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Jeff Stein

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    London Skolars

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted

    28 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

    The key to a player pathway / feeder club to London is the junior ranks.  I watch London Chargers, Wests Warriors and Hammersmith at Southern Conference level (three of the strongest clubs) and as far as I can tell there is a majority Antipodean core to their sides and I doubt they see pro Rugby League in London as an aim.

    Dipping into the London junior athletic base is the long term future of the sport but without schools liason and community support officers I simply can't see it taking off the levels needed.

    Unless things have changed, work permit conditions generally won't allow holders to also play semi-pro. Skolars have had this issue for recruiting for years now.

    No development officers, no strategic plan, no internationals and now the loss of one of the two Pro clubs. It certainly appears that the RFL are treating IMG's prioritising of London seriously 

    • Like 2

    London Skolars

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted · Edited by Jeff Stein
    Typo

    1 hour ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

    Club statement now online > https://www.skolarsrl.com/2023/09/15/club-statement-3/

    I've been to many games at Skolars over the years, and I'm sure this won't be the end just another chapter in their story.

    That said, this is the chickens coming home to roost from a couple of decades of insular thinking up North. The reality is that 20 years ago in London (and the wider region) we had a real platform to build on, one that had been hard-fought, and one with much more potential. The game was being played in lots of schools, we had development officers part-funded by the RFL, and we can see the results of that in quite a lot of talent in Super League. If there was ever a region to invest in in order to grow our talent pool for the long-term good of the game, it was there and it was then. It's hard to get significantly y more people in Featherstone (and the other national league club catchments) to play the sport, if they had than inclination then they would do as awareness and options were already there. But London, with its scale, and its relatively untapped state education system willing to take 'free' coaching and support really offered a real prospect of sizeable growth.

    For want of a couple of hundred grand a year of strategic, long-term investment in development teams to incubate this we've let that all go to waste. Relying instead on the hard work of many volunteers. But that's not enough. It has depressed me immensely to watch this unfold slowly.  

    The RFL's shrug of the shoulders press release this morning spoke volumes. They hope Skolars will carry on the development work in Haringey and North London ie they are not going to lift a finger to involve themselves and want a broken club to manage it without assistance 

    • Like 8

    Sun 20th Aug: The Betfred League One Match Thread

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted

    If the decision was just nodded through of course there would be no investigation. I am not sure what Skolars could investigate from a  coach on the M6. As it is now Skolars that are in front of RFL compliance having been entirely blameless in the first place. I guess they will have to make their case, but it appears incredibly one sided that they are the only ones being looked into having already paid the not inconsiderable sum for the wasted Coach journey. Incidentally it is being suggested that the rearranged game breached the RFL's player welfare rules as there is meant to be a 5 day gap between away games. Instead Skolars were left with 3 away games in 8 days

    • Like 1

    Sun 20th Aug: The Betfred League One Match Thread

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

    Another poster made a similar suggestion yesterday.

    I don't know if the ref had arrived at the ground by the time the call to postpone on the original date was made, but I assume the RFL and their officials were happy with the decision or they would have taken action against Rochdale weeks ago rather than rearranging the fixture. 

    Or they just nodded the decision through without investigating further. Still they can now throw Skolars under the bus for not managing the nigh on impossible.

    • Like 1

    Sun 20th Aug: The Betfred League One Match Thread

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Derwent said:

    Meanwhile, there’s another game in L1 tonight - Oldham 22 Workington 12 at half time (damn those 300 mile midweek round trips eh ?)

    Whereas Skolars would have had close on 450 miles to go not counting the distances within London the players have to travel to get on the coach and then get home in the early hours of the morning. No doubt Town's players will have the same issue in the Greater Workington metropolis

    Sun 20th Aug: The Betfred League One Match Thread

    in The General Rugby League Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, newbe said:

    Hate to say this but Skolars should compete in the Southern Conference League and rebuild. Looking at the last team weeks  sheet there was 7 players who brought through by Hemel Stags. If they played for Hemel they would be the dominant force in the community league, plus they are one of most financial stable clubs around. Matched the £90,000  granted from Sport England. Now relaying a new pitch with new drainage, an leveling the pitch. Have also heard RFL use marketing materials at club.

    This would be the Hemel who didn't manage to get a team out for a single match in either competition they entered last year?

    • Like 1
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