Tommygilf

Trin are already paying Sandal a significant amount to train there each year. Regardless I don't see such a deal with Sandal playing there happening.

I definitely think there is Value in those midseason games. A start of the season game against Wales should also be on the ideal agenda imo. Indeed, as much as people don't like heritage Scotland, they provided England with a very stern test last time and are certainly worth considering as an option for a yearly post season fixture. I also like the idea of an annual invitational game for England, perhaps played at Olympic Park. I'd also hope that during these 3 potential international windows, teams not playing England also played test matches; so when England play France players are also released for wales v ireland for example.

This really could be the kickstart for Trin. Really excited for them now. They can focus on the rest of the Rugby now.

I think its a great idea. This year was involved with Oddballs charity, great charity that works with Mens health issues.

Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Up the Trin.

Haha if you say so. I'm not sure if there's a perfect way of doing it - there's something to be said for Toronto's L1 experience.

Surely Cardiff City and Swansea should go back to the Welsh Premier division then... I agree to an extent that just introducing a brand new international league probably won't be great for anyone and has little evidence to support it - the same is also true of dropping a new sports league into a new country too. However, the growth of a sport into a new country/area through the introduction of teams into a pre-existing league can help both the new area and the League develop to the point where eventually the new country can have its own league at the same level. As for excitement, admittedly I say this quite literally while wearing my Toronto shirt, for me its the idea that we're involved in something that's bigger (I still think its a bit mental that we've got thousands of people in Toronto that are spending their hard earned to watch Rugby League). In RL we often bemoan, well, everything, but particularly how we're sports best kept secret and we don't have the profile we should. With teams like Toulouse and especially now Toronto, we could be witnessing the start of RL taking what most people on this board that love the game hope is its rightful place amongst the international elite sports. Not only are we leapfrogging union but we're doing it really well. These are exciting developments for RL but as previous expansion attempts have shown we must foster them carefully if we want them to succeed.

Exactly, because Forest Green could be the next Burton Albion and everyone has the hope of mixing it up with the big boys in the promised land; as well as enjoying football. Reaching and aspiring to the next level is always going to be a part of sport over here. Those hundreds are the equivalent of Hunslet Barrow or Whitehaven etc fans who watch their team every week in L1. Nobody "expects" big things per sé, but removing the possibility altogether will almost certainly kill off the teams outside the top. Right now we have to accept that a team like Fev is in the top 16 RL teams in the northern hemisphere. Until they are overtaken by new British, French or north American teams (which will likely happen) and pushed down the pecking order, they have every right to hope they may be in SL one day. I don't mind being realistic but trampling over every clubs dreams outside the top 12 (where almost half are dubiously thus deemed more valuable than their rivals below) is preposterous.

To be fair thats because Sunshine Coast have never been in the NRL nor will they ever have the chance. Thats a very typical response from someone in a country where p/r isn't the norm. In Europe, if you told the second, third and 4th divisions of football there would be no chance of forward promotion (first there would be riots) then those fans wouldn't move onto a different Premier League team - its just not how we are. Even as a supporter of one of the biggest RL teams and having a few 2nd teams, I still wouldn't up sticks a suddenly become a Wigan fan if they were competing in a global league and can fully understand why West Yorkshire folk wouldn't do the same for Leeds. We don't do mass spectator reserve grades here. Most clubs that would become part of such a system would wither and die. I'd prefer they didn't, even if they didn't go up as they were overtaken by new teams.

No problem. This is where we see ineptitude from the RFL basically through confusion. On the one hand they've abandoned Wales, Ireland and Scotland to their own devices, on the other their mission statement says they are responsible for developing and organising the game there. Wood can be legitimately criticised for this. This confusion then is found in almost everything - hence why we don't know if Toronto and Toulouse in SL will mean a 14 team SL or not. We don't even know where Magic is next year and Wembley hasn't been booked yet AFAIK. Additionally, I'd have thought that mission statement was written before Toronto were in L1 perhaps even before Toulouse. Surely the remit has changed? For me either the RFL takes the bull by the horns and expands its remit to Pro RLEF teams or SL becomes a multi national governing body similar to Celtic Rugby or SAANZAR. Finally, I do have some sympathy for the RFLs position when there is the point that for many loud fans at games and on social media, London and Sheffield are as foreign as Toronto and Toulouse. What they mean by the RFL looking after its own first is the m62 corridor clubs, not even all English ones. Ultimately they are hamstrung both by biases within and without the game, as well as individuals at the top who are probably out of their depth.

I know, I was there at Belle Vue with a Bulls supporting friend in 2015. It is certainly dramatic its just a shame the losers lose so much. I think for English RL its fundamentally important to have a route to the top and thus a route down - everyone else in the system I'm not sure about.

It really is a crazy intense comp, from the outside looking in its fascinating. From the inside looking out its an incredible challenge every week.

The Widnes Catalans game next week is going to be an intense nailbiter.

Widnes v London in the qualifiers today is on Main Event and Arena again. Interestingly its first choice rather than the PRO14 union game. Happy days for Saturday RL.