Leyther_Matt

And the worst thing was that he wasn’t even playing! I actually caught a conversion on the full at the Leigh v Whitehaven game the other week. Calmly passed the ball to one of the ball ops and dusted myself down and carried on as if nothing had happened. Won’t lie, I was buzzing inside though and have asked for the footage for my YouTube highlights reel. Still got it.

100 years old as a RL club, but had existed for 20ish years before the split. Could have been applied to any of the founder members still in existence in reality.

Or at least only turn it on when play has stopped and he’s speaking to the players as on the red card. Think that happens in RU but I could be wrong. I will say a positive about Sky that they’ve got the video ref on a mic now. The trick is now to get the commentators to stop talking over the top of him

What a tremendous first half of C4 RL! Unfortunately, in a tremendous scheduling #### up on the first Saturday of the year that I’m not at a football game, I’ve got to call it a day because I’ve promised to take my lad bowling in….Warrington And just to compound it, we’ve booked a table for tea later that means we’ll miss at least the first half of the Toulouse game!

Imagine how good the atmosphere would be with a roof on the away end

Got to be a question asked after that knock earlier?

Can’t really argue with that one. Though I’m sure in previous years it would be argued that Widdop dipped in to contact, it’s the clenched fist that Kendall mentioned that must have swung it.

Think Amor did a few games on Our League too so they’re clearly done their research. Great break from Wire, should fire the game up no end.

Sorry, I’d have said hello if I’d have known.

Although there was clearly a lot of thought and effort put in by those behind the scenes, the Regional Athletics Stadium is never, ever going to be an enticing stadium from which to watch field sports. Too far from the pitch with too little elevation. You can put on all the beer festivals in the world, but people have got to be able to enjoy the main event or it’s a non starter. And the Academy Stadium was never going to be an option before someone suggests it.

And Exeter are remaining as the Chiefs too, aren’t they? Just changing their badge and branding to something a little less American Indian. And, of course, in such a discussion it’s only fair to mention the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins…

As a 1916 Club member at Atherton Collieries, have yourself a like

Sounds like I need to pay them a visit before the Noel Gallagher gig in Colwyn in June! (Still not a patch on Leigh hosting both Elton John and Lionel Richie btw)

Less so now that they can't turn down promotion every year in favour of 10 mile away games every week and chasing the Vase money.

Grundy Hill had a very pronounced slope, so the NPL was as far as ground grading would allow, where playing at Hilton Park allowed progress to the Conference after winning the NPL in 1999/2000, one year after hosting Fulham in an FA Cup First Round replay in front of over 7,000 and the Sky cameras at Hilton Park. We actually finished fifth in our first Conference season in 2000/2001 which is unthinkable these days for a part-time side on a minuscule budget. No play-offs in those days, but finishing in the top five meant qualification for the LDV Vans Trophy which eventually led to an away tie at Hull City the following season in what I think was the final season at Boothferry Park. Only game I've ever been to where I've seen fans kicked out for standing up in the away section, but a home fan throw an apple at the linesman and have a steward go on the pitch to retrieve it and hand it back to them! One high point was inflicting a first defeat of the season on champions Rushden & Diamonds (remember them!) several months in to the season. Was a miracle to play five seasons at that level as more and more teams turned full time. Feels like a lifetime ago now.

There isn't much evidence that they were particularly keen on Hull City either tbf

Leigh, Huddersfield and Hull spring to mind

I’m too young to have seen him play, but obviously the stories have been passed down the generations. A top player and a top bloke, by all accounts. RIP Dessie

I'm not as brave as you Snowy

I genuinely only ever saw him on Good Friday and Boxing Day and wondered whether he was an every week, season ticket holder type churchgoer or whether he just turned up for the cup finals at Christmas and Easter.

You can just log in to your account and cancel from the next payment onwards. They also have a very responsive email account, though sadly they saw through my ruse to get a refund on my subscription and sign up again for half price on Black Friday Spent 25 minutes on the phone to Sky the other day to try and get a better deal on my renewal. Turned out the deal they were offering was £15 a month more than the one that came up when logging in to my MySky account

I've had it quite a while through Sky (mainly for the Scottish football) and it works a treat for me. Literally no different to Sky Sports. And most vitally is as live as is humanly possible (anyone who watches football TV and has Flash Scores notifications on their phone will know what I mean), albeit inevitably that isn't the case for Premier Player.

The most recent incarnation was as recently as 2007ish as Blackpool Panthers (initially Blackpool West Coast Panthers, I think?), initially playing at Bloomfield Road for a year or two (Leigh played there in the group stages of the Northern Rail Cup and then again in the final against Hull KR) and then as you say on to Fylde RU (including hosting the 'Northern Rail Nines'). Don't know if they played there permanently or only when Deepdale was unavailable? They didn't last long before moving (back, of sorts) to Chorley and becoming Chorley Lynx.

I think it's a slightly different scenario where, with all respect to the women's fixture, there's something of a clearer hierarchy between the two when compared to double header semi finals where the games are of identical billing etc.

Or, more appropriately given his family history, Swinton.