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Long time TRLers will know how much I dread having to upgrade the software that runs the forum. In the olden days, it rarely went smoothly and would cause me days of headaches and stress to fix, and often lengthy periods of downtime. On one memorable occasion, we even had to have a closing down party on an old forum system, as it couldn't be upgraded, only replaced completely - to what we're still using now, funnily enough, so the chaos was worth it, and wow, what a party we had, for those who remember it!! Over the years, the nice chaps at Invision who create this lovely software have made the process a lot less scary, and sometimes, minor upgrades have even taken place without anyone noticing! However, they are in the process of releasing what they call a 'major' version upgrade and I've been putting it off for months, for obvious reasons... The clock is ticking, though, and I can't put it off forever, so brace yourselves for whatever happens next. I don't actually know too much about what the upgrade will achieve in terms of look and feel, until its done, but hopefully it'll still be recognisably TRL on the other side. I'll post a warning ahead of actually doing the upgrade. This is just an advance heads up that change is a-comin' Wish me luck!!

Super League Round 18 this weekend is the first round in which all three clubs that were elevated into Super League at the start of the season have each won their games. And not one of them is now in the bottom three, despite two of them only being on half rations. Good to see them rewarding the faith that we had in them last year. I just wanted to mark it as a little bit of history.

I spent the match explaining rugby league rules and tactics to 7 first-timers sat near me in the West stand; group of 6 and a lone York City fan who thought he'd give it a try. (They all asked me, I didn't just start; I'm not THAT guy! ). They all said they loved their first experience of York rugby league and the group of 6 have already booked tickets for the upcoming Leeds match. Feels like another small victory .

On the crowd thing, look at where we have come from in a relatively short time, a couple of hundred turning up to an amateur club where we were squatting only a few years ago, to a pretty good core of a couple of thousand in the Championship to now where we are getting around 5,000 or so. Not massive when compared to Leeds or Wigan but they are established Super League clubs with budgets to match. I think there is a lot to be proud of at York. All three promoted clubs have brought far more to Super League than most people imagined. We have all had some outstanding results plus a couple of disasters but what do you expect in a first season, especially us and Toulouse on half the money from the RFL of everyone else, and the ridiculous situation of Toulouse paying the travelling expenses of the away team, how can that be right.

Is there a better, more exciting, entertaining English Full-back out there? Not in my opinion, he's an absolute joy to watch and should be England's full back in the World Cup for me.

Bringing my 91yo dad to this for his first visit to the LNER. Will go to the memorial wall to pay respects to his brother Norman, before hopefully enjoying a Knights win. The club have been first class in sorting tickets, parking etc and we're really looking forward to it. He and his brother have been fans all of their lives and Norman was a VP of the club for many years and sponsored matchballs and players over the years.

Ramblings from a York fan here: 1. Try of the season from Saints. Absolutely fantastic. Saints fan sitting behind me said he thought it was the best try he had ever seen Saints score. 2. Tackle of the season from Jordan Thompson. One of the best tackles I have ever seen. Probably second only to Graham Sullivan's on Eddie Riddlesden (if you saw that, you will know what I am referring to) 3. Hingano should have seen red. Awful. He is becoming a liability. 4. Saints fans were fantastic. Around town, on the bus, in the ground. Great atmosphere and you will always be welcome in my beautiful home town. Great game, highly entertaining, very enjoyable. Some good tries, some good defence. Probably the best game of the season, for me at least. Could not ask for a better day out (and that's what it's all about really, isn't it?)

Just 10 years ago we were getting less than 500, playing in amateur grounds and losing to Oxford. Now we’re getting 5000+ and beating St Helen’s in a new stadium that is perfect for the sport. Now I know I’m incredibly biased but this is exactly what RL needs in this country and it gives hope to all the clubs in the pyramid. If you don’t agree then you’re not a fan of the sport at all.

"Ive reviewed all available angles......."

Quel surprise...

"Our objective, put simply, is to restore the sport to the breakeven position it has enjoyed previously, ostensibly prior to the Covid crisis." I'm not one who bags Wood really. But this is one of the worst objectives I've ever heard from a sport's leader.

These blow out skills are further proof we should never have expanded to 14...

