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It’s been announced that he will play his last game for Huddersfield this Friday. What an absolute star he has been both at club and international level. I wish him well for the future.

I didn't so much find the club, it found me. The same can be said by the majority of Cru fans, as the club was only formed in November 2011, after the liquidation of the old Crusaders club. Despite all the adversity we have been through over the years, we are the longest surviving semi professional club in Wales, something we are all incredibly proud of. We are now down to a small band of loyal supporters and a board who are more like magicians than directors. We don't have two pennies to rub together, and for much of this season we didn't have a home ground, and the team spirit shown by our players this year is something that money can't buy, absolutely priceless. While it would have been nice to see a few more fans there yesterday, and it would be nice to see a few more next Sunday, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, or with anyone else.

Hardly a surprise but the club has today confirmed that James Lockwood will retire at the end of the season. What a servant he has been to the club. He has been an automatic selection for every coach that he's played under in his numerous years at Fev, and that's a lot of coaches. Massively admired by his team mates too, when Cameron King was asked to pick one Fev player he thought wouldn't be out of place in an NRL team he cited Locky, that might have been a stretch but it certainly shows the regard in which he's held. Let's hope we can mark his retirement by seeing his club finally reach SL.

Not clicking a link to that paper.

Not as yet, he wants another full-time gig, he won't play part-time i don't think. An absolute legend of a man and a player not just for Huddersfield but for the National team and the sport in general, the most down to earth, grounded, family orientated bloke i have ever met. The fact he turned down Wigan, Saints, Warrington, Hull and the NRL at times to stay loyal to Huddersfield is something our club will never forget, his blood runs Claret & Gold. I've had the pleasure of watching his entire career and he's still as enthusiastic now as he was 17/18 years ago. I also get the pleasure of hosting him for the HGSA in a few weeks too, i should imagine that will be an emotional evening. There's not one Huddersfield fan who isn't sad to see him leave. Thanks for the memories Jez!!!

It’s getting there, a lot of turmoil in close season and early this season what with new coach, and horrendous injury list, but things looking a lot better now both on and off the pitch, next season is the one to be judged on, I think we will do alright. The owner is saying all the right things and Hendo has got the boys playing some really entertaining football when the squad allows, it hasn’t helped not having a consistent half back pairing. We will miss Chris Clarkson next season but from what I have heard there are some cracking signings being lined up ( if not already on board but not announced).The whole club is buzzing, the Ladies have been outstanding again, as have the wheelchair team , my god that is brutal, nothing held back there and we have the LDT team, so something for everyone. I had my reservations when John Flatman sold and Fordy left but I think we are in really good hands.

Like @fearnowt says following the collapse of Crusaders RL from superleague and getting a taste of rugby league in north Wales we wanted a club to follow. A lot of us campaigned to 'Save the Cru' and from then there was enough impetus to start again with a new Club in, what was then Championship 1. We had a steady first season and then went on to win the league with a 100% home record and win the Northern Rail bowl in the 2013 season. Promotion to Champoinship would have been more sustainable if the RFL hadn't moved the goalposts and demoted the bottom 5 clubs at the end of 2014. We'd spent big to stay in the Championship and financial problems followed. Every season since changes to the league status and structure hasn't helped. Amazingley the Club has held on through all their problems, but have still managed to produce a really successful Wheelchair Rugby League squad, a Womens team and host a range of mini Cru festivals this season. The best thing about standing with the Cru fans is the fun we have together, we love to sing, we love to cheer on our heroes and we always endeavour to represent the sport at its best. Long may it continue. Whoever wins on Sunday, Crusaders have had a tremendous season, given all the problems we've faced this season alone

I was born in the west riding so watched Feath, Wakey, Cas on a regular basis as a young lad. When I started work as a civil engineer it meant working away from home all the time and met the wife and when working near Wrexham. Celtic Crusaders came to the Racecourse and I watched a few games but for some reason couldn’t connect with them. After their demise North Wales Crusaders formed and I was watching a bunch of lads who were playing the game for the pleasure of it, I was immediately hooked. Since then Andy Moulsdale and the rest of the team have worked miracles to keep us going and no matter what the result this weekend I’ll have a season ticket for next season.

