Leaderboard

How do the Giants stop something like that from happening? The lad obviously wants to test himself in the best league in the world and will likely be paid a lot more at the same time.

Good news (I hope)! I've just seen a trailer for an Inside No.9 Christmas special.

Or maybe adventure and lifestyle come into it also, whatever someone's vocation at their age if they have a chance of experiencing it down under making a commitment if they wish to stay or not I am sure a very large percentage of young men would take up the offer.

One of the greatest declarations of all time.

Huddersfield Giants played 5 (I think) Academy products in the 2022 Challenge Cup Final and finished the domestic season third. That’s their incentive to continue doing what they’re doing. Players leave, it happens. It’s happened numerous times to Wigan, Saints lost Luke Thompson, Catalans have lost Joe Chan, Leeds lost Kallum Watkins and Ryan Hall. Whether we can do anything in terms of remuneration to keep some of these players here is another discussion.

Whoever fancies playing Championship rugby in 2024. 2022 - Toulouse 2020 - Toronto 2019 - London. The reverse Midas touch, if you will.

Pretty sure the minimum NRL contract for a player named in a clubs top 30 now stands at $120k,hardly peanuts.

Targeting lads who are early twenties isn’t just a financial beneficial idea from Australian clubs. They’re less likely to be tied into relationships and family life, which has previously stopped some players from going to Australia (Roby and Walmsley).

Because SL pays peanut in comparison. If we were able to pay more there's less chance of them moving on.

Another thread hijacked by the usual suspects. I really dont understand why you do it so often. Can we get it back on topic or i may as well request to get it locked I seriously wonder sometimes if people just continually balls thread after thread up on purpose or they are geniuinely that thick they dont understand the forum rules.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63781000 I really do like this idea. Something mildly humorous about this, but a clever representation of life. I particularly like the 'five, six, pick up sticks' one.

My very good friend Ray Blumbergs. Despite decades in the south not denting his Yorkshire accent, people were usually surprised to find out that he had been born in Latvia and Ray was actually short for Rainis rather than the usual English derivations. He arrived in the UK after the second world war as a child refugee and the family moved to Hull, where his Father, who was a master mariner, found employment. He was bitten by the rugby league bug at an early age and supported Rovers (he joyfully remembered that often at this time regularly only Doncaster kept them off the bottom of the pile), but would also go to Hull FC games too. After graduating and a period in New Zealand, he moved to London and ran a small transport business out of his home on a small industrial estate on the Acton/Park Royal borderlands. When Fulham was established, he had a professional team to watch again. However, Ray always had a particular interest in the community game, something which grew as he got older. He would cheerfully recall how he would phone Henry Miles, the then secretary of the London League, on a Sunday morning, who would then phone the referees to find out which games were actually on for Ray to attend. After retirement, he spent a period touring Europe in a motor home, but, having sold his home, bought a flat in Hemel within walking distance of the Stags' ground. This was quite deliberate. For the remainder of his retirement, he watched them play, but also involved himself in the club, both on a social level and helping out around the club. After the enclosement of the ground, people may remember him acting as the gateman up until the elevation to League 1, but he was always willing to do odd jobs and jump behind the bar to help out. I first met Ray when back from university well over 30 years ago. His season ticket seat was next to that of my late Father at Crystal Palace when Fulham in their last year under that name were playing there. Since then we have attended many games at Fulham/Crusaders/Broncos (the Tony Tank Gordon period being a particular pleasure for Ray), Skolars, Hemel and many community clubs together. There were also trips away from the south, a journey to York in Ray's flatbed truck through a blizzard to watch I think a Regal Trophy tie on a snow covered pitch being a particular memory. Even in the last year, when he was becoming more frail, Ray attended games at Skolars, Broncos and St Albans as well as his regular walks across to Pennine Way and the clubhouse. He was perpetually good humoured, thanks to a very individual outlook on life. He would often say he considered life existed just for his own amusement. He passed away earlier this week at the age of 83. I will miss him desperately. There are further tributes on Hemel's facebook page to show the impact he had on so many. He would have been amused by the irony of those tributes and this post, as he never had a smartphone or computer and had never accessed the internet.

I'd be happy with five per cent! They were and are two extraordinary people. As was the late Matt King, who lived a fruitful life after suffering a terrible paralysis. I feel totally in awe of young blokes like that.

The US version of Ghosts is now on the iPlayer. It jars a bit and it's not as good (so far) as the UK version but the central two 'livings' are really good and by the end of episode 3 (very short US network episodes) it's proving to be funnier than most things out there.

Watched it a week or two back. Really enjoyed it.

Massive news that. Shame in some ways but hopefully it will be much stronger going forward