del capo

Good to hear from you. Nice nebber by the way - well needed yesterday !

And me sat behind you thinking you were a season ticket holder 4 of Us !!!!

Totally agree . It's entirely up to getting a better broadcasting deal. If that doesn't happen then it's the lower part of our game that suffers. SL relatively ring fenced. I have a copy of the Agreement but not sure it's in the public domain. All RFL council members have it. Would make an interesting read if posted here by those in the know..... Deviation by SL from that would I believe hasten the demise of the game

Yes it appears to be a case of player movement rather than recruitment from RU . but a really nice set up just off the East Lancs Road.... Still it's the shape of the ball that counts for me and who passes it rather than kicking it

Keep up the good work Marauder. The Doncaster world cup plan looks impressive

Both sides put a tremendous amount of effort into this Wigan had the better strike players. Hastings controlled what he could and moved the line impressively.. An arm wrestle really with great broken play- Houghton moved Hull forward in his usual style . French is truly lethal because of his play but only ever in broken line attacks Harry Smith is potentially massive - his sharpness of pass late on a delight to watch. But at the end of the day if either team cannot provide quality play in off the ball loads in the up front contact ( or better still just before it ) in stead of straight charges then neither are Old Trafford material.... early days of course ...... We are finally moving towards flowing rugby. Bring it on . Enjoyed the game today.

I agree .Not at all sure it happened this way but stand to be corrected, It's an RFL run league now ,not like in the old days.

Fair enough. I get your point. I was a popular stand man myself so could see the income loss to the club at first hand. A casual observer got an 80% view of the match for free from Central Park Way. Still a more than decent paying crowd though....

No Padge. Just went to bed. Up and running again now..... Wigan were the Sarries of their day. Hopelessly overspending but collecting all the trophies. Fans were happy but the Bank definately not. That's when little 'Mo' took over , before taking over the RL itself. As for Bankruptcy and the TSB ,why would the Board have needed to resign if that was not the case? There was even serious talk in the day of moving to Reebok. Still one of the few shareholders in Wigan Football club. with intimate knowledge of how it all panned out.......

###### Padge Stood for many years just below the hospital radio box - yes elbow room wtihout doubt available but can you get that in the new all seaters? Crowds were never poor, The stadium itself was never fit for purpose. The terracing was an accident waiting to happen .But as a venue for our game as good as it got, Wigan sold it to Tescos to avoid bankruptcy for 12 million. Not sure if you enjoy the new environment, Even from a seat in the Gods I remain to be convinced

Douglas stand Padge. Don't think the DWP ever sponsored Wigan........

We both know its more than that Padge. Home grounds in our combat sport are so important. The history, the atmosphere and in Wigan's case the jammed in crowd was quite frankly what it was all about at Central Park. I will never forget the Wigan v Manley game. The whole crowd was on the field that night and it was the town not just the team that won. Unbelievable atmosphere. Took two days to recover from a Bowling Green session afterwards. Maybe people should think twice before Waky and the sandy desert are bulldozed in favour of a new sanitised outlet DW stadium is certainly not giving itself to the atmosphere of the past............

Do our own SL owners have the same clout ?

What do the existing clubs in the St Helens catchment area think of this venture ? Did anyone check before giving it the ok ( as per understood protocols ) ? Just thoughts.....

Kells and the Brow . Just 2 of the NCL clubs. We really have some of the best locations for our sport , catching history , landscape , industry ( how many taps instead of touch kicks because of the canals ? ) - the soul of our game. A dissertation with photos awaiting any 3rd year Undergrad in Media /Sports studies.......

Kingstone Press are part of the Aston Manor Group, 4th largest cider makers in the world. They were taken over in 2018 by the French conglomerate Eclor with apples being one of their core crops! Not interested in our type of sponsorship ( or any for that matter ) but the Kingstone Press people kept it going for the NCL for as long as they could. Shirts have to be made in the meantime. They have been great sponsors and deserving of any advertising going there way... Tomorrow night's pre season clubs meeting may well reveal details for this season's sponsorship proposals.

Do you have a link for all this Celt ? I understood the format was a 14 team competition , ( for SL clubs and those with proven Academy 1 status or otherwise meeting strict criteria )18 match in total with no play offs. That was what the RFL press release stated on Rugbyleague,com and the fixtures released under ' Championship Reserves competition ' seem to bear that out ?

Check the thread 'NCL players to the pro game 2020 ' on the NCL forum. Every player in the NCL is a non contract player and free agent. The NCL does not allow dual reg. All players are amateur and it is a fertile breading ground especially for Champ and League 1 sides ,occasionally even up into SL , Alex Walmsley being just one example. The player movement works both ways. I think the West Hull halfbacks today are both ex pro's on amateur registration and therefor signable into the higher leagues.

Bang on. The RFL had had enough of Chapeltown which had become a virtual no go hell hole especially at night so Lindsay did one of his deals to secure Red Hall and get rid of Chapeltown Rd, all with Leeds City Council assistance. Apparently there was a suggestion that the RFL might be Manchester bound even then without better surroundings and the Council were very keen to retain the Governing Body within their city ..... The George only ever had about 6 dedicated parking spaces and the whole of that area has always been a parking disaster. as anyone who ever needed to attend BARLA Headquarters around the corner can testify. By the way that fire in COBRA on TV looked pretty effective - is the George still standing ?

Super League have moved to a back street in manchester's trendy Northern Quarter about a mile from the Etihad. RFL I think will still keep their media city outlet, ensuring Manchester is now the effective headquarters for virtually all the game. Parking is tricky for all except the Etihad but if you have a bike you can certainly deliver all the forum's messages in an hour or two ( or take the tram ! )

I believe Kay is an RL fan herself. She is one of the Mcgurrin family , respected players and administrators over the years in Wigan

NO Cut the interchanges even more instead. ( I appreciate this is slowly happening and for the reason below ) We have followed the NFL/NRL / insurance argument of exposing the players for too long.. Our game is an aggressive invasion sport that includes attrition as a strategy.. I'm not suggesting going back to the times of Alan Prescott and the Rourke's Drift Test but the sooner we can tire the big guys the more opportunity we will be giving to those with craft and guile........ and the loose forward will once more become the chess masters of TGG....

I would put Mike Gregory up there with them

RAF officer Damian Clayton sits on the RL Community Board. Deservedly got his gong for bringing TGG to the forces. We tick all their recruitment boxes. And remain more than active.... Hessle lad RAF commander and ex RL president ' Dino ' will never be forgotten after his NCL dinner offerings a couple of years ago Safe pairs of hands for our game and our country