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https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2022-hudson-young-kangaroos-squad-australia-trainon-squad-mal-meninga-world-cup-canberra-raiders/news-story/7742cb149fc0f6bfcfddb1266638306d Article doesn't add much in terms of describing the Kangaroos extended squad but good to see the comments from Hudson Young here: "I still see Australia as the pinnacle over Origin, to play and represent your country is the greatest honour ever." “Obviously to play for the Blues is a massive achievement but I still see it as the trial to play for Australia. I just think representing your country is the greatest thing you could ever do for your family and yourself.” Latrell Mitchell has echoed the same sentiments in the past, good to see that players views don't correlate with the standing that the media affords the two representative levels.

Marvellous! I'd dearly like both teams to lose please. Thanks.

Congratulations to young John Bateman on his Knights call up. This could be the start of an exciting career as long as we don't put too much pressure on his young shoulders and expect too much too soon.

Big bid for funds to re develop Odsal which would transform the sport - and the city. About time too. Our sport punches well above its weight doing untold good for our communities. We don’t fight hard enough. If the government is serious about levelling up - there surely can be not better cause than RL and Bradford. We need - as a sport - to be in the governments face over this. No negative posts please about Bradford. This would be a huge shot in the arm for the sport. We are owed this… https://apple.news/ANvkgT-UxQCG-SzEsy3JcgQ

Bevan French signs a new 2 year deal to stay at Wigan. I'm really shocked, but delighted, as I was resigned to him leaving:

I hope you lot are able to watch this, it's astonishing... https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=345795530656776

I’ll be honest, I didn’t read most of that. As for Big Bad Saints’ approach on Saturday, I’d argue that’s a one eyed view and misses out at least two shoulder charges (Taylor when Ackers put himself to sleep and Watkins), a stamp by Sneyd on Batchelor (albeit accidental in the act of scoring by Batchelor) and an obstruction that was never given. I don’t think playing ######-for-tat “but they did this?” games is useful to anybody but does show that a lot more could and probably should have been given for both sides on Saturday. Ultimately, whoever was the loser on Saturday, they’d have had some fair arguments about decisions by the officials.

Buy one, get one.

It's ridiculous but if it's allowed then I don't blame them for doing so. It really should be like Football where domestic bans only count domestically.

We are incredibly good value for Sky. These days they struggle to fill some of their evening schedules with even one live sports event, especially outside of the cricket season, with Champions League and union both on BT. We should be a lot more upbeat about our value.

I've moaned once or twice on here about the fact Warrington never ever win any of these awards, but on this occasion I'm prepared to accept Peet has probably outperformed Powell this year.

great news- SL has to retain top talent and stars to remain marketable - well done Wigan

Found this on t'internet and I so hope it's true... A funny and true story about the Queen: Around 2005, the Queen and her Personal Protection Officer, Dick Griffin, were walking alone one afternoon in the hills near the Scottish royal castle, Balmoral. Two tourists approached them, and engaged in conversation. Griffin recalls: "There were two hikers coming towards us, and the Queen would always stop and say hello. "They were two Americans on a walking holiday. "It was clear from the moment we stopped that they hadn't recognised the Queen, which was fine. "The American gentleman was telling the Queen where they came from, where they were going next, and where they'd been in Britain. "I could see it coming, and sure enough, he said to Her Majesty: 'And where do you live?' "She replied: 'Well I live in London, but I've got a holiday home just the other side of the hills.' "He said: 'How long have you been coming up here?' "She replied: 'I've been coming up here ever since I was a little girl, so over 80 years.' "You could see the cogs whirring, so he said: 'Well, if you've been coming up here for over 80 years, you must have met the Queen.' "Quick as a flash, she said: 'I haven't, but Dick here meets her regularly.' The hiker then asked Griffin what the monarch was like in person. "Because I was with her a long time, and I knew I could pull her leg, I said: 'Oh, she can be very cantankerous at times, but she's got a lovely sense of humour.' The next thing I knew, this guy comes round, puts his arm around my shoulder, and before I could see what was happening, he gets his camera, GIVES IT TO THE QUEEN, and says: 'Can you take a picture of the two of us?' "Then we swapped places, and I TOOK A PICTURE OF THEM WITH THE QUEEN. "And we never let on, and we waved goodbye. "Afterwards, Her Majesty said to me: 'I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to his friends in America, and hopefully someone tells him who I am'." Rest in Peace Your Majesty

Another popular extension just been announced on Twitter as JD has been confirmed as returning.

