THE RED ROOSTER

One of the main differences between US sport and UK sport is te ease of access to players for the general public, and one way to promote the London game which would be less expensive than plastering adverts on the Underground (which I have seen) would be to stage aa autograph session for England players on Friday 24th October at the London Designer Outlet which is next to Wembley along the lines of a meet and greet session with say Dom Young, Herbie Farnworth and George Williams. 6.00-7.00pm at say the New Era store. I actually pitched this idea to Gary Hetherington a few months back post the London fans forum when he was asking for ideas on promoting Rugby League in the south. Had no respose but worthy of repeating on this forum. I post as someone who has been at most England / Great Britain tests since 1996, including thre WC Finals and Australia v New Zealand in the old 3/4 Nations Tournaments at the start of the century and will be making the pilgramage to Liverpool and Leeds from the depths of Kent as well as Wembley.

It was two sets of defences at Spurs yesterday but the Jets performance was something else. Obviously one of the attractions of sport is you do not know if your going to get a classic or a clunker and considering everyone reading this potentially had more passing yards than Justin Fields with minus - 10 (27 years since this last happened). it was a clunker but with Denver barely any better, an entertaining clunker going to the last minute. The "worst game ever" well as a spectacle maybe there is a degree of recency bias here but I am struggling though to remember something as equally inept. Still enjoyed the atmosphere and the Jets Touchdown Tailgate the day before. The crowds held up for both games at 61,082 (Vikes v Browns) and 61,115 (Jets v Broncos). The lowest gate at Spurs was 60,087 (Tampa Bay v Carolina) and the highest 61,273 when the Bills were here in 2023. With the most attractive fixture of the three coming up betwen the Jags and the Rams. The metrics here are the lowest crowd being 76,961 back in 2011 when there was the threat of strike action from the NFLPA in pre-season which restricted the time they had to sell tickets and the highest being 86,651 last year when the Jags played the Patriots. so anything in the 80,000 range as all other Wembley games have registered would mark success. The drawback of course is that ticket sales for the NFL and Jags have proved price resistant, so do not back on them ever going down, though raising prices next year will truly test price elasticity of demand. A lot of comments about ticket prices but this is not a new phenomenon, you can find this in Premier League Soccer and In The Gallagher Premiership (or Prem as they like to call it) . It originated in the USA where for a number of years owners have played the super stadium game and each time raised prices in fact charging fans for the opportunity to buy tickets (personal seat licences) watch this video covering the Buffalo Bills move to a new stadium and the effect it has on lower income members of the Bills Mafia. Especially the end bit which is very relevant both in the US and here. This is My Last Season

Congratulations to Hull KR, League tables do not lie ,and they have earned the treble. The only black cloud on their horizon is that Willie Peters chance of getting an NRL head coaching job have increased greatly as a result of this.. Wigan were very un-Wigan under pressure, knock-ons, penalties and panic stricken offloads. Matt Peet has a lot to mull on in the off season.

A half of two halves, Wigan bombing two tries then the sin bin after 18 minutes and all Hull KR and Mikey Lewis afterwards. Wigan not coping with the physicality from KR and JWH putting himself about a bit in a borderline way. Wigan score first in the second half game on. KR score first and it could get embarrasing

