langpark

If within the next decade, 3 of the following 4 are playing SL and getting decent following, we will be doing very well expansion-wise: London, Toulouse, Sheffield, Newcastle.

After reading the very first interview with the owner, it's clear to me that a big part of his plan is attracting English away fans: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/valencia-set-stage-grand-final-20721898 I too prefer the Elite 2 route. But then again, I am a bottom-up (organic growth) believer. I can see how going straight to the English leagues would appeal more to the top-down believers.

The current Red Star team is weaker than the one that took on Millom two years ago. In that team, they had experienced Aussie Darcy Etrich (who scored their opening try) and American national team duo Brandon Anderson and Jamil Robinson. Plus, they had been coached for 3 months by Phil Economidis in the period leading up to the game. Red Star are a real shining light and should be proud of everything they have achieved. But to compare them even to West Wales Raiders or any Elite 1 team is just ludicrous and does nobody any favours, especially in this day and age when there is plenty of video footage out there for all to see. Sounds like a smart approach as they have to work with what they've got (two dominant teams, then a big drop in standard). I am impressed that the Montenego team has played about 3 games in 4 weeks. I don't think they had even played 3 games in the last 3 years, so this could be a real turning point for them in their development. They have had two home games and an away match. For the away match (500km trip each way), I read that they had only 12 men against Dorcol Tigers and a few of them got injured and did not finish the match. So that is quite concerning and could effect their morale. Since they have two more fixtures left, I hope they are both home matches, because I cannot see them being able to make another long trip like that this season. Regarding Balkan SL, I think the idea is being shelved for a few seasons now as only Serbian teams were willing to participate. That will hopefully change in a few years once neighbouring countries like Greece and Turkey return to normal and get a season or two of matches under their belts.

Oh dear, he didn't actually say that, did he? This is just wrong on so many levels, I'm not even going to go into it.

Not sure why it would bother you, since you said several times you want nothing to do with any of these giverning bodies, including the new Americas confederation that is being formed.

I think they usually play their GF in Oct-Nov.

That would be great, he could gain some experience over there then hopefully continue at home as a player/coach in the future... Montenegro looks very close to Albania, it would be nice to see them link up at some point. Because the 1000km round-trips to Belgrade and Nis will eventually take their toll. It's a nice temporary solution, but not really feasible long-term. Two Montenegro and two Albania teams in their own division would be great. Less travel costs and I imagine they are of a similar standard too.

How old then?

Fantastic!! How old is he do you know? Perhaps its not too late for him to have a shot in the UK.

Right, so the federation(s) that you don't want a bar of, you simultaneously want to be there voting? How does that work? Also, you talk about 7 central american nations voting, I checked the IRL members list, I cannot see a single central american nation there, let alone 7... https://www.intrl.sport/member-nations/

Right, so going back to the part where you say you want 7 nations voting as a block, what do you mean? Where are they voting? On IRL issues?

My mistake, I got it confused with that new Canadian League that is starting up. Has CCRL been in touch with IRL? Because they are in the process of setting up an Americas Confederation. Hopefully everyone can join forces and work together for a positive outcome.

I'm a bit confused. Is that the Chile flag and also the new Canadian League logo, both on a Nicaragua shirt?

I think all the ex-Yugoslavian migration to Aus has helped. I know for sure that a generation ago, most Aussies looking at that would have pronounced it very differently. Nowadays, everyone it seems, is aware that the 'j' makes a 'y' sound and the 'c' is a 'ch' sound.

Well done! So does Rugby League gets its own federation now? That is a massive game changer if so.

@iangidds are you still in Montenegro? Did you go to the match?

So it looks like they have gone with 6 teams in the first division this year, including a team from Montenegro! https://twitter.com/SerbianRL/status/1371489771688706055?s=20

Two in a row for Partizan! https://www.facebook.com/171690882992178/posts/1896374560523793/

I since saw a tweet from Serbian RL saying that Dorcol Tigers vs Radnicki Nis was also scheduled for tomorrow, but is now postponed after a player tested positive for covid-19. So I suppose, what I said earlier, 5 teams (Novi Belgrade being the 5th) is the format. But I still get the feeling they do not play an even number of matches. Probably to minimise the amount of floggings from the big two, and maybe also to reduce the amount of trips Nis has to make up to Belgrade. I could be wrong though, hopefully they start publishing points table etc. once the season gets going.

Serbian season kicks off tomorrow, with, you guessed it: Red Star vs Partizan. They do seem to play each other an awful lot. I can honestly say I have no idea what their league structure is anymore.

Agreed, it seems they have been experimenting quite a bit over the last few seasons, I don't really like their recent designs. They should have just stuck to the old black & white hoops design, you can't go wrong with that.

Who blamed the ref? The coach? Hard to imagine them pinning a 20-point loss on the ref. I always support an underdog, but Partizan haven't made it easy for me over the last few years. There's a real thuggy element about them (youtube: Partizan vs Lokomotive sofia fight - if you want just one example). But I haven't seen much of them lately, and I see their results are improving, so I hope that is a sign that their discipline has improved as well. Either way, it's great to see it's competitive. It would be great if a 3rd and even 4th team could emerge as a genuine contender in the coming seasons too.

Big win for Partizan! https://www.facebook.com/171690882992178/posts/1890685764426006/

I hope I am wrong, but I think they will be lucky to get a dozen viewers. It is hard to get neutrals excited about games like this. I think they would have been much better off using the old "covid tactic" than many sporting clubs are doing right now. It goes something like this: Hi fans, please help us! Since fans are still not allowed to attend matches, we are struggling and lost our main revenue stream. Please support us by buying a virtual ticket and enjoy our live stream... etc. I believe that would have gotten a much better response. Charge a fiver or less and I believe many more would suddenly feel different about handing over their money, whether they even end up watching the match or not.

Indeed, was never an option. Would be great if they play a World Cup warm up match in Scotland!