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Speak for yourself.

Actually, this isn't what's happening, it's a complete misrepresentation. I see very few people backing the old regime, where there is challenge is around the need for yet another coup, and another review and likely restructure, the third in a decade. We've had many different people in senior roles during this period - Wood, Rimmer, Jones, Johnson, Elstone - all heavily criticised. Nobody is arguing for Johnson's position to be protected, just as nobody did for Rimmer, Wood etc. People are comfortable with change, but nobody should be happy with a situation that has seen yet another scalping and a board that resigns and furthermore being replaced with people who have been there before. So we should start the discussion from a true starting point. I don't think too many fans would be passionately supporting Johnson, as fans we never support anyone at the RFL let's be honest. But that doesn't mean people are supportive of the methods used here and the approach we are now taking. We've thrown ourselves into a crisis, and I'm not too sure why. Onto the first para and my original point. I thought the Sky pundits made the point well the other day, ultimately the owners all have different views. It's why running by committe or voting on everything won't really work. People need to buy into an overall vision and then empower an exec team to deliver it, even if it's done in a way that doesn't meet your own preference. In RL I think we are all too stubborn in believing that our own method is the only correct way, when that's just not true. And that can't work. Nigel Wood delivered. Whole of game solution previously that saw increased funding to lower divisions and more integration via Super 8's. That led to a coup. This time they've gone for a partnership with an outsider and bring off field metrics to the forefront. That led to a coup. I'm genuinely at a loss to see a solution that will now lead to an attitude that sees people crack on and be the best they can in whatever framework is in place. Every solution has been rejected and it's led to a takeover/restructure - we really do need to conclude that maybe the issue isnt with the frameworks.

I like the way the club is chugging along right now. They didn't go out and make huge signings in the off season, they've opted to give game time to home grown players and so far so good. At this stage there is no obvious runaway team in the Championship, but based on the first few games if TO can keep their key players fit they'll be in the mix with the likes of Widnes, Barrow, Bradford etc. It seems at though they've made a big effort to increase their crowds and there has been an increase in matchday attendance so far this year which is positive and bodes well moving forward. The club posted nearly 6,000 attending at yesterdays game. The new president Olivier Dubiois has said in an interview last year that he is pushing for the club to play out of a newly developed 10,000 capacity stadium in the future. I'm in agreement with this thinking, the club played at its own ground Stade Minimes prior to its renovation being opposed by local residents, the atmosphere was great and capacity appropriate to the size of the club. Stade Ernest Wallon is a great arena but it's just too big for where Toulouse are right now. Only negative from the game was Calum Gahan being taken off, let's hope it's not a prolonged long term injury.

11,231 for Hull KR vs Leigh

Looks like a merry bunch.

That's quite a quote on Wood isn't it and really does show McManus up.

This issue of the owners wanting to put in less money keeps being brought up: fine, put in less money. We don't need a coup to do that. SL can vote to lower the salary cap. Or clubs can unilaterally cut costs - which is a less risky thing to do under grading as it's not disaster if the results fall off. But McManus seemed to scoop up every disappointment from the last 5 years and then conclude it means we have to throw out our long term strategic plan, which isn't being implemented by the RFL anyway. There isn't any magic pot of TV money that Nigel can summon up, despite his past efforts. There's no short cut or cut price way to build the brand value that will deliver this. And sacking IMG or some board members - if it's even possible - won't remotely cover the money the owners are injecting, but could have downsides. There's just no obvious reward for the owners from what's just happened, but quite a bit of risk, which is why it's so hard to comprehend. It really does seem driven by emotions and personalities, rather than any sort of rational plan.

Got booted out of the country due to Brexit…

Can't wait to see the investigative journalist piece on all this by League Publications and a proper Q&A piece with Nigel Wood, rather than the pr platform he was given last week.

Does it all come back to being the professional game ran by amateurs?

I assume he meant before Gledhill got Internet access.

McManus has missed a trick that could helped his case. Instead, we get an intemperate and embarrassing rant. Given his financial background and his involvement in the regeneration of the town of St Helens, he could have easily advised and assisted the SRDs to overcome recent obstacles. Not with money, of course, but with advice in dealing with developers, local authorities, international money transfers and who knows, possible investors from his days in Hong Kong . You know, solidarity, all for the good of the game etc . Here's the reaction from a mate with no axe to grind, an observer from outside the sport when confronted with the McManus missive. Parochial!! It's a local game for local people and until these idiots can lookup and see beyond their own local town boundaries then it will carry on. It's like allowing a bunch of kids to decide how to run something when it should be turned over to the adults and the kids told to shut up and concentrate on playing matches. Trouble is they are wealthy kids and don't like being told no. Spoilt!

Official attendance annoncéd as 5396 but I thought there were more like 7000 but what do I know ? The Larroyer yellow looked dangerous to me, the réf put him on report though the Hunslet coach thought it was very soft. Ashall-Bott looked up for it all match, his pace is blistering with Laguerre not far behind. Ulberg as usual looked dangerous with his place and stréngth, what a great assett he’s been. Impressed with Rob Butler at 13 as Marion is doing his best at number 6. Bad news for TO13 as improving hooker Calum Gahan ruptured his achilles. Maybe this will allow Robin Brochon a way back into the 17 ? Hunslet are clearly out of their class at this level but they stuck with it and never caved in despite the high score.Some good performances for Dean Muir and a lot for him to be positive about. Next up for TO is Donny who may be too canny for Houles’s boys.

