gogledd

"I love a bit of biff, me!"

Bit more than a 4 points win in the end?

London Broncos Bradford Bulls Featherstone Rovers Barrow Raiders Widnes Vikings Oldham Sheffield Eagles Halifax Panthers

I live in North Wales so when Crusaders RL came north the Racecourse Wrexham in 2010 they immediately became my Super League team....until they folded two seasons later. With no more Super League in Wales a few of us chose to support Catalans Dragons and became the unofficial Welsh Branch of their Supporters Club. Of course now I 'm a North Wales Crusaders regular (home and away) and a Chester Gladiators Masters player (and referee). We've made great friends with fans from Newcastle, Oldham and Midlands (Coventry Bears) so those three teams would feature for me in making an alternative choice. Apparently Chester Gladiators have some relationship as a club with Warrington Wolves but there is no real evidence of them reaching out to us as one of their 'feeder' clubs. I'll stick with Catalans Dragons for my SL team - although watching them can be very frustrating!

Just got in from Dewsbury. First, thanks to the Rams fans near us, great banter and loads of friendly fire too. Thanks to the Dewsbury Rams for being great hosts and making us feel welcome. Considering the weather and the pitch it was a reasonably good game although the ref left it a very long time before giving held down or six-again! The game was fairly even for 20 minutes but Crusaders got the upper hand and really didn't take the foot off the gas except right at the end to let the Rams in - I doubt the coach will be happy with that one error but if I'd been offered 10 - 20 score line at the start of the day I'd have happily taken it! Well done all the Crusaders players and staff.... and now an enormous break until we play again... I just hope it doesn't disrupt the lads preperation for our next League 1 game in Goole.

Wins for Halifax Panthers, Bradford Bulls, Featherstone Rovers, Oldham, Widnes Vikings and Toulouse Olympique.

I'll plump for Vikings (another close game), Cougars and Lions to win - but all three games could go either way. Same at Dewsbury but I think we'll just sneak it. Crusaders to win by 2 points.

It should be a good game...Midlands looking strong this season too. The ground is being developed but theres plenty od standing room and a small sheltered stand to watch from. I'm not sure sitting in the seats would be an advantage - they looked very low and I doubt the view would be great. I didn't eat or drink in the stadium so can't comment on the fare or the prices. We had a pint in the railway club and the Tom Pudding pub near by and I'd recommend both of them. If you like a decent pint or real ale the Tom Pudding is a good bet and opens at 11:00 on match days.

Not a bad summary that. It was as close as it suggested at 18 all, but Goole deserved the win with two good tries toward the end of the game. Goole looked well drilled and will end up with a decent set up if all the plans for the ground go ahead. The Crusaders fans received a warm welcome at the stadium and at two local pubs and I'm sure we'll be back for the League 1 games in the near future. Good luck to Goole Vikings in the next round of the 1895 Cup

All home wins..... maybe Fax may squeek an away win

I'm going to the game at Goole Vikings. Our first visit to a new ground and hopefully an away win for North Wales Crusaders - but I think it will be a really close game. Crusaders so far have been very impressive with massive wins at Cornwall and Newcastle and a really close game against Widnes Vikings last Sunday> Goole have recruited well and look like a well funded outfit. A big test for both teams and an indicator of how close L1 will be this season. Cougars, Lions and Rams to win the other three games.

I saw Goole play a tremendous game vs London Broncos...they seem to have recruited well and be well supported financially...I wouldn't discount them from the League 1 season, which will be really competitive now that only the top 4 get into the end of season play-offs.

I listened to your coaches assessment of the game on X and he was very complimentary of the Crusaders performance particularly our first half. I'd agree that he definitely got a response second half and we found it difficult to get into the Widnes 20m zone. A great game and a good turn out by both sets of fans. (1400ish?) Good luck to Widnes in the next round of the Challenge Cup. I hope you get a top 4 SL team at home - and a few of us Crusaders fans can come across to Widnes to watch the game.

