The Blues Ox

Fax bringing in Corey Johnson from Leeds on loan who plays hooker. Rumor seems to be that Inman suffered a broken jaw in the Gale incident. No idea how true that is but its a strange move bringing a hooker in when Adam O Brien was supposedly only a few weeks off so does point to an injury for Inman.

Yeah too much comparison rather than enjoying it for what it is. I tried to say that in my last post but I guess it kicked off and because of what SC said and that got deleted as well.

As you know Im a huge fan of womens rugby but I would tend to agree in this instance. The game is in the early stages of its development but is growing in popularity at a rapid rate but £15 to watch a team that quite frankly has been a total disappointment this season does seem steep and it almost feels like they are trying to cash in on Wigan maybe bringing a few fans who would want to watch both games. For a family of 4 without a season ticket it is going to cost them nearly £100 to watch 2 games of rugby. I am not sure what planet Huddersfield are on thinking that is feasable especially in what they are calling their inclusive round.

Is that right if you are a Wigan fan wanting to watch both games you would have to pay £15 to watch the first game then another £22 to watch the second game?

Going back to what I said previous, this is why a rebuild will take a few years. Everyone knows the state they are in so they will end up having to pay over the odds for whoever is their next coach along with players like they have done for Asiata. Spending so much of their cap on an aging prop is madness but they really are in a sticky situation.

Ive trawled the internet and can't find anywhere that definitively says that the league would increase once there are more than 12 Grade A ranked clubs. It just seems to say that a Grade A will be given one of the 12 spots in the league and that it is always the highest ranked teams. It's probably not been thought through as its going to be near impossible for a Championship club to attain a Grade A but also makes you wonder in the future if we see something like an A* ranking added if it looks like we are getting close to the 12 team max. There is no way while we are in the current TV deal that the current SL clubs let the league expand past 12 teams.

Yeah I agree there is certainly some teams that do look a lot better but for me teams like Bradford and Sheffield are very much the same and I would argue the only reason they look better is because a lot of the teams around them have almost dropped off a cliff in Fev, Toulouse, York, and Fax. For me the biggest surprises are how far off the pace York are and how much I think Bradford have under performed. I really thought they would be clear second, obviously there is still time but they look anything but that at the moment.

Exactly this. A good team on paper about 3 or 4 years ago. Most of the team is washed now and a lot of them should have been replaced over the last 2 or 3 seasons. Finn is now reaping the rewards of Grix's loyalty to some of the players and with no money to spend with the new board of directors apparently struggling for cash its going to be a very long season. To be fair losing 3 of our best players for the season in a nothing cup game against an amateur team has had a huge barring. It probably made our challenge cup run a lot more expensive for the club on and off the field than the 1895 cup run last season which cost the club a fortune and that takes some doing.

Yeah just to be perfectly clear, this absolutley does not go on in todays game.

I don't think it was stated about the expansion rather just said that it could expand. If the TV money does not go up there is not a chance in hell that the SL clubs would vote for a reduction in their funding by expanding SL.

Id make sure to have scouts watching their players from an early age, give back handers to the parents and probably slip Siddal a few quid as well to encourage them to send the players Fax's way. A cynic would say that is very much how it happens at the moment at many amateur clubs around the country. I'd just have to make sure to be the one offering the most money. On the second point its similar for a lot of the lads, there are loads in the amateur game who could play at a high level in the championship but the money simply is not there in the game for them to make the commitment needed.

Yeah I agree, I could have chosen my words better. The competition outside of Wakefield is very close and I said elsewhere, you put London in for Wakefield next season and it makes it even closer. I probably would have just been better saying the standard is a lot lower overall than it has been for many years.

Wouldn't be hard would it. The Championship is the weakest its been for years. I reckon theres a good chance of doing it in 1 but had to make an allowance for bottling the first final.

Perfect scenario for Wakefield in the timing of their relegation. You feel if it had happened before that then they may have really struggled but with the timing of the takeover and actually cracking on with the ground redevlopment this is certainly a really good platform to build from and for them winning week after week is going to help in so many other areas as well.

Big turning point the video ref decision for the Cas no try. Yes it does look like the player is held up but the marker who was on the floor clearly gets involved and should have been a penalty for Cas. Instead Leigh go straight up the other end and score. I can't see any excuse for the video ref missing something so simple as that.