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I love it when someone is happy to criticise another club's ground,when their own team are only tenants.

I would have preferred Wakefield to have retained Evans really, but pleased for the guy here. Should go really well in the Championship.

We’ll be on page 357 of the thread “Clubs find out their grades from IMG”, in which people are still coming up with bizarre hypotheticals of “yeah, but if a team with a B grade won Super League against a team with an A grade, could they still be relegated?”

I am not arguing with the overall context of this post but I will say that as a sport Rugby League had the first black captain of any UK sport (Clive Sullivan) and the first black national coach of any UK sport (Ellery Hanley, who was also a Great Britain captain). I genuinely believe that any other sport with these groundbreaking milestones would be recognised with the highest honours in the land.

Absolutely. 3 examples of young players I know personally: 1 was at a Super League team, fringe first teamer, trained full time, sent on all the community engagement stuff, still had to have his mum give him lifts, paid absolutely peanuts (I earned more at a restaurant working 10 hours a week). Did 2 or 3 seasons in Champ and L1, became an electrician and packed Rugby in by age of 24. 1 is a current fringe first teamer at a SL club. Trains full time, again is paid peanuts, but better than the first lad. His dad's company is his personal sponsor which I assume probably forms a large amount of his wages ironically. Obviously education is being sacrificed too at this point. Finally an academy player at a large championship club stepping up to the reserves/wider first team squad (along with 16 or so others), training 4 times a week till 9pm, essentially a FT environment and expectations around training, wrestling sessions with FT players on £45k etc. Has had a couple of serious injuries during this time too. Guess how much he "earned"? £50 a game. For a sport that was founded so players could get a fair recompense for their time, it is frankly appalling what is going on at so many levels of the game. Young men put their bodies on the line and make so many sacrifices, the sport takes advantage of them chasing a dream. Its exploitation frankly. The failure of any sort of players Union in this is even worse.

No, really. You’re living in a dystopian Britain where Rebrand Rob has been honoured for his services to sport yet Kevin Sinfield, a man who won it all in his chosen career path, and has gone on to complete some absolutely unthinkable challenges to raise awareness and money for charity has received nothing. Make it make sense.

Seasons greetings to all of you, we all love our sport but all have opinions. Lets hope this season is the best ( and wire finally win tje league)

Great little ground. My favourite away day by some distance. Beer garden is fantastic on a summer afternoon and the pies will take you to another dimension.

Looking at the last 2 seasons: 2022 they won 7, lost 4 and drew 2 of their home league games and won 9 and lost 4 away (+1 win at the Bash) In 2021 at home they won 5, lost 6 and away won 8, lost 2 So much for that mythical home advantage....

Who for? Clearly not Batley, otherwise somewhere over the last few decades they would have done something about it. So it must be the opposition then. Well why should Batley care about that? It's their home ground and IF it gives them an advantage so be it. It's quirky and interesting and gives plenty of headaches to opposition coaches, players and fans who have to work out how to play there and long may that continue!

Will 2024 be Warrington's year?

20 Cumbrians, 21 if you include Buffer as a local. Sabutey will be living locally. Only leaves Hurst and Simpson as travellers.

They need to level out the pitch then

Work on the Odasl redevelopment begins the same week as Cas plans to redevelop Wheldon Road fall through due to lack of funding. Wakey follow the Blue Sox lead with their new stand still not finished.

I'm sure you will be made very welcome.It's worth a visit just to see the world famous slope LOL

You know what? I think I'm going to pencil in a visit this year - hearing lots of good things about Batley and sounds like it's kids friendly so will bring mine

I don't think you can dismiss the image rugby league presents - and by extension how it communicates with audiences - as not being a priority for IMG. It's at the heart of the game's struggles, and something that we've been notoriously bad at a/ diagnosing, and b/ treating over the years. If IMG can do even half of what we hope on those fronts, the sport will be transformed. Sounds worthwhile to me.

So he’s a Russky spy? I knew it. Kevin Sinfyeldski.

IMG have said the thing they’re least interested in is structure. You’re right, many people have chosen to ignore that, and continue to debate structure. But that’s why it’s great they’re here, and driving things, rather than just another RL leader who bends eventually, inevitably to the idiotic internal desire to just talk about structure all the time. It’s just moving the deckchairs on the Titanic. Their understanding of how idiotic that is, is why I’ve got some confidence.

The slope is bad , but as you correctly say it's the same for both teams and quite often easier to play uphill than down , the tendency is for wingers and centres to overun and more forwards passes seem to be thrown playing downhill IMO Look , I love the place and the club , I am genuinely going to try to organise a coach load of Leopard Print wearing Leythers to go to a match as neutrals at the mount this year

For him to suggest that 85% of a game is played at the "deep end" is just rubbish.Quite often teams will score more points playing up the slope. Undeniably there is a slope,but considering it's the same for both teams,why is it "seriously bad".

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year to you all whilst I'm still sober. To Frank I hope your headache isn't too bad, I would think it's about 6am new years day to you.