We dwell on all the bad stuff happening in the sport, but I think this is something to be celebrated (although I know fans of some clubs will find that hard!) Hull KR are on the verge of becoming a "big" club - perhaps they're already there. A self-sustaining financially strong club, that can afford a good team year after year - a virtuous circle. Many of us have long said this is is what Superleague needs - more teams that can sustainably compete with the big clubs, improving the competition. Now we're getting there.

What have you done with the real Coolie ? Absolutely spot on mate.

Nor Batley or York will make the playoffs, unless Halifax and London have complete fubar games and lose to 2 relegation scrapping clubs. York's run is a couple of games too late, and Batley have been running on empty for the last few weeks, funny how the 1895 cup is the biggest prize in sport in 2021,but then reverts to been a Mickey Mouse cup when you don't make the final... Bit patronising, getting to Wembley for our level of rugby is quite an achievement by any club, and shouldn't be rubbished, you get to Wembley you've got there because you've worked hard and earned the right

Without wanting to drag this cross code, a Union loving acquaintance had a very negative, patronising view of our last World Cup to the effect of : those Islander chaps are plucky but they shouldn’t beat your top teams. I have absolutely loved Fiji RU beating England at home and the Wallabies.

Struggled is a subjective term. There’s probably someone who knows the numbers but they’ve provided a pathway for numerous London born players to play the sport at semi-pro level, they’ve developed relationships within the city of London, they developed a community branch of their club they’ve provided opportunities to young men from one of the poorest Boroughs in London and have been a mainstay of the third tier, beating northern sides on the way. Success isn’t just what happens on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon for 80 minutes. Arguably, I’d say Skolars have been a greater success in their 20 years or so of semi-pro rugby league than many of the northern clubs.

Hull KR announced a season average of 8793 at the end of the Salford match on Saturday, our highest in 42 years. That's 12% growth on last year's 7788, and 25% greater than when we first got back into Super League. The higher 1980/81 average was in the season after we'd won the Challenge Cup at Wembley, so quite a benchmark. For those of you too young to remember, I'd just like to take this opportunity to highlight that the team we beat at Wembley that year was Hull FC, and the score was 10-5. Not that at Rovers we ever like to remember it, barely thought about it since, but you know, just as a point of general interest seeing as we're on the subject.

Right, so here it is then. The final league game of the year. It's been a hugely successful one with just one defeat and one defeat on the road all season long. After Saturday, it's time for the playoffs. One week's rest, then anything can and will happen. I'm sure everyone will be pushing for a good win and a solid performance to round off the regular fixtures. Rovers will also receive the League Leaders Shield, just 20 days after they won it. As well as the 17 that performed so well against Toulouse in France, with Bussey making his comeback, there are eight more squad players looking for a way back in before the playoffs: Chisholm, Aekins, Longstaff, Hau and Kopczak, as well as the injured Briscoe, Yei and Springer. Selection headaches for James Ford, but all good. With Sheffield, London, Bradford already qualified and with and Halifax favourites for the final playoff spot, (York and Batley are still in the mix (just)) it's impossible to say who'll be playing who in the playoffs at this stage. All to play for. Up The Rovers

So...we're celebrating winning the League Leaders' Shield at a game against Widnes. This must mean Widnes are getting promoted, right?

in answer to the original question..... the last few weeks or so by having pretty much a full squad fit & able to play. The last couple of seasons we've finished 2nd and 3rd in the season, but gone into the playoffs with a knackered depleted squad and not fared so well. This year it's almost the mirror opposite, so have had a strong team and hit a bit of form at the right time. My only regret is that I've not managed to get to any of the games this year what with one thing and another, but I'll be screaming at the telly on Sunday afternoon and singing along when I can hear the Cru fans during the coverage!! cru....CRU....CRU-SA-DERS!!!!!

