Wellsy4HullFC

The Wizards are pretty decent I'd say.

I sympathise not. I just don't like illogical arguments that have been proven so time and time again. You just spouting rubbish again. Define good crowds? 2003 (when they moved back to Odsal) was 7 years ago, not 10. Not that that was the last time they got "good crowds". Let's have a look since they moved back to Odsal... 2003 - 14,936 (best in SL) 2004 - 13,500 (2nd best) 2005 - 13,367 (3rd best) 2006 - 11,263 (3rd best) 2007 - 12,084 (4th best) 2008 - 10,287 (5th best) 2009 - 9,677 (5th best) 2010 - 8,642 (6th best) They still posted five-figure crowds 2 years ago, which I would consider the benchmark for "good crowds". They're still in the top 6 of SL crowd averages despite a HUGE drop in attendances over the last 7 years. So if they have poor crowds, then most of SL is in a worse state. That doesn't answer the question. How is Odsal "much WORSE" than the two grounds I mentioned? "I would rather watch RL in these grounds" isn't an answer. Why would you? So Bradford have to get 20k crowds (more than any SL club has achieved on more than 3 occasions in a single season)? That's a ridiculous benchmark for a poor argument.

When I get bored, I read this forum on my phone. The screen isn't big enough to fit the whole page on, so I just browse through the posts and can't see which users are posting what unless I scroll to the side. Incidentally, I can tell every time it's a "Lobbygobbler" post, simply because it includes some illogic about how Bradford have the worst ground in the SL or shouldn't be in the SL, etc. Wakefield and Salford are city clubs. They were warned. So that's that weird theory out of the way. But it won't stop you arguing it. The club doesn't own its stadium is a pretty new one for you. How many clubs in the SL do? Why does it matter?And, according to Wikipedia (not the best source of knowledge, I know), the Bulls have controlling rights of the stadium after taking them back from the council after they left Valley Parade. Odsal wasn't inapproporiate when they used to get good crowds there. It wasn't THAT long ago. What do you expect clubs to do? Just knock down parts of the stadium if the crowds dip? It's a much better ground than Belle Vue and the Willows. You know this. I know this. Everyone knows this. But you will still argue that it isn't. So let's change the question from "Why is Odsal the worst ground" to "How are Belle Vue and The Willows better than Odsal?" Change the record. Why am I wasting my time?

Surely development is only when they translate into SL players? If all of them youngsters end up going off into the Championship because they aren't getting SL games, then there is a flaw in the development, surely?

Replaces some clubs' home fixtures. Probably Leeds and closest team to Elland Road out of Hudds/Wakey/Cas (whoever plays that game) and Saints and Widnes at Anfield (as they are both plastic scousers!). An absolute must. And I can't believe it hasn't happened for 5 years.

Double headers in January/February I aren't too sure about. Too cold, and it's the main part of the football season so we'll struggle to get grounds. If we're going to restructure the season, I'd like to see it come in the season we have the new franchises. What about double headers at Easter? Thursday - Hull FC vs Hull KR. Friday Afternoon - Leeds vs Bradford and Huddersfield vs Cas/Wakey/Salford (whoever is left after 2012) at Elland Road Friday Evening - Saints vs Wigan and Widnes vs Warrington at Anfield. Would love to see England vs France and Wales as we have now (during regular SL round), as well as England vs ANZACs on a free weekend. Magic Weekend at Newcastle on the 2nd BH Weekend in May. Challenge Cup semis a double header.

No they haven't. They have been the best in the Southern Hemisphere every time they won the NRL. Get over it. Australian team straight off the plane? You mean they don't come a 2 weeks before the game and play a warm up game against a SL side before it? Oh they do? Not straight off the plane then, is it? And your local ref comment is laughable. This year's ref was English. The 3 years before that were Australian. So the last time it was fair was the time you pick in history that you conveniently won most of the time? Yes, that's a really fair indication! Super League club after Super League club have stated they would love to play the NRL champions in Australia. It's just that the NRL clubs are so bottleless they'd hate to risk humiliation on their home turf. Every year the champs of SL say they'll go over there, and every year nothing happens. Another "Australia are amazing, England are useless" boring rant. Peacock would walk into an NRL side. Burrow and McGuire would get in. Senior would have in his day. Ellis has already made it in the NRL from Leeds. I reckon Sinfield would get in also. There are some absolutely garbage players in the NRL. They aren't all amazing. Plenty of players that are "amazing" in the NRL end up coming here and being terrible. Why send Leeds (who are 5th) to play St George (who are 1st)? A bit favourable conditions again from the person who wants "all things fair". How about we send Wigan? Is this the same side that cheated to win the NRL? And they deserved to win. Leeds were terrible. The ref was Australian. And again, the same Melbourne side that won the NRL by cheating. I declare you a typical whinging Aussie. We've got enough of them on these forums, thanks. You bring nothing new.

