Chris22

Clark is a top class player, no doubt he would be brilliant for any team lucky enough to have him. He has far fewer international caps than he deserves.

I held off on some tickets in the hope that I could select seats / at lease a block to sit in. Suppose we'll see if I can do that soon!

Viewing figures are brilliant, especially as one match was online only. Shame the BBC's matches this week clash with Super League on Sky, which will drag the viewing figures down.

I've set quite a bit to record throughout the week! Enjoyed watching the 2006 play off between Leeds and Warrington again. Absolutely brilliant match, couple of brilliant drop goals by Briers in it!

Neither would I. When I have seen him he's looked a good prospect, shame he hasn't got more game time considering he's 23 now. Hope to see more of him at Saints this year. Not seen much of Peats, but there must be something about him to reach the levels he has? Certainly offers another option at hooker rather than just running with Liam Hood.

Announcement coming tomorrow reportedly. Aaron Bower has put on Twitter that England will face the "Combined Nations All Stars" on 25 June. Will be the Exiles but can include players from other home nations too.

Better to make the call now rather than later, but it doesn't sit easily that a side may stay up on win percentage by virtue of playing fewer games than a relegation rival.

I have wondered the same. If you go in to a tackle with the shoulder, you create space between your head and the ball carrier's head. Banning the shoulder charge may lead more players to tackle 'front-on' creating the potential for more accidental head to head contact. I do agree with the tougher stance we have taken on shoulder charges to the head over the last decade, but not convinced an outright ban makes it much safer. All anecdotal I know!

Hard to complain about this. Out of all of the highlights, the 2000 World Cup games stand out for me, and the 2001 test against Australia.

Guessing they don't know you can upload private videos, since it's a test!

I read until the end and it was a very interesting insight into something that, I think, is probably impossible to understand unless you have those lived experiences. I consider myself to be quite inclusive, but this thread and especially your post makes me question whether I am. I wonder whether I have internalised prejudices that come out that I am not even aware of. Onto James Child, from what I have read today it paints a quite ugly picture of our sport's historical failings in dealing with homophobic abuse. Whilst it is nobody's business whether he 'comes out' publicly or not, it is pleasing if he encourages others to feel more welcome in our sport.

And one for Saints fans! A quiz of everyone who has kicked a goal in the last 30 years. http://forums.redvee.net/showthread.php?32421-Christmas-Quiz-Goal-Kickers

Have I made up that Craig Huby occasionally kicked goals for Castleford?

It's a relevant poll IMO. We have a relatively old fanbase and many may not return having either got out of the habit or due to health concerns. This could pose a big problem for the sport and cashflow, especially with lower league clubs.

Hard for me to say who the greatest player of all time is having watched the sport since around the start of the Super League era and only having seen highlights of the likes of Hanley etc. It's an interesting debate about what makes a great. There are some who may not have the most flash highlight reels but are incredibly dependent and influential, even if they didn't score the match winning try. Others who always pull it out of the bag. Does personality come into it? I'll caveat this next sentence, I am not saying he is the greatest of all time or even close, but Paul Sculthorpe in 2001 and 2002 was unbelievable. He was as close to a complete player that I have personally seen. He had everything; skill, toughness, a kicking game, a passing game, a hard tackler. If he hadn't suffered so many injuries, then I do wonder what if.

Not strictly on topic, but that Australia performance in the 2004 Tri Nations Final is the greatest team performance I have ever seen in rugby league. Britain had a good team that year, played a good series and were absolutely destroyed.

Fiji for me. Better start practicing my singing voice!

I remember the incident, but had no idea he ended up in Court. Holding ended up back at Saints doing half times year later. Didn't last long as he encouraged the pop to sing a derogatory song about Bradford. Unfortunately, for those who remember Knowsley Road, the Sky gantry was right above our fans and the song could be heard clearly. Which was Holding's aim of course. For some reason, the bosses at Sky didn't appreciate the words "f.. off, you're a c..." being broadcast.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned the community game yet. If you haven't already, I would take a look at Dave Woods' article for the BBC, which is a stark reminder of the issues at hand. Rugby league's community clubs face fight for survival in lockdown - BBC Sport We do not know what society will look like going forward. Are these restrictions going to be repeated annually, especially in winter? If so, that would be devastating for the sport. Will the restrictions lead to a society or generation who who have less interest in playing or watching sport in the flesh, and more satisfied consuming at home? Will people who watched out of habit stop? All of these things impact on finance and the sport generally. This question goes hand in hand with what will the UK look like in 5 years? I think we will follow that. If the country has a post-covid boom, we'll improve. If things return to how they were, so will we. If we are hamstrung for years, the sport will suffer.

I noticed last year that Super League's official channels started referring to clubs as "Warriors" "Rhinos" "Giants" etc. and seemed to avoid using the town or city names of the clubs at all. Whilst I understand why they do it, our clubs are at the hearts of our communities and the fact that they are in northern towns are not something to hide in my view.

Does anyone really think that I am now going to support a club or go to the match because of a club's badge? I get that a more slick logo can lead to better merchandise sales, but I think too much emphasis is placed on it. A new logo can only be effective as part of a wider strategy.

If I had a pound for every time Terry O'Connor said "he's a quality player"... Once I heard him say "he's a good player", I took that to mean he must be quite a poor player!

Logic answer is a 22 game season, with Challenge Cup to allow the World Cup to proceed as normal. All rests on whether Sky accept that or demand a rebate for it. If they do, then we will probably have to go the full season and delay the World Cup to 2022. That would be bad, but not as bad as losing a significant chunk of Sky funding.

Very much appreciate that the clip cuts off that the Australians score on the next tackle!

I think we also underestimate the pull of internationals. A more knowledgeable crowd in Leigh are not too interested in a blow out win for England over France. A less knowledgeable crowd, say in Sheffield, watching England hammer Greece would enjoy it more. The public love to see England succeed in any sport, even in a blow out.