del capo
-
Posts
1,459 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by del capo
-
-
1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:
You’re on the right track to how I think, but Toronto is a bit excessive. If a North American club can demonstrate the capability to self fund their trips to UK or Europe, then I would welcome any club to enter.
Balkan SL rep team could be good, but getting the players together to train might be difficult. A lot easier to have Greece, Serbia and other national rep clubs. More of them too.
As an aside, another option may be to play fixtures featuring teams of different Euro nations, playing at a central venue Magic Style. So you could have say four or five NCL clubs playing the likes of Serbia, Holland, Malta, Czech Republic and Ukraine in say Amsterdam. The destination and festival element may make it an even bigger attraction for players of all sides.
But where will the money come from?
The Magic style Cup Round abroad you suggest would cost around £100k......even in February.....
-
1 hour ago, Cumbria1 said:
With the Challenge Cup draw on Tuesday not many NCL sides seem to have entered from what I have seen 5 are in round 1 who not in NCL Prem then think 10 of NCL Prem teams enter round 2.
Would it not be better to offer the places given up by NCL teams to other community clubs
Entry is by invitation from the RFL.
The competition was structured this year with a view to reducing the non SL clubs down to four by the time SL clubs entered. Given the final is now earlier there was probably no room / calender time to fit in an extra starting round for a larger community inclusion ( our fields round here are all frozen and I bet you're knee deep in the white stuff Cumbria1 ).Hence the limited invite to 30 community clubs.
From Tier 4 we have the top 15 NCL sides of 47, with the Premier Division ones seeded into Round 2. The other Community clubs are either traditional entrants , such as the Forces, or by playing merit ( based on last year ) from the Regions. Decent facilities and a commitment to compete whatever the draw ( no one wants to see a walk over in this prestigious competition ) are no doubt unwritten factors taken into account. Finance should not though be a problem as I have no reason to believe that the usual subsidies will not continue.....
The RFL website news section is now showing the clubs involved as well as the home competitions from which they have been drawn.
-
2024 fixtures have now been finalized with the clubs and will go live on the NCL website at midday on 14th December.
-
Davidson is saying they've got a 12 month extension to their existing lease ( presumably therefore on the same 'no other income ' terms ) until they can sort themselves out.........
-
19 minutes ago, Dunbar said:
Have a heart.
They have suffered two pretty humiliating defeats away and when they were seen as the alpha club in the NRL and building a dynasty, they go and get beat at home.
I may be a soft touch but I can't help but feel sorry for them.
And they will now have AI around to script the excuses......
-
1
-
-
On 17/11/2023 at 22:22, Leyther_Matt said:
It’s absolutely the latter
Sensible people now appear to be in charge of the D W Stadium.
Latics home fixture against Cheltenham has been moved forward to friday night to accomodate this saturday evening K O live on Sky both in UK and AUS ( 7am).
Ticket details are promised within the next few days. Wigan clearly intend to monetize last years success and look to be going all out on this one. Christmas presents anyone ?
I like the line that Wigan are looking for their 5th World title whilst Penrith are still seeking their first ......
All very appetizing. Not to be missed. It's going to be huge.
-
2
-
-
10 minutes ago, Yorky said:
......when is the draw?
I really enjoyed the early rounds on the BBC Red button last year, was good to see some of the lower level sides clash and their grounds
Tuesday 18.30 radio manchester
-
2
-
2
-
-
Round 1
oulton stanningley west bowling clock face heworth army navy raf
newsome panthers doncaster toll bar ashton bears orrell st james lowca hammersmith hill hoists medway dragons west warriors
haresfinch fryston south wales jets and edinburgh eagles
Round 2
10 winners from above +
hunslet arlfc west hull mayfield wath brow thatto heath york acorn siddal lock lane leigh miners hull dockers
Some invitees declined for a number of reasons and GB Police are to tour Australia.
-
23 hours ago, Impartial Observer said:
CC draw is next Tuesday at 18.30 on Radio Manchester
It would help Club's planning ( sponsorship , travel etc ) if the first two rounds were drawn at the same time.