You're probably right with your last sentence. But why? I genuinely believe it's because the governing body, SL, clubs etc don't submit persuasive enough cases. Incidentally, Gary McKee, who ran a marathon a day for a year and raised £1 million, does not seem to have figured in the honours list, despite his efforts eclipsing those of the sainted Sir Kev. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-64134196

Happy new year The year of the Leopard apparently

But the point I'm making is that the pitch at the Mount adds to the interest rather than detracting from it, in my opinion.

We welcome back the familiar annual "Our sport has been snubbed and the honours system is meaningless and what about him/her getting a gong I don't know who they are and I've started a petition even though I've been told that's not the way to go about it and it's a disgrace that this corrupt and condescending token pat on the back hasn't been given to someone that I abused and insulted in every match he ever played" thread.

At least media whore Beckham didn't get one.

And a pleasant good morning to you too gj. Most, if not all, of the obvious suggestions so far have been about RL as a structure and the image it presents. Have a nice day!

I personally think its worse the England wheelchair team hasn't been recognised as this has been the trend for national teams from other sports that have won World Cups and even players winning the European Championships, as we have just seen with the Lionesses.

'Services to sport' ? In which role did he justify this award ? He was paid very well by Castleford, Everton FC & Super League. I guess it must be for the Papa John's sponsorship deal, where Super League received no funds, but the players received free pizzas after each game. Well done Robert you must be so proud.

Its a good list and I've done quite a few....the stand out ones were attending the PNG v Wales game in RLWC2017, as probably the only independent travelling Wales fan, ans singing Abide With Me on the pitch in 2016 as a member of the 32-strong Fans Choir selected for the occasion. And yes, please do try Wheelchair Rugby League an absolutely fantastic.....you may even meet some Welsh, Scottish and Irish internationals as well as the English ones! I added another one to my bucket list this year and got capped for Wales Masters RL against England and Ireland!

https://www.bild.de/ The top story on the front page ...

They’ve already arrived. Presume the England RL store is different, it’s run by Elite Pro Sports

I think it's because it is difficult to win playing downhill first half if teams are fairly equally matched. My theory is that for the first 20 minutes of any game, most sides and referees are feeling their way and scores are lower. Also more points are scored in the last 20 minutes as teams tire so it is advantages to be playing downhill second half. It depends on the strength of the sides as to how many points the slope is worth.

You know when when you go 'ooooh!' in a rather embarrassingly uncontrolled way? Yeah. Like that. Bought. Thank you so much for this!

Confirmed on Twitter

*Cozza!

That might be pushing it

Make it the Fev game, so I can point and laugh at all the Bet Lynch wannabes

Oops

Maybe not this season. But if they continue to improve on and off the field at the rate they have, then there isn't any reason they couldn't win the Championship in the next few years.

Kev will get a knighthood at some point I'm sure. Elstone getting an honour is completely bizarre. Mediocrity rewarded

Just read a rage piece on Leeds Live website. Some quite intemperate posts in the comment section. This sort of stuff is unlikely to advance the cause. "It's an utter disgrace especially given that 4 amateur women footballers are being honoured for playing what is no better then Sunday morning stuff. Oh yes...of course they are women so they get them by default. I also imagine the honours list will be rated with people of all colours, genders and faiths who haven't contribute one iota of what Kev has. Kev has missed out because he's white and married to woman- his face doesn't fit. If he came out as trans they would be falling over themselves to Knight him"

It really is.

Well WTF did he get it for then. This is more than comical, it's downright insulting. Kayakman's incredulity will surely be the ubiquitous response to this award. Is there any publicly available information about the case made for this monumental farce?

Yep thats right. Mr Elstone recieves the MBE in the new years honours list. His outstanding contribution to SL sealed the deal im sure.

Workington Town :- 1. Jordan Burns 2. Sean Sabutey 3. Earl Hurst 4. Jason Mossop 5. Ethan Bickerdike 6. Ciaran Walker 7. Carl Forber 8. Jordan Thomson 9. Matty Henson 10. Stevie Scholey 11. Malik Steele 12. Caine Barnes 13. Tom Curwen 14. Blain Marwood 15. Fergus Simpson 16. JJ Key 17. Joe Kirkup 18. Liam McNicholas 19. Max Anderson-Moore 20. Jack Stephenson 21. Aaron Burns 22. Glenn Riley 24. Luke Broster 25. Grant Reid No idea why No. 23 has been left vacant.

They got big gates at Odsal on the back of Peter Deakin’s marketing which then allowed them to go on to win the big games. A Bulls treading water in SL on gates no better than Cas can get adds nothing to the TV deal IMO. It’s almost 2023 not almost 2002.

What reason is there to think Leeds vs Bradford would get 40k? Do Leeds season ticket holders get a say in whether they have to go to that crappy stadium? And even that attendance would probably net Leeds less than a 20k gate at Headingley given rental costs and Elland Road's inferior corporate offerings.

One game a year will not impact a TV deal