Thanks Bill. I have to be complimentary about Batley or Sparky would have something to say No, seriously, we try to appreciate decent RL in general. Batley are a fabulous club. It was a belter of a game and there didn't deserve to be a loser. And, yes, I thought the Knights got the rub of the green with the decisions but, as you well know, it's swings and roundabouts. I assume you lads need both us and Fax to slip up on Sunday now? Anything's possible.

York are more than good enough now, form over the last 10 games and we're equal top. Imagine if we scrape into the play-offs, anything could happen.

I think league could suit Fijians more. But to say that union doesn't fit their style is obviously wrong given they've just beaten England away, Australia in the world cup and would've beaten Wales were it not for a disgraceful ref performance.

didn't the entire Leeds squad retire from playing a few weeks ago?

You’re not missing much. Shaun basically says we need to get Scotland, Ireland and Wales on a faster-track to progression so England aren’t too geographically detached from high quality opponents. As per usual, there’s no details of plans to sort this. Merely a comment.

I know it will be at odds with some of the stuff spouted on the forums, but I don't think suggesting Batley didn't get the rub of the decisions at the same time as congratulating York on their run is in any way disingenuous or disrespectful. I don't happen to think York will go much further this season; not because Batley lost, but because I don't think they will go much further this season. I am not a ref-basher, by any stretch of the imagination, and I don't think it is unfair to point out that I felt - like a number of others (Batley fans or not) that there were some calls that, with the benefit of review, the ref would have changed. I am also perfectly clear that this wasn't an option last night, and am therefore perfectly happy to allow fate to play its part like it did. The notion that a trip to Wembley ruined a season is ridiculous. The notion that it was always going to be a tough season for Batley is not, and they are ending up very much where I had thought they would this year. That's sport. We get on with it.

I was going to say I'll get you a pint next time you come down to Craven Park but that won't be for quite a long time as you are going to be up there with the big boys, and well deserved it's been a long time coming.

A great servant to the Club, and as already said, what a fitting finale if he can lead us to the SL. Thanks James.

You are bang on the money! My comments were really made out of frustration at the few voices who always moan about a lack of ambition at our club, when we, along with many others, rely on the cash others/owners are prepared to put in. With RL in the mess it is, other than mental issues (joke!), I can not understand why Mark or Kevin put their money or time in. Their partners/family must consider it madness! I'm bloody glad they do, even though this season I've not been able to attend, the alternative of no Dewsbury Rams is unthinkable.

I'd love to agree with your comment but this is the last chance for surviving the drop into League 1, because of that you would expect them to give it everything they have and as we have seen all season the results are pretty unpredictable. This weekend is going to be nerve wracking.

Only a rumour but linking up with Lawrence wouldn't surprise me.

For owners like Mark Sawyer & Kevin Nicholas there has to be a certain level of hazard perception, maybe both are looking a little further down the line, and at some point at least 1 of them will step back, and pursue interests away from Rugby League,not simply walking away but more a redirection of focus, this quite possibly will happen at Batley before Dewsbury... Unfortunately the future is not very bright below super league and can only get worse unless a formula is found where super league and the championship are split so each competition can call it's own shots, marketing and media under 2 separate entities. While the championship is tied by an umbilical cord of super league it will never flourish in its own right,merely tethered on a life support system for eternity,until eventually it's cut off and withers & dies.

Not Super League but a huge thank your to Rob Massam of North Wales Crusaders. Rob unfortunately got taken off around the 60 minute mark at our play-off eliminator final at Hunslet for a head injury assessment - which he failed. This means that unfortunately he won't be able to play in the play-off final in Doncaster and having announced he was retiring Hunslet was his last game, after scoring his 178th try for Crusaders https://wrl.wales/rob-massam-retires-after-helping-crusaders-to-the-final?fbclid=IwAR0nigHLvNEb-gcdpez7mmrw4rmVtw2N2KPpjAR9PRIJ65FNL9fi9kGAasU

Been a magnificent player to the club ,i wish him all the best for the future. Seem strange at first not seeing him playing.

