Hopping Mad

Barrow chairman Steve Neale addressed the club's financial problems in his programme column for yesterday's [16/2] home game with Championship rivals Hunslet. He wrote: Off the pitch we need the backing of the fans. We have to admit that we have over-stretched ourselves putting together a squad capable of remaining in the Championship. We have invited supporters to purchase debentures, taking an ownership of the club, and we are open to discussions if there was some serious investment from potential new owners. We could have put together a squad within our financial limits but the danger was that we could have lost supporters and sponsors, and be in a more serious hole. However, there isn't an infinite pot of money within the current board, and that may be the direction of travel unless we can start to generate the income to match expenditure. Sounds easy but believe me when I say it is without doubt the toughest job I have ever encountered, with pressure from multiple directions to spend money, most of which, in an ideal world, you would agree to.

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Ditto. Hunslet also looked lightweight in the forwards. In the first half, in particular, they struggled to contain the Barrow pack. Not much even the experienced Greg Eden, stuck out on the wing, can do anything when his team are beaten up front! Despite conceding first, Barrow were comfortable.

Digital only, again, from St Helens this season. Free to download from the club's social media. This was the 'programme' for their Super League season-opener (15/2) with what proved to be Salford Red Devils 'A': https://www.zeeon.co.uk/gamehubplus/st-helens-v-salford-red-devils-7?fbclid=IwY2xjawIdzaxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdgpTduN3lJhGUVfIvilqMxxLtoanBn4n3O0EDCNJrpQlkS5JPKoc411KA_aem_ENxPsXwg4v7kQ5bZoHtB4g League One Whitehaven have confirmed they won't be issuing programmes, of any description, this season.

The Championship's Sheffield Eagles have confirmed they will not be issuing a printed match programme in 2025. Previewing Sunday's (16/2) visit of Halifax Panthers, Eagles' website reports: "Instead, a printed copy of the 21-man squads for both teams will be available. These will be limited in quantity but can be obtained free of charge from our gameday volunteers inside Olympic Legacy Park."

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In his statement, Barrow's chairman lists an impressive amount of good things going on at Craven Park. But if the foundation of it all is his apparently diminishing pot of money, the club could soon be in very serious trouble.

A telling quote from Barrow chairman Steve Neale: "From a personal perspective, I can’t do much more. I have invested all my life savings, have sold a second property I owned, have re-mortgaged my house and taken personal loans to help the club through the deficit of the last three years." [I'm planning to watch the Barrow-Hunslet game on Sunday, as it happens]

therhinos.co.uk (11/2): Charge headfirst into an official subscription for Leeds Rhinos’ iconic Blue & Amber publication for the 2025 Betfred Super League season. Head Coach Brad Arthur will be hoping his side, who last lifted Grand Final silverware in 2017, can improve on last season’s eighth-place finish, and supporters can give the Rhinos their backing on every step of the journey. The official club publication, which is also sold [for £4] around AMT Headingley Stadium on matchdays, is packed full of exclusive player content, opposition analysis, historical features and vital statistics to keep you up to date with all things Rhinos related. This subscription covers all of the Rhinos’ 13 Super League home games, commencing with Wakefield Trinity’s visit on Saturday 15th February, plus any home Challenge Cup ties. Each of the 48-page A5-size issues will be produced to a schedule that allows for a first-class mail out on the Friday before a weekend fixture, with midweek editions dispatched on the day of the game. Subscribers should allow three working days to receive their orders via Royal Mail as this is not a pre-event service. The price for this full subscription package is £75, inclusive of postage to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Supporters can sign up to the subscription package at any point in the season and still receive all back issues. Reserve your copy today at https://www.ignitionsportsmedia.com/collections/leeds-rhinos/products/leeds-rhinos-full-season-subscription-2025 Meanwhile, it looks as though League One's Rochdale Hornets will offer nothing more than a printed teamsheet - and that only to hospitality guests. The National Conference League's Egremont Rangers are to continue with a printed programme (w/a) in 2025. As in previous seasons, it may be available also - free, albeit post-match - in digital form.

Hull Daily Mail reckons 5,500 at West Hull-Saints.

Championship Barrow's club secretary Karen Heighton confirms Raiders will again issue a printed programme throughout the season. Cover price £2 (44 pages). Available from a seller at Craven Park's main Duke Street entrance.

Update from Neil_Ormston: Officially confirmed [by Warrington], and my offer to do the content for them rejected. So that's it. 105 years of traditional killed dead, obviously never to return. I'm not sure I have the heart (or time) to keep 'The Unofficial Programme' going this time

I'll copy that into the 2025 thread, Neil. Even slimmer pickings this season.

Something more upbeat - not from Aaron Bower's keyboard - in today's online Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/11/sam-burgess-interview-warrington-rugby-league-luke-littler

Different sport but this "he knows the club" send-up, from The Exploding Heads, hits a lot of buttons:

For their 9/2 Challenge Cup third round tie with Widnes Vikings, League One's North Wales Crusaders offered a digital programme - charging £2 for the privilege of attempting to read it on a tiny mobile phone screen. Useless! https://nwcrusadersrl.com/product/north-wales-crusaders-v-widnes-vikings-matchday-magazine/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIVvNJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcxJipCthoYzhnP_mMbaVYpqF4BnaEmHY1Y-Mpz6I_4Qh0ohn9dflGw2gg_aem_0L2pLULeOuUcQ3yG-Qs_eA

Not updating on the BBC Sport website... HT Featherstone Rovers 28-0 Ince Rose Bridge

Enjoyed that (on iPlayer). Game of the comp, surely.

What a sickener for Cas. Just before half-time, from the second of only two decent bits of field position, they concede a length-of-the-field try. Impressed with Bradford.

Workington now reporting more than 2,000 pre-sales for this evening's game with Leigh (and Town have sold out Derwent Park's sponsors lounge).

Exactly. You can't have it both ways.

According to the commemorative plaque on Wigginton Road, marking what used to be the main entrance to the Clarence Street or Wigginton Road ground (1885-1989), York's record attendance is 14,632, set on February 10th 1934, for a game with Swinton.

Another rethink is happening: Rhodri Jones, CEO of RL Commercial, told theguardian.com (6/2): "There have been some successes in the format but it's perhaps not been a perfect solution, so we’ll look at the format and we’ll review it. It is unlikely that round three will be the week before Super League in 2026. We need to give ourselves more flexibility so the review of the early rounds format is happening already."

Three from the 1980s: York v Fulham 29/3/81 Division Two @ Clarence Street, 7,351 York v Castleford 11/3/84 Challenge Cup quarter-final @ Clarence Street, 8,529 York v Leeds 29/1/89 Challenge Cup round three @ Bootham Crescent, 11,347