17 stone giant

I just looked at the website and for this years Magic, you could buy tickets starting at £12.50 for the day, or £20 for the weekend. Even if you just watched one match, or one match on each day, that's pretty good value.

http://www.seriousaboutrl.com/welsh-scottish-and-irish-lions-who-makes-the-squad-18037/ So, out of the five, that's three English and one Australian. Serious about RL, maybe, but it's hard not to find such an article laughable. I'm not against playing as GB, but I just feel that if we're doing so, it should be as the national team for the UK, and not some RU style British and Irish Lions concept. It would still be the Great Britain Lions, just as it's the Australian Kangaroos and New Zealand Kiwis. And I'd play as GB all the time - home, away, four nations, world cup, the lot. I would stop the switching between GB and England. I don't think it helps either brand.

I agree with that, but I also recognise that it's not an easy task. It's not as simple as just arranging international matches. I think the RL administrators could probably do better than they currently do, but at the same time I don't think there's any easy solutions or quick fixes.

I disagree, because I think if you take to the field with the mindset that you're going to cheat whenever you can, and all you're waiting for is the opportunity to do so, then I don't really see much difference between the two things. When a players is told in football that the moment they feel some contact in the penalty area, that they're to go down - to me that is premeditated. Sure, nobody could be completely certain that the player would find themselves in that position during a match, but you can be certain that if they did, that they're going to cheat. To me that's not opportunism. Opportunism is when you find yourself in a completely unexpected situation, and you react to take advantage of it in a way that benefits you, even if on reflection it's the wrong thing to do. That's not what is happening most of the time. Players know that they're very likely to find themselves in certain situations, and they've got their plan to cheat ready. It's that mindset that needs stamping out, and thankfully due to things like VAR - and those players more likely now to be caught and punished - it is being gradually eradicated.

I've watched the last three or so Backchats and I enjoyed all of them. I don't always know that much about what they're talking about, since I'm not a big follower of rugby league, but it's interesting to learn more about things. Plus, I like the setting in the bar, I like that it's four people who are enthusiastic about the sport, even if they don't always agree, and I like that it's different guests each week, so you get to hear a different perspective and things are kept fresh. My only minor irritation is that I can't get the channel that it's on, so I have to wait for the Saturday and watch it via this website.

Do the positives of the Magic weekend outweigh the negatives? If they do, then overall it's a worthwhile event to have, irrespective of whether it meets its original objectives or not. The attendances seem pretty good and have been consistent over the years, so I'd have to conclude that people seem to enjoy going to it. I think it's a good idea, and I like that it's possible to move it to different venues. It's already been to Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle, so hopefully some non-regular fans from those areas will have gone along.

I would say that the introduction of VAR into sports shows that people do want things to be fair. The cheats and rule breakers are going to be increasingly found out, due to this technology. I think that's a good thing.

I don't know what he did or didn't do, but I'm very annoyed that he got a £300k pay off. I'm not blaming him for that, but It's absolutely inexcusable for a sport like RL to end up in such a situation. They're attempting to sell the England shirt for £50, which is an utter disgrace for a very plain shirt and a team that hardly ever plays. I sometimes think I'll get one because it would be helping, in a small way, rugby league. Then I think about stuff like his payoff and I think screw that. How many £50 shirts would need to be sold just to fund his payoff?

Great post, Parky. To be honest, I was just on the wind up. Just as I was in a previous post with my even more ridiculous idea for a Super League involving Tokyo and Monaco! I'm actually a big traditionalist and I don't really understand why there is such a desire from some on here to denigrate and distance the sport from its heartlands. I don't really see any problem with rugby league being played predominantly in smallish northern towns, anymore than I see it being a problem that rugby union is played predominantly in smallish midlands and southern towns (Bath, Worcester, Northampton, etc.). That's just how the sports have developed organically. I don't have any interest in parachuting in the likes of Toronto or New York into Super League, and in the process trampling all over the history of the sport by replacing traditional clubs. If people in 'expansion' areas want to play and watch rugby league, I wish them every success in that, but I think they should be doing it in their own league. I make an exception with France and some French clubs, because they're on our doorstep and they have a history of playing the sport, so I want them to be supported until, hopefully, they can sustain their own league. I also think having a good France national team would be a welcome addition to the sport. I think you should be proud of your sport and proud of your origins. It annoys me when I read people talking down "pit towns", or worrying about how most of the teams are from the M62 corridor. At least they're genuine teams, supported by local people. So what if the teams aren't from, in my words, glamorous locations. Money can't buy history and tradition, and those things should be carefully guarded.

I'm confused. Are you saying that when people talk about wanting RL to expand into places like Toronto and New York, it's only on the condition that these teams never become so successful that the likes of Wigan and St Helens can't compete with them anymore? I thought it was all about RL becoming more glamourous and attracting more money into the sport and more people watching? If that means in 10 years time we have a Super League with Toronto, New York, London, Catalans, Toulouse, and a few more big cities, while the likes of Warrington, Wigan, etc. find themselves in the Championship, what's the problem?

How are the ticket sales going for this series? Any chance of three sell-outs?

How many are Scottish born and bred? Hopefully a large percentage.

It's not just that game though. You'd also be able to watch Japan v Turkey, Malta v Niue, and Hungary v Vanuatu. Don't fall into the usual RL trap of not marketing things properly. Once your other half gets to hear that you'll be able to watch four mouth watering matches in one day, they'll be in full agreement of you taking a day off. Start by putting a few posters around the house to promote the event.

I asked this before but I can't remember on what thread, so I don't know if anyone answered... When two or more teams share an academy - such as the two Hull clubs - how do they decide which club gets which player?

Like the black flag used by Isis. Although, that's probably not what they had in mind.