Magic XIII
-
Posts
536 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Magic XIII
-
-
2 hours ago, sam4731 said:
Thank goodness IMG have come in to restore London to it's glory days!
It's not for IMG to restore London, it's David Hughes as the current custodian. If he isn't able or doesn't want to, then he should find someone who will (easier said than done) or we, the fans, have to accept where we are at.
-
10 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:
I was thinking the exact same....some great memories of fuller crowds and competitive squads
Like all things Broncos, several highs - World Club Championship beating Canberra, 2nd in league, McLinden, Hill, Retchless, Gill, Wardy, vibrant bar and post match music, kids zones and lows - Gus Mackay, heavy defeats, heavy opening night defeats, downward trajectory, falling out (again) with landlords ....... and funnies, Warrington fan(s) burning jerseys after getting flogged, will always stick with me!
-
2
-
-
2 hours ago, phiggins said:
The lowest attended club in SL is in the biggest city in the country.
Is currently a basket case, ill run and underperfomring since the 00s. Done well, it would be a different story.
-
18 hours ago, Griff said:
The snag is that you might find that the game's not worth supporting.
No Sky funds, no Wembley trip, no Challenge Cup games against Superleague teams, even for the few - what's not to like?
Quite a bit.
I hate comparing to Aus but NRL franchise based (with the glass ceiling) below which hugely popular, well supported, TV screened, vibrant Queensland and NSW Cup competitions, some teams twinned with NRL clubs. It's a mind set thing, with SL being seen as the be all and end all.
-
On 31/03/2024 at 17:17, ATLANTISMAN said:
London isn't a provincial town like Perpignan that's the difference.
Everyone in the game knows that some clubs are pushing IMG to make it an M62 sport and push out the Dragons Toulouse etc.
Only savior will be the NRL starting a new comp and draining the swamp.
NRL might fancy dipping their toes in the SL water. What does Greater London / SE offer, that M62 doesn't and the NRL are desperate to find ? Untapped potential player pool. Buy Broncos for a song from DH, put in place capable off field staff and most importantly a well structured player identification and development programme.
-
2
-
-
19 hours ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:
.... off in Meadows position.
I have never known Meadows position, he is awful, a turnstile in defence and a poor mans Lee Gakell in attack. I would begrudge giving him the water to run on.
-
4 hours ago, Damien said:
What are London Broncos in their current guise doing for mini and junior RL?
I absolutely agree there needs to be pathways and professional teams in London. Hughes has said he isn't particularly interested in providing that either.
In my time connected with London Junior League they have done very very little other than turn up to the end of season Origin Series and promote their pathways. Granted the London League runs clubs from Ipswich to Bromley, Elmbridge to Hemel, ie a huge area.
-
1
-
1
-
-
21 hours ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:
Just checked on the SKY website and London Broncos do not feature in any matches up to July that are not Red button or streaming.
Which says something that is not positive.
Says their involvement in SL this year is pointless from the IMG perspective for 2025, and as a result, the squad they have assembled has no recognisable w/class talent that folk will tune in to watch.
-
On 02/01/2024 at 16:25, N2022 said:
One plus for Broncos, especially given how long it would take me to get in from Hertfordshire, is that they have a few weekend mid-afternoon games lined up in the spring. As per my previous gripes about Rhinos, our nearest club when we were up north, Headingley has no 3pm starts before June...
St Albans (Hertfordshire) straight to Haydons Road, perfect, then 10mins walk. Only been a couple of times but other than one way 90mins, its an ok experience, IF the team are competing.
-
3 hours ago, Bradman Better said:
I am sure that this Las Vegas adventure will do nothing for the growth of rugby league in the USA. The only way that it could help is if the gambling project could raise enough money to be invested into the development of the game in schools in north America
There is only one model for such growth, and that was the Toronto Wolfpack just before Covid killed it. A billionaire Australian investor and recreation of the Wolfpack professional club in Canada, along with another club in a major Canadian city -- either Montreal (the best choice) or Ottawa -- would be great. That would need to be followed by the creation of a professional clubs in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. Those clubs in turn would form the north American conference of Super League.
There is just one huge stumbling block; where can you find the players to fill these teams with professional players of Super League standard? Toronto managed to find enough players for one team. But six teams? Impossible at this time, especially given the plans of the NRL to expand its own competition with up to three new teams in the coming years.
So I would say try to start up two teams in north America -- Toronto and New York -- participating in the European Super League competition. You will need two Australian billionaires to do that. Lachlan Murdoch could be one of them. Then use these starting teams as magnets for current rugby union and NFL rejects to join, and with the help of a few senior Australians, Kiwis, and English players, teach them how to play rugby league. Then NRL money could be used to promote development in the schools. If that limited experiment is successful, then you could add Chicago Montreal, Boston and Philadelphia over time, to make up the north American conference of Super League. But of course television coverage would have to be part of the project, otherwise there will be no corporate sponsors.
