langpark

1895 Cup Final, with 5000 people inside Wembley, I don't think is helping anyone. So here's an idea: Men & Women's CC Final both remain at Wembley as a double-header. Then 1895 Cup Final moves Headingley, and do a double-header with the NCL Cup Final? (do they still have the NCL Cup competition?) 'Road to Headingley' could have some prestige to it. And they are a club that will always be in SL, so there will never be a need to change it and look for other venues.

True, I forgot about Vaulx-en-Velin. Not what it used to be, with a semi-pro club in the region, but it's great to see there is still some sign of life there. Also I believe FC Lyon XIII was formed in 2023, shortly after the demise of Lyon, not sure how they are getting on. https://www.ffr13.fr/fc-lyon-xiii-le-projet-du-club-se-concretise/ Their FB group seems quite active and from what I can decipher, they hosted a University 9s tournament last month. I believe it featured a team from the local university as well as one from Toulouse and Avignon. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011283822760721/

Defunct clubs: Roanne XIII and Lyon-Villeurbanne* *Awaiting someone to confirm. I believe both of them faded some time during the pandemic years. Tragic considering both were foundation clubs of French RL (1934) and also losing them meant we lost an whole other region of the country.

You bring up a great point! I am sure if Bradford relocated to Liverpool for the sake of having state-of-the-art facilities, that you'd be all for it!

I am actually really disappointed with this "exciting" announcement. I would much rather they play at "mediocre" facilities, that are in an actual town. Font Romeu is: 55 miles from Perpignan 64 miles from Limoux 80 miles from Carcassonne 115 miles from Toulouse Who will be watching? A few parents of players, team staff and a couple of mountain goats? They could not have made it any less accessible to the general public.

Looks like the 17 Frenchmen wearing Morrocan jerseys, has not done much good. Morocco downgraded to IRL observer status due to non-compliance. https://www.intrl.sport/article/439/irl-membership-chile,-morocco-reclassified

My sincere apologies. Which part of Scotland do you live in and what is your current involvement with Scottish RL?

Brilliant news indeed. And yes, the more we can hold these bigger community RL events at RL-owned grounds like this, the better! It seems to me, Hemel might just be the most financially robust club in Southern England.

Interesting stuff. Though I'd be curious to know what he paid for them.

Well they are meant to be hosting the next one, in 2027. So between now and then, England need to perform well at this years Ashes AND next year's WC for it to have a chance of success. The challenge after the NRL GF is keeping your average NRL fan interested in RL until the Ashes is over, because most gravitate towards cricket and the beach by November.

Ashes 2025 will be good, but there is no comparison to Origin, if we are talking about Australian TV audiences. Origin was on at prime time TV slots. Whereas Ashes will be the middle of the night for Aussie viewers.

Well the future of RL in Scotland is far more important that what you, or any other neutral sat at home "would rather see".

Tigers were bidding a few years ago, but Dolphins got chosen ahead of them. Now that Dolphins got in, Tigers have no chance and they know that. And yes of course they will continue producing talent, they are one of the biggest clubs in Brisbane and that is not going to suddenly change. One of the Qld NRL clubs (most likely) will now add them on as one of their feeder clubs. But clubs from outside the state could come knocking as well.

5,191 at the French Grand Final and (allegedly) 3,555 at Toulouse vs Barrow.

RIP this thread. It's become another P&R debate. Soon we will be analysing the IMG points too.

I don't have any decent photos, but it looked like about 3000 at today's Super XIII final in Narbonne, judging from various clips I saw on instagram.

I saw the I watched the highlights. The main stand in the first half compared to the second half looks like it has EXACTLY the same amount of people in it, throughout the match. Do you have an agenda to push perhaps?

I think that is not the right way to look at it. In all the ref courses I have attended over the years, they have always told us that the ref should, wherever possible, take measures to minimise the amount of penalties he has to give. Calling a player out as offside is absolutely fine. He's not shouting "don't tackle", he simply telling him that he is offside, what the player does next is up to him.

So you are telling me they have (less than) one-seventh filled that stand? Come on.

That's a lot more than 300. I think 500+

Oh wow! 8 hours have passed and nobody has put a negative spin on this, or tried to ridicule HKR's support? Has the site been down today?

Yaaawn. Typical NSW media, always trying to unsettle the Qld camp in any way they can. Ponga is not going anywhere right now. Maaaaaybe at the very end of his career, but no sooner. This will surely be DCE's final year of Origin, at age 36. So I believe Ponga would have a strong case as the next Qld captain, along with maybe Grant and Munster. Another incentive for him to stay and pursue Qld legend status.

Ideally, the ref's mic would be low to the point where it is barely audible. Only about 10% of what he says is relevant to the TV viewer, but I feel we need to hear: "Held!" when the player has not been put to ground When the ref specifically calls a player out as offside, so he can opt out of a tackle to avoid the penalty When a player is called in for a word. (that's when they could turn his volume up a little bit).