-
Draft fixtures are now with the clubs for observation.
Final lists will be issued mid december . All divisions are looking competitive .
Not too long to wait for action as 5 of the NCL sides feature in Round 1 of the CC on 14/15 January. 10 further Premier Division clubs join in Round 2 two weeks later.
-
Will Salford have completed a risk assessment regarding the possible loss of venue and have in place a Disaster Plan to protect at least their playing offer ? A normal requirement of most businesses these days. Maybe that aspect is being considered by the RFL under the Special Measures.
A temporary solution until security of tenure is acquired for the A J Bell could be the 6500 capacity modern and under - used Manchester Regional Arena literally next door to RFL Headquarters or the even better state of the Art Joie Stadium across the road ( 5000 seats and another 2000 standing ). Would not go down well with Salford fans though........
-
19 minutes ago, Gomersall said:
I thought he was going to do stand up and become a come a come a come a come a comedian.
Well I heard he's landed a gig with Sky Sports as well. Does that count as stand up?
-
As I understand it SL transferred their collective money making rights to RL Commercial in exchange for 50%.of the pie. S
It then became RL Commercial's job ( with the active help of IMG ) to increase the size of that pie. If they can manage that then the whole of TGG will benefit. SL will get more and the RFL will have more to spend where it chooses. That's the theory anyway...
That pie does not include Government grants worth millions .Those funds are ring fenced for particular , largely grassroots activity and the spend is subject to regular external oversight. I believe those grants will continue to be negotiated by the RFL staff directly.
-
2
-
-
8 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:
Must have missed the massive financial injection to the central pot the sport outside of Super League was bringing!
At yet the Community Clubs with their membership fees contributions to central funds are meeting more than two thirds of their ' cost ' to the game.
That's far more than can be said of the whole of the semi pro game outside of SL. All the rest of the RFL's income is generated entirely as a result of SL Clubs activities . Internationals are invariably ( at least at present ) loss leaders..
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, marklaspalmas said:
1996 Super League
2012 Licensing
2025 IMG Gradings
Is there a danger of history repeating itself here?
A plan which is essentially (and understandably in many way) to select, ring-fence and promote the top 12 league clubs, maximising income and raising standards.
But a plan which fails to follow through by offering any coherent plan for the rest of the sport. What is the UK RL pyramid and how does it work? How should the semi-professional leagues be re-organised, re-branded and promoted? And the community game? And junior development? And Womens RL? And the international scene?
This is a much wider remit than IMG is concentrating on, but neglect of these aspects alienates swathes of the sport's followers. 'Deal with it', or 'Catch up, but with no money' hardly seems likely to motivate the whole sport to make this work.
There is no shortage of a plan for the future direction of the Game.
Take a look at the two documents ' Strategic Plan 2022 - 2030 ' and ' Community Strategy 2022 - 2030 ' both on the RFL website. They are in fact blueprints for progress and If they are followed TGG will be in a far better place in a few years time.
But they need to be followed and the problem is of course one of delivery. It always has been. No point in writing them otherwise. Everybody has a part to play but it has to start at the Top.
For instance under the section ' Fan focused ' and then sub-headed ' A great spectator experience' the promise is to ' Deliver outstanding major RFL events at world -class stadiums '.
I'll leave you to decide whether the Tonga Tour or Magic fall into the category of outstanding or major before you have to even contemplate the world class status of Elland Road et al........
-
4
-
-
' There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in misery. '
But then again maybe some clubs just got lucky.................and have since largely picked up Grade A's.
-
2
-
-
3 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:
And people are complaining that Ridley Scott’s Napoleon gave them bum ache at the cinema!
Imagine sitting through all that lot at Elland Rd.
You won't need to.
Aren't all SL games on television next year ? With no novelty value they'll be lucky to break even
-
3 minutes ago, George Watt said:
Silly me! I was at the match too!
