THE RED ROOSTER

Fair screline I am afraid, though I managed to stand next to an unbiased Leyther Couple who were calling their forward passes and knocks on's. Mind you Leigh also have some middle aged women giving it some from the touchline. These boo-birds should have been happy with the outcome, but in truth had Leigh executed properly they might have got 80. London's effort was there but execution also poor, they stayed in relative touch despite an inability to play a set of six - some thing Rhys Williams loudly commented on from the touchline. The avalanche at the end was the fault of Sammut who freelanced all evening jumping out the line, getting turned for Leigh's first try and spending the last 10 minutes gong for short kick offs giving Leigh excellent field position which they exploited ruthlessly. When I checked the mobile and saw the Broncos gave him MOM I also spontaneously combusted on the spot. He not fit to tie Dennis Moran's shoelaces.. Simple fact, London were outgunned in the forwards yet again. You only had to look on the field to see that Leigh's XIII including London old boy Vea, were bigger, faster and stronger than London romping up and down the field. Unless this issue is addressed London Lightweights are going nowhere next year. Oh for a Mark Tookey..... On the E2 Bus going back to Ealing Broadway someone commented about travelling 2 hours to watch this S**t. As I also got back home around midnight. I feel your pain. A season which looked promising at one stage for London has ended with a vast reality check wth the two runts of the Super League litter kicking the Broncos a*se in successive weeks Rant over but a poor quality advert for the Super 8's.

St Helens by 8

Hunslet by 16

Hull FC by 4

London Broncos v Leigh Centurians -All Leigh have to do is follow the Widnes template and run their forwards up and down the middle of the park. Points difference matters in getting home advantage so Leigh by 20 Warrington Wolves v Hull Kingston Rovers - Warringion to give Tony Smith a proper send off - and win by 12 Catalans Dragons v Widnes Vikings - The RFL, The Rugby League Media and pompous keyboard klatterers all want a win for this diverse catalans outfit so - Come on Widnes - Chemics by 2 and the LSV away in the MPG should hold no fears. Halifax v Featherstone Rovers - Toss a coin here Fax by 2

Looking forward to the Jacsonville Jaguars v Baltimore Ravens at Wembley

What's disturbing is the need to get rid of a pl;ayer to save money..

Worst London performance in the Middle 8's, Widnes forwards gaining big yards up the middle all day long . The mad twenty occurred in the last 20 minutes of the first half spotting Widnes a 20 point advantage and game over by half-time. Dead rubber aginist Leigh could go either way from a London perspective. Season ending on a flat note. Did not think London would win but also did not think would lose by such a margin givimng away s many really soft tries.

Leigh Centurions v Halifax - Leigh to improve their points difference Leigh by 20 Hull Kingston Rovers v Catalans Dragons - A case of after the Lord Mayors show in East Hull. When the French club Toulouse needed to go and win at KR to stay alive in he Championship race they did and I expect the more diverse Catalans club to edge this by 4 Widnes Vikings v London Broncos - Still think London have the capacity to cause a upset but they have not cured themselves of the "mad 20 minutes" in matches where a shedload of points are conceded. Both clubs are used to artificial pitches, which reminds me of an old conversation "What do you prefer grass ior astroturf" to which the reply was "grass, cos I don't smoke astroturf !". Widnes under pressure to win this as the last game is Catalans away, i think they should, but the closer the game is in the last 20 minutes the more pressure the Chemics will be under. Widnes by 8 Featherstone Rovers v Warrington Wolves - Potential upset here with Tony Smith's departure announced and no one in place to replace him with a lot of anxiety amongst the players and coaching staff about personal futures. If it rains all the better for Featherstone Rovers. Normally I would have tipped Warrington by 16 but an upset could be coming.

Hull by at least and 8 point margin .

It's a very good point you make. Despite protestations to the contrary I suspect many Championship clubs view the middle 8's as the sum of their ambition Even my club which may be full time but is not paying anything near the cap, has a "we will cross that bridge when we come to it" attitude to the issues raised by promotion. This is not surprising as the increase in Super League funding is offset by higher wages and associated bills such as stewarding. all of which without any assurance that your side will be good enough to be competitive in Super League or that you can tap into new support through the turnstiles. Assuming that there is any support to tap into as many heartland Super League aspirants budget on away support increasing their average rather than new home support. You need to be cashed up to move up. The only club that has stated in recent times it would decline promotion was the Batley chairman a few years back. Part of the problem in Rugby League at present is that in both the Super League and the Championship there are the aspirant clubs who want to win things / promotion and the clubs who are in reality quite happy to continue at the level they are at and fear only dropping down into the lower league and IMO Championship clubs fear the drop into League 1 every bit as much as Super League Clubs the drop into the championship.

As I stated earlier in the thread Ian Lenagan has been trying to get his NZ Warriors to play Wigan in London http://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors/lenagan-reveals-hopes-for-nz-warriors-clash-1-8690357 The last census data on Australians and New Zealanders in London was 2001 so dated but interesting http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/new_zealand.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/australia.stm

Mystery Solved this thread is a a rehash of a Steve Mascord opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/london-this-is-the-nrl-calling-and-do-we-have-a-deal-for-you-20150128-130g7d.html Old Stevis has been doing a book tour and will be in Toronto Saturday...

London (Ontario) obviously and no doubt linked with NRL Expansion.....

One thing sadly missing at NFL Kickoff, Dara Kennedy hounded out of SKY before her time... Miss You Dara