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Manfred Mann

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Manfred Mann last won the day on February 27 2019

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  1. The real concern should be not that Herbert Farnworth is not in the game days 17, which have not yet been selected. The concern should be that he is not even in the squad!!
  2. Last night’s performance by Dominic Young has established this young giant as one of the most exciting prospects that Jamaica has seen in years.
  3. Valencia will not be a successful member of Super League unless there are several other continental European clubs in Super League. That is because if this does not happen the local fans and potential fans in Valencia will not take Super League as anything more than an English competition in which they are odd outliers. That is why I have formulated above the long term goal of a North Atlantic Super League.
  4. Where would Valencia fit in? In the long term (10-15 years) Super League should consist of 24 teams: Wigan, St. Helens, Warrington, Leeds, Hull F.C., Hull K.R., Castleford, Bradford/Huddersfield. London, Newcastle, Cardiff, Dublin. Paris, Catalans, Toulouse, Avignon, Valencia, Belgrade Toronto, Ottawa, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago The competition would be divided into three conferences: (1) Britain and Ireland (2) continental Europe (3) north America. There would be 28 rounds, with each team playing each other team once, and the north American and European conference members playing members of their own conference twice. The British and Irish clubs would play every other team once, and five of their own conference twice. Because of inhospitable weather, for the first two months of Super League (mid-February - mid-April) the north American teams would be based in Britain or continental Europe, playing a bloc of their away games. They would then relocate to north America from mid-April and begin their home games.
  5. Until Toulouse is admitted to Super League -- something that should have happened years ago, and would have happened years ago had Richard Lewis remained in charge of the RFL -- no meaningful expansion of the game beyond the M62 corridor will take place. Without expansion the game of rugby league will rightly be either unknown or treated as a joke in Europe and most of the UK. There needs to be at least four SL teams from continental Europe, plus London and Newcastle, if the game is to attract more players, spectators, and money. There needs to be a limit of eight clubs maximum from the M62 corridor. They have to include Wigan, St. Helens, Warrington, Leeds, and Hull FC. Hull KR would also be advisable. Two from Castleford, Bradford (if they can find competent management) and Huddersfield could make up the eight. The sooner that Leigh, Salford and Wakefield, are relegated to make way for the expansion clubs, the better. After Toulouse joins Super League, and ignites much greater interest in the game in southern France, we can start thinking about Super League attracting and admitting other European clubs like Avignon, Paris, Lyon, Valencia, and Belgrade. A North Atlantic Super League, with at least six clubs from continental Europe, at least four from north America, plus London and Newcastle, is the only way forward to a prosperous future for the game.
  6. I am sorry that you feel that way. But I want you to know that Herbie Farnworth has the makings of a champion centre. The Australian TV commentators love him. It is only a matter of time before we start to think of Herbie in the same glowing terms that we previously thought of Sam Burgess, James Graham and John Bateman as NRL super stars.
  7. I had forgotten to mention Sam Burgess’s TV commentary career in my original posts. He had been stood down by Fox League after the earlier intimidation charge, pending the outcome of the trial. His conviction in that trial made a resumption of his TV career most unlikely. I never thought that Sam was good on TV commentary, especially when he was placed alongside highly intelligent and articulate ex-players such as Cooper Cronk, Ben Ikin, Greg Alexander, and Michael Ennis. In addition he compared poorly with the articulate and personally engaging player commentators James Graham and Benji Marshall. But he was there on TV because he was a very highly respected and popular player, almost a cult figure, regarded along with Jason Taumololo as one of the two most important forwards in the modern game. It was that reputation as a player that got him his potentially lucrative TV job. Now Sam’s fledgling TV career has been wiped out because of his reckless public behavior. That loss of income, along with the loss of valuable sponsorship deals that would have been possible had he pursued a squeaky clean life, and the loss of his coaching position, will be more significant for his life than whatever punishment is meted out by a court judge.
  8. But they are players. Sam Burgess has no playing prospects. He would like to be a coach, which is more demanding of a good character record than playing. Any criminal convictions will make him unsuitable for a most important leadership role in any club.
  9. Sam Burgess has been pulled over by the police on the Hume Highway in Sydney, on his way to pick up his children. He was charged with driving an unregistered car, never having held a NSW driver's licence, and most important failing a roadside drugs test for cocaine. He will appear in court in May. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-sam-burgess-arrested-allegedly-failing-a-roadside-drug-test-south-sydney-rabbitohs/news-story/095313252c90b02916f5e13937487417?utm_source=breaking_sportsmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=crm&utm_content=statici Sam Burgess has already been found guilty of intimidating his father in law. For that crime Burgess was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and given a two-year apprehended violence order. Given his past record, the judge may not be lenient again this time. What is the matter with this man? If he is found guilty no rugby league club will want to have anything to do with him as a coach in the future. At age 32 he appears to be destroying his life.
  10. Yes. Either in place of Watkins, or in place of Hall with the versatile Farnworth moving to the wing. . You are correct.
  11. You may be almost correct about the three quarters, but Herbie Farnworth is one of the few good performers at the Brisbane Broncos, and is knocking on the door of international selection. Watkins had an unlucky time with injuries at Gold Coast, but is doing okay with Salford. Ryan Hall is past his best but did reasonably as a substitute with the star studded Sydney Roosters three quarter line. Joe Burgess did reasonably well when he moved to South Sydney. That not overly impressive three quarter line would do sufficiently well in support of a star studded forward pack, playing with a selected star full back and star half back. The forward pack, with Luke Thompson selected in place of Sam Burgess, as suggested by the estimable TRL commentator Dunbar, would be a very good international standard. So the low bar you set of being impressive only by comparison with Jamaica is just flat wrong, even ridiculous. That England team could well be top 4.
  12. That is ridiculous comment. On current form: Sam Tomkins is the best full back in Super League. Herbie Farnworth, George Williams, John Bateman, Eliot Whitehead,, Tom Burgess, and Ryan Sutton are currently top rated NRL players. Before his injury so was Josh Hodgson. Sam Burgess was a super star of the NRL before he retired. Gareth Widdop was a star in the NRL.
  13. Best British team to have played in the NRL in the past five years: Sam Tomkins Ryan Hall, Kallum Watkins, Herbie Farnworth Joe Burgess, Gareth Widdop, George Williams Sam Burgess John Bateman, Elliot Whitehead James Graham, Josh Hodgson, Tom Burgess Interchange: George Burgess, Ryan Sutton, Joe Greenwood, Dan Sarginson With the exception of Sam Burgess, all these players could take the field for England today and perform extremely well.
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