That has to be the worst article ever! Four lines! And they still managed to feck up the picture caption... "TEMPORARY MOVE ... Saints coach Mick Potter might take charge at Goodison" Err... no he won't. He'll be coaching Bradford that year!

That's not what I meant. I meant that there were more camera angles on the normal broadcast compared to the 3D broadcast, not that the 3D broadcast was broadcasting standard angles. We had our 3D screen near the normal broadcast, and you could see them using far more angles on that broadcast than you could on the 3D broadcast. It was a bit irritating that they were talking about replays that weren't being showed in 3D. If we're going to go out of our way to watch the game in superb picture quality with an extra dimension, you kinda suspect that that sort of demographic would also want the best audio options available also!

Why do people go over the top? Teams in a competition can be picked in many ways. They don't have to be picked on the basis that they finished in a certain position in another competition.

Yet another person who doesn't understand the difference between a club and a stadium.

And they are getting to it. The same would be said if this happened 10 years ago. It's always later than it should have been for some. It's getting done. Let's just be happy, eh? It means I can sit down in comfortable surroundings with decent views of the pitch and better catering. It is. One of them is that the club have to play in a premier standard facility. This move ensures they tick that box a year early. There isn't. If they can make these moves work, then it would be good for SL. I don't see why it wouldn't be? Then Saints will have to negotiate where they are going to play for 3 years. If it's at Widnes, then again they will at least tick that box for premier stadia.

It's not always that simple though, is it? I don't see what the problem is. They're getting a new ground. In the meantime, they're going to be playing in a premier-class stadium. Does it matter if it isn't theirs? It's one less hole in SL. Maybe Salford, Wakefield and Castleford should be looking at doing something similar?

The 3D was fantastic. Really helps you see where the gaps are down the line from the touchline angle. That's where the perspective comes in best and where RL will benefit from this sort of technology. I can see in the future when they analyse games they might superimpose presenters onto the pitch so they can walk around and show gaps, etc. That would be cool! The only issue I had was the number of angles. There were very few. I'm not sure how many cameras they had, but it definitely wasn't as much as the normal cameras. We watched it in the Skyrack in Leeds, and unfortunately didn't really get to listen to the commentary because they had the normal broadcast on on the other TVs so they had that sound on. Unfortunately this didn't match up well with the 3D broadcast, because when they were talking about replays in that game, the 3D feed kept live. The only thing that really annoyed me to be fair, and I'll be finding another pub to watch it in 3D in the future if they keep the normal sound on in the background. Apart from that, very good. It's the future. A good pilot. A few things they'll need to improve on, but in a few years time I really think TV will be immense!

When he was born in St Helens... Briers will be 34 (and has also retired from international RL). Thomas will be 38. Neither have been good enough to get in anyway, so it doesn't matter. There aren't any players that aren't already eligible for England that would be good enough for GB... yet. When there is only one professional team in GB that is outside of England, it isn't much of a surprise.

It's the same thing. They are all people. And they are all leaving for similar reasons no matter where they live. The only difference between a player leaving and a coach leaving is that there are a hell of a lot more playing opportunities than there are head-coach opportunities. You can't just walk into a head coach position like you can a playing one, so you have to take what's on offer. It's hardly humiliation. It's just realisation. Can't this be the same for coaches? Many coaches have young families. A lot of coaches would stay forever if they didn't get the sack at any club they're at. Not just Australians living in London. Walters wasn't sacked. He has a clause in his contract that he can stay another year if he wanted, which he turned down. Potter wasn't sacked. He left for a better job. What idiot would sack a coach that got them to a CCF and then to 3rd in SL? Morgan wasn't sacked. He left for a job of about equal stature at the time (leaving CCSFinalist Toulouse for NL1 play-off regulars Hull KR). So no, not many coaches at all. And there is no evidence that any of the coaches you mention are leaving because they don't like the lifestyle, yet it hasn't stopped you starting a thread on it. Can't have it both ways. You mean the position he left to go home to Australia (another one!)? OK, you make your own little stories again... Once you have an argument which doesn't have stupid logic that doesn't apply to other parts of your argument, then people might be able to digest it. Until then, do yourself a favour...

That bad is it? Not even with some funding or sponsorship? Just seems like a good opportunity if they wanted to test the water.

Some of the ideas I've heard floating around are having their amateur representative sides enter. Surely that would make them a bit more competitive?

