Q&A
Answers to two questions from Saturday’s game.
Sorry nothing to do with some of the refereeing decisions
The Gatemen asked if we had ever played Stoke before ?
As the Preview suggested :-
“Stoke were last played in the 1996/7 season at a time they had become regular opponents in the League and were played in seven of eight seasons. They had also been played twice in the pre-League days of the 1970s ...”.
So Yes ....
A little more information on those games
| 1972/73 | 09/09/1972 | A | 17 | 7 | - | L |
Limited information
| Keith | Baker | Try scorer |
| Paul | Dawson | |
| Paul | Longdon | |
| Keith | Ridding | Penalty |
| 1973/74 | 30/03/1974 | H | - | 21 | 20 | W |
A full team
| Ian | Woof |
| Phil | Bonson |
| Keith (Gina) | Robinson |
| I. | Strickland |
| Paul | Dawson |
| John | King |
| Carter | Croft |
| Phillip | Harkness |
| Ian | Hutton |
| Rod | Short |
| Richard | Harris |
| Keith | Garnett |
| Reg | Burrow |
| Mike | Nelson |
| John | Mitchell |
| 1989/90 | * | 13/01/1990 | A | 7 | 15 | - | W |
No information except Stirling Hulme only missed one game that season (West Hartlepool) so must have played .
| 1990/91 | * | 12/01/1991 | H | - | 19 | 0 | W |
Again little information
| David | Bell |
| Mike | Bowerbank |
| Dave | Pett |
| 1992/93 | * | 03/04/1993 | H | - | 36 | 17 | W |
See team list attached from the programme - including it appears a TRY from one of our gate team
| 1993/94 | * | 26/03/1994 | A | 11 | 5 | - | L |
No Information
| 1994/95 | * | 25/03/1995 | H | - | 9 | 3 | W |
No Information
| 1995/96 | * | 30/09/1995 | A | 10 | 19 | - | W |
| Full | back | Not named |
| Mark | Airey | |
| Paul | Dodds | |
| Jason | Slater | |
| Mike | Healey | |
| Mike | Fell | |
| David | Bell | |
| Darren | Sharpe | |
| Billy | Coxon | |
| Jon | Nicholson | |
| Nigel | Pearson | |
| Howie | Nicholson | |
| Mike | Capstick | |
| Mark | Bowman | |
| Ian | Downham | |
| Adrian | Nutter | |
| Peter | Kremer | Replacement |
| 1996/97 | * | 07/09/1996 | A | 12 | 21 | - | W |
A full team
| Paul | Dodds |
| Jason | Hudson |
| Steve | Healey |
| Mike | Healey |
| David | Slater |
| David | Bell |
| Mark | Airey |
| Billy | Coxon |
| Jon | Nicholson |
| Ian | Thompson |
| Mike | Capstick |
| James (Jimmy) | Bracken |
| Barry | Wightman |
| Ian | Downham |
| Mark | Bowman |
| 1996/97 | * | 01/02/1997 | H | - | 40 | 3 | W |
See team list attached from the programme
including the Dads of two of Saturday’s team, plus the man with the clipboard on Saturday, and a lot other well known names
Question 2 : TRY SCORING BONUS POINTS
After the game on Saturday, as I was at the Brewery Arts Centre in the evening, rather than dash home, I was typing up the report in reception when I overheard Nick Milner talking to Ben Dixon and questioning whether the team had ever started the season with five bonus point wins before.
Liking a challenge I thought I would see if I could work it out
It appears Try Scoring Bonus Points were first awarded in 2004. My detailed Season Stats’ only started in 2013/14, but I checked back and in the years between 2004/5 and 2013, less than 20 points were scored in at least one of the first five games (so no chance of a Bonus Point).
| Season | TSBP | Finished | Notes |
| 2004/05 | 6 | 9th | |
| 2005/06 | 1 | 14th | Relegated |
| 2006/07 | - | 5th | No Bonus Points awarded |
| 2007/08 | - | 1st | Promoted - No Bonus Points awarded |
| 2008/09 | 9 | 8th | |
| 2009/10 | 5 | 10th | |
| 2010/11 | 7 | 10th | |
| 2011/12 | 4 | 16th | Relegated |
| 2012/13 | 5 | 13th | Relegated |
| 2013/14 | 15 | 4th | |
| 2014/15 | 13 | 3rd | |
| 2015/16 | 16 | 1st | |
| 2016/17 | 7 | 7th | |
| 2017/18 | 6 | 10th | Move to new ground |
| 2018/19 | 5 | 12th | Relegated |
| 2019/20 | 9 | 5th | In North East |
| 2020/21 | - | - | No rugby |
| 2021/22 | 13 | 3rd | Promoted |
| 2022/23 | 8 | 10th | |
| 2023/24 | 8 | 6th | |
| 2024/25 | 5 | - | So Far ! |
Whilst there were no bonus points awarded in the 100% 2007/8 season, the team started with a 16v0 win against Birkenhead Park, so would not have got one.
In the 2015/16 Promotion season, only two tries were scored in the opening narrow win at Leigh (won with a late late Glen Weightman drop goal), before scoring at least four in the next four games.
So it does appear to be the first time the team have started with a run of five try scoring bonus points, but it is not the first five in a row. That came towards the end of the 2013/14 season, where we finished fourth after relegation the previous season.
Hopefully the team can go one better on Saturday and make it six – but I think we will be happy with a narrow low scoring win (Manchester have the second lowest points concede after Anselmians – although we picked a Bonus point up against away Anselmians).
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Any questions on the stats’ of past seasons do not be afraid to ask.
I enjoying looking - even if I cannot always locate the answer.