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groundhopper

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  1. Newcastle Thunder 0 North Wales C 60 Needed to take one of the daughters back to York Uni so whilst another 100 miles, a good opportunity to visit Blaydon as I missed previous games here. it is an understatement to say things are difficult for RL in the North East right now. Finances dictate local players but the amateur league feel apart last year and with nothing on the websites of the traditional clubs about training, there may be nothing this year, although it usually starts in May. What is clear is the local pool is not good enough even with a good manager. That will be hard to change as only 150 in attendance including 20 with the visitors and nothing to suggest any match day income apart from gate receipts. Thunder did not look like scoring and whilst some spirited defence, the game was as one sided as the score suggests. in view of this difficult to comment on the visitors prospects. I have seen seasons with Coventry Bears where many games were about keeping the score low or were over within 20 mins so I know what it is like. Typically I missed what sounds like one of Hurricanes best performances yesterday, Some real enthusiasts kept that going and with much recent improvements, there is hope for Thunder. 2025 is clearly a season to survive. I think it would be a topic for another thread but all the games at St James Park does not seen to have a legacy. it a great day out but if the local teams are not winning it is a hard sell. As to Bladon's ground, it is not one I enjoyed. Typically for RU everything is about the bars. It is then a walk across a muddy car park, which the players also have to make to the pitch. This has a stand for maybe 500 with the most uncomfortable bench seats. A small tea bar exists adjacent. Sometimes little things annoy, with the seats uncomfortable I walked to the opposite side. Two mins into the game, I was told I could not stand there. with no reason given. Hardly a major event but if I was local, I might have thought I am not welcome here and they cannot afford to lose any potential new fans.
  2. London Broncos v Goole Could post under Challenge Cup or Goole thread but most of those interested will have watched on TV if not live, so nothing I can add regrading the individual performances. I think this the third or fourth Broncos game here but I had only attended for the Southern Conference final previously for RL. I tried to count how many venues I had seen Broncos on and I think including road games at Aberavon and Leicester this is no 13. I think I have missed about 10 more over the years. Whilst I like what we call a traditional ground, this is now dated with uncomfortable bench seats only and I am not sure it would be suitable for regular games. admission was £11 for an over 65. Whilst really looking forward the game and having no idea how the teams would perform, the first half lacked interest until Goole scored on about 38. The second half was as many will have seen one way traffic and the result seemed fair. One early season game is not enough to make a prediction as new players will come in for Broncos but my estimate of the attendance at 400/500 including many form Goole is a concern for the club. I assume all other matches will be at Wimbledon. The location of Rosslyn Park is nice, not far from the Thames and Barnes Station is only 5 mins away so maybe a ground to be used more often despite my thoughts above. I arrived early and took a walk up to Richmond Park and back. In view of the discussions above re universities, of slight interest I walked past the University of Roehampton which is a new one on me. Finally went to Hurricanes this afternoon and was disappointed in Siddal but think this was due to the ability of the new look Hurricanes rather than any failings on their part. The last time I saw Siddal in the cup they pushed Swinton hard at the Shay.
  3. I have kept out of the IMG debate so far but if the only reason to play in a competition is to pick up IMG points, we are in an even worse mess than we thought. Worryingly this could however be true. Maybe AI could predict the results and we wouldnt have to play the games.