Looking at the line ups of those two sides the average spectator would have thought he was watching teams from a different planet. 400k prize money as well. And all the hype ! What a showman that little Mo - no need for IMG with people like him around...........
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Click said:
They have the RFLs pathway that they will be utilising, which I believe links up with local colleges, etc.
The RFL have now said that LB may get more out of this pathway than an Elite Academy, for substantially less money.
Correct.
The RFL have indicated the route to follow and to be fair LB in their press release seem to be aware of what is needed.
Development Academy. Ofsted compliant. College / education setting. Midweek competition thereby allowing students to play weekend with their community clubs.
There is absolutely no reason why the massive player pool potential that is London should be lost to the game. All that is needed is for the job to be done properly.
Wigan , Warrington the two Hulls etc ALL run Development Academies in addition to their Elite ones. Wigan for instance run theirs out of the Robin Park Arena as the actual education setting, with courses up to and including degree level
-
Can any one tell me who is responsible for the organisation costs and profit/ loss of this venture ?
I always thought it was down to the Home club but there seems to be nothing in the Operational rules covering it. The International Board only deals with national sides.
The Sponsorship / broadcasting rights - both tasty possibilities - seem to belong to the RFL.
Did St Helens get anything from the TV and did they have to pay anything for their trip to Aussie ?
Or will we be seeing IMG make their first move and spoil Wigan's party ?
-
1 minute ago, binosh said:
That’s not the info I’m aware of, as an example Leigh have just advertised a trial training session for the new reserve team to be held this month with 150 places available and they all went quickly with a waiting list now available.
Where have most of those trialists learned their trade ?
Miners 18's gave their last 3 games, East's didn't run with a 16's and their reserves played just friendlies .Miners Reserves forfeited 4 matches. And yes most people would describe Leigh as in the healthy heartlands.
No tree survives without decent roots.
-
1 hour ago, Griff said:
I don't agree with Harry. Other than the subject is highly controversial.
Complicated as well as controversial.
Few know that there is an Agreement that the professionals are limited to a maximum number of Elite licences and even fewer that they are further limited to a maximum trawl of 400 youngster each year between them.( Operational Rule c.1.8.18.)
And there are good reasons for that being the case........
As an aside last week a good friend of mine and Chief Scout of one of the best clubs at recruitment in the game repeated his view that the Scholarship system is a waste of effort and money. Many of his peers share that opinion. A change in age groupings could well be next.
-
1
-
2
-
-
22 minutes ago, binosh said:
You would think the RFL would embrace hotbeds of Rugby League talent, Leigh Miners have oversubscribed teams at every age group as I’m led to believe to Leigh East, and more so Leigh RU who have the biggest children’s rugby programme in the area. Most of the lads play both codes at an early age.
There is more than enough talent to be able to give these lads a real chance at getting picked up even though Saints, Warrington and Wigan cherry pick them, there are an awful lot of young lads would love to play for the Leopards. Surely another strong academy system is great for the future of the English game?
Not to mention that both Miners and RU clubs have a huge pool of women playing and teams at most age groups.
Both Miners and Easts have struggled this year in the vital age groups - 16's , 18's and reserve open age.
-
1
-
-
25 minutes ago, MattSantos said:
That'd be fair.
I think i fancy this game if it is indeed in the UK. When are we likely to know based on previous years etc?
Sat 24th feb being mooted. Latics at home that day to Cheltenham but that weekend is favourite. Penrith have been left out of the NRL trial matches for that weekend ( and the one before )....
Overseas Challenge Cup Teams
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
There's nothing wrong with dreaming. It can lighten darker days. But realism has its place as well. A Community club would need to raise £10k for a weekend jolly such as suggested and in mid winter its just not going to happen. And thats before the exercise would need to be repeated in the following round.
3 Irish clubs and I believe 2 NCL ones declined invites this year I surmise largely based on cost even when some central funding is available. It remains very tough economically out there.
We can't even get our pro clubs to travel to Cornwall in a Cup, let alone Europe........