OMEGA

There are no rumours! The plans lodged with Wakefield planning department are very detailed and under no one’s judgement could they be dismissed as ‘a few sketches’ unless they had a prejudice. I am as skeptical as they come and I’m certainly not a rose tinted blind, follower of those who run Trinity yet I fully expect this development to happen.

Let’s be totally honest then! The sports with whom we compete closest may have declining participation but they start from a level of participation which dwarfs ours and they’re not at the critically low level that Rugby Leagues at. Also they are immeasurably stronger and richer in other areas of their sport. The new magazine programme was welcome but it wasn’t on a par with those of other sports not even past programmes that Rugby League once enjoyed. NRL coverage was at a high because the Super League was put on hold, as soon as we started playing games again the NRL coverage was pared back to almost nothing. The 2019 Lions Tour was I’ll conceived and thrown together but I admit prior to the Tour I was excited to see a Lions Tour again. The experience of it didn’t live up to the expectation largely due to the ramshackle way it was thrown together and the disrespect shown by some toward the Lions traditions. The fact that I and so many were excited to see a tour surely shows that they are something we sorely need back on a regular calendar. I really hope we can get regular 4 yearly Tours by the big 3 back on the Rugby League agenda. I’d love to see some club games as part of those tours though I recognise 13 or 14 games is a thing of the past but who could forget the unofficial 4th Test Vs Wigan and the amazing spectacles of Leeds, St Helens & Hull giving it to the Ausie midweek team. Likewise getting up at 5am to watch Great Britain take on Manly, St George and Parramatta. Im glad to hear that Bet Fred are paying more for their sponsorship, let’s hope we can get the CC, Test matches and the lower divisions sponsored again. Ive become the profit of doom in this thread which is far from my usual position.

I’m not advocating anyone being thrown out, I said if Wakefield improve and modernise their stadium then Castleford might find themselves under added pressure. This could be especially so if the RFL & SL decide that the outward image of the sport needs to look more vibrant and modern to the casual sports fan. To be honest though, we’ve used ‘other metrics’ to justify a teams continued inclusion for as long as I can remember and it isn’t achieving the results we desire. I’d love for us to be in a stronger position as a sport and for promotion & relegation to be the only deciding factor in who plays in what league. Unfortunately the world has changed and we are competing in a sport/business that is ruthless. The strong will survive and the weak will fade into oblivion, that’s Rugby Leagues fate if we don’t find a way to arrest the decline. I’m straying away from the OPs intended message, I apologise for that but this is one natural line of discussion when talking about new stadiums, Castleford, Wakefield and the health of the game.

I’m not desperate anything! The game is shrinking at an alarming rate and it was long before Covid-19s effect. We've lost huge numbers of amateur teams and in some cases whole amateur clubs have disappeared. The latest Sport England participation numbers were dire and well down on 10 to 15 years ago. Viewing figure have fallen drastically over the same period of time and with that fall we’ve lost coverage and magazine shows like SL Extra Time, Boot n All, Championship coverage has pretty much disappeared and NRL coverage is well down. We can’t attract headline sponsors for our Top Tier Competition and have basically given Rights away. The international game has all but vanished apart from the World Cup! We no longer have Full Lions/Kangaroo/ Kiwi Tours, we no longer have Tri Nations competitions and we have to beg The NRL to play the WCC every year. Now believe it or not I’m not a doom monger and I’m not ringing the bell for the demise of the game but the above are all facts and we can’t afford to ignore the direction of travel the games been following for well over a decade. Something has to change and it needs to be something big and meaningful that will reinvigorate the game and help it arrest the decline.

With no disrespect to Oldham, Championship 1 or even The Championship they aren’t the face of Rugby League that we present to the world at large on a weekly basis. Its just my opinion but driven by the falling participation numbers and viewing figures I think the RFL and broadcast partners will realise they need to make big changes and be ruthless! A rebrand is needed across the game but in particular through the top tier clubs and both the BBC & SKY presentation of the game. I don’t think late 19th and very early 20th century dilapidated stadiums will fit the rebrand.

At some point in the future, not sure if it’ll be sooner or later, the RFL and Super League will grow some testicles and get serious about stadium standards. When they do the clubs that can’t match their requirements will be served a notice of demotion which will allow them a short period of time to complete the necessary building work or prepare for the Championship. Currently that would mean Wakefield Trinity closely followed by Castleford Tigers, however, if Wakefield complete the improvements currently under planning review then Castleford may well find themselves on a fast track out of SL. Why a fast track? One of SLs conundrums with Wakefield and Castleford is they have by far the worst stadiums but they have arguably the richest catchment area for talent and youth development in the whole game. If you removed both from SL then you risk shrinking the talent base for young players as there is no top tier club to isnpire the kids to pick up a rugby ball, no local community work and no local heroes who went to their school or lived at the end of their Road. If (IF) Wakefield (or Castleford for that matter) build a stadium that’s fit for purpose then they solve that conundrum for the RFL & SL leaving the other WMDC SL club under more pressure as the game tries to improve its media image. It was a fact not lost on former Wakefield Council leader Peter Box who blocked, schemed and prevaricated over all of Wakefield Trinity’s stadium plans at every opportunity! For those who do not know Box was/is a Tigers fan and shareholder.