Why would KFC UK flat-out decline an approach from RLC? If KFC UK felt that there was value to be had in advertising to UK RL supporters for a fraction of what their colleagues in Australia pay, they'd be doing it. Likewise with brands like JD Sports or Red Bull - brands that are well invested in UK sport as it is. These sorts of brands want scale - something that RL in the UK doesn't offer. I think we fall into a very easy and fashionable trap of thinking that RL's commercial struggles are down to poor salesmanship - and whilst I'm certainly not going in to bat in defence of RL Commercial because there are things they don't do well - our issues are much more rooted in the fact that RL / SL is a relatively small media property competing in a very crowded media landscape. The NRL doesn't have that problem and the idea that they can just come in and run calls from the same playbook over here just doesn't acknowledge some difficult realties.

It's days like this that keep you going to support YOUR team, i was even shouting at the tele and clapping when York did owt good. Enjoyed watching that today excellent win.

People will believe what they want. I take people as I find them. I have worked closely with George since he started and can say he is a thoroughly decent bloke, and none of the historical reporting reflects the person I know. Having worked in this industry, I know all too well how much nonsense gets written in the media. It is quite interesting to see individuals treat this matter as a fait accompli on the basis of allegations from anonymous sources who chose to take them to newspapers, for which – as far as I can see – not even a sliver of police action has ever been taken.

I would give Huddersfield a bye every round, I really can't think of a valid reason for keeping them in SL. If Rimmer thinks they can come good their best bet would be to drop down, rebuild and prove their worth.

I wonder if we can have 2 match threads, one for people to discuss the match and one for people to have a whiney baby strop and compete to have the most performative "im not watching anymore" post

Must be playing for free cos we're skint, in special measures and being evicted from the LNER.

Even though it hasn't been our best season the crowds have been pretty steady and the craic i heard the other day we do not owe 1 penny to anyone. The board deserve a massive thank you for that

Can't get my head around how this clown has an RFL accreditation, especially after that outburst at Osdal a few years ago. Does real harm to the sport when you've got an outspoken proven liar spouting tripe behind a "journalist" title, makes the whole sport look tin pot. Yet again he's come out with lies and half truths and you've got loads of people spreading it in good faith. He has a podcast with a leading player agent and just makes stuff up, surely there should be some sort of controls here? He's been spreading rumours about York for ages, saying he's been speaking to the new owners and makes out he's got an insider in the club. Last year he said he was spat at by York fans at the York v Toulouse final. I was sat right behind him all match and absolutely nothing happened, even though he was sat wearing a Toulouse hat and gloating to the York fans at the end. These sorts of things are damaging to the game when they get amplified by people who just repost the lies without any sort of fact checks, some Bradford fans just lap it all up because he's always positive about their club and negative of rivals. It's embarrassing that he's allowed any sort of platform.

He has history for both those *and* for completely misinterpreting strictly confidential information so that when he's passed it on, he's wrong. The level of visibility and influence he has within the game is a genuine indication of how small time the sport can be in some ways.

That's thinking from the 50s. Games being on TV increases profile and interest, which is in part why we have seen attendance increases.

I dont think we should underestimate how positive the every game live thing has been. As somebody who lives away from the heartland, its been a revelation, knowing I can watch my team every week, or choose whatever game I fancy, and having live RL on in many slots over the weekend. It would be a huge backward step if we didnt show every game live, even if it is across multiple platforms.

It wasn't their cup final. It was a league match. That's just a Leeds fans' view to downplay their win as though Leeds had to be at their worst and Cas at their best. You are nothing special. Very beatable.

I've said before that we need to compartmentalise 'the game' more because ... - Super League is not doing badly at all. Attendances remain strong, by and large it's competitive, and there seems to be a decent cohort of clubs living within their current means or at least manageable levels of director subsidy; - But the second tier is a disaster - The community game is getting to be more known for on and off field violence than sound player development - The women's game is invisible and, in some ways that's handy because it's going backwards relative to other women's sports - The areas the game is played in are contracting - International development in Europe is on a level with korfball and England, who should lead a change, do not have the resources or capability to do so - We seem to have lost the minds who were able to unlock regular new waves of Sport England/other funding

It was really good to see and chat to George today. He did say that the previous administration had brought him in to get our media up to SL standard, which I think he succeeded in doing. Obviously he will be a cost and it's whether the new board think that he is worth retaining. I do hope so and, from the chat, I know that George has the club very much in his heart.