Tickets for the Union Jack Classic on Septemver 19th 2026 are on sale. http:// https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/2300632FCA260AA0 Prices Lower Tier side and End Zone £ 142.00 Lower Tier Middle £ 228.10 Middle Tier Middle £ 251.70 Middle Tier End Zone £ 201.65 Upper Tier Midde £ 102.10 Upper Tier corner £ 76.75 Upper Tier End Zone £ 71.70 Plus of course a £ 3.95 Ticketmaster handling fee Bit too early for me and most others to commit being 11 months away and a lot can change in peoples lives in that time. NFL London games are normally on sale after the fixtures come out in late May so it's only a 4 months wait. On the subject of tickets. The Jaguars ticketmaster distribution went without a hitch both electronically and in PDF format something Spurs do not do. Spurs have reverted to their old e-mail method of sending out tickets, and NFL UK blames Ticketmaster for Sunday's fiasco. It would appear from a throwaway sentence that Spurs are loking at increasing the number of NFL games at White Hart Lane Tottenham’s £1bn NFL expansion plan could face major hurdles amid Super Bowl talk A Team that may well be playng more games in the UK is the Jacksonville Jaguars, According to the Florida Times Union, Jacksonville negotiated to play up to 6 games overseas in seasons 2025, 2026 and 2027 due to the redevelopment of Everbank Stadium. The Jags ground will be limited to a maximum of 43,500 in 2026 with the redeveloped stadium in 2028 hiolding 63,000 in future a drop in size from the current 67,838 capacity (though tis could be extended with temporary seating to 71,000 for college bowl games. Jacksonville get 19% of all ticketed revenue from the Wembley Game so as Everbank Stadium is closed during the 2027 season the quertion is where would be Jags play . They have two options Orlando and Gainesville with Orando offering $ 10 million for Jags games so guess who wins but as the NFC / AFC rotation means the Jags will get 9 home games in 2027. You could see an additional Wembley game. Crucially TV viewing figures for the London game in the states were the second biggest ever overall and the biggest on the NFL network which appears to indicate US fans are getting used to 09.30am EST games which means more slots on offer for the next TV deal and more revenue.... Vikings-Browns is most-watched NFL Network London game ever Jags have a few events coming up https://jaguars.co.uk/greenwood-pub-party/ And the Gianys win last night over the Super Bowl Champion Eagles is one of number of upsets making the 2025 NFLalmost as unpredictable as the 2025 NRL season was.

Classy farewell message from Paul Wellens to chairman, club, players and fans. Good luck to him whatever he does next.

Winners - Philidelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots , Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills.

If you did not buy a ticket to the London games you dodged a bullit this season. I personally had no problem getting in having downloaded to Google Wallet, but as for those who tried to use the ONE PASS APP you were denied entry. https://x.com/Clevelandwins84/status/1974818070578282815 The crowd piled in around ,midway during the first quarter. I wonder if the mentioned this on TV ?. At the time of writing no apology from the NFL for whom in the words of that Elton John song Sorry Seems tio be he Hardest Word As for the game itself, Obviously you would want two top sides slugging it out and a close finale. We got two ordinary sides slugging it out but a close finale which often happens with equally matched sides though if Minnisota had not coughed the ball up so often or their offensive line been able to protect Carson Wentz. It would have been an easier Vikings win. Heaps of Vikings fans in the ground with the SKOL chan,t but neutrals split 80-20 for Cleveland so proper game day atmosphere .. once people were in of course Usual whinges Overpriced and low stock of Merchandise (some of which is poor quality as surfacing on facebook and twitter) Too many "event" attenders I am afraid up - down up - down all the time getting Beers. Often with the ball first down on the nine yard line . A bit like Twickenham without the Public School braying. Everyone I spoke to said: They are going to the College Football game next year They hate the gameshow 5.30pm format for Big Game Night

Mark Sanchez sports commentary career appears over... https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/mark-sanchez-is-arrested-on-multiple-charges-after-his-friday-night-stabbing Jerry Jones (who is influential in owner circles) supports a London Super Bowl. Mike Florio's article covers the time difference drawback but although I do not often see eye to eye with what he says and writes the final three paragraphs are very pertinent. Jerry Jones supports the idea of a London Super Bowl - NBC Sports Simms and Florio will be over in the UK on tour in the off season. Heaps of Viking and NFL fans in London Today and the "merch" was flying off the shelves at the Spurs shop this morning but in a tribute to how badly NFL UK are handling things I got there an hour after opening and things were still boxed up and te only just got round to advertising a very limited and pricey range for Click and Collect This afternoon less than 24 hours pre-game.