Trevor Woodward was completely correct back in the late 70s to early 80s when he said a new ground at the yet to be developed land around what is now Pugneys. Unfortunately and like many clubs at the time, Trinity were a members club run by a committee of small time business men with limited imagination and ambition. They rejected Woodward’s proposal and diminished him in the eyes of the members so much so that he lost the Chairmanship and not long after had nothing to do with Trinity. If his vision had come to fruition, Wakefield Trinity would have emerged as one of the giants of the game. Wakefield would have had facilities as good as anyone, they’d have been attractive to new signings, the best juniors, sponsors, advertisers and hospitality. The location would have been accessible being straight off M1 junction 39 and just 2 miles south of the M62/M1 intersection. Better facilities and improved accessibility would have seen greater numbers of home and away fans, all money flowing into the coffers of Wakefield Trinity. Instead we’ve had Scaif, Ingram, Richardson, Pearman ect as Chairmen and we’ve played out of an uninviting dump that attracts no one but especially not big sponsors or advertisers. 40 years of missed opportunity and who knows how many finals etc. Sliding doors eh?

Wakefield Trinity won the Championship Grand Final which was the culmination of a play off tournament whose stated goal was that the winner would gain a Super League place. How then did Wakefield “hoodwink” the RFL? For the record Wakefield Trinity also won the League Leaders Shield that year and were clearly the best team outside SL and possibly already better than a couple of clubs already in SL. The popular urban myth that Wakefield promised a new stadium is just that, a myth it is untrue, a falsehood often quoted by so called fans of the game who are ignorant of the facts.

I’m guessing that comment came from former Cas Tiggers Chairman Richard Wright. He’s got form for doing stuff like this!

He worked within a much better defence at Sts, he’ll have to adjust to the poorer defensive systems that exist in the NRL.

Ryan Sutton was the standout Englishman this morning IMO. Williams was great with the boot but between them none of the Canberra playmakers could open the Roosters defence which was just too well organised and committed. Whitehead was solid and looked likely a couple of times without actually ever breaking the line. Bateman was good in defence and kept Cordner in check but he never troubled the Roosters line with his trademark footwork and odd style. The Roosters still look a cut above everyone when the big games come, if they continue in this mood and form they’ll win it for a 3rd time.

Strikes me that it’s an Ausie coach who thinks he knows better and is he’ll bent on reinventing Thompson despite seeing how good he is over here.

He didn’t carry the pack at Sts, Roby, Walmsley, LMS to name but 3 other quality players in the Sts pack. Im a big fan of Thompson’s but let’s not get beyond ourselves

Given that most of them are Aussies I’d be surprised if there aren’t 300 more effective whingers in the NRL!

My thoughts would be to scrap the grandparent(s) & residency rules and stick strictly to where you were born or parent(s) qualification. Victor Radley is a superb player and has made his choice, good luck to him! Ive also stated my opinion on national teams a few times in the past. As far as I’m concerned it’s our best against the best of of nations and that includes everyone from the Manager to the bloke who rolls the socks into pairs with a stick of Wriggleys chewing gum. If we prove to be not good enough then we know we need to improve and if we win the next World Cup then it’s a complete victory for the nation and not diluted or shared with another nation who provided elements of our team for us. Simple with credibility, not contrived & shallow!

Ryan Hall might as well come home and Watkins looks to be done as a top tier player.

Correct been a left winger for Leeds but both sides at international level incorrect, the ref was Sutton and his brother was the video ref. Biggest stitch up at international level I’ve ever seen!

lol Thanks for that, you've just releived an unnatural amount of pressure in alf of Hull. It's like some strange form of turrets syndrome!

Go on say it, you know you want to .

Won't be long now!

Ha Ha Wait for it It's coming lol

It's not win win, I want England to win the World cup end of. . . But their chances of doing so nosedived when SM took control, he's clueless and has made a string of poor decisions

OH The irony! I certainly wasn't as quick as you to jump on this thread. You're living in a fantasy world Chris, MCNamara manufactured a situation that was unacceptable to Brough or for that matter any player with an ounce of self respect, he did it on purpose and made no real attempt to hide it. I like Sinfield, he's looked World class for Leeds but has had no more than 2 or 3 decent games at international level, he's had his chance and failed.

Is that a joke because if it is, you've left out the funny bit. Sinfields a 34 time failure at international level. The Australians and to a slightly lesser extent the Kiwis will tear him to shreds, they must be laughing their collective kocks off! McNamara not picking Brough in a 40 man ETS was nothing more than an attempt to publicly humiliate Danny, so much so that the aim was to leave Broughy with nowhere to go but out of the England camp. Brough has been the stand out player in SL this season and it's incompetence to the extreme on McNamaras part that he can't manage the squad better.