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Wakefield have said they're giving all the proceeds from their next game to St. Helens.

All tickets for the match from 7pm tonight are a tenner all proceeds to Whitehaven well done Matt Ellis and Trinity

Has announced his retirement at the end of the season, a modern great, a Huddersfield legend and one of if not THE best winger in the world a few years back, also an absolute lovely gentleman. What a career, enjoy your retirement Jez!!!

Outstanding effort by Trinity and the fans

Really hope this comes off and think it’s a big step forward in the international calendar. France need to be playing 3 or 4 games a year with as many of their better players as possible.

Yeah what can a well financed team with good attendances and spending up to the salary cap offer SL

All Hull FC players should have been arrested for impersonating Rugby League players.

I've just had an idea. Maybe the RFL could deem the Recreation Ground an iconic RL venue, buy it at an exorbitant price, pay to maintain it for years and then sell it back to Whitehaven's new owners who can pay for it in instalments when they have some money..... Worked for Bradford.

1. He voted for it. 2. London are still bottom.

Looks like the first rugby league game ever is due to be played in Iceland in October. https://www.facebook.com/100057175521784/posts/pfbid0BvHy42i4ehARTV962J1gq3BKKMEkvhRW2uNajxGH3im2t1VfEq6sQudrPX1KZQ3Al/

I'm pleased to see Oldham back and moving in the right direction. I traveled up with Coventry Bears a couple of times snd it genuinely shocked me where they were playing before. An absolutely horrible ground where no one should have to watch RL. Despite that there was one thing that shone through. The quality of the fans there. At that time small in number but loved their club and were passionate but friendly. I'm glad those people are getting rewarded now for hanging on in there.

I appreciate it’s a polarising subject, but I still think the SL clubs’ decision to get rid of Toronto is the biggest own goal in rugby league history, against some seriously stiff opposition.

There is something very Trump like about him. He spouts nonsense and his followers (dressed in their tribal apparel) are compelled to defend his utterances however ridiculous they get. Make Leigh Great Again.

Good win for you today, glad havens cheating didn't help then. Only worry for barra is they might lose a load of players to covid, what with it being rife in havens squad.....

Hull KR are adding 1,000 temporary seats to the south end of the ground (in front of Craven Streat) for the final home match against Leeds, and the subsequent home play off match. Now if that's not a good news story I don't know what is.

Article on the Christchurch Star site - "Participation in junior and youth sports in Canterbury has grown over the past few years, with some codes experiencing a boom" Rugby League "Participation in the code has seen a huge jump this year - up more than 30 per cent on last year. Just shy of 2400 players under 18 are in action compared to 1800 last year. The number of girls playing has gone up considerably, with 517 playing this year compared to 350 last year - a 48 per cent increase" 2024: 2391 (1873 boys, 517 girls) 2023: 1836 (1486 boys, 350 girls) 2022: 1683 (1353 boys, 330 girls) Been noticeable in recent years how a number of clubs like Sydenham and Addington, who had been looking moribund, have regenerated via juniors and female participation.

So unlucky Broncos, that deserves to be a draw. Golden point needs to be got rid of sharpish.

https://europeanrugbyleague.com/articles/2443/wales-men-to-take-on-jamaica-in-october

How the hell are those two still getting this type of work from the RFL? It's amazing and depressing.

I know that we had all remembered that today marks the 30th anniversary of our first game at Owl Lane, more than 3 years after leaving Crown Flatt. I recall being ever so impressed with our facilities having had 3 years as guests of Batley. Mount Pleasant was an uncomfortable stay, mostly because it wasn't home and also thanks to a long uphill slog from wherever I had parked my car. We were eternally grateful to them for helping us out, which has been reciprocated over and over since by handing them regular victories. Like many I remain nostalgic for Crown Flatt, yet would be the first to admit that it was a dump. Had the fire not forced us out I suspect that economic forces would have meant that we would have had to leave eventually. I still hold many happy memories of the place however. {Raises glass in toast}

Calling people anonymous keyboard warriors, while being called Harry Stottle on a forum has to be peak irony

Oldham had another good crowd against Workington, 2681

It is now being reported that IMG want to bring back the Roses match so please remove any and all memories you may have of me being supportive of their involvement in any way.