The difference is 218 (2,176 less 10%) so neither here nor there considering how many seats are lost for the stage (280 in East blocks A-C versus 832 if the stage wasn’t there). The numbers banded about would also suggest that the North Stand hasn’t gone to the full capacity (which has literally only happened once). Ordinarily, with everything else sold, in theory the application would be made but it is dependent on being able to expand the concourse in to the corners between the North and East/West but with so much activity in the north-west corner especially then it wouldn’t be a surprise if it wouldn’t be approved anyway. Incredible sales all the same. Should look great on telly.

It shows little confidence in the players in question. While it's easy to say it should motovate them in reality it does quite the opposite.

I took 6 friends to watch SF V Samoa last year, They enjoyed the game, and would have gone to a Tonga game again this year (if it was in London) as a) its England, and b) they enjoyed the game and the experience around it. Will they travel 200 miles to the M62 for a RL game not a chance. Do they have any interest in League outside of England, no they don't, (no chance of them going to a bronocs game, although I might have got them to the 1895 final if London had got there. Will they watch a RL game on TV featuring england, no they won't, they will be either at a football game or will have sky sports news on. But I would have got them to go to a game if England had played a test in London. You get one test a year in London, and you start to build up on those types of fans. Over time you never know they might start to want to watch club rugby League as well, but they sure as hell are not going to watch England on the TV if they have a union or football game happening at the same time featuring their clubs

Got a real soft spot for York, id say they are my championship team as it were. Would love them in SL, great little stadium, seem to have stuff sorted off the field, i think they’d add a fair bit to the top tier

Im going for Bradford 3rd, Sheffield 4th, London 5th, Fax 6th. Fax to beat Bradford in the 1st round and Sheffield to beat London then Fax to beat Fev and Toulouse to beat Sheffield giving us a Toulouse V Fax final.

You're a spring chicken....I'm in my fourth full season (had some gaps in between season 1 and season 2) age 64! Just back from a weekend in Ireland playing for Wales Masters. I absolutely love it.

Cheers. Willie Peters' and Paul Lakin's phrase is "we aspire to be a Top 4 club", and that means consistent Top 4 really. So years away, and a lot of work to do. But I think that should be a goal for everyone, and it's not all just about doing it next season eh, or even league position every year. It's about building some foundations. I look at Wigan's club culture, look at how the majority of Saints squad is from their Academy, look at Catalans amazing corporate entertainment base, and I know they're struggling now but I would still look at the professionalism of Leeds' entire operation over many, many years. They're the benchmark, we need more clubs like those 4... that will help the whole sport.

It is hard to get reliable figures, but Rugby League has gone from virtually invisible to a serious career option in Fiji over the last decade or two. Which sort of coincides with the NRL taking Fiji seriously, rather than stumbling upon the occasional player here and there like back in the days of Nadruku at Canberra. Or, indeed Fijian RU legend Waisale Serevi, who was approached by the Raiders and the South Queensland Crushers, but was dissuaded by pressure from the Fijian Methodist Church... aaaaaaand also a colossal payrise from his club owners Mitsubishi, which a staunchly pure-hearted amateur like him could hardly refuse.

My dad grew up a short distance from Tattersfield. By the time he started watching them, The Dons had been in existence for around twenty (mostly lean) years. I began going to games around the time the club were changing from perpetual also-rans to something more competitive. My family had moved to West Yorkshire by this point, so we went to away games almost as regularly as home fixtures. I now live in Finland and rarely get to games, but I'll be cheering us on from my sofa next weekend.

