The spirits of the Haven faithful have been much higher these past few days mainly due to the fact that Serbian trialist Soni Radovanovic has been cleared to play and the signing of Aussie starlet Jamie Theoharous.
In fairness, 20 year old Soni hasn't known whether he's been coming or going for the past few weeks. Initially, the RFL wouldn't grant him a permit to come and play meaning the deal was off. I personally spoke to Soni the day this was announced and broke the news to him. I certainly didn't feel good about that!
However a couple of weeks on, and I'm sure after plenty of work from Ged Stokes, he has received clearance to play and is due to feature in the friendly against Bradford. I also was the first person to break this news to him, so it more than made up for the last bit of news I had shared. I am extremely keen to see this guy play and I'm sure Ged wouldn't bring him all the way over here if he didn't rate him highly. A strong running prop/second rower is exactly what you need in this league
Our new Aussie signing, Jamie Theoharous, is probably the worst kept secret in the history of signings. It seemed that everyone, but a small handful on the forum, knew who the guy was! The 20 year old has signed from Penrith Panthers after winning thier U20 player of the year in the Toyota Cup. Jamie certainly seems to be versatile and can play Loose Forward, Hooker or Half Back. I personally expect him to feature at the latter if Dan Russell isn't granted a visa at his appeal. It is also worth nothing that Jamie doesn't count on the quota due to his Cypriot heritage.
Moving onto Russell, the RFL are still looking over further information which backs up his case to stay. A decision is expected soon but I can't imagine Dan is too happy at all of this messing around. If he does eventually get granted a visa, I'm not too sure if he will still be keen to come back and play after such a long wait. I guess time will tell. It seems we are also still playing the waiting game over Makisi also.
Let's just presume for a minute that Radovanovic is the real deal and we sign him up and we also manage to sort out the visa issues with Russell and Makisi. That would leave us with a pretty heavy squad numbers wise so what would the best line-up be? I'm sure everyone will have a different line up, however I will go with:
Craig Benson
Craig Calvert
Rob Jackson
Saia Makisi
Ade Adebisi
Carl Rudd
Dan Russell
Ryan McDonald
Graeme Mattinson
Karl Edmonson
Spencer Miller
Scott McAvoy
Jamie Theoharous
Gregg McNally
Soni Radovanovic
Marc Jackson
Leroy Joe
Acutally it is a lot harder than it looks to pick the optimum line up. With having such a large squad, there are a number of players who could be knocking on the door if they impress.
I certainly would be keen to know what everyone else's line up would be, presuming we do manage to sort our Russell and Makisi's visas. Be sure to comment with yours!
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Razzmatazz!
So we now have a Chairman with arguably the best name in rugby league in Dick Raaz, but what do the new BOD appointments really mean for our club. Well firstly let's look at each of the new members in turn:
Dick Raaz (Chairman): Ex-US Navy Submarine commander and also played a role behind the scenes of the Blockbuster movie The Hunt For Red October. The American is now heading up the radioactive waste repository at Drigg. From what I've heard, eccentric might be a good way to describe Raaz, but he obviously must be doing something right to be in charge of such an important project at Drigg. Whether he is rugby league material though, only time will tell.
Cath Giel & Tim Knowles: Both are members of Copeland Councils Executive committee and you would presume they sit on the board to protect the councils interest in the club as well as ensuring the Pow Beck redevelopment scheme can move forward. A good move for the short term in my view, whether they will be in it for the long haul though is another question.
Barry Richardson: Well Barry is no stranger to the club and the fans. The former Chairman has made more returns to the BOD than Rocky Balboa has made comebacks. That point aside though, virtually everyone I have come across has a lot of respect for Barry and in my view, we need someone on the BOD who has experience in running a rugby league club. After all, the previous people mentioned haven't had any at all.
Michael Wood: Long time Haven fan and long serving accountant at JFW Robinson & Co. You would like to think Mike will be in charge of the financials of the club, something which has seemingly been hard to control over the past couple of seasons.
The new look BOD certainly does have a unique mix of knowledge, experience, local influence and flair. On the surface it seems like the departure of Gordon Grace has resulted in a more positive result than was envisaged.
The new BOD have wasted no time in setting out their stall for the future of the club. As expected, the main point they focus on is the development of the stadium, something which has been in the pipeline for numerous years now. They hope that Rugby League will act as a catalyst for the success of the Pow Beck scheme with the new stadium being part of this.
