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I guess this is the definition of a no win situation. If the team plays well, it is down to the players, if they play badly it is all the coaches fault. He has said all along that he wanted us to play an expansive brand of football. I believe we are doing that or at least trying to do that with a very unsettled side. Speaking of no win situations, Denis Betts really? Could I ask, of all the coaches in the game you could pick from, why Betts? His coaching record is appalling, whilst I grant you, Widnes are not one of the top sides anymore. Why, with almost unlimited money would you want a guy with a win record of around 1 in 3? It's not even like he hasn't had time to make his mark to improve things. I'd bet Diskin has a better win ratio than Betts. lol People quote a lack of strength in depth, but at the start of the season we looked to have cover throughout a really well balanced squad. Without looking at Rog's matrix, didn't we have 6 props, 4 halfbacks, 3 hookers, more back rowers than you could shake a stick at, 5 centres, 4 wingers/fullbacks. How many more players should we have signed? I thought the only dangers we had at the start of the season were, we maybe could have done with another winger, but other than that it was more a case of how do you keep a squad so big happy, when they are not selected? I certainly didn't expect an injury crisis like this and probably neither did the club. Never in a million years could anyone have foreseen the injuries we have endured this season. Last week was typical of how things have gone recently, we get a couple of players back and lose 3 more on top of those who were already out. Whilst I am probably seen as a happy clapper, having a balanced view on things is probably a more accurate description. WIth the players who have returned, who would you have signed? I didn't see Campbell coming back again, did you? Maybe not signing Pownall was a reaction to JC's return? DId you see Lillicrop coming back and breaking his collarbone? I know I didn't, should we have signed another prop just in case? When is Rettie back, I've heard a rumour he is back training, if it's true, it doesn't sound too long before he is back, so should we sign another winger on the off chance he is out for longer? Brownie was out for a while and got suspended on his first game back, Walker came back and then broke his foot on his first game back, should we have signed a forward and a halfback on the off chance that neither would be playing the week after they came back? Cowling coming in then busting his knee the list goes on... I understand the frustration, but it is so easy to criticise using hindsight. Have you thought that, maybe some of the injured players were due back sooner than what actually materialised? We could all speculate until the cows come home, but it isn't going to change the past. Could the club have done better? Probably, yes they could, with the benefit of hindsight, but as yet, nobody has come up with a way of using hindsight before an event has occurred. I'm not saying the club are perfect by any means, but come on, let's bring a bit of balance in to the thought process eh?

"Don't Buckle!" That was my thought as the game progressed in the first half. Batley was trying its best but the old bulldog was taking a few licks and kicks to the head. Toronto was scoring at will it seemed and the Batley players were getting down on themselves. Dark clouds were gathering (literally). I turned to my son and said, "I sure hope they don't buckle." He looked up at me and stated, "They just might." I chuckled and said in a low voice to the lad, "The old bulldog don't go down that easy...this is a well run and respected club son, they will not be broken." I thought of the Batley posters on the forum and knew theIr Club would never give in. There was cheering from a small but vocal group of traveling supporters in the East Stand and the old bulldog got up, dusted himself off, gave that a head a few shakes and went back at 'er. Batley did its best, they did not give in, their fans lifted them: they tried hard in every tackle and aspect of the game: THEY DID NOT BREAK!" GOOD WORK BATLEY, YOU GOT BEATEN BUT THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF. THE SHORT LEGS OF THE BULLDOG JUST COULD NOT STAY UP WITH THE FAST FLOWING GAIT OF THE MIGHTY TIMBER WOLF! "Run With The Pack!"

There must be better things to do in Thailand than sit in a bar and watch AFL.

This has to be one of the most random and pointless threads that I have seen on here haha.

I think this thread needs this photo

I think you are about to get your wish.

what a stupid comment...

"The World Cup success has also had direct impacts on the number of kids wanting to play the game. Fusitu’a runs a junior, U12 programme for Tongan kids, in the last couple of years they’ve had 80-100 signups. But in the year since the World Cup, that number has swelled to 360. “I had to cut the registrations off,” Fusitu’a said ruefully. “We don’t have the resources for any more.” Many of the kids had previously played Rugby Union too, but now wanted to play League. " https://thespinoff.co.nz/sports/14-07-2018/at-long-last-the-nrl-is-waking-up-to-the-pacifics-rugby-league-potential/ I think a lot of people are a bit glass half empty when they look what the NRL have done and are proposing to do with the international game. I get it, the treatment of the Denver test by them and some clubs (looking at you NZ Warriors) has been really bad. But lets look at the positives. Its mid July and nothing has been done to organise any games for the Pacific, 3 of which sit at rank 4 5 and 6. The RLIF have completely ignored them, the success during the RLCW and it seems are happy to let any momentum created to die to continue to focus on the big 3. Is this the act of a competent pro active organisation? The NRL are the ones developing the players that make these teams so strong and are the ones that have been organising their one game a year. Peter Beatie commented something along the lines of that these teams passion from the players and supporters is something similar to the passion Origin creates and that can be built on. Its not the NRLs job to organise internationals, but if they didn't our next lot of teams competitive with the big three wouldn't exist. Lets not kid ourselves that the RLIF are doing a great job. They are not. It is a good thing that the NRL are stepping up because if they didn't then our international game wouldn't be near as strong as it is now.

