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Looking forward to the SCL again. From the Eastern Rhinos perspective, our aim is simply to offer a rugby league pathway to as many boys, girls, women and men as we can. We'll hope to run with mens firsts (SCL), mens development, u18, u16, u14, u12, u9 and u7 teams in 2022, plus mixed tag sessions. We have the players for all of this but the existing and new volunteers will be really stretched. And we always need more sponsors. We don't want to be in League 1. Among other things, we would like to: continue to develop juniors to supply players to the professional game and, if not, the Rhinos open age sides; match the playing standard of the likes of WW, HHH and London Chargers; grow the club in terms of volunteers, non-playing members; qualify for the CC1 draw. We're a community club.

Home advantage for the highest ranked team is fine by me. Finishing higher in the league has to hold some weight in what is such an important game.

Halftime at Skolars. 18-0 to Skolars. Not expected. Skolars look organised and fit. Good boisterous crowd

Evening Campers, Just back home in Spain from Perpignan really fantastic day so here is the latest. DRAGONS v TOULOUSE Toulouse did well but run out of steam in the second half however i think (Maybe I am wrong they only used 17 players) Dragons maybe 20+ Toulouse with 3/4 new players are certainly not far off the Broncos from 3 seasons ago that picked up 10 wins in SL, i have certainly seen far worse squads in SL my prediction for what its worth is that 10/11 is a possibility. MALONEY Apparently very unlikely to want to go back playing in SL, the Dragons really wanted to keep him for this season. but he is happy with some part time footy and sightseeing:) FRANCE v WALES Looks good to go in Nantes in June (Told Luc that IMHO for what its worth maybe Rennes is a better shout however the president sees some history of RL in Nantes and a WC 2025 venue. PERPIGNAN MAIRE A mess the National Front are determined to have the Dragons and USAP playing out of the same stadium (Both clubs NOT 100%) seems like many have moved from the North of France to the region over the last few years and football dominates so they are playing to the electorate. Talking of which the old Marie for years kept in power by paying off the gypsies who number a good old voting chunk locally. Walked back to the station after the match at a really brisk pace to catch the last train to Spain and made it by 10 mins town seems very run down doggie pooh everywhere drunks drugs etc (No doubt the vile NF played on this to win the last election) Interesting fact is that a huge amount of both Dragons and USAP fans now come from the region and not Perpignan itself.Sadly not the good old Perpignan that i once knew however the region is still wonderful. Thats it for now folks sleep tight. Cheers Paul

A story I have put on this board before Back in 2005 I attended a ' Legends ' event at the Shay , Roy Haggerty ,Karl Harrison and Mark Preston on the stage telling stories and answering questions I ,hand raised asked the question , " who was the opponent you least liked facing ? " , Mark Preston , with head shaking and a smile replied " Des " , " and it wasn't just me , it was all wingers , every one of us " , Karl and Roy laughing Mark then went on to tell a story of when Wigan and Wire played that game in the states , a few of the players were relaxing on the beach , up strolls a couple of big ' yanks ' who had spotted the oval ball , a few questions later and one of them was throwing quarterback style a pass to the other with one of the ' limeys ' requested to attempt a tackle , Dessie was the tackler , " we were all laughing knowing what was coming as 5ft 7 inch Des cleans the guy out in typical Drummond style " RIP Des , I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about him from any RL fan who had witnessed him play be that a team he played for or against , a true gentleman and Legend of the sport

I just gave @TheSportsman a "thank you" on social media, just to let them know we really appreciate their coverage. I suggest that others do the same.

Skolars won 40-22. Scored two quick tries at the beginning of the second half but possibly then put the cue on the rack. Chargers kept going and found a weak spot in the Skolars defence that they kept going to. Very entertaining game

Well done Acorn on a great win today in the cup, going through 28 . 10

We once got 21k at Headingley for this game and the second highest TV viewing figures on Sky for that season. We could try and get back to that.

