I cannot see many Saints fans coming especially when they are playing Halifax tonight.

Adults £10, Concessions 5, Children £3

Thanks for that. Right next question are the kids free who play for cubs etc ?. Or does this offer not apply to friendlies. I know I'm a pain in the butt, but I'm only asking what people are thinking.

That's ok then, but if you don't ask you don't get. See you all tomorrow.

I do think we might be thin on the ground but in part that will be because we have had three matches in one week, something that was not the case when this fixture was first arranged. I was going to visit you guys as I haven't been to the Keighley ground before but I have to spend all weekend planning for lessons so I just can't do it.

I hope we do turn out for you but as there weren't many at Widnes on Tuesday and not many at KR on Friday, it doesn't look so good for you unfortunately.

However, your ground has fond memories for many fans, so you never know!

Yeh we had Halifax let us down because you gave them a better offer although we are supposed to have an affiliation with fax through our lottery scheme( training camp my a##e!)and then your lot give our fans and club the impression you would play some first teamers only to get your puppies! We at Keighley couldbe really benefitted from two potential lucrative home games with yourselves and fax and we feel let down by you both, and those feeling are spread from myself a fan up to management, fact.!2 teams I really wanted to do well in the past ? I couldn't care less about either now, I'm very dissapointed with your efforts to provide a club like ours a day out we could really enjoy, win or loose.!

Andy Halifax did not let us down.
The players had a training camp to go to.

You wouldn't expect our players to go to a training camp, during the day and play Fax on the evening could you.

The club must have known this Saints team, was always going to be a under 20 team.

I have to admit, i had heard nothing about this, till i saw it on the Saints website.

Did you or anyone else know this was going to be a under 20 team?

Woah! This fixture has been arranged for ages. According to Saints management it was arranged as an under 20s fixture. That was the original deal. It always has been such (and is advertised as such on the Saints website). That does not mean there won't be first teamers in there. The match against Widnes last Tuesday was also largely under 20s but first teamers like Kieron played in it.

While I think Saints have been dumb to arrange three matches in one week - making it financially and otherwise impossible for a high number of Saints fans to go to every match - they did not arrange this fixture on the last minute or for it to be the run out for the full first team. That was always going to be Barrow, last Sunday (as Mike Bennett's testimonial), but the match was cancelled due to the snow - a factor that not even the great and glorious Saints could control. So originally it was going to be Barrow and Keighley as friendlies and those two matches have been arranged since well before Christmas. Snow cancelled one, Halifax agreed to the game on short notice (a week's notice, in fact), and we're still visiting you guys even though some players will have played at least twice already.

We haven't 'let you down'. We are fulfilling our arrangement: which was, and always has been, for a largely under 20s side to play your guys. The unfortunate bit is that three games have taken place in a week and that is Saints' club's fault entirely but it wasn't arranged just to let you down or have a go at Keighley. That is a very childish attitude to take.

To be fair to St Helens, I think its a cook-up on Keighleys part telling the town we had a Friendly v St Helens and not telling them its the U20's side. How many Keighley fans who havent been for sometime are going to come expecting to see the likes of Wellens, Cunningham and Pryce.

If it was always the U20's coming over, that should have been made clear from day 1.

However, anyone who has taken notice of both St Helelns reserves and junior acadamy teams over the last few years will notice how good they are. Grand finalists in both the last few years, becoming Champions at least once.

Exactly.

To be fair to Saints I don't think we expected to send the kids to play Keighley. We had a game arranged for Mike Bennett's testimonial which was cancelled due to the snow. The only available date to reschedule Mike's game was Friday against Halifax. So the first teamers who would probably have played Keighley played in the testimonial against Halifax instead, as it would be disrespectful to play a kids team in a benefit game.

Thus Keighley were the victims and got a squad full of no marks to play against. It would probably have been fairer to cancel the Keighley game once the need to rearrange the testimonial was known.

Keighley were always going to be playing Saints under 20 team.

Did Saints end up bringing many?

I wouldve guessed about 50 or so but fair play to them!Thought it was good of them to bother at all!

Yeah, we were led to believe by our own people that we would be playing the 'mighty' version of st. Helens, I don't think it's the Saints club's fault;

I don't think it was their fault that we didn't have the right equipment on stand-by either, or that they had to wait around for forty-odd minutes, or that they had to play a shortened game.
I think we deserve an apology, but I won't hold my breath.
If it had originally been advertised as '30 minutes each way, against Saints' kids team', I don't think I'd have paid a tenner to watch it!
On the plus side, top marks to Rach for getting two cracking beers on!!!

It mentions an 'equipment failure' as the reason for a delayed start and shortened game on the official website...
...No apology though...

I don't see a problem with playing a superleague reserve team, but it would have been nice to have one or two first teamers. The young saints lads clearly lost the plot and needed an old head or two to steady the ship.

Lets face it, when Bradford brought a virtual first team they put us to the sword. The last thing you need is to pick up needless injuries by getting bashed by a vastly superior side.

A few seasons ago Leeds brought a side full of youngsters who were on the fringe of the first team. Seeing a young Burrows in full flight was a sheer joy to watch.

Long may these games continue.

I agree, it's always better to see a good game than a vastly one-sided affair... but don't let people think it's the big names coming when it isn't. That's when folk start to feel ripped off.

Cheers, but Can you Bu*gers drink a bit slower at the next match, we'd run out before half time this week !

They shouldn't have though. Some of those lads played in the first team last season when we were ripped up with injuries (11 out together at one stage, which included some young guys brought in as subs for injured first teamers). Those lads on Sunday were grand final runners up in the reserves comp last season. They really had no business being so poor and I don't just mean in their performance. What was the penalty count against us? 13? And a sending off? They really should be embarrassed. The comment on the Saints website from the coaching staff is quite, er, to the point!

The rest of it obviously was outside our control but those lads should have made a better effort all round, especially where discipline is concerned and especially given that some of them are relatively-speaking quite experienced.

We're making that a bit of a habit after Warrington.











Cougar Fans. Probably the best real ale drinkers in the world.

You line 'em up, Rach...
...we'll knock 'em back!

Hi Rach, was that the real half time or the half time (3.45) that should have been. No wonder you ran out with all that drinking time available