Wellsy4HullFC

Just musing out loud. And please don't derail this into "clubs shouldn't be relying on away fans, yada yada". Would matches get more travelling fans if their club received the ticket sales? I imagine their club would promote it more and attempt to get more of their own fans there. The home team would still receive the food and drink takings, which might improve should more people go. I'm just looking at that huge stand at Wigan that sometimes is filled by local teams and sometimes is well off. These derbies should be selling out.

Magic could only work with an odd number of teams if they had 2 neutral games or if one set of teams forfeit a home game for it. E.g. Vegas: Bradford v Leigh Everton Magic: Same 12 as this year. French Magic: Catalans v Toulouse Dublin: Warrington v Wigan, Hull v Wakey You'd then need Hull KR, Saints, Cas, Huddersfield, York, Leeds, Catalans, Toulouse and London x2 to play neutral games. Could have Toulouse v London / Leeds v Catalans Paris double header. Hull KR v York, Cas v Huddersfield in Amsterdam. Saints v London somewhere in the South outside of London. Only way you'd get an odd number of teams to work if keeping Magic Weekend.

If the first round SL clubs are in is as it is now (played before the SL season starts, seeded against Championship clubs), you almost guarantee all SL clubs are involved. You then have the next round in May (as Magic is scheduled up be next year), quarters in June, semis in July, final in August (like it used to be). That's pretty much 4 months build. Plenty of time.

I fear for my club, I really do. There's very little noise going on about next season. The huge play for McNamara has resulted in the absolute crippling of the current season, and nothing to show for next season yet. All for a huge gamble on a coach nobody particularly clamoured for in place of the one who was currently in. We won't know if it was worth it until next season plays out, but if I was a betting man (I am a betting man!), I can't see significant improvement. So much rides on next year. After many poor years, an atrocious 2024 and now 2026, I can see a lot giving up if next year doesn't show signs of progression.

The only way they could be persuaded is if they had a significant increase in funding to compensate. If the NRL do come in, it may be something that see as necessary to do. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Magic Weekend in the Challenge Cup makes so much sense, especially in regards to reducing the fixture list!

I'm just thinking this could be their way of getting out on a technicality. The IMG rules that the clubs agreed to only stipulated that 12 clubs would be chosen via the gradings system. How they choose the final 2 to make 14 is up to them. I've said from the start, the hasty expansion seemed like a way to get in teams they wanted, let them improve their grading, rise above the ones they don't want, then bin them.

Am I right in that it's been reported that they will use last year's method for choosing this year? i.e. 12 teams from gradings + 2 from a committee? Surely that's how they get a team like London in and a team like Huddersfield out? Unless Huddersfield are still 12th?

Terrible defence by Catalans here. Cartwright has a job on his hands.

Every time I think we might do alright, we fold pretty early or we get a red card or something and the game is over before it even got good. Do I'm just going to assume the same.

Not really. They were promoted on the field, not through gradings. They would never have been promoted through gradings. They were subsequently relegated due to their very poor comparative grading, and would have been relegated through performance regardless. York were promoted through grading and given a very bum deal, and there are arguably worse teams in the gradings. They are also not bottom.

I said the same about the Bradford Bulls women's team. Go Cows!

How has he not given that.

Injury prone player? You know he's FC bound!

48-0 after 35 minutes? Oof.

But they can exist. And they must if a game is to be officiated. Your obstruction example is a perfect example of the need for clarification.