We don’t even have the fitness advantage of being full time now, and that got us over the line a fair few times in the past.
Add that to having to play 5 consecutive games away from home around that time and we could have the perfect storm.

I’d love to be proved wrong but somehow…….

Bookies have us as the favourite, 5/4 available on Widnes, buying money IMO.

Widnes just did Batley in their friendly.......and in other news, it sounds like sammut single handedly defeated Newcastle. Why did we let.him go?

Rumours on the other forum of a behind closed doors match v Skolars this weekend.

Just like we let him go for our season back in SL . He could have made the difference and kept us up.
I’d be a lot more optimistic about this season if he was in the squad to help direct things out on the pitch.

If reports there are accurate, then we are in real trouble.
Players out of position. Skolars players being signed for the reserves.....skolars staff being signed.
It would appear that Hughes has decided to destroy the better run London club because his own is a basketcase.


It is becoming increasingly difficult to find reasons to follow the club. They have developed a real nasty persona and it's not an environment I'd want me my kids as spectators. I believe it comes from an inability to accept criticism and a decision to carry on regardless of the negative impact their attitude is developing.
I expect a big crowd for widnes as well as a big loss.......a tailspin will start and by June/July the toys will be all over the floor......
.......Hughes has to go.

The other forum now has reports Rob Powell has left with no replacement, that Scholarships have been scrapped and that many older Skolars players from recent seasons seem to be associated with the Broncos reserve set up this season.

I don't really follow the club's social media output, I got fed up of tweets about RU clubs buying kitbags etc being liked, and am a bit surprised about this, if it's true. Have there been any confirmation of any of this?

What’s the other forum. Left me in on the secret code

Ps seen it now

Totalrl.com, I won't link it as I suspect that would breach Rlfans rules

Half Dan, Army v Navy weekend after next on Queens Avenue. Should be fun. See you there

TotalRL.
It's a site where you're not permitted to say anything negative about RL. Their Ever shrinking publication readership worship any green shoots of RL development, regardless of how insane the project is.
Toronto was the future......now its Cornwall apparently


I kid you not...there was an article this week about a new dawn for London RL......jimmy the chimp must have paid them

Messing with the Academy set up would seem very short sighted.

Another poster has now suggested scholarships have not been dropped but have been suspended due to the lack of a Head of Youth.

Yea its pretty much the same for me, it no longer feels like the club I have invested 20+ years on my life in. Normally right now we would be getting excited, showing off our new tops, and discussing the new season. Reality is we just have moved onto other things and RL barely gets a mention any more. Its not the same club it was even a couple of years ago, and I do feel a deep sadness to what has happened (to be clear this is not so much the move to PL, but the timing of the move, the switching to Part Time, the replacing of probably the best coach outside superleague in Danny ward with a part time coach who has never managed outside the bottom half of League 1),

My only interest in RL was a) Broncos and b) England. I don't really watch other teams, and considering how both of these have imploded in the last year, we are finding that RL is becoming less and less relevant and is being replaced with other sports right now. And I'm not sure if will get it back as we get more involved in the basketball and ice hockey which have local teams not far from where we live

The club's actions and words seem totally disjointed to me. They have prioritised a move when the playing venue was arguably the least of our concerns and now are spending on multiple facilities. The core fan base has dwindled and the club are rebooting with the weakest squad we have ever had. I hope some Dons fans give it a go but I fear they will be watching an uncompetitive team. Yet we know that we have got our best crowds when we have had a competitive team. Reaching DH's 5,000 target seems a tough ask.

Its not the same club it was even a couple of years ago, and I do feel a deep sadness to what has happened

Agree 100%.
The promotion season and the fact we were still in with a shout of staying in SL right up to the last game of the season, those years it looked like we had got our mojo back as a club. And i believe Danny Ward was a big reason for this.

Way beyond tough.