langpark

Capacity 5,100. Over a month to promote it to the people of Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Wigan. Is a sellout possible or am I being a complete dreamer?

It was probably the most cost-effective option for them. If Huddersfield were a bigger club, then maybe Rochdale or Oldham would have been good options.

I wonder how many games he can get under his belt before the Ashes.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet: Englishman Ryan Sutton has penned a deal to join up with Gold Coast Titans for the remainder of the NRL season. That’s according to the Daily Telegraph, who report the forward has been given the opportunity to remain Down Under after being released by Canterbury Bulldogs earlier this year. The 29-year-old is still on the comeback trail after undergoing a knee reconstruction and is said to be still some way off playing. However, the deal gives Sutton the opportunity to show the Titans what he can do when he returns to action, given his last NRL game came in September 2023, against Gold Coast. https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/rugby-league-news-englishman-pens-deal-to-join-nrl-club-after-injury-nightmare-104278/

4k in Albi yesterday!

Yes this common knowledge. Loads of undocumented players in PNG. We will never know the true figure.

The first sentence of the article is the actual link.

Yes and in Australia's case, a huge % has always come from Touch, OzTag and other variations, which all come under the NRL umbrella.

https://www.intrl.sport/article/424/irl-annual-report-2024 It's a 34-page document. My favourite part is always the participation figures: Australia: 246,984, up from 217,757 in 2023 England: 97,958, up from 97,317 in 2023 NZ: 35,101 up from 30,268 in 2023 PNG: 11,893 up from 9,540 in 2023 France: 9,742 up from 8,767 in 2023 Wales: 4,334 up from 3,303 in 2023 (page 16 of the document). Very encouraging that our top 6 nations, participation-wise all recorded increases. I suppose it's everything below the top 6 that now need some attention.

Irish and Scottish clubs already have Challenge Cup participation as their incentive to the winner. I think that is much better than playing each other, for many reasons.

Wow. Looks like Raiders capitulated. I did not see the match, but according to the stats, Smithies did a lot more in 43 minutes than Nicholson did in 80 mins.

Well this is interesting, seems each team plays each other twice, they have just put up the schedule, 11 weeks long. Includes a "Magic Weekend" (doesn't say where), a semi-final and and Grand Final at the end. Good luck to them, I hope they pull it off without any forfeits! https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1100732312091638&set=a.549681287196746

You are right, but it's just a 5-week season. So probably one of the makes the trip this year and the other makes the trip next year. Galway have to travel a fair bit.

Looks like they may not be quitting after all. RLI has just announced a 5-team League starting on the 17th of May featuring: 1. Longhorns 2. Dublin City Exiles 3. Cork Bulls 4. Banbridge Broncos 5. Galway Tribesmen https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1100435398787996&set=a.549681287196746

Wow. You know there's no shame in admitting you had a brain snap, and taking it back, right? We all do from time to time. We are just 10 days prior to NSW announcing their team and I have not seen his name mentioned once. Not even as a bolter, not even as a dark horse, nowhere. Let alone being a certainty for Kangaroos selection, as you claim. Take your pick, there are dozens of articles out there, but here is just one example of an article predicting the NSW side: https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugby-league/news/nsw-blues-predicted-team-list-game-1-state-origin-2025/940dc240f927724db3eb0257 Maybe a diehard Bulldogs fan who has a blog may have mentioned him, but nobody else.

What?? He is 28 and has not even played Origin yet let alone for Australia.

They seemed to be building nicely in Championship in 2022, with an average crowd of 1,099 (boosted by the Friday night crowd before Magic weekend - 3,034). It was a similar story in 2023, despite being the whipping boys of the division that year. But more importantly, RL in the North-East seemed to be going really well to compliment the Thunder's efforts. I can't help but wonder how they would be going had they maintained a Championship spot for 5 years. But I suppose it proved to be unsustainable after a short time.

120 NRL games, 4 Origin appearances with Qld. Age 26. As I said in the other thread, could be a good option on the bench as a utility.

I agree, he's nowhere near a certain selection. Most realistic shot he would have is the bench utility spot IMO.

Does AJ Brimson now fall under the title 'Brits in the NRL'?

Seems like there is a fair bit. A dozen or so active clubs (if I were to hazard a guess) at various age groups. This is the best page to follow for NERL updates: https://www.facebook.com/share/16T1gVNgNS/

Great analysis, while still not providing us with any real figures. Safe to say it's been a failure?

Thunder did not publish a figure last night either. Which sadly, makes me suspect it was underwhelming at best.

Did they genuinely not have enough players or was this a cheeky move in order to avoid making an away trip? Just 14 days ago they fielded two senior teams on the same day (away game vs North Herts). What happened to those 34 blokes today? Surely some explanation is needed, especially if they continue talking themselves up as League One aspirants. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1228837169250458&set=pb.100063725585919.-2207520000&type=3