You think but don’t know, how come many of them haven’t signed for other clubs then? They we’re straight with him, he was free to find a new contract from May, if the club weren’t sure on wether they were going to offer him one or not why should they decide before they are ready to. They weren’t stopping him finding another deal, and it was Leeds who agreed to let him leave early to get that deal rather than forcing him to stay. I get it’s seems the in thing to bash the club for anything and everything but this isn’t one of those things IMO

A tough one to take you cannot fault the effort of those boys last night they know what the game ment and gave everything! It's amazing how just a couple of mistakes can turn a game we totally dominated the first 25 and looked to be cruising two dropped balls and the game changes we seemed to lose a bit of confidence and york gained it, once again woods in my eyes was yet again absent most of the game when we needed him to step up and produce something ! the ref was an absolute COWARD in my eyes just wasn't up to it he seemed frightened of giving batley a penalty in case it meant we won the game 3 crucial calls the Blake call, the white call, and the most blatent one at the scrum what the hell was the linesman looking at there too! All in all it was an exciting match and unfortunately I can't see york(8) or batley (7)making the playoffs batley unfortunately who have the 3rd best defencive record in the league will probably lose out on points difference which is always a tough one to take but scoring points has been a problem all season! I know making the playoffs is a big thing for teams and fans but it would be in my eyes just one more tough game for batley at the end of an already tough season! I'm sure those boys are looking forward to a good rest a few beers and time with the family!! I'll be there on Saturday day and no matter what happens at the weekend I would like to thank all the players for all there effort this season and say good luck to those players that are moving on and all the best to those who are retiring thanks for your service and hope you have enjoyed your time with the BULLDOGS!

He was my favourite England/GB player back in 2017-2019.

As I said to 3 York supporters on the way out that was a proper rugby score not these fancy blow out scores. The lady with them turned out to Dave Ripons wife.

Agreed

My understanding is that Leeds didn't want to talk to players who were out of contract about next year until the end of the season. So those who are leaving had no offer from Leeds for next year, they didn't know if they would get one at the end of the year, nor how much any offer might be. That doesn't leave you with much to compare to offers from elsewhere, or much to go on if you are saying I'd like to stay but I need to know how much I am earning next year. I could see how you would be annoyed about that. What if he waited and got no offer? What if he waited and got a really low offer and every other team has their squad filled and contracts signed? I'd assumed that's why he was going on TV and answering questions honestly about his future, because he felt he wasn't getting a fair go and needed a more certain future, which I could understand.

Oh yes we were, Simon Hall! Sorry, not panto season yet but Mr. Griffiths made it into one in the 2nd half. Better side, yes; York were barely in the game first 30 minutes, second half we kept York under pressure by tackling tight in their half and stopped them, with all the big names available on the night, from creating 1 clear scoring chance in the second half. York massively got away with 3 blindingly obvious things, obstructing tacklers at their 2nd try, the much mentioned scrum break and interference at 2 play the balls, especially the one where York's marker reached behind the man playing the ball to interfere with the acting half from receiving the all. The scrum break was a nailed on penalty kick at goal.

I would say that the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Are Broncos solely at fault for Skolars demise? Absolutely not. Are they one set of multiple fingerprints that all over this - yes. (I disagree with the Head Coach argument - if you speak to Skolars directors they will tell you Coleman was going to be removed anyway - the players argument is fairly accurate). The RFL haven’t helped - Skolars were fined their entire operational funding last year albeit with half suspended for the no doctor Keighley game. As stated before when you add in the £7k overnight away trips - you’re in a deficit very quickly. Skolars have had some good seasons - circa 2012 in the current coaches first stint - making the play off semi final. I am obviously pro Skolars and many would disagree but the RFL should step in with additional funding for the good of the competition in 2024 - keep it as ten teams, give Skolars another year to find investment or a buyer. 2025 is anyone’s guess as to whether League 1 will even exist.

I have England as favourites, but not by such a margin you should be worried about winning too easily. After you lost to Samoa at the World Cup, I think you should just be hoping to win the series... Remember, as well as beating Great Britain, Tonga were also unlucky to lose to England the last time the teams played. I think it's very unlikely you'll win with 3 thrashings - there might be 1 big England win in there, but I also expect Tonga to go very close to winning at least 1 game along the way, if not 2.

Surely no one can be happy after today. That was not right and if the players and coaches are ok I give up. Been coming 50 plus years and seen it all but FFS . So effing annoyed and there are no ###### excuses acceptable anymore. Cresta must go after this sorry