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ShotgunGold

Coach
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    Now in Wales.

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  1. I agree with 2 and 3, of which Wigan certainly do have. With 1 I disagree a little. You spend the cap, that is all. It's HOW you spend the cap which is important and obviously that ties in with having a great coach. Having the extra money is great for building up the club off-the-field, but once you've spent the cap that's crucial in the results you get throughout the year.
  2. Just heard about it now. Thought it was a rumour at first... RIP man.
  3. What percentage of Elite One and Elite Two players are French/North African? Does it vary hugely between clubs or are they all quite consistent in the number of Aussies/Kiwis they have? Is there a foreign quota like in Super League? What are fans saying about the forthcoming European Cup? For it, against it, optimistic, excited, not expecting anything but a win, worried about any teams in particular, much faith in Goulding etc etc One of the games is being held at Albi Tigers home ground isn't it? Thanks for any answers.
  4. I was going to start a similar thread. I really want a Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors final! Saints v Leeds would just be -_-
  5. I don't think league in this country has enough "casual fans". It seems like most who are a fan of the game goes to a good few games a season at the very least. Union and the NRL both have that fanbase which will very occasionally go watch matches, or turn up to big matches. It's almost as if it's the same group of fans upholding the bulk of season tickets, Challenge Cup, CC Semi-Finals, CC Wembley, England internationals, World Club Challenge, Millenium Magic, SL play-offs and GF. Obviously lack of media coverage and the matches on Sky effect this, but probably more so is the location of clubs. But hey that's the way it is. I actually think that League fans are some of sports most loyal and am amazed by how well most matches and events are supported by what is, compared to football/union, a small fanbase.
  6. When I first watched RL the scrum was the only time when I went WTF. It's the worst bit about the game and something needs changing. Don't actually know how it needs to change, but it does!! I can't imagine how many people it puts off the game when they are watching for the first time. When I am explaining the game to a friend (which is pretty regular) I just keep quiet when a scrum happens!!
  7. Daily Telegraph Australia Sydney Morning Herald After the progress they had made in the Pacific Cup, this is a big blow to PNG. I thought he was a great coach, but even if they were to replace him with someone better I doubt the results could be achieved because obviously this coach would only have four weeks preparation before they face The Kangaroos in Sydney. Why do you think he left though - it sounds to me like he's using St George Illawarra to cover up the feuds. PNG could have got third place in this years tournament. England did poorly last year on home soil, and awful in Australia in 2008. Remember the game in Townsville finished 32
  8. Absolutely fantastic match, shows what the Play-Offs were really about. Took agggges to make the decision, but in the end the kick was oh so slightly short. Wigan will have to do it the hard way.
  9. I've spoken before about my views of Harlequins not being a "real team" with a shared identity and a turbulent history, and so whilst this is sad news I really hope it puts an end to the Fulham/Crusaders/Broncos/Harlequins team. Honestly - as in Fulham/Crusaders/Broncos/Harlequins 1980-2010 RIP. What London needs is a new team to represent them in the Super League or the Championship. The reason I'm saying Championship is in a city of 8 million and with so many aims, I think the key aims can be strengthened by having a Championship team and channeling effort into key areas. Lets look at some of the things a London Super League club is supposed to do... A. Be an example for all London junior players that they can get to the top B. Be part of the development of future London born rugby league players C. Give London fans of the game a chance to see and support a team week in week out. D. Teach the rules of the game to Londoners (I mean in a spectator sense not a player sense) and persuade them to become real fans of the game. E. Gain media coverage in the city for the club and the game F. Win matches and trophies. Now Harlequins have been hitting... A, B and C. But have not been hitting D, E or F. Due to the timescale that they have been involved in the league, surely it is time to concentrate on developing London players, and then once that is sorted (probably another 10 years), then concentrate on winning London fans and the London media over. You've got to admit that HRL do have a harder job than other Super League clubs as they get next to nothing local media coverage and it's full of people who don't even know the rules of the game let alone not just people who are simply not interested. A Championship team would partly hit criteria A, hit B, hit C, won't hit D because lets face it SL is always going to appeal to people more than Championship games, I certainly don't think they'll lose the little of E they get, and well they could do well with F. So yeh, personally I think a new professional London Championship side (setup in the same way as the SW Scorpions with the fans picking names, emblems, full of Londoners), the London Skolars and another new London team in Championship 1 or Conference National would be better for the London game than a failing Rugby Union Super League team. And it would be better for Super League which I really don't think 'needs' a team in the capital and of course it would free up another licence spot for Leigh or Toulouse or someone. Just my take anyway. Edit: Strangely stumbled upon this from 2001. Would seem London have always had trouble...
