tim2

That's the least level playing field I can think of. Unless you played it at Batley, allowing the SL team to kick downhill in both halves and have 13 players v 9. SL clubs have more overseas players, full time squads, a massively higher salary cap etc. etc. It would be a miracle if the CC side won. Then they would have about 6 weeks to assemble a squad.

Unlike the 100 others you've started on this topic. Cheese sandwich, anyone?

The amateur scene in Wales at Open Age is poor but does that really matter? Build up from the juniors and the Open Age should take care of itself down the line. The difficulty, as with all non-heartland areas, is facilities. If you use Union grounds, you get good facilities but you're stuck with the short summer window and risk developing players for the RFU or WRU to take away. If you don't - well, it's schools or parks and you also get llimited access to potential RU converts. Tough choice really. North Wales is interesting - it has less of an ingrained Union heritage than the South and is close enough to Cheshire/North West to be able to tie in with longer seasons etc. As well as having the Crusaders there, obviously. Now Wales is a separate RL nation Cymru RL really has to step up the funding drive from their own sources as Sport England doesn't obviously cover Wales.

Any particular kind of cheese?

Bramall Lane for a WC semi. In fact a CC semi next year would be nice

Hull derby in the play-offs? Bring it on!

Presumably McCaw caught it.

Very hard to tell. Perhaps we should go the other way and penalise anything that might be forward.

No, it's in Derbyshire If they can tackle it's not that important. They only go to the bin if it's repeated after a warning. Unless it's deliberate, then it's red.

I seriously doubt it. Most new fans who you are trying to attract neither know nor care about P+R. They would be far more likely to turn up if Sheffield were in SuperLeague simply because Leeds, Wigan, Saints, Hull etc. are much bigger draws, and not just for the extra away supporters.

Tough luck!

See you later if you're in the bar after. I'm on interchange duty. It's a special event for the Armed Forces today in honour of ex-Eagle Liam Brentley who was seriously injured in the line of duty. Also, this is good: Eagles will make their game against Leigh Centurions one to remember for young visiting fan William Barlow. The six-year-old will be presented to both teams before the kick-off as a thank you for his gift of boots and kit to the Kits2Kids charity set up by Eagles player Menzie Yere and backed by the club. Sports fans have been asked to send Yere their old shirts, boots and surplus kit, which he plans to ship out to his native Papua New Guineafor distribution to local players. Launched four months ago as Kits for Kumuls, the appeal has received donations of sports gear from across the UK, Europe and Australia. Chris Noble, MBE, an Eagles director who is co-ordinating the appeal, said:

Could say the same about a number of "heartland" clubs who have gone into administration recently. I won't name them all but we know who they are. Management that couldn't run an ice cream stall at the seaside, journeyman players, no development, poor community links, a few hundred fans maximum. So much for the traditional areas. Enough said!

We live outside the heartlands and quite a few people from our club are going to Wembley.

I wonder if the amateur leagues will have a blank weekend? A lot of supporters play, help out at a club or have kids playing at that time of year.

Totally irrelevant as a - It's 2 years away and b - It will be a very different squad in SuperLeague (if selected )

It probably explains why he's not been on Boots'n'All as well. It's going to cast a sad shadow over the game on Thursday night. I like Paul Cullen. He loves the game and his technical stuff on B'n'A is pretty good. People need to realise when they post abuse about coaches and players that there are human beings involved. Sadly this brings that fact home all too clearly.

True, but I guess the teams didn't want to play Thursday and then again on Sunday. Then again, what clubs might want doesn't necessarily matter if Sky decides they want something.

That's on Wednesday and Sky don't do rugby on Wednesdays, especially now the soccer season has begun.

The Chargers are one of the clubs working with the Eagles to develop players, some of whom have featured in the reserves this season. My support is not to be doubted.

Classic America. Drive in cinemas, food, weddings, pharmacies and now drive in rugby league. Expect the ref to drive around the field in his car.

You could see that coming from a mile away. Look at the fixtures that week and then notice that Widnes play Barrow in a re-arranged game on Wednesday night. No decent CC1 games so it was almost bound to happen.

Now that the Widnes game has moved, any Eagles supporters are welcome to come to the Midlands Rugby League Finals Day on Sunday at Derby RUFC, Haslams Lane, Darley Abbey, DE22 1EB 12.00

Bit of CC1 biff as well.

Haggerty on Barlow in the Sheffield v Widnes game was worse. They added a game to the maximum to account for the severity. http://www.therfl.co.uk/about/disciplinary_item.php?id=1678 Barlow is now headed to the disciplinary himself for his actions against Widnes in the TV game last week for his new club Halifax