Chris22

I've never been a fan of a double header for the cup semi finals. This leads to of half the stadium being empty for at least one of the semi finals, usually the second one as the fans who primarily attended for the first game go home. I'd rather see a near full house at stadiums like Warrington and Doncaster than a sparse Elland Road. I do admire the ambition of holding the event at a bigger stadium but getting around the issues of having a major event at a half full venue doesn't serve our sport in the best light, in my view.

I think our first aim, as stated earlier in this thread, should be getting lapsed fans back. Near enough all top flight sides had lower crowds from when capacity restrictions were lifted in July. That may be due to not having a season ticket, falling out of the habit, covid related concerns or a variety of other reasons. We need to get these fans back and rebuild the base of season ticket holders. Looking ahead, any impact of having more matches of TV will only be felt in 2023 onwards. The issue is how do we capitalise on, for example, the large numbers of locals in London, Newcastle, Coventry who may attend a match for the first time (or for a long time) at the World Cup? You also have the issue that, whilst many more eyeballs are on the sport next year, for fans in large swathes of the country, the sport is inaccessible. If you lived anywhere from the North Midlands southwards, you will have to travel a hell of a distance to see a top flight match. Any upturn in viewing will always be limited by that.

The Mole says it's happening on Twitter, and he's usually on the money. Don't watch NRL but a player who was in the Sydney starting line up last year should rip up the Championship.

To turn the subject slightly, but on a similar theme, there has been no team from Yorkshire in the Grand Final in 2017. Leeds have made some good signings but probably wouldn't be expected to reach the Grand Final this year either. I can't see any other Yorkshire team getting close. Quite the turnaround from how it used to be, especially due to Bradford's decline and Leeds hitting a relatively dry patch.

To be fair to the Aussies, I don't think it's unreasonable in principle to expect us to travel for the match on some occasions rather than them always coming here. But the tone of the comments give me no confidence for the World Cup next year, despite our meaningless 'legally binding' assurances.

A bit snobbish to be looking down on shops like Home Bargains. A discount store, yes, but offer good cheaper than many competitors, often to people who may not be able to afford to shop at pricier stores. They a successful, family run and local business, the largest employer in Merseyside and by all accounts a decent employer (and pays it fair share of tax unlike others). It supports a hell of a lot of families, especially in Merseyside and as a Saints fan, I have no sense of embarrassment in having them as our main sponsor.

If England come first, the QFs will likely be: England v PNG at Wigan and Tonga v Samoa at Bolton. If England come second, then you can reverse England and Samoa. Unless the England QF is guaranteed at Wigan? Both grounds are so close, we are fishing from the same fanbase. Whichever way the fixtures fall, I would certainly prefer to attend (and probably will attend) the Tonga QF whether England are in it or not.

I see the 10m rule going to 5m to reduce impact and a reduction in sub numbers to stop 'impact' players crashing into tired bodies.

A third participant in the first Grand Final (two players, one coach) are no longer with us - very sad indeed.

Here you go - the RFL's fans survey for 2021: RFL Annual Fan Survey 2021 (research.net)

Academy Stadium at the Etihad? Maybe slightly too small though?

I know comparing us to RU may not be wise but I'm going to do it anyway! When England hosted the union WC in 2015, the lowest crowd for a quarter final was 71,000. Here is a map of venues for the RU World Cup in 2015 and then ours in 2021 (at present). I know we need the majority of venues in the north but think we could have had a little more ambition (we seem to have contracted in terms of spread since 2013). If you are in large swathes of the country you are hundreds of miles from being able to attend a match, limiting its accessibility. 28 towns and cities made a bid to most a match (40 separate venues), the most interest we have ever had. I agree that the 80% target of matches in the north was sensible and also essential to secure funding, but feel 94% (as we currently have) is too high. One more match in an unexpected location does not seem to be too great of a risk, especially at the QF stage, which doesn't have the greatest appeal in the heartlands, but may have a greater appeal to a casual audience.

I'm not keen on a quarter final of a World Cup likely involving the host nation being played at a stadium with a capacity of 25,000. Seems to lack ambition (obviously appreciate the difficulties associated with the postponement) though. Especially since another quarter final (possibly Tonga v Samoa) will be at Bolton. Seems to be fishing from the same pond too much. Good, I suppose, that Aus / NZ have signed participation agreements last time. Although the latter did so for 2021 and then breached it without any form of sanction, so not getting too ahead of myself.

Is the Scottish international rugby union team a joke? Only 1 of their tryscorers in a 60 point win over Tonga the other week was Scottish born?

A reasonably interesting point that all five Man of Steel nominees were English but 3 (rightly or wrongly) probably won't make the England 17.

I think the names below are reasonably solid bets (barring injury) based on Wane's selections and comments in the past (not necessarily saying I agree). I think the question marks are still up for grabs and the players in brackets in order of most likely to fill those gaps. Tomkins ???????? (Davies, Johnstone, McGillvary) Percival ??????? (Gildart, Newman, Welsby, Hardaker, Farnworth, Lyne, Connor) Makinson Lomax Williams Walmsley Hodgson T Burgess Whitehead Bateman Knowles ?????? ?????? Farrell Clark Possible remaining bench spots between Thompson, Cooper, Oledzki, Sutton, Philbin, Watts, Currie. Half back remains the greatest concern for me as we do have an element of depth in every other position.

That side is outstanding apart from the half backs. Mind you, I suppose the same could be same for England!

I can't think of any downsides to that tbh!

I am excited and cautious in equal measure. Excited because its a chance to develop the sport in an area with little in the way of sporting competition. We have little to lose, even if this project does fail. We might as well try. I am cautious for obvious reasons. I wonder what due diligence has been put into this. Where will the players come from at such short notice? Will fortnightly long trips cause issues? Have we done anything or are we going to do anything to lay foundations to allow the club to grow. Anyway, never a dull moment in this sport!

Sounds good. I hope that next time an instance of alleged discrimination arises, it is not dealt with by a tiny fine and a well done for cooperating with our investigation (see Bradford v Newcastle this year), or as far as I am aware, not at all (Oledski's allegation of racist abuse earlier in the year).

I think we must also consider the possibility that both parties will want to avoid Court. The RFL for costs and bad publicity reasons and Goulding et al because him being cross examined would be a disaster (especially given his admissions of cheating concussion tests). In my non-expert view, an out of court settlement with a confidentiality clause strikes me as a reasonable possibility.

https://discover.ticketmaster.co.uk/sport/is-rugby-league-the-toughest-sport-in-the-world-1384/ For what it's worth, looks like Warrington conducted some research comparing tackle impact to car crashes.

Some very sad news indeed here, as Bobby Goulding has been diagnosed with dementia. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10133477/amp/Rugby-Leagues-dementia-crisis-Bobbie-Goulding-former-pros-open-diagnoses.html?__twitter_impression=true The story is leading tomorrow's back pages.

I think I tip Warrington most years to mentally prepare myself for when it finally happens!

Early days but... Champions - Warrington League Leaders - Saints Challenge Cup - Saints Relegated - Toulouse Championship winners - Fev 1895 Cup - Fev Relegated - Workington and Sheffield League 1 winner - Oldham Play off winners - Keighley Wooden Spoon - West Wales World Cup - Australia