Trojan
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Posts posted by Trojan
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22 hours ago, Father Gascoigne said:
I used to as well as I grew up as a 90s kid and didn't even know the English invented rugby league/union, but through Tony Collins I've learned that rugby was not only more established at one point, but that it was football's attitude towards professionalism--and having the good fortune not to tear itself in two--that gave it a leg up at the onset of the 20th century.
Knowing how the colonisation of sports works around the world--and how it really is an early bird gets the worm scenario--it's a fascinating thought experiment wondering how the landscape would look today if rugby went professional and stayed together.
We got rugby league out of it so no complaints, but you could argue a unified game would've looked more like rugby league in time anyway.
In the early days of soccer, teams like Royal Engineers and Corinthian Casuals won the FA Cup, with the advent of the Football League and professionalism their days were gone I'm afraid and it was northern sides like Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End that dominated the game. IMO the RFU saw this and were determined not to lose control of the game like the FA had. Hence the split. It wasn't just about money though, it was about the power of the ruling class.
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On 21/05/2025 at 19:49, Mr Plow said:
Football wise Leeds is a juggernaut in West Yorkshire. I think you’ll find folk across the region who follow Leeds United where as rugby wise if your from Cas, you’ll follow Cas, if your from Bradford you’ll follow the Bulls ect.
I live in Lincolnshire now, but I've been amazed at how many Leeds Utd fans there are around here
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Compared to rugby, pro soccer was late into West Yorks. The NU was well established when most of the West Yorkshire sides were formed. Soccer proved a more open and attractive game and that's why many of the original NU rules were changed to open up the game and stop the drain of not only supporters but clubs to soccer. Up to the 60's Leeds was (according to John Giles) a rugby city. The rise of Leeds Utd almost parallels the decline of Hunslet - a major club up to that time. In 1965 both Hunslet and Leeds U went to Wembley. But was Hunslet's last hurrah. They've never recovered.
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11 hours ago, JohnM said:
Wembley of the North? Won't that be Odsal, given the recent coup?
In the days before Wembley was rebuilt it was described by some wag as the Odsal of the South. In my experience it's not much better now. I hope they can improve Elland Road because on the occasions I've been there for RL I've been less than impressed. I suppose OT is getting a bit tired. But the atmosphere there on GF nights takes some beating, and access is brill. I speak as someone who hates Man U and was born less than 3 miles from Elland Road.
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Sad news. Makes me feel old. Still while Big Neil is still with us I can recall my youth.
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7 hours ago, StandOffHalf said:
I call RL ''football'' and association football ''soccer'' as a reflection of the football code I like more.
Hierarchical, if you will.
In the 60's in Wakefield football always meant RL
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I think people are leaving out of their equations the threat of Bottica. Sides would be very cautious taking liberties anywhere within kicking distance, he was lethal.
I think Skerrett was very over rated compared to other props paying at the time - Kevin Ward say or Lee Crooks
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Can't see Fev winning this, the way they're playing this season. Shame really if there's one RL side I really hate it's the Bulls. I'd be tempted to make the 180 mile round trip, but after the reports of Bradford's treatment of Fev supporters last time out I don't think I'll bother. Good luck Fev. UTR
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Why Yorkshire batted on to over 700 runs is beyond me. Perhaps having not been set a realistic target Northants let it be known they wouldn't be bothered if they didn't bat again. Shame really. Still Yorkshire up and Lancashire down, what's not to like
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8 hours ago, StandOffHalf said:
Fair play, Loiner.
I suppose one has to say well done to green-booted Makinson for getting the ball down and making the VR err towards giving it. It is easy to analyse and pick it apart in the cold light of day (and I do think the evidence is pretty clear) but the VR is in the heat of the moment.
Fortunately it didn't affect the outcome of what was an absorbing game.
I thought he was in touch. But if the VR can't see it then the try remains. Great game. Very exciting. Shame it had to end with the anti climax of the golden point. But them's the rules.
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Never been to a four day county match before. Went to he second day (Friday) of Yorkshire v Sussex at Scarborough. The weather was good, play was uninterrupted, Scarborough cricket ground it a nice ground, with good bars and excellent food facilities, and great views the play was attractive, all in all an excellent day. I'll probably give county cricket another go.