So it was always doing things with other people’s money?

Yes. That time he worked with the RFU and made a mess

Why do you feek the need to bring politics into this?

Friendly warning. You're not going to last very long on this forum if you're just going to insult people you disagree with. Engage with the debate, argue as strongly as you like, but wind your neck in with calling people stupid, geriatric or suchlike. It isn't welcome on here. Thank you.

I think this is a key objective of the NRL as it involves itself in the northern hemisphere. I'm told that an unprecedented number of online meetings between senior staff of the RFL, RL Commercial and the NRL are now taking place on a regular basis with the object of aligning the policies of the two organisations on a range of relevant issues. At the top level Nigel Wood and Peter V'landys are in constant communication. In particular the NRL is looking to help the RFL maximise its new TV deal. I'm not quite sure how that's going to turn out but it seems a positive sign.

Yeah, but the alternative is returning to Scotland

Spoke to him as well. Contrary to the ‘rumours’ posted on here, he’s never left and was very grateful of the support he’d received whilst he’s been off ill. He’s hoping to be back for the next game. Perhaps the muppets who claim that the club have been lying to us should now admit they were wrong.

It's a good job we didn't give Toulouse and York full funding, just imagine how big the scorelines could of been these last couple of weeks with twice the spending power.

Good news hopefully - we don't get investors in the sport every day so something to be celebrated. If I had a blank cheque then York would be a good bet for investment for me, as much as investing in an RL team could ever be a good investment. Bags of potential, decent stadium, growing fanbase, heartlands adjacent but far enough away to be considered expansion. There is much to admire in how they've gone about the last decade of growth particularly the value of patience. The sport can learn a hell of a lot from the people who have dug in there. Totally understand the scepticism of the past few weeks - I think that's just an RL thing though, we've seen the story too many times before and this new investment should be the line in the sand. From the outside, I'm not worried about losing York from the league, I've said before it's a no-brainer for them to be in SL and they deserve one more year (if not more) on the full whack, but again if I was a York fan I can understand the worry. That said, we know some people involved with the sport have no brain....I'm confident of good times ahead for them though

Suitable punishment ? Let Junior have a run at him

On a slightly different note, this weekend South Bank Sharks and Coventry Bears u15 will play as a curtain raiser to Bedford Tigers final home game of the season in the Southern Conference Premier. Massive thanks to Rob Ashton and all at Bedford for allowing this game and supporting it too. Great to see clubs across the ‘South’ working together and supporting each other.

I’m not a fan of that term, to be honest. It seems perfectly natural that when things are going well, more people will want to get involved and show their support. Not everyone will have the same lifelong connection to Wakefield, and that's fine. Surely it's better to welcome new supporters and appreciate the fact that they're here because the club is giving people something to be excited about.

6136 at York vs Saints. That puts York’s average at 5695. Statto time: 6136 sounds alright for York but it’s only their 4th biggest crowd of the season. By the end of the season I think it will be their 6th highest crowd. With matches against Leeds and Bradford still to come, I think York will end the season with a 6000+ average, and while the club shouldn’t pat itself on the back because there’s a huge amount of work to be done, that’s not a bad return.

I've nothing but praise for the way York (and the other 2 promoted sides) have taken this season on. It's not always been perfect but they give it everything and I hope to see them go from strength to strength in the coming years. In terms of Saints, I can't think about anything else other than how obvious it seems that Harry Robertson didn't get on with Rowley. It's like a completely different player this last 2 weeks and he's back to making you think that he'll be a very special player.

Except it wasn't a very average product. NZ v Fiji at Hull was one of the best games of the tournament, settled narrowly in the last couple of minutes. In front of 7k. So then the question is whether you can persuade even rugby league fans that rugby league is worth watching and overcome the assumption it will be ####.