Depends upon a number of factors How many Kansas and Arizona fans travel How many NFL fans in UK are in to college football and of course Ticket Prices I finally have my tickets for the Vikings game but the damage has already been done witrh a lot of fans some of whom transferred tickets into the ether. You have to marvel at an organisation that links ticketmaster accounts to their own app but fails to market test whether or not it works on Android devices. And significantly no apology from NFL UK. As they would say in the US, receipts are being taken No click and collect this year, and fans unable to see what really sells - game day pin badges - I have seen a Vikings 3 pin set that looks great from the Dublin game and I will find out tomorrow if there is a London version because I get my "merch" before gameday. In a sense the experience each year gets worse, In the days when there was just the one game it was like a UK superbowl but as more games got added and the experience "normalised" so the whole gameday experience outside of the match itself has gone steadily downhill. NFL still trying to flog tickets for New YorkJets and Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Rams. Now I can understand the flormer not being an attractive match-up but the Jags through using Wembley have 20,000 more tickets to sell and they are adoped as the "second team" by many UK fans as there here every year. That said there has been a lack of social media activity from the Jags and the LA Rams as you might have noticed from the Thursday night game do no have as many fans in LA as you might think and are not well supported in the UK. The problem now is choice, in the old days it did not matter about the matchup.you went because it was hte only game in town. Now If your team is the Steelers you buy a Dublin package, Falcons a Berlin one or Dolphins a Madrid one. Instead of the London Games and of course they are on FTA TV and no longer PPV. Whether this impacts on future London games depends upon whether new fans watching on FTA are enticed to go and see the game live, whether the matchups are perceived as good enough, and if lessons have been learned over ticket pricing and distribution. If this year is just a "blip" then we carry on but there is a significant drop then when the agreement for 2 games at Tottenham ends in 2029 and The Jags agreement with Wembley ends with Everbank Field will have been rebuilt. Then teams will follow the money and go elsewhere.

Big Thanks for Graham for running not just this Tipping Competition, but also the most troll-free part of TRL where knowledgable fans come together to debate the NRL. I look forward to the 2026 season. Winner Melbourne Storm Poll 8 or 9 Ponts - 64