The irony of this is staggering, Huddersfield brought more to Leigh than Leigh brought to Huddersfield, and average more than Leigh , in fact in Leigh's 2nd effort at Super league, they were the 3rd most poorly supported team at Huddersfield. Leigh's stadium is usually half empty and only holds 12,000, yet he feels the need to have a pop at others, Briliiant. And all these teams are in SL because they were better than Leigh and still are. Arrogant, embarrassing post.

Really great to see so many Batley fans here in Toronto. I hope everyone enjoyed the trip and gets home safely.

After the recent accord with Elite1/2 clubs St Esteve and Baho respectively establishing a pathway from their U19s into senior/OA football the Dragons have now linked up officially with eleven local schools of rugby from Perpignan and nearby villages Baho, Estagel, Ille sur Têt, Le Barcarès, Opoul, Pia, Salses, St-Estève, St Paul de Fenouillet, Toulouges, XIII Catalan The expectation is to develop and impact a playing pyramid from U6s-U18s all operating under the Catalans banner with an emphasis on educator/coaching formation.Four of the junior clubs already operate the full age-groups as well as seniors. A professional club of stature has the wherewithal and impetus to make this happen. If France could replicate this concept in another two centres via Superleague involvement and drive at Toulouse/Avignon it would have the potential to really grow the game here.

An interesting game to be at. The first 40 was poor and we were lucky to get away with 36 points against us. They were fast and big and we really struggled in all departments. The second half was an improvement, we got stuck in, and generally held the ball better. TW are a very good side at this level, but should be winning games comfortably at Lamport. Playing their home games in a row, against weakened, jet-lagged teams is definitely an advantage. However, l enjoyed the experience immensely and hope they can continue to spread the game over here.

Heard in the Gents from a Skolars supporter that it was their best performance for weeks. This coupled with a strangely below par performance from York did make it an exciting game in the end and we were fortunate to win two points. Upwards and Onwards. Very small crowd but the Londoners are always so welcoming and I've always enjoyed watching matches down there.

Expansion is critical - without expansion the northern hemisphere professional RL will die - this requires cash injections The days of local teams for local people are pretty much gone - wee cant even support a midlands academy and the teams that fed into it without SL sucking the cash out of it Nottingham are screaming out for league to be played there and cant even get regular matches - so much for SL having a trickle down effect they cant even support obvious feeder teams and academies like this - you dont need to have the massive expense of an academy or under 21’s when you have areas like this screaming out for assistance - so why not use them that way? Surely we can do this where we are actually wanted? Well no. The relevance to this thread? Because SL have screwed up their own comp by not using the money and influence they have to expand the sport, above and beyioiond anything the RFL was ever capable of (because it pays most of its cash to SL dont forget) they are now screaming out for cash and about to screw over everyone else - the result of this is the opposite to expansion and we all know it The best run organic teams in RL bar 2 in SL are all in the lower leagues existing on far less cash but at their level all sustainable and successful. Like SL there are teams that are at deaths dooor - but sit in major conurbations or strategic areas that are dying because they lack a quarter of the SL club money that would boost them unimaginably and sustain the game for the future in those areas So we are now at a crossroads. Accept that people like Argyle add something we cannot ever generate and along with that hope of expanding as RL should have done decades ago but for the shortsightedness of intrioverted northern business men - that pains me i am a proud northerner but its true. Turn our backs on him and his ilk and we fade away. In the US and Canada there is currently none of the real ###### that surrounds RL and RU in this country. There is a reason for it here, a very valid one, but not there. RU has money. RL does not. Strategically Moore wanted a competition set up and running before the RLWC in the USA. I dont know why that has not pushed on. As a sport we need to be asking the right questions and that is one of them. The fact there are now functioning leagues in the USA has to be applauded, and encouraged, and supported. It doesn’t matter what level it is played at, it exists, and in a far stronger way than it did for nearly 20 years when it just about died off. It then regenerated itself. On its own. Organic growth. Because people wanted it. Now as a business to progress it needs cash. I for one would welcome that, and i hope there really is another Argyle out there to do that for say a New York or a Boston on the end of a straight flight over. What we need is an answer to the straightforward question, what is actually going on? Because if the reason all the expansion talk and therefore potential new income into the sport has stopped is because of the SL clubs ringfencing their little pot of money, we as a sport should be ashamed. TWP take absolutely nothing out of our sport. There will be empty seats at stadia when they play that are no more or less the same as when Catalans play, or Widnes, or Salford. I have seen matches on Freesports with TWP in this country with more TWP fans than I see Catalans fans in SL in the UK. Change is inevitable. Do you want a living sport played globally or do you want a semi pro game limited in all likelihood to the northern enclaves, if we are lucky? SOO is dying on its feet now - the decline is painful and obvious - 2.5 million less viewers than even 4 years ago, in a country of what, 25 million tops? Ten percent of that population aren’t bothering to watch the pinnacle of the sport (apparently) and have found something better to do. The NRL have clearly decided they are the game and we will do as we are told. ######. We should ask the likes of Argyle and Moore to have a chat with a few more mates, buy up clubs, bang them into cities and play a full international club league and not the Mickey Mouse stuff the NRL think will shore up the loss of 2.5 million viewers and a reduced TV deal. SL is a small paddling pool, the Olympic size pool is next door. The SL board need to accept that and go for it - no loss to them see TWP and its business plan up to 2021 and the next TV deal. You want to play? Put the cash up. And you know what? They will, in this country as well. There is no trickle down effect if there is nothing to trickle down because you have it locked away. To get the size of TV deal we have to go much bigger - this is RL, risk takers and heart breakers - what happened to that, the rebellious adventurous side of the spirit of the game? It kept us alive for over 100 years - the lack of it will kill the sport. We should change the language - its not ‘expansion’ at the ‘cost’ of other clubs, its growing the sport beyond its traditional boundaries which, in time, will become its new boundaries, then traditional boundaries, and we move on. Anything else is just wasted energy time nd money.