Fev 22 Toulouse 10, another tremendously resilient performance from Fev who with a few players back seem unrecognisable from a few weeks ago.

Spreadsheet says no.

The headline says that dialogue between Super League and the NRL over a potential takeover has begun. Super League could be taking over the NRL.

IMG do not decide who is and who isn’t in SL. The scoring criteria does. I know that you have been corrected on this many times on this thread so I find it strange that you keep repeating this theory

Super proud of our first season in the top flight. The victory over Huddersfield secured 5th place which is probably more than we hoped, with survival and something to build on being our initial goal. The Challenge Cup tie with Wigan, when we were denied victory with a try chalked off for a forward pass on the final play of the match, gave us confidence and there have been many highlights. We were drawing at half-time at Wigan in the opening league game, we beat York in the second half at home and Leeds Rhinos were pushed all the way at home. There were only two real blow-outs at Headingley and home to St.Helens but we learnt from those games and bounced back quickly. To win the mini-league with Huddersfield, Warrington and Featherstone was a great achievement given that those three clubs were a distance ahead of Barrow Raiders when the professional club got involved in 2021. The plan was always to get to Super League and grow women's rugby league in Cumbria and we were often in Tom Brindle's ear to make sure the pathways stayed open. We have no open-age community clubs in the area but things are starting to happen. Thanks to our Foundation there are now 5 touch rugby teams and some of these players have found their way into our reserve side. We are onboard with the u15 and u16 pathway to performance programme and the first of these session start this week after a successful trial in August. We have attracted girls from West Cumbria too so hopefully this is the start of a conveyor belt of new talent that can eventually add to the strength of the Barrow team and who knows, the England team. There are a couple of junior teams at Hindpool and Barrow Island that hopefully will also feed into the pathway. Our next step is to have a similar trial for u19s with a view to building up numbers and forming a WSL team. With no solid foundations it is important we don't throw the girls in too quickly to the u19 WSL and the RFL have recognised that we can join when we are ready. The club is 100% behind women's rugby and try to treat the ladies team equally with the men. As a club and a game we now have to try to increase crowds, increase our sponsorship portfolio and hopefully become attractive to a broadcaster. We need to use the England team more as this is the biggest failing in the men's game. If we can get the international game right then the knock on effect for the clubs could be huge.

I agree, survival for me would be the top priority and for Oldham to get established in the Championship, best not to run before we can walk. In the early throws of this season I allowed myself to get carried away and thought we were already a top championship side however the defeats at Swinton and especially the spanking at York put things into perspective. Don't get me wrong apart from the one loss in the league this year the team have been exceptional, playing a fantastic style of rugby with a defence that is second to none, I even think at this point with the current squad we could hold our own in the championship. There are obviously going to be personnel changes in the off system so lets see what they bring both in & out, I'm more than confident that Bill Q, Mike F & Sean L will have a plan for next season for us to be competitive as the championship is a big step up from League One. This season with the squad that was assembled it would have taken some almighty balls up for us not to be promoted and given the points difference for and against its obvious that Oldham were a championship quality team playing at League One level. Next year is a totally different set of circumstances, some good teams in the championship and I'm sure it will not all be plain sailing, I'm expecting a few bumps along the way but if for the next couple of seasons we can consolidate ourselves as a decent standard championship team, get the crowds up a few thousand and maybe a couple of decent cup runs it gives us the springboard for in the future making that serious push for Super League. This past season has reignited my interest in Oldham Rugby, I've been watching since i was a kid with my Dad at Watershedding's, saw Oldham back in the day in Super League and then watched both the good and bad times when the club reformed however prior to this season I'd not been to an Oldham game for about 5 years, I basically just lost faith in the previous administration and just didn't get any enjoyment any more in watching Oldham. I'll admit being a little "sceptical" when the initial takeover was announced but went along with it and boy am I glad that I did. The turnaround in the perception of Oldham Rugby is such a joy to behold and thanks to the current custodians both on and off the pitch we have a club and team to be proud of. I know for a fact that later this year as soon as season tickets become on sale and the fixture list announced I'll be purchasing mine straight away. Oldham Rugby is only going one way and that is up and I'll be there along from the ride. All I ask is that expectations are set at a reasonable level, yes we all want Super Duper League but I'm happy to wait a few seasons yet to get the club fully established from top to bottom. COME ON OLDHAM, BRING ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!