If it’s your opinion it’s fair pal but I haven’t given up on this season. Because when it’s your team that’s what you do- you just keep going thru thick & thin. I am known as overly loyal but I say keep the overseas lads- easy to get annoyed but it’s very hard to find lads in that condition from our amateur scene. As a town fan you have to take losses- we aren’t Wigan or Leeds- but those blow out defeats are what needs to end for me. Be competitive in every game even if we lose. I also say keep the coach. I don’t know Jonty but you can see how much he cares & how he wants us to play , he’s local etc. we’re lucky to have him. Only way I would say step down is if it’s better for the man himself as you can see the stress in him after games but that’s a personal choice. its also been the first season my two sons (8 & 4) have started coming to watch town & they love it & the team so regardless of replies it’s been a special one for me. All because Zarrin went into their school before the saints game to promote it & the rests history. ️

My sources tell me that the deal is close to being finalised but isn't yet. It is possible that DAZN will cover games 3 to 7 although I don't think it's in the bag yet. Significant negotiations still have to be completed. I suspect DAZN might throw their hat in the ring to test the audience response with a view to potentially making a bid for the whole game next time the rights come up for sale. It will be interesting therefore to see the length of the new contract with Sky.

I've got a lot of respect for someone like Davy, who clearly had a passion and has put his money where his mouth is, but I also think it's fair to critique many aspects of his stewardship of the club. I particularly think you can question who he has surrounded himself with when it comes to running the club, and I don't think you could argue that he has brought in the sort of dynamic or maverick talent that you need to market and promote a business in the sports and entertainment industry. I certainly don't think that the likes of Rimmer or Thewlis are the sort of people you need if you want to transform a club's image, and handing out jobs to family also doesn't exactly scream that you're looking for the best talent you can. I've said before about other clubs, but whilst I respect the skillset, the skills of an accountant / financier are not what you need to grow a sports business. I've said in previous discussions that I wondered whether Ken has run out of energy or enthusiasm. Whilst I accept it is a thing, I think the stadium issue has been allowed to become an acceptable excuse and when you have your owner going on record using phrases like "this is a football town" and "I'm still waiting for IMG to reimagine rugby league", when all around you are posting increased crowds and when you yourself have had 30 years to "reimagine" your club, it just smells of a club running on apathy. It has, for a while, felt like a club where few people seem to care. The players don't seem to really care about them, rival clubs don't care about them, too few of the people of Huddersfield seem to care about them, and it has felt at times that Davy had stopped caring. The club just "exists", and it's fair to critique Davy for why that's the case.

#ARREST | Earlier this week, and following on from Super League Magic Weekend, Officers from Wigan's Neighbourhood Team were made aware of an online incident where racist abuse was directed towards one of the players. Following an investigation into the matter and with the support of both Wigan Warriors and St Helens RLFC we were able to identify a male who we believe may be able to assist us with our enquiries. Shortly before 8am this morning (Friday 10 July 2026), officers from Wigan’s Neighbourhood Tasking Team arrested a 56-year-old male from the St Helens area on suspicion of a racially aggravated malicious communication offence. He currently remains in custody awaiting interview. GMP takes all instances of hate crime extremely seriously. If you have concerns, hate crime can be reported via 101 or the dedication section on our website - https://orlo.uk/IrioO Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BZWBqgAZm/ Seen the comment floating around

Unfortunately what the guy said is a pretty regularly expressed opinion on social media these days. He directed the comment at a particular person rather than a group or a 'nominal' person, that was his mistake (I am not defending him, he is a lowlife). The hard won social stigma of being seen to be overtly racist in this country has been eroded to the point where racists are now loud and proud. Social media has done a lot for the world, by no means all good.

The one bit where I have some sympathy for the NRL - and, indeed, anyone ever looking for any kind of working arrangement with British rugby league - is that they need to safeguard against the IMG effect. By which I mean, an enthusiastic sign up but then an immediate whispering/undermining campaign followed by briefings instead of delivery, and, as night follows day, a complete change of heart within two years.

On another note, the junior pathways continue to progress. Origin and U16 squads and coaching teams were announced last night. Three very proud young men from South Bank Sharks are in the U16 side and South Origin side whilst our U14 starlet who plays for Brixton has made the U14 South Origin squad. More games hopefully in the pipeline for U15 before the end of the calendar year.

Unbelievable! For every low like last week there's always a high! That's right up there! What a performance, What a game! Could of been easier but where's the fun in that?! Up The Super League Knights!

Toulouse going really well right now, but York can be a gritty set of beggers and always put up a fight. However I feel it will be a Toulouse victory. I will say this though about both clubs, you have to admire what they have done on half funding . There are two or three 'established' SL clubs who should be embarrassed about this season. I am hoping neither of these two are sacrificed to keep other clubs in.