Whippet13

24-32, Albi looking dominant now, 10 to go.

Now 24-30 to Albi, from 24-12 down at half time.

24-24 at Carcassonne with c20 minutes to go, good game so far.

Getting to the stadium | Wigan Warriors There are plenty of official car parks off Stadium Way, see the link above or for a better view Google maps it - the car parks are all clearly shown. There will be pay on the day, only league games are included in the pre-pay annual pass, and I haven't seen anything to say the club are pre-selling individual spots for the WCC. I normally street park in the Frog Lane area (see Google maps) and walk to the ground, find it much easier to get away post-match. Don't park on Robin Retail Park itself or any double yellows in the area, I have noticed previously the council traffic wardens really love a big game at the DW, no matter how late it is. Get there early, park up and walk to Robin Retail Park for a brew and food, or visit Wigan's Robin Park training complex right next door to the DW - they'll have live music, food, bars etc on. Food and drink inside the stadium itself is bland (burger vans outside are better) and there will be long, slow moving, queues. No restrictions on taking food and non-alcoholic drinks into the ground.

The main USARL aligned competitions are PCRL (California and Utah) and South (Florida plus Atlanta). There is a North competition (NE really) which is independent but friendly with USARL - hopefully they will formally come on board with USARL at some point in the near future. A regional approach to running and managing the game at club level has developed which is the sensible way to go given the distances involved. Perhaps that is one reason why all the infighting of previous years appears to have stopped. Much damage has clearly been done over the last few years, but I think there are signs of stability and growth.

And to be truly egalitarian, all tickets should be priced at £1 each.

800 mile round trip for the Pelicans, they really need some local opposition so hopefully the Immortals / Razorbacks rumour comes to fruition. Could happen as they don't currently play in another competition now the very dodgy Championship-RL organisation has disappeared. The NRL-Vegas event might give the prospects a boost.

The game will be sold out very shortly, it looks like the South, East and West stands have no tickets left on sale and the North (the "away" end) has less than 100 tickets remaining.

Whilst international development is absolutely critical to the future of RL, it is equally important we nurture our own domestic market and audience. The WCC is one of the things we have at the moment which does that in a cost effective and sustainable way. Rather than looking at a random one off game like the WCC that may or may not happen next year the strategy should be to put something sustainable in place internationally. That might mean joining the Vegas RL festival in the future, but rather than just randomly saying "yeah let's do it", a discussion needs to be had on the bigger picture.

Doubt it for the WCC, but if the NRL Vegas series is a success I can see there being potential for interest in an 8 team US WC for 2030 played in the western states as that is much easier for the NRL based players than coming to Europe. Most likely to be back in the UK though (and go 2013 style) as a safer financial bet.

Wasn't suggesting keep it to NA teams, an international flavour sounds great to me and wouldn't cost any more to host, just need to make sure the Yanks aren't pushed out.

Lots of thought clearly gone into the OP comment, but it's focused on the negatives so only half the picture. We knew this was coming months ago, so If it's all bad news for the game and driving fans to stay at home why are many clubs reporting increased ST sales?

New Official SL Fantasy RL game https://x.com/Voono_RL/status/1746865985410281742?s=20

Are you in China Bearman? Would have liked Chevrons or Hoops on the away shirt as neither one says Rugby.

Bids to be in by the end of January, obviously be a while before a new purchaser (assuming there are serious bids) is announced: Best bids sought for lease of landmark Rugby League stadium | TheBusinessDesk.com

I've had my own version of this for the last couple of years but based on FRUSTRATED, it lasts all season long.

You lost me at word 5, but who knows, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Be good if true.

The whole weekend seems to be turning into a RL festival. Fortunately for me I will be there.

That won't happen, the NRL are not stupid, they understand it would be counterproductive. Any international sides will be chosen carefully.

Seems there is also a youth 9s being played in Vegas, I had completely missed that, Utah are sending 7 teams. Lots of praise from Utah RL for the NRL in this post, hopefully there is a good relationship growing here after the RU fiasco in December, silver lining and all that.

No idea what URLA is, never heard of it - perhaps it is a RU site showing their highlights. I've looked at the USARL site and there was no footage posted, which is to be expected as it is the RL off-season.

Looking good for the Nines, may consider going international next year: https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/01/08/first-america-then-the-world-vegas-9s-sparks-global-interest/

I believe it's very much like development areas in the UK, there is a mixture. Doubt they own infrastructure, why would they need to given their current age and size?

Think the NRL see Vegas as the bigger fish, but agree if it's Brisbane then they will be up for it at home - with Wigan looking hot this year it could be 1992 all over again.

Plus whether the NRL champion is in next year's Vegas 4.