Wellsy4HullFC
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Posts posted by Wellsy4HullFC
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http://www.com1site.com/FFRXIII/actualites.php?a=256
The format doesn't seem certain but seems to have 2 groups of 5 and the winners playing off for a NRC spot (in knock out?) Not sure what the Lezignan already in means.
The Welsh club coming in I presume means the Scorpions, not sure why Ireland's suggested as Irish and Welsh domestic clubs are RU off season clubs and couldn't play at that time of year and would get thrashed, would far rather see clubs like Bramley in than them. irish clubs hardly ever even turned up for one off Challenge Cup matches.
Seems a good idea for French Elite clubs in to me as long as they have their own groups for travel cost reasons. Would be terrible if they tried to include Irish domestic clubs though. Also they only get 20 domestic games (18 home and away plus 2 extra fixtures) plus Cup so the extra 4 guaranteed is good.
Also in the news there Montpellier are moving up to expand the league to 10 teams with struggling St Gaudens linking up with Toulouse as their reserves (think playing matches at both)
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?
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We were talking about Aussies, not Kiwis.
Kiwis can hack northern England because the weather is similar (cold and damp, unlike Australia, and unlike the south of France for 9 months of the year), and because New Zealand is a pretty but boring country --- a bit like Scotland but without the history and charm of Edinburgh. For the average Kiwi ruffian northern England must seem very interesting indeed --- especially when you have the bright lights of Manchester and Liverpool so near, and so many drunken girls stumbling about on the streets, looking for a ride home, on a Friday or Saturday night.
As I have intimated, Aussies find London and the south of France interesting places to go to and spend some quality time. That is why we would do well to give them more rugby league job opportunities in those places.
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
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The caption is already in the picture, his head is just blocking the extra letter...
"Huh?!"
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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?
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can see the points you are making wellsy but i still disagree with some of them.
yes players do get injured in winter, its part of the game, but from my experience there are a hell of a lot more in summer, and thats with vastly fewer games been played.
My experiences differ to yours then.
Schools DO close in holidays. we cannot play at our ground during any holidays.they dont open up.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.
Dpeendant on where you live in terms of cricket, but there are a hell of a lot of rugby players round here that play halifax/bradford league cricket. footballers can play sunday league in winter.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.
The majority of amateur players simply dont want to play summer rugby ptherwise they would go play it. the few that do, tend to play all year round anyway. why change it. they gave clubs the option a few years back and few took it up. Dudley hill gave it a go, and gave it up.if players want to play summer, then they can , the standard is pretty high with the likes of Bramley etc.
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.
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definatly NOT good news. why is this good news. simply marhinalised the game even further. it restricts many thousands of people. both Adult and children from playing the sport.
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.
No facilities - schools are closed for summer. that will cause many many amateur clubs to fold.Schools just close shop do they? I'm pretty sure most schools still allow their facilities to be used through summer.
Lack of numbers. Many players play cricket in 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.
many players simply want to go on hols with family.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 many more injuries in summer. my club has lost 5 players over the last 2 summer seasons to horrifying injuries because of the hard ground, indeed i did tib & fib doing the same thing.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.
This is s blatant attempt by RFL to force people to play in summer only. at present there are 2 options for players. they choose winter rather than summer. thats for a reason.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.
I know my club would fold as would probably at least 50% of the league i play in, pennine league.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.
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Crying poverty again
You saw my car yesterday. I'm still wiping my eyes!
and you never see him without a pint in his hand.Last time you saw me I was on the Coke!
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In this doom and gloom scenario.
If the non SL clubs all went bust. Many of their fans would go to watch their nearest SL club (I know plenty of former Oldham fans who now go to Wigan for example).
If RL consisted of 12 or 14 pro clubs all getting an extra 2000 or so fans from extinct NL clubs, would that be better for the sport in the long term than having 30+ clubs, over half of whom barely break the 1000 barrier?
Or,
Should sport be about opportunity and dreams. That even a small club with poor ground/fanbase could one day grow and get into the SL?
Tough one.
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 ######!
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Genuinely brilliant news for the game IMO.
Yes, I know there are many that don't like playing rugby in summer, but I think there are just as many arguments for not playing in winter (i.e. "too hot/ground too hard" vs "too cold/poor conditions/games called off") and just as many people sit on each side of the fence.