Yeah, the Aussie head coach of Harlequins loves it there... Wait a minute...? Also, what about these: Adam Mogg leaves Catalans Dragons "After four years in France, the 32-year-old Queensland State of Origin player has been released for family reasons as he has become homesick." Greg Bird leaves Catalans Dragons "Catalans Dragons captain Greg Bird has rejected a new two-year contract and left France to return to Australia." Kevin Walters ready for Catalans Dragon exit "I will not be taking up the option in my contract to coach the Dragons in season 2011" Jason Ryles quits France for Roosters "Despite being just one season into a three-year deal with France-based Super League club Catalans Dragons, it was Ryles who rang Smith looking for a job back in the NRL, where he believes he has unfinished business and a point to prove. The 30-year-old, who hails from the Illawarra, said it was largely a homesick girlfriend who had driven him to pick up the phone." And that's all in the last 6 months. And 3 out of 4 of them left their contracts early. Can't be that much of a paradise in the south of France

The caption is already in the picture, his head is just blocking the extra letter... "Huh?!"

This makes no sense. Aussie coach leaves north of England club - it's due to the weather/culture. Aussie coach leaves south of France club - it's due to something else. Aussie coach moves to another northern England club - can't find his routes. Reasoning behind logic - OP is a pompous git high on his pedestal who talks with an undeserved sense of achievement but is in fact (as shown by this thread) an idiot. Many Aussies return to Australia (both players AND coaches, from both Britain AND France) because of family reasons. Maybe these Aussies don't like the French culture either?

My experiences differ to yours then. All the schools around me have summer-time activities going on. I used to work in a school during the summer that took on sports. You must be at one of the few that don't open. I'm sure something can be arranged if the club tried, as it would be another source of revenue for the school. Are you one of those cricketers by any chance? When I have played in winter, very few have had summer sports activities (that weren't also rugby league). At Akkies, we have a hell of a lot of union players, many of which have never played league before but love it. The more we give these guys a chance to not only try the sport at a lower level (and then build them up as they develop on interest as well as their skill), the more playing numbers we will get. We're going to get more cross-overs with union than we are with cricket. Bramley are a good side, but they are too good for that league. The standards across it differ immensely. And I disagree about your point about players switching if they wanted to. You're looking at it as if it is a black and white option, when in fact it's a lot of different greys. It's not a case of just playing a sport in different temperatures. People are attached to their clubs. They want to play with their social groups. Or play in a certain area against certain teams with certain rivalries of a certain standard. These options aren't open to everyone who wants to play summer rugby. This is why many have voted to switch the LEAGUES to summer, rather than just vote with their feet and pick a new summer club. Bringing it to summer also brings it in line with the rest of RL over here. And there will still be some winter options for those that seriously don't want to play in summer. If your club does not want to play in summer, it will probably still have the chance to play in winter. The standards may be down, but if it's good enough for the summer teams IYO then it should be good enough for the winter teams.

Nonsense. The same can be said both ways. Winter restricts many thousands as well. Not to mention, winter actually causes many games to be called off, so you could say that it restricts millions. Schools just close shop do they? I'm pretty sure most schools still allow their facilities to be used through summer. Very very few players play cricket during summer. More players play rugby union/football/other sports during the winter than play cricket during the summer. If anything, we're opening up to more. It's a terrible argument. Then they can go. It's only 1-2 games missed. It's not like all the players go on holiday at once. I play in summer, and I'm still going on holiday. Many players are injured during the winter as well. Poor pitches and conditions can lead to clumsy play. If clubs look after their pitches well during the hottest months (i.e. water them sufficiently), and players are advised to get suitable equipment, then this will become less of an issue. It's easier to water a hard pitch than it is to unfreeze a frozen pitch. Yes, that reason is that the winter leagues are a better standard, as the summer leagues are relatively new, and in many areas aren't even much of an option. It's not because people prefer playing in winter conditions, if that's what you're getting at. In Hull, I never had the option of summer rugby, so I had to play winter. Could I not argue that this is BARLA's way of forcing me to play winter rugby? The RFL wouldn't move it to summer, and BARLA wouldn't agree to it, if there wasn't good precedent for it. If they get their recruitment policies right, they could get more numbers than they had before due to other people being out of season in their sports.

You saw my car yesterday. I'm still wiping my eyes! Last time you saw me I was on the Coke!

Depends on the aim. On the playing development front, and in some aspects club development, then it is better to have a stable league as clubs can concentrate on long-term aspects rather than the "now". On a spectator front, it's worse. Spectators want to see their club go as high as they possibly can. It's why they support them. If they feel they can't go that high, they won't get much support. Hence, why the bigger clubs get bigger crowds, and the smaller clubs get smaller crowds. I know there's more to do with it than that (marketing, etc.), but you can't always sell a ######!