One interesting point they do make is the 8000 capacity stadium that work should commence on next year. Now I stand to be corrected on this, but why are we building an 8000 capacity stadium when this doesn't meet two of the previous Super League entry criteria? Providing criteria for future applicants stays roughly the same, then surely that put us at a two point disadvantage before we even start. It would be impossible for us to tick the 'A stadium capacity of at least 12,000' and 'An average crowd of 10,000 or over' boxes. Ok so the latter is a little ambitious anyway, but with an 8000 capacity stadium, we haven't even got the potential to tick that.
Surely a policy similar to what Leigh have done with their sports village would be a better approach to take. Originally scheduled for 10,000 all seater, they changed the plans to incorporate terracing in order to meet the 12,000 capacity criteria. I for one am slightly concerned over the stadium capacity announcements and would be keen to hear what the new BOD plans are in regards to Super League. Saying that though, do the RFL actually use the criteria to make their decisions on Super League entry?! - That's another story.
What does seem to come out of this announcement made on Radio Cumbria is that the existing ground wouldn't be re-developed. Instead a completely new stadium would be erected within the vicinity. Should we believe all of this though? I'm personally taking it all with a pinch of salt. We have been told numerous times that development work is going start, but so far we haven't seen anything which remotely backs up any the plans. Until the JCB's move into the Recre then I'm afraid I am sitting with the sceptical people.
On a side note, the Dan Russell and Soni Radovanovic saga continues as both are still waiting for an absolute decision to be made one way or another. The return of Saia Makisi as a non quota player would be an extremely good move by the club if they can pull it off. Then of course there is the Greek/Aussie player which only a few people know about. If all of these signings come off, which going on past experience will be unlikely, then I think we have a good enough squad to take on any team in our league.
A new BOD with new plans to move the club forward all seems very positive on the surface. However, unlike some fans, I am not prepared to laud praises on these people just yet. 'Actions speak louder than words' and that statement has never been appropriate than it is for Whitehaven RLFC in the current climate.
Dick Raaz (Chairman): Ex-US Navy Submarine commander and also played a role behind the scenes of the Blockbuster movie The Hunt For Red October. The American is now heading up the radioactive waste repository at Drigg. From what I've heard, eccentric might be a good way to describe Raaz, but he obviously must be doing something right to be in charge of such an important project at Drigg. Whether he is rugby league material though, only time will tell.
Cath Giel & Tim Knowles: Both are members of Copeland Councils Executive committee and you would presume they sit on the board to protect the councils interest in the club as well as ensuring the Pow Beck redevelopment scheme can move forward. A good move for the short term in my view, whether they will be in it for the long haul though is another question.
Barry Richardson: Well Barry is no stranger to the club and the fans. The former Chairman has made more returns to the BOD than Rocky Balboa has made comebacks. That point aside though, virtually everyone I have come across has a lot of respect for Barry and in my view, we need someone on the BOD who has experience in running a rugby league club. After all, the previous people mentioned haven't had any at all.
Michael Wood: Long time Haven fan and long serving accountant at JFW Robinson & Co. You would like to think Mike will be in charge of the financials of the club, something which has seemingly been hard to control over the past couple of seasons.
The new look BOD certainly does have a unique mix of knowledge, experience, local influence and flair. On the surface it seems like the departure of Gordon Grace has resulted in a more positive result than was envisaged.
The new BOD have wasted no time in setting out their stall for the future of the club. As expected, the main point they focus on is the development of the stadium, something which has been in the pipeline for numerous years now. They hope that Rugby League will act as a catalyst for the success of the Pow Beck scheme with the new stadium being part of this.
One interesting point they do make is the 8000 capacity stadium that work should commence on next year. Now I stand to be corrected on this, but why are we building an 8000 capacity stadium when this doesn't meet two of the previous Super League entry criteria? Providing criteria for future applicants stays roughly the same, then surely that put us at a two point disadvantage before we even start. It would be impossible for us to tick the 'A stadium capacity of at least 12,000' and 'An average crowd of 10,000 or over' boxes. Ok so the latter is a little ambitious anyway, but with an 8000 capacity stadium, we haven't even got the potential to tick that.
Surely a policy similar to what Leigh have done with their sports village would be a better approach to take. Originally scheduled for 10,000 all seater, they changed the plans to incorporate terracing in order to meet the 12,000 capacity criteria. I for one am slightly concerned over the stadium capacity announcements and would be keen to hear what the new BOD plans are in regards to Super League. Saying that though, do the RFL actually use the criteria to make their decisions on Super League entry?! - That's another story.
What does seem to come out of this announcement made on Radio Cumbria is that the existing ground wouldn't be re-developed. Instead a completely new stadium would be erected within the vicinity. Should we believe all of this though? I'm personally taking it all with a pinch of salt. We have been told numerous times that development work is going start, but so far we haven't seen anything which remotely backs up any the plans. Until the JCB's move into the Recre then I'm afraid I am sitting with the sceptical people.
