THERE are two things that always grab my attention prior to the start of the new season.
They are testimonials and injuries.
Each year we have several players who have given great service to the game being awarded testimonials of twelve months or, sometimes, three months.
And each year those players are able to enjoy the proceeds of a testimonial match played by their current club, often against other clubs that the player has represented.
At the weekend there were testimonial matches at Warrington, Castleford, Hull FC and Leeds for Joe Philbin, Paul McShane, Scott Taylor and James Donaldson respectively.
The previous weekend we had seen testimonials at Wakefield and Batley for Matty Ashurst and Dale Morton respectively.
And two weeks ago Batley hosted another testimonial game, this time for their loyal servant Dane Manning.
On Sunday, January 14, Widnes held a testimonial game for their fullback and captain Jack Owens, and Dan Toal of Barrow had his in December.
To play the game long enough to be awarded a testimonial is a remarkable and praiseworthy feat in itself and I hope all the players who I have referred to above enjoy strong financial benefits from their testimonials.
I admire them all, but I would just like to add a particular word about James Donaldson.
I remember many years ago, when James made his debut for Bradford in 2009, that there were plenty of people connected with the Bulls who told me that they had unearthed a diamond in the 17-year-old who came on as a 74th-minute substitute against Castleford at Odsal (known as Grattan Stadium in those far-off days).
That was a Bradford team with Sam Burgess and Steve Menzies in the second row and Paul Deacon at scrum-half, while Paul Sykes was playing at centre. The Tigers had a side that included Michael Shenton, Joe Westerman and Rangi Chase and they edged to a high-scoring 38-40 victory.
Donaldson became a regular selection for the Bulls very quickly after that, but unfortunately his career was shattered by ACL injuries in 2010 and 2012, while he suffered a third such injury while playing for Hull KR in 2017.
Talk about doing it the hard way!
It was perhaps not too surprising that the then Hull KR coach Tim Sheens didn’t want to offer him a new contract after the 2018 season, although he had kept James hanging on in the belief that he would be offered a deal.
It must have been a shattering experience at the age of 27 to be told you were no longer wanted, particularly at the time of the year when it would be hard to find a new club.
But, as he said at the time: “I’m not the biggest player but I’ve got plenty to offer a team – hopefully in Super League.
“I bring a lot of energy, enthusiasm and experience. It’s the off-season now, and I’m still training every day just to keep myself in good shape and put myself in a better position to have a big season and a big impact with someone in 2019 all being well.
“I’ve been around a while now; I believe I’m doing the right things and I’m well over the injuries which I had earlier in my career. I hope a club can see I’ve got plenty to offer as both a person and a player.”
Fortunately he was taken on by Leeds Rhinos, initially on a trial basis for 2019, but he has clearly proven his worth for the Rhinos since then and now, five years later, he is an essential element of their Super League squad.
He and the other players I’ve mentioned surely deserve bumper benefits from their testimonials.
Broncos hit by desperate injury blow
LONDON are the club that can probably afford fewer injuries than any other Super League side, with the possible exception of Salford.
Unfortunately for them, their young hooker Bill Leyland was hit by an ACL injury in their pre-season match a week ago against Castleford.
It means that the young player, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday, will miss the entire season and therefore won’t get the chance to play in Super League, if we assume that the Broncos won’t make the cut for the competition in 2025 because of their low score on IMG’s grading system.
What a sad way to celebrate a milestone birthday!
And of course he isn’t the only player whose career has been hit hard by serious injury – see my comments on James Donaldson above.
Another player who missed the whole of last season with a serious knee injury – a ruptured patella in his case – was Castleford’s young halfback Callum McLelland.
Callum left the Tigers last year, suggesting that he was going to find an alternative profession.
But then in December we heard the surprising news that he had signed a one-year contract with Midlands.
He didn’t play in last week’s game against Doncaster, but I hope that we will see him return this season for the Hurricanes and he can help them put some good results together.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other players who won’t be available for the opening round of the season, although as far as I’m aware, Bill Leyland is the only Super League player who is definitely out for the whole season.
Let’s hope there will be no others.
Putting hands in pockets
IF you are running a business there are two broad ways to improve your turnover.
You can either generate more customers, or you can persuade your existing customers to pay you more. Or of course you can combine the two.
And it looks to me as though the Rugby League Commercial’s new streaming service that will come online this season is an example of the latter way to grow revenue.
You will be able to pay £19.99 per month or £129.99 annually, unless you are a season-ticket holder, in which case you can get a discounted price of £99.99 for a full year.
Individual matches will also be available as pay-per-view, from £6.99 if purchased in advance or £9.99 on the day.
It all sounds fine, but ultimately we have to find ways of expanding the audience, rather than extracting even more money from Rugby League supporters, especially as in our Readers’ Poll last week only 9.46 per cent of our readers said they would subscribe.
League Express Podcast
THOSE readers who subscribe to our League Express Podcast will have watched an interesting interview last week with the RFL’s director of operations and legal, Robert Hicks.
My thanks to Robert for a stimulating session, during which he had some very interesting things to say about a range of subjects.
If you would like to see that or earlier episodes of the Podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/@totalrugbyleague5093, enjoy the show and subscribe.