The kicker is that it brings the game in line with each other. We will benefit as a game in the elite more from this. Kids playing and developing in the same conditions they would at elite level. Late developers playing and developing in the same conditions as they would at elite level. And also club development would be better. If all the top amateur clubs are playing in summer, then non-heartlands clubs can play at a more appropriate level. Clubs that are struggling can drop down a peg and still be competing. There's more competition. It's better for the development of the game.
I do feel for those that don't like playing in summer though. I trained on Wednesday with the wrong kind of studs (can't really afford loads of different kinds of boots) and my ankles feel bad still. With a bigger market though, we may see better summer-boots available for rugby league players.
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Oh Whatever fella......its a clique, no doubt about it!
If you're going to say something that most people disagree with, then it isn't a clique.
You were in the minority. Much like the minority of people from your club that think it's still OK to hurl discriminating abuse at a player "because it happened in the 70s".
There's no right and wrong answer, but there is a widely accepted answer.
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I saw a quote saying that only football will be played at wembley in the year before the world cup, so thats the challenge cup final moved - millenium stadium again though would suit me fine.
Don't we have a contractual agreement to play one game there a year? Think we'd be due some compensation if we were told to move...
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I would love to see relegation come back... one day. It's a cultural thing in this part of the world. It's great to watch the excitement of getting promotion or avoiding relegation.
The main issues are:
Clubs in the Championship aren't of standard yet, so won't integrate into SL very well if promoted (and will end up being most likely relegated again).
Clubs in the SL aren't of the standard wanted yet either, and we would like to see them at a standard wanted before being able to say that Championship clubs aren't of standard (so it isn't hypocritical).
Relegation is not practical for certain expansion clubs (i.e. French clubs), so we need to find a system that fits in and is fair.
The first two points should hopefully only be a matter of time before the licensing system brings them up to standard. SL will in the next 3-6 years have clubs with good structures and good facilities that reflect the game. Hull, Wigan, Huddersfield, Warrington and Harlequins all have excellent and modern stadia. Crusaders are only one stand off. Saints will do soon. Catalans are in the process of building. Leeds and Hull KR have plans in place. Salford, Cas, Wakey and Bradford need to get a move on and catch up. In the Championship, Widnes have the package. Halifax and Leigh are there. Toulouse have a ground in place if they get promoted. Fev have plans. So we're getting there over the two divisions.
The issues with relegation need to promote expansion as well as tradition. How do you get a fair system that can do that without "putting French/overseas teams in the Championship" which isn't exactly financially viable?
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FWIW, I'd actually have three Friday night rep dates in the calendar during the Super League season. Players could still 'double up' but they'd be away in training camp for the week. Players who decline rep selection would be ineligible for the weekend's SL games (the Aussies don't need blank NRL weekends for Origin/Trans-Tasman tests, so why do we?).
Date One: Origin - I know people will carp about Lancs v Yorks sending out 'the wrong message' but it's a meaningful rivalry that could draw a respectable crowd at the right venue and would provide the opportunity to take 40 of the country's best players in a training camp/Test-style environment to see how they cope.
Date Two: England v France - in France.
Date Three: England v Other Nationalities. With the right marketing, support from the clubs and a bit of thought put into the heritage angle this could tick all the boxes.
The Aussies play less league games than us Pottsy, as well as no cup games, so they're in a better position to back-up than us (who are already shattered by international time anyway.
If we had a game against Other Nationalities, I wouldn't want the European players involved. Would rather they play for their own nations on the same weekend.
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What about an allstars game with a selection on a draft system, appoint 2 coaches with each taking it in turn to pick players. Eg coach A would have first pick at full back then coach B first pick for a wing spot and so on. could do it as 2 sets off English teams or even allow a given number of overseas players perhaps 1 or 2 each. could brand the game as England Red vs England White so not to give the impression that one side is superior to the other as A vs B would. Would be very competitive and a better test than the French. Better than Yorks v Lancs as doesnt alienate cumbrians and Londoners such as McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Purdham, Clubb etc. IMO superior to the Barbarians / England v overseas SL players side concept as I feel the barbarian side would lack motivation and many would make themselves unavailable. The only problem would be getting the fans to buy into it as there would be no reason to support one side over an other.
Which is why it will never happen. There is no reason, whether the game would be good or not, to support either team.
French Elite clubs in Northern Rail Cup next year
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
That bad is it? Not even with some funding or sponsorship? Just seems like a good opportunity if they wanted to test the water.