ChoboMog

So, I guess we can add this to the no news is bad news category, if it's getting the Wolfpack some additional early season TV coverage ? To be honest, I was definitely in that "this must be some sort of PR stunt" category, even in my first post about it here; but, I guess this is legit and the team is simply trying to make the best of a bad situation.

The Sportsnet SN Now app definitely supports casting for any/all live content, as when I gave it a try I only watched content on my TV. It might even have an Android/Apple TV app, as well. What I am not sure about is whether the lookback feature, specifically, supports casting since it is only available through the Sportsnet website. We probably won't know for sure until somebody takes one for the team and gives it a try. I may go for it, and will update everyone if/when I do; but I am going to wait until towards the end of the promotion period to bump that $199 CAD hit into the next credit card cycle ?

Yeah, IF your focus is exclusively, or even anywhere close to this, to watch Rugby League, then WatchNRL is the gold standard. All games; live + on demand; all TV shows, 24/7 TV channel etc. There is, quite simply, nothing anywhere close for the RFL. I love it and am happily going to renew. I just wish there was a combo deal for WatchNRL and WatchAFL ? IF you also watch the Blue Jays, Raptors, Leafs etc., and don't have cable, then SN Now+ (after the price drop) is a good choice. The SN Now+ FAQ does list the ability to use a "look back feature" for games you miss, which is essentially an on-demand feature. However, with no personal experience, I don't know how well it works, nor do I know whether casting to a TV is an option. I would love for someone who does know to let us know, though.

So, somewhat unexpectedly, an interesting announcement just showed up in my e-mail inbox, indicating that there now exists a Sportsnet SN NOW+ package as an annual subscription marked down to $199 CAD per year if purchased by March 31, 2019 (reg. $249 CAD): This is actually the Plus (+) package which includes all the extras; and, when you consider it's now $199 CAD per year instead of $27.99 per month ($335.88 per year, if paid monthly) it had been, that's not such a bad deal. Despite my less than stellar review above, I am actually tempted by this price drop. I'd be willing to be the price drop has nothing to do with rugby league, and is actually a direct response to DAZN's acquisition of Premier League and UEFA Champions League games for the coming years and it's less expensive price point; but if you were on the fence before, now might not be a bad time to go for it.

I'm not sure if there is some sort of inside joke, I am missing, between here and the team's official announcement regarding the costume's whereabouts. Surely, though, this merely some sort of Carmen San Diego-esque, Where's Waldo/Wally-like publicity stunt, right?

For what it's worth...

I'm going to leave the back-and-fourth at this, as I think our respective points have been sufficiently made and because I don't really see the conversation going anywhere. If the attitude towards Toronto is, indeed, that the Wolfpack is simply a "guest to the sport"; then, perhaps, the insular, jaded, and narrow-minded heartland stereotypes, we have been abundantly warned of are, sadly, more prevalent than most of us had hoped. Not a good state of affairs. I'm still very confident, though, that such an attitude is not representative of the broader Rugby League community, and that Toronto's continued participation in the RFL/SL is a win-win, a chance to grow the game. Feel free to prove me wrong, though. Nobody is asking anyone to bow down, nor to create problems. Suggesting as much, and in a pejorative manner, I think purposely misrepresents the whole situation. Tweaks are being suggested; tweaks which mitigate the logistical challenges of a trans-Atlantic league and ones which present little to no downside (beyond change itself) for anyone involved. On the one hand, as much as this may surprise some here on the TotalRL forums, the world does not revolve around Sky Sports. On the other hand, Sky Sports itself clearly sees sufficient potential to carry every single game, home and away, for a second tier team which is apparently a mere "guest". Go figure. With Championship teams otherwise struggling to get any airtime at all, and with the odd SL game still somehow not making it to TV, perhaps we should focus on the positive, here: The growth in Rugby League interest, and broadcast, in the heartland and abroad alike. Perhaps we should build on this interest, and pester the powers that be to ensure that even more games are televised and that even more teams share in the privilege. Perhaps I'm a bit naïve. Honestly, I just hope this whole TWP experiment works out as it's been an absolute blast to attend games in person, and be able to follow something truly new, unique and exciting. Bring on a Montreal, a NYC a Boston, a Liverpool, or a Philly, as far as I am concerned! The fact that the couple of dozen people I've brought to games, their first RL games ever, have ALL loved it and returned to see TWP at Lamport of their own accord (paying for their own tickets, merchandise, food and beer) means I'm far from an outlier. The untapped, or perhaps barely tapped, potential is clearly there.

Toronto isn't gaining any advantage by having games scheduled as "home" yet played away, in the U.K. If anything the reverse is true, with Toronto being denied a supportive home crowd and the away teams not having to deal with the travel fatigue and jet lag they otherwise would have. If the "Super Dooper League [sic]" were smart, they might consider the scheduling tweak proposals in my previous posts, as it actually mitigates the effects of and limits the need for any TWP special treatment as well as introducing other benefits... ? Should Toronto gain promotion, the Super League (and it's constituent clubs) would be rather short sighted, and I would argue ill advised, if they were not to not find some way to continue to make things work. The scheduling solutions are really fairly simple logistics; having an SL team in Toronto a win for all involved, even more so with a 14 team SL as TWP promotion wouldn't displace anyone; and, while some seem to still deny the obvious, there is something rather special happening over here and Toronto has serious potential for Rugby League to break into a new and very lucrative market.