The NRL Grand Final Thread. As Frank Sinatra used to warble “and now I face the final curtain”. While on singers, I am getting on in years but can one of you younglings tell me who Teddy Swims is? I know Snoop Dogg and the Doggfather rocked the AFL Final Has the NRL booked a 2nd rate replacement?. Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm As expected, Brisbane adds Patrick Carrigan to their starting XIII with Tyson Smoothy benched. Xavier Willison following the recent judiciary trend for fines rather than suspension when it comes to the finals, for his cannonball tackle last week. Though Super League seems to be following a similar trend with Lachlan Lamb. Melbourne retains the same starting XIII from last week. I cannot help but agree with Cooper Cronk that Brisbane are fortunate to be in this Grand Final. There were a number of refereeing decisions that went in their favour against both Ricky’s Raiders and the Penny Panthers and in both games the Raiders and the Panthers early in the second half had opportunities to score the go ahead try to ice the game. Granted that the Bronx defended well but their season hung by a thread at the time. By contrast, Melbourne Storm aimed up against Cronulla, Now with Jahrome Hughes they are as I have posted a different beast altogether what was significant is the way in which the side responded with Munster and Papenhuyzen stepping up a gear. With Hayy Grant ‘s left shift in the closing minutes being the coup de grace in the game. Cronulla did not play badly in the game but they and I expected to see the Melbourne of previous weeks but again to paraphrase a Cooper Cronk quote this time about Nicho Hynes he was Ok, but you need to play more than Ok against this Melbourne side. The other key thing about Melbourne is the number of lesser heralded players that play a key role in this side. Away from the “Fab Four” and Xavier Coates. You have Nicky Meaney a utility player who seems to fi seamlessly wherever he plays in the side. Wiliam Warbrick a reliable winger who contributes as much as Coates but less spectacularly and Stefano Utoikamanu an impact forward who can stay out of the sinbin. He and Trent Loiero’s performance against the Brisbane pack may set the tone for the game. In contrast, have there ever been a more unlovable bunch of reprobates than the Brisbane Broncos, a team with quite a few players with “form” on and off the field of play. If a side like that wins a grand final it could well send an “it’s all right, then” message to youth. It’s often stated that the broadcast deal depends a lot on having a strong Queensland representation and a Friday night game featuring a Queensland Club normally the Bronx with eyeballs glued to the TV screen. There is also an argument being deployed that a Bronx Grand Final win is needed to stem the advance of AFL in Queensland due to the Brisbane Lions but surely league fans in Queensland are not that fickle. Brisbane and Melbourne at 1-1 this season, Storm winning 22-2 at AAMI park and the Broncos 30-14 at Suncorp. Grant Atkins is the Grand final referee, with the NRL preferring a free-flowing game for its showpiece final as opposed Ashley Klein’s penalty laden performances. Played a Sydney Olympic Park so ostensibly a neutral venue but I would be surprised if there were not more Queenslanders than Victorians present. Arguments for the Storm If you are into Rugby League Metrics there a few categories in which the Bronx are ahead of the Storm. Melbourne has the edge overall in the series winning 34 out of 40 clashes and 17 of the last 19 meetings between the two. As the sides have split the series this year. There is no streak to break. Craig Bellamy – Master Coach It was not much of a factor against Cronulla, but Melbourne may well kick to the corners for Coates and Warbrick with more success against Karapani and Mariner. Adam Reynolds is not just playing on old legs but a dodgy hamstring as is Ezra Mam. Losing either or both will impact on the Bronx. Attitude and preparation count you can bet a Bellamy side has both can you say the same for the Bronx with rumours of discontent mid-season about training methods. Arguments for the Broncos The Bronx will be depending in Paas, Carrigan and Willison ensuring forward dominance over the Storm and build a platform for Reynolds and Walsh. Brisbane remains a side of individuals relying on Reece Walsh, Kotoni Staggs, Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Payne Haas to provide a moment of inspiration to spark the Bronx into life Jahrome Hughes arm stood up to the test against the Sharks, but should he be injured early on and off the field it’s a gamechanger. Expect the Broncos forwards to target him. Ben Hunt, I always liked him when he played for SGI and although he has not as yet fired for the Broncos could the big stage be his big day. Lady Luck has taken up residence at Red Hill. Sometimes a club has its name on the trophy regardless of the merits of the opposition. Things just fall their way as seems to be the case for Brisbane. Verdict – Melbourne Storm

Jonah Pezet in demand. Mellbourne are going to have to make a decision post season. If they are going to let the young starlet go elsewhere or move one of the aging stars on to retain him. Jonah Pezet to Paramatta ?

On a brighter note, College Football will be taking place at Wembey on September 19th 2026 https://kuathletics.com/news/2025/10/1/kansas-football-to-play-in-1st-ever-college-football-game-at-iconic-wembley-stadium-in-london Let's hope they don't iuse Ticketmaster.....

NFL ticketing for Totteham is an absolute shambles (and that's polite) . For the last few years your tickets have been e-maied to you and can be saved in Google Wallet. This year all tickets have had to be saved to ONE PASS which wait for it does not work for Android users so thousands of fans, like me, have no access to tickets and unlike Dublin where there was a similar shambles and tickets were automatically sent out even up to the last minute. Fans are being told we are trying to fix our Andriod app. Only if you cannot get access 48 to 24 hours prior to the game can you e-mail an unyet named Ticketmaster address to gdet a PDF ticket meaning a lot of fans will be lined up outside the Spurs Ticket Office come Sunday morning. Any apology from the NFL for this fiasco ..,crickets....