  4. Time to open the thread for a new year. This is open to all levels of the game but the idea is for something many on here would not dot. Ideally not just match reports but the club, players you were not expecting at that level or just a good day out. An ideal report would be on Hull in Amsterdam with details of ground more than your night time activities in that interesting city. Challenge cup tiles especially in the early round would be great. Having visited Waterhead on Saturday which is covered well elsewhere, yesterday was at Salford University. I have only be to a handful of uni grounds, Loughborough in the Challenge Cup, Nottingham and Oxford used by the open age club, Warwick and Leicester which are multiple pitch and very open grounds. Salford play on the edge of the campus and to start the thread negatively is probably the worst venue I have watched the sport on and there are some challengers. Having walked the length of Chapel Street, the directions seemed interesting, turn into Peel Park and follow the river and the sports ground is beyond. Peel Park may have been nice once but the uni has encroached onto most of it and the campus has no buildings of architectural merit or any indication of any planning, I doubt they have a school of architecture. The ground comes into view, a cage with barbed wire surround. This has been plonked in the middle of a field with no landscaping and no facilities apart from one broken dug out. I never found the changing rooms and there was nowhere pitchside for a toilet etc. it is not even lined up with anything else in the area as if the installers were told just put in anywhere On entering the first thing noted was there were only football markings. Fifteen mins in I noticed there were in fact faint blue and yellow lines on the surface but so faint it was unclear what sport these were for. Despite this the referee, who is a touch judge in the Challenge Cup this weekend had an excellent game and even gave one decision that a kick off had not gone foroward 10 yards. As to the match, this was in I think Northern 1 which is the third level and against Manchester Met. It was fairly one sided and finished 12 52 to the visitors who scored two tries early on. It is difficult to compare standards between competitions but the main thing is that there were probably many players and a few spectators new to the game and that is in itself excellent. There was a separate thread on this, excellently reasoned on this forum. There do seem to be a number of forfeits in this competition and some may be late on. the BUCS website does seem accurate for venues but anyone wishing for a midweek fix would have to expect sometimes having a wasted trip. Hopefully others will report especially from this weekends game although if as I hope I am Broncos v Goole, other will be commenting on the match better than I can in the Challenge Cup thread
  5. I attended the game and with the ground being only half a mile from Watersheddings, it was inevitably biting cold. Only cameraman at ground level plus 2 on the gantry. Whatever he earned today, he deserved it. The ground is a public park and admission cannot be charged. Traditionally they charged for a programme but none today and a ticket for a half time draw for a minimum of £1 was the only money collected. I think crowd was 500 to 600 but I am terrible at estimating. not sure where the next round will be played, certainly not at Waterhead and I would have thought Boundary Park too expensive, it would be a shame if they had to switch. May well follow BBC and be at Rosslyn Park next week especially as first competitive game for Goole.
  6. If anyone wants the programme from the Mirfield game, it can be obtained on line via the club website. The cost is £5 to include admission. As I am heading probably to Waterhead, I am happy to have paid this. Including postage the total is £7 and whilst expensive for a game I am not going to, at least the money goes fully the club .
  7. We are 14 days in and the Challenge Cup is underway. I could start a new thread myself but this one belongs to you. 2025 please. We know Aberavon FI printed and I am told Hammersmith did not and I believe never have. You have stated Mirfield are doing one. Anyone else know anything, yes or no for the Cup I
  8. If Toulouse had beaten Wakefield would the 12 be the same?
  9. So a quick summary is the same as most places, it would be possible with more money and more people to run it. That could apply almost anywhere but would not be sustainable. The area does have the benefit of being reasonably near to other RL areas and it must be realised how good a club Heynsham Atoms are. They almost never default and have regularly been in the top division of the North West Counties. They have however frequently changed home venue recently. If there was money or people wanted to grow the game in the area, that cash and time would be best spent with the existing team and on youth development. I do agree in the unlikely event someone would provide the cash and ground for a top level club, there is potential support, however the caveat is that Vale of Lune RU the local team are long established and I was told when watching Heynsham RL there, crowds are only 100/200.
