Exiled Wiganer

The day wigan’s crowds are in the top 10 of the game’s issues will be a happy one indeed.

I suppose we will see whether SL will do any better now it has taken its destiny into its own hands.

IL continues to invest in the playing and coaching side, with massive wages and large numbers of employees. He also has valuable property assets within the company which could write off those losses in an instant. Plus of course he is very wealthy. I am proud of the emphasis he and the club give to development and fielding sides. He can keep on doing what he is doing as far as I am concerned.

He was in charge in 2012... IL is at his best when he shows his willingness to take risks, when he invests in people and gets a chance to grow the game. Hence our juniors, women’s teams, on the road games etc. He is right in this instance, but I wish he would focus more on his day job at times, rather than trying to run the game.

Fantastic news for the club and the game over here. I love the idea that Moran got the Spice Girls back together to finance it. We are lucky to have him backing our game.

I always get a bit confused about this question - is this after the regular season, ie which team is minor premier, or who wins the GF? I think there are 3 very strong sides and clubs - Wigan, Saints and Wire - who will between them win the 3 big prizes. I know Wigan are written off every year, but I have no fears going into 2019. We draw on the best juniors, have an injection of NRL savvy and techniques for the first time in nearly a decade and have recruited well. Hardaker is better than this version of Tomkins and Sammutt is better than Powell/Leuluai at 7. Bateman will be a big loss but if we are stronger at 7 then we shouldn’t be nearly as reliant on someone to create something out of nothing. It will be fascinating to see how good Wire can be now that Price has had 2 off seasons to work on them. Mad for the rest, a case can be made for Leeds, Cas, Catalans, Trinity and Hull FC for the 5th play off spot, in that order I think. Hard to separate Huddersfield, Salford, HKR and London but if pushed I would put them in that order. Oh and I would like to add to the chorus of concern and relief that OF is ok. That sort of thing can shake you up for a while.

This is a great thing. Every which way it is looked at, more money spent on a club deepening its roots and building within its community is exactly what the game needs more of. Whatever he puts into this, and Toronto, is loose change for a man who could instead buy a super yacht with a cheque equal to the entire turnover of the British game.

I am not saying that Catalans are not better than nothing, of course they are. I am arguing that they could and should be doing more so long into their life. There are any number of things that have been of benefit. How many more could there have been if, say, the game said that their primary role was to play French players, and so they had a cap of, say 5 overseas players. Make them exempt from relegation if that is what they argue they need. My point is not that they have allowed French players to play SL. How can they fail to have produced players when they simply could not sign 25 overseas players? I am surprised it does not strike anyone else as ridiculous for them to have so many overseas players after so much time. Even their own fans can only point to 6 probable French players in their first 17. Are they better than nothing? Yes naturally. Are they as good as they could be for the French game? Looking at that squad I cannot see how anyone can answer yes to that.

Is that right though? Why are they in SL if not because of the benefit to the game in France? They differ from traditional RFL members in that it is central to the case for having them that the game in France grows stronger as a result. Inevitably even they cannot sign 27 overseas players, and so they have to pick French players and I agree they are better than nothing. But I am surprised that I am a lone voice pointing out that they should not be applauded for having players like Tierney on their books so many years on. Indeed it isn’t a question of whether they could do more - they could not do less for the game in France given that they are limited to a dozen or so overseas players.

1) the rest have to be French because they can’t have more than 11 non French players. 2) my “agenda” is that Catalans should have far fewer overseas players (many bang average) after so long, for the greater good of the game. 3) Wigan is a town and France a country.

3 French players in the 1 to 13 with number 29 likely to play at 1. Sacre bleu!

It is, though there are, as you would expect, some grey areas as to what constitutes “full”. The RLIF tests are not the same, which is no surprise. If the test was affiliates then the hurdle would be cleared easily of course.

For those who are under the impression that this is not being considered, and has not been given attention, that is not so. Whether it will be resolved satisfactorily remains to be seen, but time, effort and money is being spent on sorting out WRL and the Tasos conundrum. As for GAISF, as has been touched on above, we have made progress over the last 12 months and have a clear path to full recognition. Essentially, RLIF needs to get 40 plus members, and people (not me) are working very hard to get there. For all the brick bats being thrown in their direction, there are currently good people working hard behind the scenes on these areas.

I see what you mean up to a point. Has the club done all it can , subject to having to protect itself from relegation, to reduce its reliance on overseas players. I would not even make the point if they had 5 or 6 top class players, but they must be able to produce French players of the calibre of Lewis Tierney, with the best will in the world. Have Catalans run the argument that they would field more French players if they were (again) exempt from relegation? If they have, and it has been knocked back, then I would have more sympathy. Is having Catlans better than nothing - probably. Are we making as much progress as possible towards achieving the common goal of the French national team being competitive? I don't see it. Finally, in any case it must be fair to criticse the club's behaviour in signing players of middling SL quality if that from England and Down Under. They may be subject to the risk of relegation, but that does not mean they should be applauded for stuffing their roster with overseas players to the max and beyond.

I think that the game should prioritise the French national team, and the development of the game throughout France.

I don’t agree with that. They are in the comp because they are French, for the survival and revival of the French game. Of course the Catalans owner is likely to see it differently. The RFL is at fault in not being clear on what they see the purpose of the Catalans is. TV deals (nil points), helping the national side (are they any stronger after over 10 years), Catalans’ survival above all else and a place in the sun for the likes of Tomkins and McIllorum? I would love the French game to succeed. We need it to succeed. I look down the Catalans 1 to 13 and despair of the chances missed.

I don't think anyone is suggesting they don't have overseas players. The legitimate question is whether 10 of them is too many after so long, with an entire country to choose from. I am guessing their instinct is to work out how many overseas players they can sign, spend that cash, and then fill up the rest of the squad. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy - unsigned players can't develop sufficiently. They should be the gateway for French players in the same way that the Warriors have been the gateway for Kiwis.

Maybe - you seemed to be suggesting that Toronto are in some way “entitled”, by which I assume you mean that they are being given things simply by virtue of their being Toronto. In the context of the points Argyle makes this doesn’t make sense, as he is setting out what they are doing, have done and will do.

Smith is very highly rated indeed in Pieland.

I think you misunderstand the word “entitled”. Not sure where the bitterness comes in, though, unless it is spurred by a rueful “why did the Bulls not get a sugar daddy?” Which is a great question but not one for this thread.

I agree with much of what has already been written. What terrifies me about this is that the RFL has seemingly given up entirely on trying to increase its profile and income. This is the sort of brink of complete insolvency behaviour. Where is Maurice when you need him? I look around and see no one with vision and confidence in our game. This is a competition enthusiastically and professionally covered by the BBC ffs. Genuinely our club level Crown Jewels and we can’t back ourselves to sell any tickets or attract any sponsors. In this instance I don’t think that it is a question of expansion or not, it is simply an admission of surrender when faced with the prospects of marketing our game.

If anyone honestly doubts that those Tongan players aren’t Tongan they haven’t been paying attention.

I beg your pardon - I glanced at the 1 to 13 squad numbers, glossed over union’s Yaha and missed Garcia, so 3 out of 13 including one who has left the code. Of course even they struggle to field more than 10 overseas players so they end up with more in the 17. If you think that’s a great achievement then that’s fine. Each to their own.

Early start for the unhinged one. Should have reached for the coffee and more meds rather than the internet.

In 2018 they had 2 French players in their 1 to 13. With a whole country to choose from/develop for over a decade. That is a disgrace.