So what can we take from the 2009/10 season. Hoppers will finish in the lower half of a strong division, but could have gone on to better things if a little luck was on there side. Not only did they lose a number of key players in the off season, the likes of fly half Marcus Jackson and couty back row Andrew Dockray, both who had to leave the are for jobs, but two key players left during the season for a bigger pay packet at a lower level. Add to that a season that has seen one of the biggest injury crisis' in club history and things were stacked against them from the start.
Head Coach Alex Keay said: It’s been a real rollercoaster season, we started ok, then went on a bit of an average run but by Christmas I would probably think we were the form team in the league and then when the weather kicked in even though we played quite well over a Harrogate and when you look at that result in high insight we lost 12-9 and we could have won and they have gone on to be the form team in the league since Christmas.
He added: "There are lots of reasons why we are not playing very well at the moment some of which we can do something about, others we probably can’t, whether it’s through quality of player, age or injury. But they are things we have to try and deal with it. We made our mark by playing inside our budget and things like that but budgets dictate the kind of player that you can look to bring in and we have lost two very good quality players during the season in Darren Wilson and Mark Hanson so you can’t really complain. We are struggling at times to put one really quality player out and maybe have at best three quality players. We have the likes of Luke Cunningham and Tom Hughes but they are getting submerged by the others. But we have put some very good young players out and people have to be patient with them. Unfortunately people aren’t patient and I think that people should be more realistic and trust that we are going to put in the necessary pieces."
The 2010 part of the season has been a disappointment but with a unparalleled 11 player missing from the team that started the opening weeks, and around 30 player (some definite first XV and others on the fringe) it is amazing that Hoppers have finished the fixture list at all.
So to break down the season there is;
The Good; The emergence of young players- Tom Hughes (13) is developing in to one of the best centre's in the league, tough to bring down, runs superb lines and will tackle anything that moves. Jordan Pearson (6) is a flanker in the Lewis Moody mold, a brave and tough tackling player who will give 100% and always provide a physical (if sometimes a little to aggressive) presence. Alex Zavallis-Roebuck (10) is a real maverick and probably the most naturally gifted player at the club if not the league. His vision and skill set him apart from other and gives him the ability to control the game.
The Bad; The consistency and mistakes; So many times you came away thinking what could have been and what should have been. Games became forward dominated when they really should have been put in the hands of the youthful and exuberant backs. Their needs to be greater leadership shown on the field but after losing so many key players it can be difficult to adjust.
The Ugly; An extraordinary number of injuries, key men like Phil Whyte (13) and Marc Balshaw (5)hardly played and managed to get injured as soon as they returned. With around 30 players unavailable the season was always going to be a struggle
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