I'm still trying to work it out GJ. Maybe I've missed something

I doubt there is a fan around who thinks that playing Addy & Aekins at half back is ideal or indeed anywhere near, and we all know they are better at 13 and 1 respectively, but it is a very glib comment to say "I would sign a decent half back from anywhere" when the coach has literally gone into some detail about the attempts to sign half backs in recent weeks and why they haven't been successful, the idea that those of us posting on social media know more about who is available, what their contract demands would be in terms of length as well as salary etc is a bit far-fetched to say the least. Personally I think our troubles at the moment go a bit beyond the half back situation, as I said before the game we're a bit lightweight in the middle at the moment and we have been second best in the collisions and around the ruck for a while as a result, I think our struggles are a result of a few issues rather than one simple line of narrative.

Cracking game of two halves at Cougar Park.24-8 at half time. Then it was all Keighley. ‘Canes took a penalty half way though the second half and managed to cling on at 24-26

With injuries and no halves as well as no real traing with duel things didn't, as expected, go well! The Club and players needs our support through the bad as well as the good! Surely we can give them that! UTR

Despite predictions of a close game or away win... Oldham 50 - 6 London Broncos.

I was on St Pancras station last night on the way to see Stiff Little Fingers in Camden and stopped on a seat to do up my laces. Behind me were a group of Saracen fans who’d been watching the RU at Tottenham. There were loads of them around yesterday. They were extolling the match when this woman (not part of their group and a Londoner) pitched in telling them how great league was and that they should head to Plough Lane. TBF the Saracen fans were interested in what she had to say. Anyone talking about RL in central London on a Saturday night is unexpected. (Sadly there were no RL tops at the gig).

August 2011 for me, I’ve had 11 posts, 12 now, I’m prolific,,,,

My Nicaraguan friend found this in an Op Shop (charity shop) in Nicaragua.

I missed most of the game but I keep reading on here about Wigan had to bounce back after last week. What happened last week then?

Surely it depends on context doesn't it? If he has a toothbrush moustache and a brown shirt you could say "he's like Hitler" and everyone knows you mean in appearance rather than jumping straight to racist bigoted anti Semite... In the same way as talking about an incident where someone is being convicted (by the account from Widnes) for tweets going back to 2012 is somewhat similar to Ollie Robinson who was banned for tweets that dated back to 2012... Without having to jump to "gregsons tweets must have had the same content" Looking at the replies on here, it would appear you seem to have been the only one to jump over the obvious similarities into something else.

I completely agree. Our forwards lack size and grunt. We have an agile, mobile, long minutes team and that has advantages, but right now it’s killing us. Other teams won’t watch videos of our pack and be worried. Plus I think our props pass it too much. A half back would improve us absolutely, but without the power in the middle driving us towards the opposition’s line, then the backs won’t have enough time or room to be creative and open the opposition defence up.

Very good performance against a London side who didn't deserve that battering on the scoreboard although we were clearly the better team. Turner was outstanding at centre and clearly the best player on the field scoring two and setting up two more. Moran was superb off the bench as he always is. Lawton had his best game since his broken leg and was dynamite playing down the middle. Lowe was excellent on the wing with his try being a spectacular dive in the corner. Was very surprised to see Dixon dropped but he did have a shocker at KR. Crowd was a lot more promising and should be something we can build on through the summer. Thought London actually looked very decent for the first 50 mins and played with a huge amount of energy. Only downside was the injury to DC which looked like a nasty knee injury similar to the one he suffered against Rochdale last year.

As a Batley supporter I think your MOM is number 7 Harris and runner up number 13 Thompson.

Taken from the Championship thread: Halifax - Featherston: 2,225 Doncaster - Widnes: 1,471

A decent professional performance from the lads. First 20 we were on top then Broncos caused us a few problems up to half time. Then we were excellent 2nd half. Good to have Turner back - showed his strength. Lawton ran best he has in a while. Lowe from Wigan looks a good prospect. Picked a few out but a good alround team performance.

The Saints/Wire crowd was up 933 on last year.

Great all-round performance that. It was brilliant to watch the whole ground celebrate when Rovers kept Leigh out after one set on our line mid-way through the second half, seems the whole club is enjoying defence! Peters’ takes the squad out for breakfast on a Monday if they get a zero, it’s cost him a fair wedge in the last month

I made it down for the first time this season. Really smart, direct rugby using a big set of forwards really effectively. Featherstone were kept in the game by a few soft errors near the tryline. Keep healthy and Halifax could really challenge at the top this year. 2,225 in attendance.