I think there was more than just one dollop of irony in Hally's comment FR

Ideally any final should be a neutral venue so I’m with Harold on this one.

what an ######

Coventry definitely should not be on the list. How can it be described " disastrous outcome"? The club has evolved. The "professional" arm has moved on to give itself growing room. Already that has succeeded in attracting significant investment and are well underway to move on from there. Meanwhile the " amatuer" arm which includes Coventry Bears will form a pyramid base. Initially there will be 3 teams in that base. Their remit is to develop young talent. With that in mind they will be concentrating on junior development. Every Hurricanes game day will be preceded by a " Festival" to get the juniors to see that they are part of a pathway to develop their skills. In the very season of their existence Coventry Bears applied to enter the Southern Conference. They were knocked back in favour of Wolverhampton Wizards. The SC management told them to prove themselves by playing a season of friendlies. They did and only lost one game to the British Army. They defeated the Royal Air Force, England Students and a host of conference clubs. Within 3 years they were champions and had a semi final and a final in the two prior seasons. Coventry Bears open age men will have the same opportunity to once again become the best team in the South. They will be guided by some of the very players that laid those foundations.

This is the core of the issue when it comes to any expansion effort really. I'll preface this by saying that cuts in Sport England funding hasn't helped here, but "we" don't really do a lot on this front. What tends to happen is a narrative of "we're expanding to...." or "we're investing in....." or "we've tried in ..... and it hasn't worked" is established when, in truth, the vast majority of these efforts have been delegated to the clubs in those regions and a small number of (very passionate and committed) owners like David Hughes - who have all of the existing day-to-day challenges of the heartland clubs, with this added burden of "growing the game" with very little support. It's why phrases like "the Catalans haven't done anything to improve the French team" are as unfair on the Catalans as it is to blame Hull KR for the fact that England can't beat Australia. Catalans are there to exist as a successful club in their own right and follow the same rules as everyone else to do that - their obligation isn't to the FFRXIII. We even seem to put the responsibility of selling media rights in France on the Catalans now, which just sums up how nobody at Red Hall / Manchester really wants to grasp this issue. Likewise with Magic Weekend - just rocking up and bringing the circus to town isn't really "expansion", but we still have claims like "we went to Cardiff all those years and we still don't have a club there!". The real issue here is that everybody sees expansion (certainly in the geographic sense, but arguably in other senses too) as "not their problem". The clubs don't want to do it, SLE clearly can't or won't do it and the RFL doesn't have the funding to do it. We then have this finger pointing going on - fans blaming the RFL for poor TV deals when it's really the fault of SLE, the clubs blaming the RFL for poor marketing when it's really the fault of the clubs, people blaming the Broncos for poor international crowds in London when it's the really the fault of the RFL..... and so it goes on. If either Super League Europe or the RFL is serious about geographic expansion, it has to take on that responsibility. It can't rely on delegating this to whichever "outpost" clubs we happen to have.

I've said exactly that few times before. If you're targeting existing rugby union fans, leading off with "that thing you like? It sucks, this is better" is not going to get you very far. If you're targeting total rugby newbies, they have no preconceived notions, and leading off with a comparison to something else they know nothing about is both meaningless, and introduces the comparison / inferiority complex from the start. The only relating to rugby union should done in the exact same way as any relating to football, hockey , or combat sports - "Hey, if you like fast paced with big hits, you'll like this too!". "Too", not "instead of", not "better".

3.5k currently watching the forces game.

BUT I love winding him up robin and don't worry Iv'e got him in my pocket

That subject has been done to death on this forum. Please can people stop arguing about it and derailing this thread. If you want to argue about that then please start a separate thread on it and do it there. On the subject of WWR we should get an indicator of the strength of the squad they have assembled so far in relation to the stronger League 1 clubs tomorrow when they host Swinton in the cup.

Thank god the season starts this weekend,all this talk of feel good factors & optimism on a RL forum,dear god what is happening to this world !!

Success shouldn’t be defined by what league your club is playing in. I don’t see anything wrong with these clubs putting down roots at this level and collectively helping each other by offering players, both existing and future and their local community, a consistent opportunity to play and watch RL at a healthy standard with common rivalries. This persistent aim to climb into the professional structure continues to plague grassroots clubs with a volunteer or two acting on delusional dreams of seeing their club climb the professional ladder, leading the clubs in some cases to disastrous outcomes. Think St Albans Centurions, South London Storm, Coventry Bears, Hemel Stags, Essex Eels, Medway Dragons, Northampton Demons, Luton Vipers. Whereas clubs like Eastern Rhinos and Bedford Tigers at least appear to have established their place in the pyramid and happy to compete to their highest in that level. It’s only the amazing work of Bob Brown at Hemel Stags and the finance streams he has built for the club that has kept the club alive both before and after their perilous adventure into the professional ranks. I think this Southern Conference is a good level for them as well.

