JM2010

Anyone know the attendance for tonight’s game?

Exactly. My point about a professional Manchester club is that there needs to be some decent junior activity in the city first before a professional club is formed otherwise it just thins out the talent being produced in the neighbouring towns. Do any of the professional clubs in Greater Manchester do any development work in Manchester? I’m sure there’s a lot of untapped talent

As long as he stays injury free and has a big off season I can’t see him not succeeding. He’s as tough as they come but can also pass a ball.

Looking forward to seeing how Knowles gets on next season. He should do well

It could be a low crowd and poor quality game. Is the grading system reviewed each season of every 3 years? Think Salford’s place in SL could be under threat

Good point. London is too big a city to target as a whole. Focusing on a local area would still target a big population though

Completely agree. Some of the countries already have a decent base for an international team with a lot of players in the professional game being eligible for countries such as Nigeria. If investment was made into youth development in some African countries as well as engaging the African communities in the UK then there could be some strong African teams within the next few WC cycles

3% of 9 million or so population is still a big number of potential fans

Swinton might not have many but Leigh definitely have two strong clubs who provide players to the professional game. I’m sure some of our posters from the West of the Pennines could provide a list of junior clubs in and around Oldham and Rochdale

There’s some strong junior clubs in Oldham, Rochdale and Leigh in particular

If London could become genuinely successful both on and off the field I think it will have a big influence on increasing the profile of RL and SL

I’m a believer that if a new club is going to be added then there needs to be several junior clubs underneath otherwise its not really growing the game

I get the concern of some of the Greater Manchester clubs when Manchester Rangers applied. They would be competition for local players. It would only work if there was some proper development in Manchester with new junior clubs being introduced to open up a new player pool

If they do extend the tour I’d prefer them to play against France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England Knights rather than club sides.

If money does get invested I hope they put some into the junior clubs and schools in London. I’d also like to see them working with the Conference clubs maybe using them as a dual reg partnership and supporting them with coaching and recruitment etc

I hope he finds a new club. If he’s been paid out then he’s worth a punt on a trial contract at least

This move is the equivalent of Warrington moving to play in Widnes

Six big event games would be the best scenario but don’t think the clubs would go for that. If they did the SL could book 6 venues in for 5 years and try and build some momentum and junior development alongside the games. What choice of venues and fixtures would you go for?

I think I’d prefer three double headers played ‘on the road’ at three decent sized venues with a bit of a build up leading into them. They don’t have to be played on the same weekend there could be three event style double headers played at different points in the season.

Great stuff. Are there any other nearby schools that would be interested in playing any games against you?

If these lads continue to show interest would you be able to ask the Broncos for a bit of support? Maybe with some coaching sessions or invites to tournaments

I remember now. I think I actually replied to it

What’s the record SL aggregate attendance for a single round? Maybe the Easter fixtures have a chance of setting a new record

If the NRL do invest into SL I hope they prioritise growing the game in London as that would possibly be they key to them making a success of it

All sounds really positive. Hopefully all this will help give them a bit more of an edge so they can attract even more of the top juniors, especially from the Wakefield area.