Maybe the RFL should distribute funding more equally so teams in the bottom end of the championship can afford to run with larger squads.

None at the moment tbh, if you'd asked me a month ago I'd have said all of them.

It's really disappointing that this thread which is supposed to be about RL in the US has descended into being another thread about the Wolfpack. Stating the obvious Canada and the US are two different countries. Can we discuss US RL without bringing Wolfpack into it?

This sort of thing is why I was surprised by the Mail's headline yesterday. As I'm sure I've said, my in-laws are Daily Mail readers who go along with pretty much everything that paper says and stands for. They cannot abide Donald Trump and were appalled that the Queen had to spend any time with him at all. They will have thought the protesters silly but not wrong.

Well, living in Adelaide means that all I hear is AFL this and AFL that. Personally I cant stand the game which surprised me as I enjoyed watching it during the 80's when Channel 4 used to have a weekly highlights package. A few Years ago a work mate took me to a Crows game. The game lasted so long that it is the only time I have entered a ground stone cold sober and was blatherated by the time it finished. I had drunk that much, that on the free bus service home, a woman with only four teeth who kept looking me was starting to look attractive. As for the game itself it is like watching a flock of birds trying to catch a hot chip!

AFL fans always seem to think that a couple of expat Aussies playing the game in a park somewhere outside of Australia means that the game is growing. I bet all those teams are made up of Aussies

Thanks for the updates. I was following the game.on here to see how Batley were doing so I appreciated your frequent posts. A decent score in the end all considering after a bad start. Thanks again.

The thing the SNP are upset about is the devolution laws that make it clear there's a presumption that any new powers should be automatically devolved unless there's an agreement between the devolved administration and the UK government. All of the repatriated powers to the UK should automatically be devolved under the law yet the UK government is wilfully ignoring this. Although legally the UK government CAN override the devolved governments on almost anything, the devolution agreements are clear that they shouldn't.

It's really quite funny, a lot of my mates could say that that paragraph applies to RL as well. At least where I am in the UK there's more Aussie rules teams than RL open teams in a 20, 40, and 60 miles radii as far as I can figure out.

Haha I've found Aussies to be so insecure especially the ones who follow AFL. They try to bring it up at the most irrelevant of times. Can only imagine how smug they are acting in that Thai bar. Don't get me started on when they describe the sport to a non-Australian who isn't aware of its existence. It usually starts off with something along the lines of "it's high paced, physical and skillful....." real vomit inducing stuff. Aussies try to present it as something it is really not. For those of us who've seen the sport, it's really nothing to rave about which explains its global insignificance even after existing for so long

“The current state of play is that Super League has appointed its own CEO in Robert Elstone, who is at heart, very much a life long rugby league fan,” said Hudgell. “So he understands the game from that perspective, but has been recruited primarily for his commercial and business nous, gained through decades of experience at Premier league football, Sky TV and other places. “From the Super League’s perspective, the dialogue and conversation rests with Robert to articulate our collective views across the game with the RFL and the Championship clubs, who have been very vocal in how they think the game should go forward. “It’s at a delicate stage the negotiation, so it’s not for me to start to articulate detailed views that sit outside the direction of travel agreed between the clubs." And then he goes off on one anyway. Elstone must be tearing his hair out trying to lead this lot anywhere.