So, Saints did a hatchet job with all the fouls you can think of (and a few more thrown in for good measure). A good solid dig at both the referees and the RFL. A nice bit of culture war and wokism tossed in to add some spice. and then....

If this was the case wouldn’t clubs attendances go up by 4000 when they weren’t on Sky.

Don't be doing an Oxy Harry. We don't want to be sending the samaritans out to check on you come Sunday night.

Not sure all the fans will think that. I've seen several coaches, ex-players etc say that this Leigh side is the best there has been in the Championship. If we do reach the final and it's against Leigh we'll be massive underdogs, I'd still sooner see us reach the final and get thumped by what some people think effectively is a mid-table SL team than get knocked out in the semis, and of course you can't win it if you're not in it. I know some fans want Mac out but surely that discussion can be put on hold, all thoughts for now are getting behind the boys and hoping we do well in the play-offs?

Of course CH doesn't look at this forum and this vent won't matter a jot! , but this is a place where we can share our frustrations and concerns over a twenty year decline of professional rugby in Oldham and the constant throughout this period has been the owner. Do you think if the current club had folded over that period and we'd gone into liquidation again, we could be in any worse state than we currently are ? I would have preferred for that to happen and give another individual or group of people a go than endure what we've experienced. We all know that the owner has no money to invest into the club but he has also failed to attract any meaningful investment. I'm sure CH loves Oldham Rugby League and his dedication and commitment is admirable and can't be questioned, but that doesn't mean he is the right person to be the steward of professional rugby league in Oldham.

Fax by 10. Oh, hang on...

He's done a great job and has transformed the playing style from the boring Lam years. Saints being Champions the last couple of years probably went against Woolf. Rowley has done a damn fine job under far more constraints than Peet or Woolf but ultimately only finished 6th and won nothing. Again though it seems daft to do this before the Grand Final. I think at this moment in time there could have been strong cases for all three.

Not sure why he's won it, Rowley for me

Is any of this looking good? Our critics remark we are just a bunch of Butch Dingles kicking the proverbial out of each other. The RFL simultaneously looking clueless, self serving, biased and making up as they go along. The refs appearing to be inconsistent and weak. The supporters hurled into a "culture war" between those wokists who read the science and want to diminish the neurological risks and the biff brigade denouncing it as natural. St Helens did a tremendous hatchet job on Salford. Neutered their attacking blaze with a "robust" approach that was in and out of the Laws. Use of the head, shoulder, chicken winging, eye gorging (is that real) and professional fouls. All it needed was a finger up someone's sphincter. A lack of firm and consistent refereeing on the day and a comprehensive response from the RFL has endorsed, enabled and clarified the rough house way. . Its a mess but a mess of our making. Shame there is too many vested interests wishing it to kept it that way.

Skock win for Batley, Flat cappers then start demanding franchise system as they are incapable of winning promotion (again) on the field

Can absolutely guarantee that Bulldogs have lowest playing budget amongst those Clubs in playoffs!! But.. we have the biggest team spirit budget and the best group of people money can’t buy.

Well deserved Talented, respected and clearly a great coach More importantly he has brought a huge amount of class to the SL. In interviews he is funny, humble and doesn't make excuses I hate him for making me really like a Wigan coach

Wigan deal for French

Can they level Batley as well.

If there was a tad more definition, you would be able to lip-read the older fans moaning about how the game's gone downhill since 1895, and that's them done with RL.

I doubt we're in a position where nearly all seats will be sold out with huge gaps in terraced spaces, especially as that is cheaper. Given we're just under a month from that fixture, I'd guess it will sell out or be very close to doing so.

One of my earliest RL memories is ray French saying his name on BBC in test matches monsieur rascagnere. For some reason his name stuck in my head with ray French's voice

Really pleased we are playing at Fev on Sunday, always enjoy the games at Post Office Road. I'm sure Fev will be too strong for us, but I'll still go for a shock Bulldogs win by 1 point Then 80 mins from SL....

