Dave T

Surprises me to see SkyBet have Wire as slight favourites for this one. Leigh +2

Yup. What could possibly go wrong?

They stop you at the Grand Final now due to trouble from RL fans.

Or they could do what SL did to the ARL?

Ah yes. The only changes that are real changes are the ones that you guys decided. And it still surprises some people when people refer to the Aussie arrogance on display.

There are quite a few camps at play, including: - those who are supportive of seeing through the changes that IMG have proposed with their reimigining RL strategy - those who are not happy with the current position and want a review to propose changes to the strategy - those who support NRL involvement and the changes they are proposing There are more views than the above, but pretty much every segment is about how we make changes to the game. No matter how many times people like you claim we are adverse to change, simply because we don't pander to you.

IMO the mentality around Magic Weekend has changed a fair bit since it's inception. I don't think the aim or focus is on getting fans to stay in the ground for multiple matches. Obviously I don't have any stats, but it'd be investing to compare the flow of people in and out of the ground throughout the day. I've done MW a few different ways, but after all these years my optimal setup is to enjoy the host city and watch my teams game plus half of the game prior to it. This sees your own fans build up, the atmosphere grow and you get to watch 40m of rugby from another game. Three hours in a cold stadium in the UK watching rugby is probably enough, and ideally being able to watch other matches in a bar is enjoyable. The beauty of Magic Weekend is less about the in bowl stuff now I believe (outside of your own game), and I think that we can embrace this and to do that I think we can go huge outside and make our fanzone impress new fans, sponsors, partners etc with that presence. After 18 years the on field stuff is taking care of itself somewhat. I do think a 50k+ ground is too big, but getting the right ground in the right location is tough.

The atmosphere in town was a touch odd i found with Newcastle United playing too. Being in the Stack fanzone was a bit jarring as it was the NUFC fanzone and they were making announcements about their team whereas I think it would be brilliant if it was all around the RL. It did make it clear we were a bit part.

Ah. Joke you say?

I mean the one we brought with us in the transit van. Couldn't see the one in the ground due to the weird location.

I had a great day on Sunday. But I must admit, I find the stadium too big for the event. It's a perfect location and the surrounding fanzone thing is great, but it does lead to a small crowd in there and it all feels a bit echoey in the bowl. Things like the sound system was poor and the big screen like a portable. It is a good event, but I do think it maybe feels a little cheap. We probably get away with it because Newcastle is such a fun city, but it's more of a booze up than a major quality RL event.

You have loop fixtures though so can keep two derbies in Hull

I'm OK with what we did today.

She did exactly the same after last week's Leeds game.

Any mention of today's crowd? Rare for it not to be announced on social media and stuff.

We just never see people's knees in the face like that, but apparently there is nothing else a catch can do. The logic doesn't work there, because players do different things pretty much every single time.

I think that's red. The commentators, as usual describe foul play as an accident, despite that just never being a feature of other ball contests.

No.

Hmm. That is not a natural leg movement.

Good point

I disagree, but the video ref doesn't claim that. He claims pulling it backwards is a knock on.

The description was very clear. You can't use the floor to gather a ball. Pulling the ball towards you on the ground is a knock on apparently, despite meeting no criteria of a knock on.

What kind of rule is this? Since when has been pulling the ball towards you on the floor been a knock on? Where exactly is the knock on? That is nothing like the definition of a knock on.

I don't think it's simply a case of good or bad, current set up or NRL. This isn't just a binary thing, and anyone presenting it as such is probably way off. There are absolutely things that suggest this could be a good move, similarly there are many red flags that mean we need to be very careful. The conversations need to be really balanced, objectives clear, and ownership models very unambiguous. What we can't do is bend over and pull our pants down because there has been a negging campaign that useful idiots have been brainwashed through.

Whatever we think about free speech and 'telling it like it is' etc. It just isn't an SL players role to be calling the comp horrendous and slating our biggest partner. That is bringing the game into disrepute. There is nothing smart, nuanced, clever about what he is saying, and as much as the likes of Davidson like to be negative, claiming Keary is being brave is a joke.