Big scores for Midlands and North Wales Crusaders today. I have Crusaders winning 0 - 60 at full time, which makes it a date with Goole Vikings in the next round. Crusaders yet to concede a point, which will be a big positive for the coaches. It will be another level when we play Widnes Viking next weekend in the Challenge Cup and coach Carl Forster will have the headache of picking his 17 from all those who played in the last two games.

Due to wide spread disruption following ongoing water outages in North Wales, Saturday’s pre-season friendly against London Broncos shall now take place at Robin Park Arena, Wigan, at 2pm. Having been in communication with Conwy Council and monitored the situation with Welsh Water, the fixture was unable to take place at Stadiwm CSM with water supply expected to still be off or, at best, limited tomorrow. Given the short notice, the club has made every effort to ensure that the fixture still takes place, and as such the confirmed venue is Robin Park Arena, Wigan. Tickets purchased for the game shall still be valid with anyone unable to attend due to the venue change asked to email commercial@nwcrusadersrl.com. Further information regarding hospitality shall be released in the coming hours. We apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Fixture Details: North Wales Crusaders V London Broncos Venue: Robin Park Arena, Wigan Kick Off: 2pm Tickets: £12 Adults, FREE for Under 16’s

North Wales Crusaders v London Broncos is still on. ...Saturday 18th January. 3pm kick of at Stadiwm Eirias Parc, Colwyn Bay.

Here's wishing London Skolars all the best. Always enjoyed our visits to New River and Enfield. Its good that RL will still continue at Skolars; just a shame they're not still in League 1.

You mean in addition to North Wales Crusaders who have, of course, played in the Challenge Cup competition for the last 14 years. Excellent report @welshmagpie. Glad to hear there was a decent turnout and that the Fighting Irish gave Blackbrook a decent game.

We visited Blaydon for our away fixture when we played Thunder last season. It was a very hot day so no issues - apart from a few red faces that came without sunscream! I could imagine it wouldn't be much fun in really poor weather as there's no cover apart from the stand....and its already been said the main clubhouse is quite a way from the pitch. Re: League 1 clubs using RU facilities - many have no other choice and Crusaders have benefitted by ground share... our current stadium, while owned by Conwy County Council has been used by and developed by the Welsh RU and the Rygbi Gogledd Cymru team and has facilities that are top quality compared to some other grounds. We've also played at Chester RUFC , Rhyl, RUFC, Nant Conwy RUFC and Caldy RUFC grounds when our pitch was being redeveloped. Our experience has been positive in the main, but there have been occasions where games have been rescheduled due to the demands of the WRU.

I was just about to post this, but @JonM beat me to it.....seems current conditions in Widnes are for ice to remain for the next couple of days and the pitch to be unplayable.

Very true. My thoughts were more with the TV production team setting up in the best (or probably most convenient) place for them. Other posters were suggesting moving the camera point - that's probably dictated by the proximity to the production unit, rather than consideration for getting a shot of the crowd - after all they're there to film the game not the audience!

I watch League 1 games so big crowds are never really a consideration! But thinking about the logistics for a TV company they're going to set up in the stand nearest to the location of the rigs in the car park - less work to set up, shorter cable runs, less effort required by riggers and other staff etc....so is it up to the clubs to sell out the stand opposite as a first option and then fill the other stands as sales increase?

A shame North Wales Crusaders have decided not to enter at Super League level again. Perhaps the teams feel they need another year out for development but from what I saw of them last season I think they could compete in a tournament with 6 teams. I'm sure they'll do well in the Championship and the development leagues though; it's just a shame they get very little coverage at that level. IMHO Wales need a team back in Super League or we'll fall behind at international level - going into RLWC2021 Wales were 3rd in the world; we now look like falling behind Ireland and perhaps Scotland in the near future if development and competitive game time isn't available for our international players.

Thanks for the heads up! I've refreshed mine now

We've tried Saturday games...sometimes it works (vs Oldham last season for example) and sometimes it makes very little difference. Most people I speak to tend to prefer Sunday games but I accept thats not a scientific sample!