  10. My thoughts are that RL clubs are not franchises and only Hemel/ Toronto/ Cornwall have been one. Despite his PR Perez is bad for the game, I doubt we even have a fit and proper persons test, but surely someone who is responsible for letting so many people down is unsuitable. The finances of Cornwall are unknown to me but they added something to the game worth keeping in some form but this would be unlikely. All the efforts of the players are wasted and only the loan signings will stay in the game. There is no South West League for them to play in. As for Bedford, they obviously had a plan that was put to the RFL but rightly these were secret but nobody knows how good it was. We assume like Goole the plan involved immediate action, Goole have a coach, a confirmed ground and are almost certainly looking at players from within a large catchment area and season tickets on sale. I doubt they are far behind one or two other clubs. Training even for League 1 starts in January at the latest and players are already being resigned or having discussions for next year. Bedford will have three options; sign northern players and only visit the town on a match day. At best this would be loan signings and NCL players and might be possible given time and the right coach source local RU players who would need to leave their present clubs before the end of the season and chance a new code and new club. Squad players from Bedford and Ampthill possibly, but this only works for certain positions. most likely is to tap into the London area, to do this they would need to be able to match the best that Skolars ever did and exceed that of a Hemel outfit that developed players and as a club they did a long apprenticeship. Obviously a combination of all three is possible but Broncos are likely to be part time and also looking for this type of player in option 3 We don’t know who is behind the club or the budget but these options put them on a par with South Wales, Cornwall or this seasons Newcastle. The change of location is still only a strong rumour and will need RFL approval which reduces the amount of time available. Despite all of this I would rather see Bedford in, than no club, if Cornwall were definitely folding but there had been no suggestion of this and that makes the situation worse.
  11. Anglia and Bedford seem to have clear plans to use local players. This has worked to an extent for Cornwall and either or both of these joining will have no effect on the player pool in the North and should therefore add to the total number of players. Having considered this, the game needs expansion and whilst we have not seen the proposals in detail, I would love to see all three in. We have come to accept there are casualties with expansion but a 12 team league is needed. Good luck to all
  12. I was looking to watch two games in France and fancied the venues for the Lebanon games as have never visited either town. Six days in the area would have been fun and the wife happy for a holiday with five complete days between matches. The cost of accommodation put me off and on balance I doubt I would have gone but thankfully nothing booked. If we are going to cancel matches with barely a months notice, not sure how I can consider further overseas trips. There is so much wrong with out sport. It’s bad enough turning up at Nottingham and the visitors don’t show let alone Albi.
  13. Is that the end of the season for open age as RU are playing friendlies but traditionally there were matches between the various uk leagues, possibly only Midlands, London and Wales. Telford won the Midlands pay off
  14. I do have the benefit of having visited all three and two twice. Positives for each Goole, An acceptable ground and whilst run down the opportunity exists to refurbish as part of a bid. I went to the first game in Yorkshire Men’s there was a reasonable crown maybe 400. If they could maintain this they would be on a par with others in the league and the crowd has not a successful team in any sport, possibly ever although the RU did go to Twickenham. The population is familiar with RL and the one that make them favourites a large pool of players in Hull and Cas. If we want a team to more than make up the numbers and if hopefully not aiming for the stars, could be a good addition. Bedford. I am surprised the population is now 200,000 and it is a single entity unlike say Midlands who have a much larger potential but struggle to get publicity. The football team lost a high quality ground near the river probably 30 years ago and have never been the same since playing in a location that is almost inaccessible without a car. There is now a second football team bankrolled by crypto millionaires, so what could go wrong. They aim to be the biggest team in town but what little I know of the plans suggest they are throw money at the team. Could well be little more than pot hunters. The main team in Bedford is the Union side. They do everything well. They were in the top division briefly and nearly went bust or moved to MK or both. Sane heads turned the club around and they have realised the Championship is the limit of their ambitions and just aim to enjoy the sport, as well run as any. I would not consider Bedford a rugby town in the way that Coventry or Leicester are in terms of the playing pool, number of clubs etc There is an athletics stadium I thick with seats but sharing one of the grounds above would likely be the plan. Anglian Vipers. I met Eddie when visited and a committee of people like him would have endless enthusiasm. I am afraid that is about it. Negatives Goole The town might be a bit small and going from charging £3 to maybe £15 might not help attendances. There is a feeling we are looking for expansion. That should not be a negative. Expansion into areas near the heartlands and where youth development and finding opposition exists is not only expansive but can leave a legacy. Barely a negative. Obviously don’t know the people behind this or other bids. Sponsorship may be hard. Bedford. There is no RL history in the town and they would always be the third sport. Player pool would be small. As a new team they do not have the local growth that Hemel developed. At best a few years of struggle and eventually bringing in Northern players. Anglian Vipers Apologies, but I have to be negative. Any support has to be grown form zero and whilst population may be similar to Goole a decent RL team there may get 5% of the population. no one watches RU in Norfolk and at best teams reach the top 100 in the UK briefly. There is little success on the field and few potential players to convert. The area is not like Cornwall where a large pool of ex RL players was found and even if it was Cornwall have not broken through on the field The ground is private but open and out of town. Considerable expense would be needed and looking at Norwich make sense if they were to bid but sorry, it will not succeed. PS please all three give it a try 12 is the right number for League 1 and prove me wrong.