Catalans v Wigan apparently: https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors-in-talks-for-super-league-fixture-in-paris-4767907

This is the kind of thing that should be happening outside of the top nations. Wales vs Jamaica and now hopefully France vs Lebanon. Hopefully these kind of fixtures become a regular thing

Sheffield Eagles played Rochdale Hornets at Owlerton Stadium 40 years ago today. https://www.facebook.com/SheffieldEaglesHeritage The Heritage project linked above has done some great work converting matches from VHS to digital, collecting stories and building a history of a club that has now reached middle age. The Eagles are a success story of expansion, albeit on the fringes of the heartlands, despite a near-death experience 25 years ago. Here's to many more. Edit: many of the videos are on the Heritage YouTube channel.

Put on a fixture vs France with minimal effort/marketing Lack of competitiveness and/or audience leads to calls to return to Yorks v Lancs Put on a Yorks vs Lancs fixture with minimal effort/marketing Lack of competitiveness and/or audience leads to calls to return to an All Stars/Exiles game Put on a fixture vs All Stars/Exiles with minimal effort/marketing Lack of competitiveness and/or audience leads to calls to return to a game vs France Repeat Step 1 There's a common denominator here why many of these 'attempts' continually prove unsuccessful...

Imagine watching this crowd, at this ground (with a new stand to come), with this atmosphere, an away weekend trip loved by thousands, a home side that’s consistently challenged for trophies, and then thinking “why don’t we charge Catalans an extra million quid, cripple them, and ultimately run them out of the league so that we can have yet another under-resourced, small-crowd, bottom-feeding club in West Yorkshire” That ladies and gentlemen is the idiocy of rugby league in a nutshell. I can’t begin to describe how angry it makes me.

I'll repeat something I've said before. Around the world, in pretty much every sport, there is basically one example of a representative fixture between club and internationals, becoming a major event. And that is rugby league's State of Origin. It wasn't because it was rugby league as a sport that made State of Origin a success, it was because of an unrepeatable set of circumstances about NSW and QLD, and the set up of RL at the time, that laid the foundations. Yorkshire v Lancashire means something in cricket. Yorkshire and Lancashire play each other all the time in other sports and, aside from a bit of banter, literally no one cares.

On this day 130 years ago, a bunch of people met in a Huddersfield hotel and made a very good decision. 0.00001 nanoseconds later came the first prediction that the game was dying.

Hurricanes, Oldham and Cougars to win. A huge party at Boundary Park (and very well deserved). A big celebration at the Alexander Stadium on Hurricanes reaching the playoffs (Best of luck to them). Cougars to narrowly defeat Hornets to secure the second spot. North Wales Crusaders to win - although the game is a dead rubber, as it wont affect the playoffs, it will give us time to reflect on what could have been, and the exciting prospect of what is to come in 2025. Season tickets go on sale, so I'll be in the queue for one of those. On a personal reflection - I only missed one game this season, home and away; That was a home game vs Workington on Fathers Day. Over the season I met plenty of lovely people in League 1 , home and away; Thank You for your company, your friendly rivalry and for coming to North Wales Crusaders to support your teams. See some of you next year. Good luck and congratulations to those who go up to the Championship.