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Didn't former RFL General Secretary Bill Fallowfield turn out for Moortown in the 50's?
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First of August is here again, happy Yorkshire Day everyone.
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Oh dear. This shows my age. Boxing Day 1960 Leeds v Wakey. I think Wakey won 14-7. We sat on the wall beside the slope where the players used to come out at Headingley. The next game was Wakey v Wigan at Belle Vue, 2nd round of cup, Wigan won 2-0 Fred Griffiths goal. I won half a dollar on the Leeds v Wakey game, and risked it again with the same lad against Leeds winning the Championship - I lost.
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Edwards was s great player but not a "big name" like Offiah
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I've been looking at a topic on Facebook about Neil Fox and why he's not on the Wembley plinth. Can anyone enlighten me as to how the selection of those that are on there was arrived at? What is most surprising thinking about it, is that while the game's heartlands are in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cumbria, there's no representation from the latter two counties.
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On 05/06/2024 at 10:48, John Drake said:
Actor, William Russell, 99, best known to Doctor Who fans as Ian Chesterton, one of the original companions when the show began in 1963, and to Coronation Street fans as one of the many husbands of Rita.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/jun/04/william-russell-obituary
Sir Lancelot
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It has two locations from the 1967 movie "Far from the madding crowd" - in Devizes, there's also the staircase locks there on the Kennet & Avon canal.
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The point is that the various clubs and pubs in the "heartlands" started saving and booking for the following year's CC final almost as soon as the previous one was over. It was an annual jolly. Load crates of ale into the coach and off we go. Moving the date about sort of screwed that. And the end of winter rugby didn't do the event any favours either. Look at the Twickenham crowd. I went to Wembley in 2021 when Saints played Cas. (I went for Fev v York) it was hot for the Fev game. By the time Saints and Cas took the field it was blazing hot and players were dropping like flies due to the heat.
Kick the comp off before the regular season (like the old county cups) don't seed it. And play a condensed comp aimed at a final in May.
Whether it should stay at Wembley I couldn't say but I've been twice to the new stadium and haven't been impressed.
I thought the game was ok. Wigan certainly are a competent effective side. TBH I don't think Wire were that far behind. A little more luck and they'd have been breathing down Wigan's necks.
The Rob Burrow stuff showed our game at its absolute best.
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18 hours ago, Futtocks said:
John Wayne fans wanted to see John Wayne. Even when he was playing Ghengis Khan. Not to my taste, but then neither is the glaringly obvious "give me awards!" type of Method Acting* at the other end of the spectrum.
*I think it was Humphdrey Bogart who referred to it as "scratch your ass and belch" acting.
But surely "The Longest Day" is an historical document, of what actually happened on both sides. The producers go to the trouble of getting actors who look and sound like Eisenhower and Montgomery, with German actors speaking actual German and then stick John Wayne in a key role. Presumably it had something to do with financing the film.
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With the D Day anniversary upcoming, I watched "The Longest Day" yesterday. Has there ever been a worse actor than John Wayne? He speaks every word as though he were reading entries in a phone book. He plays the same part no matter who he is playing. Ok he was big and good looking and could ride a horse, but please actor????
Same goes to a lesser extent to another star of this movie. Richard Burton, he speaks every line as though he were on stage at Stratford, for me he totally lacked the talent to act on screen.
I doubt if this movie could ever be remade, even with CGI. Shame really. It could do with some better acting performances from the English speaking cast.
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12 hours ago, Whippet13 said:
I think Dublin might work with this idea, the RFL should be able to hire some ferries on a good deal to transport all the coaches as October is outside of peak demand period.
Dublin is if anything more expensive than London
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4 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:
2023 Challenge Cup Final for obvious reasons
Fev 40-60 Sheffield for sheer ridiculousness
Joey Johns’ debut for Warrington was a tremendous occasion to attend as a neutral
The 2019 playoff game between Leigh and Fev. Probably the best game I've ever seen, a credit to both sides and the Championship
Monuments and landmarks to RL around the world
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
Great player very under rated