JonM

Halifax v Widnes 1588

What would be properly hilarious now would be for London to lose at home to Halifax, so that (mathematically if not actually in practical terms), the final 1-2-3 positions in the league couldn't be determined until after they play their final league game against Swinton during play-off round one, and the play-offs would have to start with estimated finish positions.

Think I said at the start of this season that it looked like the weakest Haven squad I could remember. They've done remarkably well.

Looks like a couple of close finishes elsewhere. Sheffield were down at half-time but won 28-26 with Hunslet missing a difficult conversion to level it. Batley with a late try to beat Keighley 22-18. Rochdale 22-20 at Workington too.

I really doubt that things that happened in minor sports on the other side of the world when he was a kid even vaguely register, tbh. Nobody here associates Murdoch with the Premier League, and definitely no-one here associates rugby union going professional in the 1990s with events in rugby league in Australia. Jay-Kelski got his position by being editor in chief of the Athletic and then stints at the Daily Mail and the Times, good luck with ever finding a mention of rugby league in either of those publications. Anyway, let's agree to disagree as this is off topic.

Halifax 10 Widnes 11 FT. Exciting game, if not particularly high on quality. Good level of noise from both sets of fans, as you might expect given how close it was. Widnes out on their feet at the end, several players not used to playing the full eighty minutes clearly. Halifax never gave up, but didn't really having much to offer in the way of attack, although Lloyd Roby was very good, and I was impressed with Darius Carter, although he did seem to be carrying a leg injury for much of the game. As usual, I thought Tara Jones did an excellent job as referee.

Unfortunately, I suspect today's injuries make it even more likely that we'll be resting quite a few for the final.

As I said, I'd be quite surprised, but obviously we have no way of knowing. Their CVs are both online. You're talking about things that happened 30-40-50 years ago here. Alex Jay-Kelski, head of BBC Sport, was at primary school when the Premier League started, and when rugby union went professional. Maybe he's vaguely heard of Kerry Packer, but I doubt he knows much about him and cricket in the 1970s.

Halifax 10 Widnes 11 with about 6 minutes to go. Widnes looking very tired.

Halifax 0 Widnes 4 after about 30 minutes. 4 Widnes players off injured, with the Halifax doctor having to treat Banditt as the Widnes doctor is otherwise occupied. All completely innocuous knocks, no foul play involved. Presumably we can't use the 18th man until the second HIA failure is confirmed. We had a little bet before the start of the game as to when Fairbank would go off for his usual HIA, and it was only 20 minutes in. Surely after 10 or so of them you should be medically retired? Can't see anything other than a Fax win from here.

In my time watching, we've gone from entirely part-time teams playing in dangerous, decrepit grounds, with most clubs having at most one or two full-time admin people, tv coverage often limited to half of a game within a general sports programme to what we have today - an industry that employs hundreds of people full-time. You can't look at what the likes of Hull KR, Leigh, Wakefield etc. have achieved recently and conclude that we're standing still or going backwards.

Looking at the CVs of the current BBC and ITV heads of sport, I'd be pleasantly surprised if they'd even heard of the NRL, let alone know anything at all about how popular it is in Australia. It's a competition in a small country on the opposite side of the world in what is very much a minority sport here. You only have to look at how tiny the impact of NBA, MLB or NHL is here.

There's no need to sell the deal to the fans. It's probably best for all concerned not to conduct any negotiations in public. It's the SL Chairmen who need to be persuaded, and presumably at some point the ARL Commission also needs to say yes. The ARLC/ NRL themselves haven't released any detail as far as I know, and on the SL side, Rhodri Jones said an offer has been made and it's being considered by the clubs. Everything else is journalists speculating on the basis of a unnamed source, with only part of the full picture being leaked.

And at the end of day 2, Bangladesh 351-6.

I mean, good luck with getting part-time players to do a 10 hour round trip from Bridgend for a *home* game in North Wales.