14 teams this year, with a large geographical spread and some ambitious clubs. Hopefully one or two will be in a position to give League One a go in a few years time. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/36462/2022-southern-conference-league-details-confirmed

Now that Toronto and Toulouse are out of the way - so to speak - so the RFL don't need to go running scared of the final being under subscribed if it is played with the inclusion of any of those overseas clubs at a neutral venue in this country, I suggest that the final returns to a ground other than that of the competing teams. With the interest in the Championship this year I consider it could draw a very good attendance and if as expected but not certain that it is between Fev and Leigh neither ground would be big enough, it could also be a double header with the L1 GF. Obviously it is over 2 weeks away and this would not occur to those who run the RFL, they will think about this just before the play-offs are due to begin about September.

I think Cuthbo will do a good job for you the problem at York was we were always down to the bare bones with injuries so he was maybe playing when he shouldn’t have been and not getting the chance to recuperate. With the squad you have got I’m sure you will get the best out of him and able to rest him when needed unlike us last season. You have some squad there now hardest thing will be to keep them all happy but a nice problem to have and great to see players of that calibre in the championship I will be looking forward to seeing them on Monday especially leilua obviously hoping you start the season slow. You should be favourites to win promotion now and if you do get promoted and build on the squad again you should have no problem staying in super league best of luck after Monday obviously

All RFL leagues are ' Open '. The Southern Conference can pay players if they wish ( and if they can ). The NCL prohibit payment to players largely to protect the member clubs from potential financial difficulty. As a consequence they all trade in profit or lose their status. Seems to work..........

Having had to travel to Toulouse last year and Toronto in 2019, I thought I would be in favour of a neutral territory for a Grand Final. But I'm not. I still think that the team finishing top SHOULD have the advantage of a home final or what's the point in going all out finishing top: the Championship hubcap.....it's nice to have but you want the big prize not the secondary one. And it only gives you a home semifinal as reward for finishing top and if you win that , the loser gets a home semi-final in the final playoff so not much extra reward for finishing top if the Grand Final is on neutral ground.

I remember that well, Dessie handed him off with his head

Decent win for the Cru at Leigh Miners (40-8 according to the Beeb). I was slightly apprehensive as our only friendly was called off last week, but all seems to have gone well.

RIP Des Drummond a real hero of the game! I made my debut against Leigh and played against Des, he made a break down the right wing and was flying. Being pretty quick myself and with the aid of the angle I had him bang to rights close to the touchline, I was preparing to put him in the East Stand then BANG he came off his right foot and I swear he made a right angle turn at full speed without losing any speed whatsoever. I never laid a finger on him! Amazing player, he was 1 of only 3 players who would have replaced his opposite number in the 1982 Australian Invincible Ashes Team. sad day!

RIP Des watched him in the eighties for leigh one of the best wingers of his day, and a true superstar in every way.

Rip Dessie, was an absolute honour to watch him bombing down the wing for Town. 63 is far too young, sad news.

Despite never playing for my team still one of my favourite players growing up. Sad news.

It should be at Headingley Stadium, the true home of Rugby League and the best ground in Super League imo

Stop responding mate. He has the issue and responding just feeds his motivation for posting. The subject matter is largely irrelevant. The response he get is.... to him.

Fev by 50

LMS is going to be spending even more time standing on the sidelines & will Coote even make it onto the pitch for KR.