On a side note, the Dan Russell and Soni Radovanovic saga continues as both are still waiting for an absolute decision to be made one way or another. The return of Saia Makisi as a non quota player would be an extremely good move by the club if they can pull it off. Then of course there is the Greek/Aussie player which only a few people know about. If all of these signings come off, which going on past experience will be unlikely, then I think we have a good enough squad to take on any team in our league.
A new BOD with new plans to move the club forward all seems very positive on the surface. However, unlike some fans, I am not prepared to laud praises on these people just yet. 'Actions speak louder than words' and that statement has never been appropriate than it is for Whitehaven RLFC in the current climate.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Yes Toulouse can be affordable!
My Dad and I have been able to book our trip to Toulouse for £160 each for flights and 3 nights accommodation. Not bad you might say, considering the deal with the club will probably be around the £330 mark and that's only for 2 nights!
The secret is not to go to Toulouse. Yes as confusing as that may sound, it will cost you more to go there. Instead, you need to fly to Carcassonne which is about a 50 minute train ride away from Toulouse. Flights cost £75 from Liverpool flying out at 7.45 on Thursday 30th April and returning at 15.35 on Sunday the 3rd of May.
We managed to get a room for 3 nights in the Hotel Alize in the centre of Toulouse for £165. Half this cost and add the cost of the flights and you are just a little shy of £160! There will be a train fair from Carcassonne to Toulouse to work into the costs, but you can see that it is a pretty good saving.
I know others have organised other similar trips but if you are booked on either the flights mentioned above or the hotel, then please let me know!
The secret is not to go to Toulouse. Yes as confusing as that may sound, it will cost you more to go there. Instead, you need to fly to Carcassonne which is about a 50 minute train ride away from Toulouse. Flights cost £75 from Liverpool flying out at 7.45 on Thursday 30th April and returning at 15.35 on Sunday the 3rd of May.
We managed to get a room for 3 nights in the Hotel Alize in the centre of Toulouse for £165. Half this cost and add the cost of the flights and you are just a little shy of £160! There will be a train fair from Carcassonne to Toulouse to work into the costs, but you can see that it is a pretty good saving.
I know others have organised other similar trips but if you are booked on either the flights mentioned above or the hotel, then please let me know!
Monday, 12 January 2009
Wet, Windy...and a Win!
Well it seems like its safe to say we have a hardcore home fanbase of 1000 fans. That is based upon 1004 turning up to Sunday's match which I can safely say was played in some of the worst conditions you could possible have. Taking the weather into account and the fact that Man Utd were playing Chelsea at the same time, 1004 is a pretty respectable crowd.
Rugby wise, well there wasn't much to shout about. In my eyes Town looked the better side for large parts of the match, but just couldn't find a way over the line. We seemed to convert our chances better than they did, and really that's all it came down to. 26-14 isn't the most convincing of victories, but a win is a win.
Standing on the Popular Side and then in the Kells End when the heavens opened, it didn't feel like I was a spectator at a derby match. Zero atmosphere from the Haven fans just about sums it up, very flat indeed. Still, there wasn't much to get excited about. Graeme Mattinson deserved his man of the match award and I thought Craig Benson had a decent game for his first shift at full back. That's about the only points worth noting from the match, very hard to draw much else from it.
As a summary though, Town looked to match us quite well for most of the match which is certainly a positive for Dave Rotheram to take from the game. However I don't think Ged will be too worried about this performance, although a much improved one will be needed if we are to turn over Widnes next Sunday at the Halton Stadium.
Oh and Des, glad you enjoy reading the blog, sorry I couldn't give you a mention in this entry ;-)
Rugby wise, well there wasn't much to shout about. In my eyes Town looked the better side for large parts of the match, but just couldn't find a way over the line. We seemed to convert our chances better than they did, and really that's all it came down to. 26-14 isn't the most convincing of victories, but a win is a win.
Standing on the Popular Side and then in the Kells End when the heavens opened, it didn't feel like I was a spectator at a derby match. Zero atmosphere from the Haven fans just about sums it up, very flat indeed. Still, there wasn't much to get excited about. Graeme Mattinson deserved his man of the match award and I thought Craig Benson had a decent game for his first shift at full back. That's about the only points worth noting from the match, very hard to draw much else from it.
As a summary though, Town looked to match us quite well for most of the match which is certainly a positive for Dave Rotheram to take from the game. However I don't think Ged will be too worried about this performance, although a much improved one will be needed if we are to turn over Widnes next Sunday at the Halton Stadium.
Oh and Des, glad you enjoy reading the blog, sorry I couldn't give you a mention in this entry ;-)
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