gingerjon

Now on the main Sport Featured page. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/l0056y4m/rugby-league-challenge-cup-2025-bradford-bulls-v-castleford-tigers

There won't be. The iPlayer is genuinely appalling for finding sport, particularly live sport. That goes across all sports.

It does sound quite fun, doesn’t it?

BBC are showing Bradford v Castleford on the iPlayer and Sport website.

It didn’t work. The idea that journalism pays the bills by clickbait and/or rage shares has long ago been somewhat disproved by those who pedal it consistently losing money.

It's probably the double whammy of his recent pre-written, "This Challenge Cup format has failed" before a game in the round had even kicked off, followed by this, that got me. I'd probably normally let it slide. But, yes, RFL/SL need to be a lot better at leading the narrative.

We've had quite a tough off season after a few difficult years. But the start of this Super League season actually hits at an optimistic time in the sense that the clubs within it look stronger than they have been for a while, we've just had/are having a surprisingly lovely Challenge Cup round, and we've got rid one of the problems of previous years, that of overlapping kick off times. All that *and a trip to Vegas*.

We get so few media articles. If this was one out of a bunch then I'd barely notice it. Football, even RU, have their dour columns, after all. Cricket practically revels in misery. But this will likely be the only real article for several days.

Not me. Well, not on this occasion. The doomladen groupthink in the RL media gets another airing: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/08/bright-lights-of-las-vegas-cannot-dim-the-dark-clouds-over-super-league Comments on the original bowel movement are sadly closed.

I'm sure we will get another page about how the Challenge Cup is dying but, going on experience, that will be based on pretending that there has been some time in past forty years when a non semi final/final game was a bigger draw between two sides who will play each other in Super League. If the draw is made next weekend, that's still four weeks before the games.

Obvious astroturf group is obvious

It does feel as if the new format is doing what it should in terms of giving the whole game something to talk about and positive things to take from the matches.

"Take the Championship heavyweights Halifax, winners in 1987. They drew Catalans at home this weekend but, with the tie moved to noon on Saturday for streaming purposes, plus the prospect of no away travelling support from France, this does not represent the money-spinning occasion they were promised." https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/06/challenge-cup-romance-returns-but-has-rfls-revamp-backfired-rugby-league

Quite possibly the most minor moan in this history of this forum.

I hope the same journos who used this Halifax v Catalans game as a stick to beat the Challenge Cup might reflect that waiting until after the game was played might have been a smarter and more honest approach.

I say we when talking about rugby league, Aberystwyth Town and people who like film noir. Plenty of other things too. Those things, and my interest in them, are not even an extension of who I am. They are part of it. Seems odd to me to spend your time on messageboards for something if that isn't the case.

That's fair. I'd slightly counter it by saying in terms of seeing what look like reasoned improvements in teams and clubs in the pro and semi pro sphere, it's been a while since we had so many heading in the right direction. As always, I'd then argue against myself by saying the game as a whole is still a right mess, just not as a big a mess as far too many defeatists like to say. And we're bigger than darts, and that's the main thing.

So a smaller number, a bit of smoke and mirrors money, a lot of misdirected money, and no realistic strategy. The hope is that we do better.

I think you can include Midlands in the “on the up” from what’s been said on here.

I’d be very keen to incorporate the National League into the EFL - if only to shut down the worst management committee in the non leagues.

No, I think his agent and Sky had an idea and ran with it. That doesn’t mean it has no benefits for everyone involved.

It’s boosting his standing in his home town. It probably boosts his image more broadly as a working class lad who knows his roots. That’s not nothing.

If that were true, he wouldn’t be there.

Sounds about right. We’ve had a few darts/RL crossovers. They are mostly fun because the chosen dartists know they have to stay in character. Not quite sure how these things always end up going down a rabbit hole of how insignificant RL is but it’s clearly a kink some RL fans enjoy.

More than happy to accept that Luke Littler is the draw in the story over and above Warrington. Now, how would it be if Wigan did something with their biggest fan drawn from the PDC ranks.