Thought we made Batley look pedestrian today. Thought that the unsettling and concerning injury to Ally Leak stopped the margin being bigger as the ten minutes after the injury up to the break was very scrappy. Glad Ally's OK cos he's a top lad and a decent player. Watched Fev v Toulouse last night. It's said that if your team are not on it in the Championship on the day, anyone can turn you over. Toulouse found out last night that if you have three of four players in your 17 who are below par on the day, the sum total of the team effort means you get beat. Look at our boys today. Spoke to Browney after the game and remarked how well he, AJ and WardAir returned to ball out of our 10/20. How solid and industrious our second rows were, Jake Gannon and Connor B. And that's before you mention our potential MOM's, Nikau Williams, Ata, Josh Daley, Jubby and Tommo - Joe Law's sidestep that made a solid player like Elliot Kear look foolish, Santi's effort and relentless go forward, The tackling machine that is Jack Martin. That fend of Cunno's that turned a possible try into a certain four pointer. It was a cracking 17 man display, each one backing up the other. William's touch miss from a penalty that was followed by the same player leading the drive that stuck the Batley player into touch within seconds. Lovely interview with Mash afterwards when he spoke about not being able to look at himself in the mirror if he didn't let players with the flair and quality of Nikau and Ata do their thing and he paid a lovely tribute to Tommo on his 350th career start. Moment of the match, Ata's concern for Leaky when he realised he might be badly hurt - class.

The easy narrative is always to blame the coach when things go wrong. For instance Applegarth was widely regarded by Wakefield fans as being totally out of his depth last year and there were multiple threads after each loss on their forum wondering how on earth he was still in a job (they also didn't rate Fordy!). Put Applegarth in a different situation this year and it's a different story. A lot of fans take a very short-term view, and there were plenty wanted Ford out last October even though he'd been in the job less than 2 months. This year Fev undoubtedly had some shocking performances but like many clubs we were racked by injuries especially at half back, and as a York fan you'll have seen ample evidence over the last couple of years that losing your half backs can cripple a team. Fev have had players playing out of position and carrying knocks all year - again, so have plenty of other teams, but it's no coincidence that finally getting a number of players back from injury/suspension, coupled with some astute signings, has seen improved performances. To me this highlights the fact that there's often more to a team's performances than the coach being great/rubbish. The "Fordyball" detractors would have seen plenty to back up their theories this year with plenty of five-drives-and-a-kick stuff but that's partly been down to the personnel we've had and we were more fluent yesterday with 2 proper half backs than we have been all year. I'm not necessarily a detractor nor an unconditional fan of our current coach, but we've had something like 10 coaches in the last 10 seasons and I just think a bit of stability would be a good idea.

Bog off.

We have had over twenty years of being in the "will we be able to continue world." We lost Watersheddings and had to play anywhere who would have us. We are now playing at Boundary Park for at least the next ten years and next year we are in the championship. DON'T GIVE UP has to be the message. You don't know who might come along to make a difference. You are a great club, one of which that I have lots of great memories. All the best - you deserve it!

it’s a bloody shame this London team will be broken up and relegated just as it is finding its feet- so much potential there

A couple of things stick in my mind that about Carter. I was told that on more than one occasion Wigan turned up for academy games and he was out and about doing odd jobs, one time he was out painting and another he was out tidying a stand if I recall correctly. He may not have had bags of money but he obviously put an awful lot of time and I daresay money relative to his wealth into the club. He has to be applauded for that.

It's not really a case of "I know he's right", rather a case of "I know he's trolling". And it's certainly not "cowardly hiding behind a keyboard" to disagree with and point out the flaws in his point. Blow-outs like that happen. I probably don't have to look back to suggest that Beamont's Leigh team have been on the receiving end of similar hidings and indeed, some similar remarks. I was at Headingley last night in a role of a sponsor of the Leeds disability rugby teams and I can tell you that I came across many people at Hull that are very proud and committed to what they're trying to achieve on that front. Yes, if the first team had that same level of pride and commitment, Hull may not be where they are now, but the people I came across at the Hull club were far less of a disgrace that I could argue DB has shown himself to be on occasion. As for DB himself, he's an RL guy that puts his money into the sport and his club - one that has developed well over recent years. That's to be applauded. However, I also don't think it's unfair to hold the view that he can be a crass, boorish individual with an outlook on the sport that I think is small-minded.

Hmm. Jai Field averaged fewer than 4 games per season in his four years in the NRL. Bevan French couldn't get in the Parramatta squad and played for Wentworthville Magpies the year before he came to Wigan. Edwin Ipape didn't get beyond a train-and-trial contract with Manly. Tom Amone played 17 NRL games in three years before being released. Neither success and failure in the NRL are necessarily mirrored by players coming over to SL.