A decent article by Aaron Bower. Just a snip below: For the third time in less than a decade, there will a review of the professional game. In 2017, the clubs decided it was time for change and they paid the governing body’s CEO, Nigel Wood, more than £300,000 to leave early. They brought in Robert Elstone and went through a review of the game. By 2021, he had gone. The following year, the clubs unanimously approved a 12-year strategic partnership with IMG, which included, naturally, a review of how rugby league was operating. IMG, which is paid about £400,000, may now be pushed out after the clubs – yes, them again – decided they wanted more change at the RFL. Their plan? Oust the chair, Simon Johnson, and bring back Wood – now in control at Bradford – on an interim basis to lead … a strategic review. Can you spot a theme? After eight years and seemingly endless reviews, the clubs, who now hold the power after giving themselves the right to bring back Wood, seem to be throwing the cards up in the air and seeing how they land. The optics surrounding Wood’s return are terrible enough. You do not have to delve far to find a quote from an owner demanding it was time for change when he was on his way out, only to be lauding his return now as gamechanging. The St Helens owner, Eamonn McManus, said in 2018: “No one can credibly say that Super League and the game of rugby league in this country has in any way strengthened or improved over the last decade; quite the contrary I’m afraid.” Now he says: “There could be no better qualified or motivated person than Nigel Wood to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.” It feels a move of pure regression. But the problems run much deeper than one man. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/22/from-one-crisis-to-another-rugby-league-in-dire-need-of-real-leadership

In Saints' case the most glaring example to me was the leeway given to Walmsley to step forward a few steps before playing the ball, though it's generally about how much you can legitimately slow the PTB (i.e. without triggering a penalty) when defending.

The man himself after probably his finest moment as a coach. a

It'll be Tommo, always is. It's his 100th game for the knights today, what a servant he's been, only player we have that ever puts his head through a tackle, plays 80 mins almost every week, rarely absent. Cheers Tommo

Sorry to say he it but in my view he wasn't and isn't.

Trying is one thing, and there's lots of ways to try. Unfortunately that trying doesn't count for much if the vast majority of games aren't in that home nation or hosted by another. Its a rep side, a ex pat community focus perhaps. The attitude that one can host regular "internationals" in western Sydney, between groups made up of entirely Australian people, and claim that is international development is the problem. Its a shortcut to nowhere as it doesn't get the sport recognised and supported in these nations. As I said its natural and good that the diasporas in Australia would be involved, but they should not be the main part of the national outlook.

Auto-p&r - rejected Licensing- rejected Super 8s - rejected Grading - tbc RFL in charge - rejected SLE in charge - rejected RLCom in charge - tbc I'm not sure where we go next tbh.

That's not true, though, is it? I'm not even the only one on here who thinks it's, at best, a bit of a problem when we have international teams filled with heritage and diaspora players who very rarely, if at all, play in their home country. I am not remotely doing down anyone's passion or commitment, nor pretending it isn't difficult and costly, just that when the outcome is a tiny international scene with a significant proportion of that being internationals played in Sydney then we have to be aiming for far, far better. But there is no will to really change it. On topic: This ERL structure remains good news.

This view is incorrect and, frankly, ignorant. Most of these developing nations are dependent on a handful of people and sometimes just one person to finance the whole operation. They're lucky if they can get a few hundred dollars a year through sponsorship which could possibly pay for jerseys if they're lucky. The games in Australia are often one of the only sources of revenue if they don't lose money on them. They can be a gamble. It is absolutely wild to me that another "fan" would advocate for just not playing any rugby league. It's almost impossible to get the game off the ground in new nations and then we have detractors like you lot. It's quite sad.

Seabrooks pay them £1m a year for that; the guy who is sorting the Salford billboard deal negotiated that with them.

That's a bit personal JB, did his missus tell you that?

It wasn't presented as a faite accompli and there are plenty of examples of fixtures getting arranged in this manner. It's never been an issue unless you want it to be.

I can't think of any other sport that has heritage and diaspora teams routinely playing games outside the countries they represent as part of their main international programme. We do agree about the usefulness of the IRL - and, broadly, that it's nobody's fault but Wales (as an example) that they don't play more games at a higher level.

What?

2 groups of Australians playing eachother in Sydney doesn't do much in the home countries of those nations in terms of development, unless you can explain what it does to help?

I believe there's more than an argument that Wood presided over a stronger period for the international game than Grant has. I think all facts point to that. The 2013 WC was the best ever. 2017 was OK but I believe was hamstrung by Australia. Since then the game has gone backwards.

Anybody know what happened to the " Crarey Out" brigade ?

I'm no Wood fan but the IRL statement was well outside their remit. It was clearly political and based upon someone's personal view and what another governing body thinks of an individual, which is clearly wrong. Based upon what happened with Wood during his tenure in the past they also had absolutely no justification for that attack. At worst the international game was no worse then and at best it could be argued was in better shape. We certainly wouldn't have seen a similar statement by the IRL with whoever the NRL appointed in a similar situation. Its also in stark contrast to the frequent IRL rhetoric of having to work with the NRL and its clubs, which essentially means just doing as they say. The same courtesy should extend to SL and its leaders.

Should be a belter this one. The top two *hack,,,cough* teams in SL go head to head, both undefeated as yet, I doubt there'll be more than a score in it. Conditions may be a factor and there's bound to be the odd shower there as well. But that's enough about the crowd, I just hope it's a good game.