Exiled Wiganer

Oh, so it’s not a “nothing to do with us, how very dare you”, it’s a sanity check? Mmm.

My oh my that is some defence. You have not persuaded me, but clearly you feel very strongly about it. As it happens in the post that you initially responded to I didn’t mention IMG, though I am happy to discuss that at any time, as I am a staunch supporter of theirs, and believe that the overall direction of travel is not only a good thing but the ONLY way in which the game has to go. If the RFL ditches them then they are insane. To pick up the narrow point at issue here, I have spent my entire working life over 3 decades either giving or fielding or interpreting advice. I would be prepared to wager massive sums that the clubs didn’t realise how Salford would pan out before giving them a licence, and that to be here again next year would be a dereliction of duty by their advisers. Those advisers may be the RFL/accountants, and not IMG at all, which is why I referred to them as advisers in my comment you responded to. I would have thought that we are on the same page that if we end up here again next year then this assessment system has failed.

Have you seen the actual advice? Were you at the meetings? Did you see the minutes? Did they make this decision fully appraised of the risks? If you honestly think that an adviser is doing their job well in these circumstances, then there is nothing down for you. I do have some sympathy with the proposition that IMG may not have been the people carrying out the financial review. IMG’s job is to make the game more marketable. The inevitable consequence of this process was that this year would be over shadowed by these entirely predictable financial woes, and is a catastrophic look. In contrast the clubs organised Vegas and are steering the Ashes ticket sales, so we have had some good news and the RFL is getting some income. Now, there may have been some backward looking errors on both sides, but the context in which I am making this particular point is the suggestion that we could be here again next year because “computer says…”. However many times you defend the people who prepared the reports on SRD, you will always be wrong.

When did Sydney last get a 67k crowd for an international?

Indeed, It isn’t at all a speculative proposition. There is a track record of huge interest. The key questions are whether we will raise awareness generally and then push it as a must see. Everything I have seen and heard thus far suggests we will succeed on both of those fronts.

We got over 67k in 2013 and weren’t playing the Aussies. That’s by far the most relevant comparison. I have been to pretty much all the internationals down here in the last 35 years and I see no reason at all why we can’t smash the 2013 figure, given the quality of Moran’s team. Pretty much all of the relatively poorly attended ones had subterranean marketing. This one is clearly being done by professionals. I would be astonished if it comes in less than 60k. 70k would be par and a new record for any Ashes series anywhere would be a very good result. There is a market and there is a team which knows how to reach it. All will be well.

I remember attending one.

I love that idea! We could end up with a competition with nobody able to pay players! But those meejia hits. A truly reimagined SL. Look at those sponsor deals and tv deals rolling in to watch! Or the game could get a grip and ask the experts to devise a test that makes sure this never happens again. Or the experts could do their job.

I would be fascinated to see the report provided to the clubs which formed the basis on which they decided to award Salford a licence this year. They were after all assessed by appropriately qualified (?) professionals chosen and paid to advise the clubs. Was there a material risks section, was anything highlighted to them? Most people who pay professionals to advise them receive some advice. Presumably there will be a report prepared when the professional assessment is prepared for SL in 26. And on the basis of that report and the associated scoring the clubs will make their decision. Some advisers would consider it part of their role to advise properly, especially in relation to a material risk. I have never come across one who would consider their job done while blithely watching their clients drive themselves off a cliff.

A good win. I have also noticed that Peet does have a habit of focussing on Wigan rugby league and seems obsessed with banging on about Wigan matches, the club and its players in interviews. That must be infuriating.

In a different context, I was in a discussion yesterday as to the official international records. The Aussies (or, at least the ARL) may not count the SL one as an international. But the IRL do. I think I was at all of these, annd the Oz - NZ ones aside from the first 95 World Cup one.

I like having players the Aussie won’t know or bother to find out about, and so would be more than happy to see Ashton and Johnstone on the wings. They will all know how to make Young’s life as difficult as possible.

It is worth repeating: nothing has happened to SRD which was not entirely predictable last autumn. They had insufficient income to pay their debts from their ongoing business and no one in a position to pay them on their behalf. No sponsors have withdrawn, nobody has defaulted on their debts to SRD, no sugar daddy has walked away. In 2025, for the first time year we selected the line up of SL on the understanding that those 12 teams were the 12 best teams after an evaluation process. Somebody prepared a report on SRD, including its financial position, and presented it to the clubs. In years gone by, we would be in “such is life” mode, but here we had the chance to do something about it. We all deserve to see the report and recommendation that was presented to the clubs, because on the basis of the decision taken by the clubs after reviewing that report, the RFL and the game may shortly be faced with a choice between bankrupting itself having to bail Salford out, or breaching the Sky contract, which may lead to the same outcome.

O’Neill has the chance to prove whether or not he is worth his place. My instinct is to go with more of a maverick/runner at 9, but from what I have seen O’Neill would not let us down. Nicholson showing the world his potential is really handy for us as he gives us much more than this version of Bateman. At prop potentially 3 of Wigan’s squad - Thompson, Harvard and Walters - could be good enough to do a job, giving us more strength in depth than we might have feared. That’s not to discount others, simply to say that to my mind they may cower the hurdle of being good enough. So far so good as far as England players are looking this year.

If you are constantly pinned and under pressure, and behind on the scoreboard, errors happen. Especially in those conditions. They were induced by Wigan’s control and discipline. They flowed from Wigan’s excellent play. Once we had the ball we put on beautiful moves for 2 of the tries. Saints’ 2 tries also stemmed from Wigan mistakes, but again they were the result of Saints pressure and the first in particular was well executed.

Is it correct when it states that entering into administration would mean they would drop down a division next year under IMG’s gradings? (I didn’t call them IMG’s gradings, they did, so those who characterise them as the clubs’ gradings can seek a retraction from the Sun).

LOL - 3 sports and a pastime.

I am not sure this is an attendance thread point, but I was wondering whether the extent to which a ground looks fullish for TV is as (or more) important in TV revenue terms than the absolute figures. So, a full house of 8k at Trinity may be more important/valuable to us oddly than 10k at Huddersfield? While there are fewer than half the number of people at Leigh than at the Piedome, it looks and sounds terrific. And for the casual viewer there may be little difference in the impact it makes…

I agree. He is developing into a class forward. This win highlighted the brilliance of Peet’s coaching in a couple of ways. The 2 Field tries were perfectly executed complicated trick shot moves, and Walters’ improvement another example that players just get better and better under him.

Burgess is a good left winger. He doesn’t want to be. But he is.

Or perhaps you are. It isn’t me who ascribes any slither of good news regardless of context to the people who gave us the assessment system that lead to SL25 featuring an exciting new “Which Salford this week?” quiz game

Maybe. Or, according to the article above, Vegas. Brought to us by the initiative of 2 world class clubs, one of whom is marketing the world record breaking Ashes series. Though I notice that the sun was shining when I was out earlier, and I don’t remember it doing so before IMG came along…

I think we have played a blinder. I have a v v slight annoyance that, if we had locked in the weekends and a rough plan (London weekend 1, north west weekend 2, Yorkshire weekend 3) even before finalising the details, that could have increased the prospects of getting more Aussies over.

England only played in 3 of those. But we will be up to 4 soon enough. It does show how huge the Everton crowd is though.

You legend.