  15. I think we need to look at the clubs that have tried from non heartlands areas and there have been some very good ones with very good ideas. Hemel and Skolars set the bar for what has to be exceeded. The first developed the game throughout their immediate area, with a youth development league in neighbouring towns built up over many years before and playing in tough leagues including the conference and national 3. They were able to augment with London based Australians and KIwis and developed their own ground. It could be easily argued they did much more for the game then some of the existing heartlands teams with a policy of other clubs cast offs and renting stadiums and no youth development or even an A team. Yet Hemel failed to make it for the same reason as Skolars. There is still minimal RL heritage in London ie ex players connected with their former club as coaches, kitmen and even encouraging their kids to play the game as soon as they can run and no schools. Even the most skilled players are at a disadvantage and the distances the enthusiasts drive the kids for an under 11s festival is astounding. It is not the lack of enthusiasm that is the problem, it is the small pool of people. As a result Hemel had to bring in northern players to be competitive, no team has managed to be so, with locals however hard they have tried. Coventry Bears were another wonderful set up, supporting and developing community clubs and encouraging players through the university system and went into schools. Ultimately the RL cut the funding and the new owners have rightly decided for the team to grow, they need to use Northern Players. On the field results are improved. South Wales always looked to have the potential but unless heavily funded it cannot succeed. The area is parochial. I was at a village called GIlfach Goch yesterday to watch the local team play Rhondda Outlaws in an 8 team Welsh RL league. 200 turned up because it was a game in the village, but I doubt more than a handful would have considered travelling to Llanelli or Cardiff to watch a game. There is some but little anti RL prejudice in the area and probably more anti Cardiff overall, at least in sporting terms. Cornwall is the latest to try and again what they have managed to do is amazing but they have sought out the best talent in an area where people thought there may be none. For the most part they have however found exiled northerners who are missing the game. They have the best there is. I went to the first game at Penryn and the train from Plymouth picked up RL fans in replica shirts at most stops and there was a large group on the local from Truro. Many were already RL fans as replica shirts showed, What is unclear is how they can improve significantly on what they have done. The losses mentioned above suggest an imminent problem. Crowds are excellent but notably lower when I revIsited. All of the above clubs are much better than the 80’s versions where a club chairman thought there was easy money and they lasted a season or slightly more, Southend, Scarborough, Bridgend etc. No one has so far broken the facts that summarise all of the above, you need Northern players and will not get the crowds to support the costs which are higher than if you are based in the heartlands. If this sound negative apologies, I have watched the clubs looking to move up and do see the possibility at Goole because of where it is and the possibility of being the beat team in the town. Do I have useful suggestions, I am not sure, the southern conference needs a revamp but the strength is London sides whose players are mostly social players, a good day out on a coach yes, but not travelling to Yorkshire every week. Outside of London, something else is required and that is name opposition. Keighley are at Hurricanes later today and it is great to see such opposition in the West MIdlands, I am sure it would be the same at say All Golds, Bedford or in Norfolk but the clubs cannot be compared. Without this even if in Norwich, Hammersmith Hill Hoist will never be a draw. Two other thoughts. The NCL is a superb league doing what is does well. The majority of teams are within 3 miles of a semi pro of pro side and have nothing to gain especially if having to travel the long distances of League One. I hope none apply. My final criticism is directed against our new lords and masters, who seem to be taking money out of the game and not investing enthusiasm or ideas. At my level ie amateur they are not even adding to the pool of money needed to assist development.
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