It's not like he is reinventing rugby league though is it? We definitely don't have the biggest props in the league, and that may cause is some issues getting up field in this league if we play into the opposition hands by constantly playing that way. But scrums no longer need big props, and with summer rugby a more expansive game was born. Haven have a big pack, Riley, Walker, etc ran hard at us but we handled it and competed on a sticky pitch. Time will tell if he is right or wrong but we are in for an entertaining season for sure, I think our young lads will surprise a few and with luck on the injury front we will more than hold our own. UTT

Not seeming to answer for Robin, but my take on it as I think would be Robin's from his previous comments, being in SL and let's be real about this in the natural order of club's neither of Fev or Leigh are going to enter the big boys club of the top 6 richest, wealthiest and best supported, so we will almost certainly be a bottom 6 SL club - maybe a "purple patch" of a season will come about once every blue moon but that will not be the norm So in a system that does not have relegation and something to fight for and make games interesting in the sense that they have a competitive meaning instead of the result doesn't matter, I would not want to be a part of that, I would sooner be relegated.

Looking forward to a nice long summer splitting my time between Hammersmith Hills Hoists, London Chargers or Wests Warriors on any given weekend.

So he didn’t know Fev were in the second tier, the houses are too small and he actually wanted to play in Super League. I give it three months before he’s in France or playing NSW Cup.

And go where. I have been among the rich and the poor in my lifetime and know what I am talking about. SEEN it FIRST HAND. I am coming up 88 and have been on active service, been a miner, a railway clerk, a soldier and finished up as a senior manager. I have seen all types of society and helped first hand and advised the poor and helpless during that time. Helped the miners during the miner's strike and helped poor people with their wills and estates. Lived in a back to back house for over 30 years with no electricity, or flush toilets and a midden (IF you know what one of those were), one room downstairs, one bedroom and a boxroom. Biggest room was the cellar for coal. I retired with a detached house and an acre of land by hard work and passing exams and ignoring the rich who tried their best to put me down at work when they saw my background as a working class lad. My mother told me 'You can get there if you try'. So try I did and jumped the hurdles that came up. ON a FENCE, NEVER. I went the way that common sense told me.

Yet Liam Harris gets a 3 match ban for doing something most women from Fev do every Friday & Saturday night outside Big Fellas. It's obvious the RFL have some sort of agenda against the Knights and want their pet favourites Featherstone to go up etc etc etc It's not fair everyone is against us wah wah wah.

When was the last time the sport, or to be more precise, the governing bodies, did anything for London? It’s an argument against them that I’ve heard over the years that “we’ve” done enough for London but I genuinely haven’t a clue what The RFL have done for London, whether the Broncos, Skolars or wider game there.

Warrington Guardian are reporting the awful news that Des Drummond has sadly passed away aged 63. https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19884875.warrington-wolves-vs-wigan-warriors-live-updates/ I can't believe. What a player and man and only 63.

Worcester Jaguars and All Golds have gone semi pro this year. Why they have done this only their owners know but I agree completely with the sentiment that clubs should focus on becoming as strong as they can be as an amateur club. Paying players while playing in an amateur league is not the best way to do this

Of course it's just as bad, using that type of slur against anyone is implying that to be disabled is a bad thing and somehow insulting. It's wrong end of.

The only worry for Fev must be that he performs so well that SL teams come knocking as Id be amazed if he does not have a SL clause in his contract. If Leeds decide they want him though Fev may end up with a really good deal. Its win win for them unless he just does not fancy it.

YOUR' nearly right JUGS “I thought I was going to sign with a Super League team. I’d had talks with a couple. but nothing happened So I didn’t have a club, at all. I was just going to do boxing but then Featherstone approached me and it was sold it to me.““I didn’t even know they were a second tier team at the time but the way they spoke was very professional and they convinced me to come over.I was contacted by Leigh, then Featherstone came along and they were more professional.“I could’ve retired but this is about redeeming my name.” r.

Can we get this thread back on to West Wales Raiders? Looks like a lot of their signings (along with London Skolars and Cornwall) are from the student/community game. Can’t seem many pros from the north being enticed down. The reality of funding cuts hitting? These three are going to get some serious scores against them this season.

The Northern clubs, who control the RFL, don’t want London, it’s too far for them to travel and they won’t get the income from the 250 or so Wakey / Salford fans who travel away. That I’m afraid is the crux of it, the fact that the Broncos, Skolars and the numerous amateur clubs even exist is in-spite of rather than because of the RL establishment, it’s like the sport is stuck in a pre-Victorian time warp where trains haven’t been invented yet.