You also thought fax would beat york

And I would deserve the Mickey taking, but you wouldn't find me I will be gone - cue all those who now want Leigh to lose just for that reason alone As for the second paragraph be careful you will be classed as a "Door Handle" for being so confident.

They really don’t know their audience

I think people are entitled to express their unhappiness at the current situation. I prefer it to complete apathy as it at least shows that people still care. Let's be honest, this is the 'new club's' lowest ebb. I've watched this forum deteriorate over a number of years and only felt recently compelled to join and post for the first time as I'm really fearful for the club's future. It's clear from the postings on here that our remaining fanbase is completely split. If the rumoured RFL changes come in, the next 12 months will be critical. We can't simply carry on as we have done over the last 20 odd years. If things don't change dramatically, I fear we'll end up going the way of Bramley. The ground will be a key element of licensing / franchising and I've not heard any noise recently from Frank Rothwell on this?

To put it into perspective probably the best performance with the number of players missing through injury, and yes what's tougher than away at Leigh but were there and we'll have a dam good go and enjoy

Easy win is not important in knock out matches.One point is enough to get the job done.

Thanks for the reply Goosey, yes as the winter drags on and the utility bills mount up along with the increased food prices and everything else rising those on a budget will be tightening their purse strings and non-essentials like attending sports will be affected. I sincerely hope that everything works out fine for you.

It’s not only the Batley team your boys face it’s the expectation of an easy win and the pressure of the crowds expectations Theres absolutely NO pressure on the Batley lads

Hello. No. Carcassonne would murder League one as Toulouse did when they got in the English system.

From early discussions it appears there is talk of shifting 2 home games to N Sydney, including a fixture against Manly annually. .... Personally, I think WA are being sold a lemon. The Bears adds very little to their own bid. The are regurgitating N Syd Bears claims of 200k existing fans. The sporting fandom is a little different in Aus, so whilst I wouldn’t expect many to turn up to watch a reserve grade team running around in NSW Cup, I also dispute that just because the wider N Syd Leagues club operation has 200k “members”, this is not anywhere near the number of paying fans they would get week to week in N Syd.

If WA Bears is the 18th franchise it must be owned in Perth, run from Perth, and play all its home games in Perth. Anything else risks the outcome being more North Melbourne than South Melbourne. Leave it to Sydney clubs to decide whether to play Bears away fixtures at their home ground or NSO as part of an arrangement with North Sydney. Cronulla might keep theirs at Shark Park, Manly might move theirs from Brookvale. Could be the other way round, depending on which option were the most successful in each case. Where are all these closet Bears fans north of the harbour anyway? Certainly not watching the NSW Cup. More likely to have been at the NSO women`s Fumble the other week.

If they don't......they're out of the playoffs.

Yes they do

Hakim Miloudi for me has been fantastic this season. Along with Sammut they both brought something missing down Craven Park for years, real excitement. For all his indiscipline and dodgy defence the sense of anticipation in the crowd when he touched the ball was a total joy. It was what rugby should be, tough and uplifting. Plus boy could he play. It was a total pleasure Hakim.

You really don't get it WE WANT A NEW WINNER

I have just read This, and it doesn't make any sense either?!?! Halifax Panthers commercial director Steve Lambert commented: “This is a massive game for the club as it will determine our finishing position in the Championship table and therefore how much central funding we receive in 2023. People probably don’t realise that if we lose to York, they then take on the 3rd place position in the league that we have worked so hard all year to secure. Why would York go to 3rd? If that was the case, then surely York would play Featherstone, but as they are not, we must be 3rd.

The underdogs are at home on Sunday. The favourites are making the short trip from Mt Pleasant. With 3 points out of a possible 4, only over-confidence can surely prevent Batley from completing a second win at POR.

Knowles has 5 charges in the last 12m, never mind the 24m measure. So even if they challenge the grading and it goes from B to A, he still has a 1 match ban. The only way is if a panel looks at that incident and decides it is NFA, which seems like a hell of a long shot!