  10. A few small points... 1. Crusaders obviously had little time to drum up support for season ticket sales due to the speed of their arrival in Wrexham. 2011 season tickets went on sale after Saints game. 2. Crusaders spent their advertising budget (as well as their merchandise budget I think) by May. So they have literally spent nothing in certain departments since then. I went to Crusaders v Bulls back in June and asked about the merchandise and I was told that most of their stock had been sold out, most things they had none of. 3. Crusaders haven't had the time or money to invest into North Wales (as opposed to Wrexham). No marketing of games has happened in North Wales. Next year things are hoping to improve with coaches from Gwynedd and Anglesey to Wrexham so that fans can travel. All Asda's and Tesco's across North Wales will stock Cru merchandise. No Sunday games. North Wales radio interested and BBC radio want to do English and Welsh commentary. My mate at Prifysgol Glyndwr was at the fans meeting and told me this stuff, it's all small but it all helps spread the word : ) 4. My main worry is that Crusaders aren't sure if they want to be/should be: Wrexham Crusaders, North Wales Crusaders or Wales Crusaders. Personally I think they should stick to representing the north although 5. Most fans wanted Rodney Parade you know so the ideas not a dead duck. I saw Cas Tigers and there was just something lacking which I think would have been there if it had been at RP. 6. I think the attendence next year might be below this years because of the Leeds/Hull/Gareth-Catalan games. However I think we've got to say that as long as Crusaders get all their games at least 4500 with a 5500ish average then they've done really well. If they can add an extra 200 to that average every season then I think thats the way to go. They're reasonable targets which can be hit. But remember any talk about pulling the plug and fans certainly won't go, nobody'll support a team that won't be there next season!! 7. Finally we still haven't seen any Wales games since the Crusaders move. With games in Wrexham, Colwyn Bay and Neath; and perhaps a few Four Nations games in Wrexham or Cardiff in 2011 :P then it'll be all systeams go. The national team will certainly help the Cru!
  11. This is what I'm worried about - how the hell can you ask a team like Castleford or Wakefield to "downscale". A huge number of their players will be lost, a huge number of their fans will be lost, a huge number of their sponsors will be lost. It would be terrible for any club to simply be "pushed off the cliff". Obviously they will be able to compete, but I doubt whoever does get the chop will storm the Championship, as it's not like they'll be back in a years time - the whole structure of the club on and off the field will would be scaled back completely. And I guarantee that if Wakefield or Castleford do get the chop then they'll never be back in Super League again. Say what you like about Castleford, Wakefield or Salford not being Super League clubs, but they certainly are not Championship clubs. The RFL should improve the structure, the finances and overall professionalism of the Championship before they demote teams. If that takes a further 3 or 6 or 9 years then so be it.
  12. Ridiculous! How the hell did Ian Smith give that. If Saders lose by less than 6 than Noble will be super cross.
  13. I wasn't marking you down for anything concerning junior development or solvency, I just used them as examples of how if one of them were to fall, then you would be a C grade. And I was also just saying with regards to crowds and capacity it's crystal clear, 100% certain that you won't be getting any points for them. And the way your looking on the pitch it's quite likely that you won't be finishing 10th. However you do have Wakefield next so basically you could say that the match has one franchise point at stake. And yes getting an average of 8th or above is the only criteria regarding "competitiveness". "Teams earn one point if they are considered to have made a contribution to the competition - that means averaging a place in the top eight over each of the last three seasons." My agenda was simply to highlight that you are very likely to be the only club getting a lower rating than you got in 2008, which would be an absolute disaster for the club. I have nothing against Bradford personally, infact I'm sad that the Wolves have replaced you as one of the "big four" as opposed to there being a "big five" with Bradford included. It's just that the club seems to be spiraling downwards both on and off the pitch at an alarming rate, whilst clubs like Salford and Hull KR and Castleford; although they're in a worse position then the Bulls at the moment, within a few years could easily be better placed for Super League than the Bulls will be.
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