Personally I would think that development of the game in France would be much easier, with Australian billionaire owners and NRL money starting up professional teams in Paris and Lyon (where there have been rugby league teams in the past) to join Catalans and Toulouse in Super League. Once you have four professional French teams in Super League you will start to really grow the game in France, strengthen the French national team considerably, and create a serious international competition and World Cup. Having France as well as England competitive will also make the game of rugby league more interesting for north American youth to want to play.
Year 1 is the embryo, stick with it and by year 5 the investment of time and money will come to fruition. Everything has to start somewhere !!
-
3
-
-
4 hours ago, İzmir Rugby League said:
Clearly there was an oversight or something. I suspect it was simply a connection from one of the players who went.
HOWEVER ... The NRL is running, with the USARL, the Vegas 9's and offering 20 thousand to the men's champion and 20 thousand to the women's. Those teams involved will also get twenty free tickets to the game.
Utah RL have a right to be annoyed but if they are smart they will end up rolling with it because there is too much to gain from being connected to the Vegas events.
You can gaurantee the 9's (and masters game) will be the biggest RL event in domestic Rugby League in the USA ever.
I think, with the combine, if this can continue strongly for five years and it's links with UFC etc this will end up massive for local Rugby League as well.
Thank goodness for some big picture thinking on what is a well planned, highly financed, well produced investment vs some small fry minor issue. M62 thinking yet again.
-
1
-
-
Actor, Mike Walling, sadly now deceased was a big Salford fan and spent many summer Saturday afternoon in 00/10s watching St Albans Centurions.
-
David Hughes will be fed up of funding a decent academy set up and having the best harvested off for little gain. Now he is saying 'up yours' to the RFL, if you want to tap into development potential outside the saturated M62 corridor, you need to do it with your own money. Cuttign his nose of, possibly, but understandable.
-
3
-
-
On 09/11/2023 at 19:24, sam4731 said:
To be fair, I assume it was beyond Londons wildest dream to be in SL next year. This is actually probably just an acceleration of their long term plans to be a sustainable SL club.
Plans - hahaha
-
4
-
-
IMG are shining a torch on each club. London Broncos (and I am a fan) are not immune to this. We've done well to get promoted, really well. But our preparedness for SL is what it is. We are signing Londoners back who either were cast offs, or who left at the first opportunity and NONE are SL standard, so we can infer David is planning for 25 in Championship and thereafter oblivion.
-
2
-
-
7 hours ago, JM2010 said:
For me the best way to spread the game, improve standards in the professional game and be successful on the international stage is to increase the amount of juniors playing rugby league.
How active are the professional clubs in their local areas, supporting existing community clubs, helping set up new clubs and getting into schools?
I assume Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and Leeds are the best at this but I could be wrong
More importantly how active are they in non local areas, tapping into the nationwide potential - I am sure they realise that lads can be outstanding rugby league players even though they aren't born on the M62
-
2
-
-
16 minutes ago, Fevrover said:
I think Fev and Bulls would have taken far more then 100 max to away games in SL.
I agree. I am referencing the Championship as the point was made its great getting rid of London and Toulouse from Championship as they bring few fans and the only differecne can be the promoted clubs Doncaster and Dewsbury, no doubt more but that significant ? And as I am writing this Newcastle Thunder fold. Not good.
-
2
-
-
12 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:
Agree completely , we see football crowds with fullish stadium's ( home fans ) and wonder why we struggle , and then we see posts citing how we need to create an ' event ' feel , well here's a bit of advice , the best way to create the feeling of an event is a good atmosphere, a good following of away fans ( who always sing and chant louder away than at home ) is better than anything else like bands and fireworks to create the feeling of the game being important and an event
By the same token I have watched packed football stadia, in fact sports stadia and its been like a library. If the offering on the field is tedious, that doesnt inspire the fans
-
18 hours ago, Rovers13 said:
I know that’s tongue in cheek lol, but getting toulouse and London out of championship is a good thing for the game as a whole, champ clubs need cash as they don’t sky money, and it also helps expand the game win win for me.
The promoted clubs bringing maybe a 100 max more fans than London or Toulouse to Championship grounds is hardly going to fill the coffers, but I get your point.
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:
Where do Fev go from here?
Hopefully down the toilet where they belong
-
1
-
2
-
1
-
4
-
-
Funniest thing ever. I gave us no chance but I didnt factor in Fev bottling it.
-
4
-
1
-
-
Lovely, just need a York win and were off to Toulouse.
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:
Pleased Swinton survived, gives us an away game within 50 miles.
Makes no odds to us as its still 150+ miles (unless we get promoted and then its 180+ miles)
-
1 hour ago, gingerjon said:
Rosslyn Park, though.
It's not going to be working class heroes there, is it?
Read 'on the whole' ... naturally there are hooray Henrys in society and maybe golf clubs and rugby clubs have more than their fair share but the vast majority of unionists I come across in the Heartlands of rugger are down to earth decent folk who are oblivious to 1895, who like playing /watching rugby league. It's that simple.
London Broncos v St Helens Venue Change
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted · Edited by Magic XIII
Agree, w/o the IMG grading it's conceivable Hughes might have dug deep and put a competitive side together.