I don't think the point is missed, even after going back through and re-reading the thread. Toronto have fixtures scheduled as "home" and "away" from Rounds 1 through 6, despite three of those scheduled as "home" games actually being played at venues away from Toronto. Leigh will have to travel to Toronto while others won't because that's how the RFL scheduled the games. A game in Toronto, at that time of year, won't happen. I would rather all games scheduled as "home" be played in Toronto and all those scheduled "away" be played elsewhere, which is why I suggest the RFL/SL scheduling tweaks to accommodate the team's unique circumstances in a way which is seemingly detrimental to no one. In a nutshell: With a February start to the Championship/SL, have TWP games scheduled/played away for the first six rounds; OR, have the Championship/SL season start dates align more with those of the NRL, leaving TWP only needing the first 2-3 rounds scheduled/played as an away block; AND, then, in either case, schedule/play the remainder of the season in blocks of any size, with a ratio of slightly more home games in Toronto than away played elsewhere (just shy of 2:1 ratio and barely above 1:1 ratio for the first and second options respectively). In terms of a new/next Marquee Player: I haven't a clue and will gladly defer to the experts ?

What's great about the Toronto Wolfpack, so far, is the fact that regardless of any new "big name signing": interest continues to grow; continued success, and especially promotion, will only increase this; and most fans have been won over by the Rugby League game itself and/or the great team (in terms of skill and positive culture) we currently have. Any new signing, whether SBW or someone else entirely, is simply the icing on the cake.

Toronto Wolfpack currently play a few home games at away/neutral venues, out of necessity, due to the fact these "home" games are scheduled during the early rounds, at a time of year when Canadian winter weather makes playing professional rugby league outdoors a pretty bad idea. Potentially playing in -10°C to -15°C conditions, before windchill, on a frozen pitch is simply a non-starter, both from a fan enjoyment and player health and safety perspective. With a February start, by Round 6 Toronto is typically warm enough and stadium available. There's no reason they couldn't do six away games to start the season, followed by 20 rounds, broken into home/away blocks totalling 13 home games and 7 away (not quite 2:1 ratio home:away), with the Summer Bash at a neutral venue and scheduled whenever the RFL sees fit. My point was also that if the RFL/SL were to play more in line with the NRL's schedule, say mid-March through October as I proposed above (finishing later than the NRL to accommodate any weeks skipped due to Challenge Cup games), Toronto would be good to go for home games at Lamport by Round 3, and even Round 2 is the City's Department of Parks & Recreation were to expedite winter dome removal. To be completely honest, while things aren't quite as extreme in a U.K. winter, a slightly later start isn't that bad an idea weather-wise on that side of the Pond as well. Enough about weather and league/round scheduling, though. That's a (potentially really good) topic for another thread... FOX League Exclusive [2019-02-21]: Rugby League Club’s Bold Play to Bring Sonny Bill Williams Back From Union From the looks of it, Toronto Wolfpack might have made an offer. I'm new enough to the game to be blissfully unaware of whether this is, or is not, such a big deal; and thanks to that, if TWP do end up with a different "big signing" I'll still be plenty happy. This is at least some interesting drama, early in the season, and doing wonders to help me forget how pathetic Toronto F.C., down in Panama, was last night.

Playing games in home/away blocks, with the first several rounds obviously being away, would solve the issue of Canadian winter weather. A shift to a mid-March through October season would do the same, as well putting the RFL/SL more in line with the NRL's scheduling, (not a bad thing when considering player contracts, internationals, the World Club Challenge etc). I'm not holding my breath, though. Change = Controversy. A motto for some. However, we aren't talking about a bit of snow, sleet and rain, over here, and the need to just "toughen up". We are talking about consistent and persistent frozen pitch conditions with exposed skin being frost bitten in minutes with game time temperatures potentially hitting -10°C to -15°C.

I kind of wish there were some way to cross-post this thread with the General Rugby League Forum. While the article and topic is somewhat Toronto Wolfpack specific, the fact that such articles are to be written demonstrate growing awareness of the team and, should any of the U.K./France based teams/supporters be so interested, I am sure that them reaching out to Nigel/CBC would be an easy way to gain coverage in an article as well.

I thought I saw the World Club Challenge on last year's WatchNRL schedule, and it has indeed disappeared from this year's. It may still show up on FOX League, which is included, or as a live/on-demand "special". That said, given how good the WatchNRL coverage throughout the season/playoffs/internationals, I would easily give them a pass if this one game goes AWOL. Sportsnet, on the other hand, continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth. The online schedule doesn't list what is available live/on-demand with the expensive SNNow+ package, and not a single Rugby League game is even scheduled on any of the other half dozen channels they broadcast. If I am going to pay for a service, especially that much and in an era where streaming is replacing traditional broadcast distribution, there is no excuse to not cover make every game/round available.

Sky/SkySports doesn't broadcast in North America, or exist in any meaningful form on this side of the Pond, despite being a big deal in the U.K. and often the source stream used by major broadcasters over here for European sport. Toronto Wolfpack games were originally produced by the team itself, with 2018 feeds provided to GameTV and CBC Sports for broadcast and online streaming respectively. In 2019, SkySports was added to the mix, without sacrificing the two partners from the previous season, broadcasting all Wolfpack games, typically on SkySports Arena in the U.K. Originally, I thought that SkySports were simply going to use that same Wolfpack produced feed; however, it seems as if the first few games have come with proper announcing, as well. Not sure what the deal is for games at Lamport; but I'll be there in person, so it's less of a concern. I still can't wait for the Toronto Wolfpack to hit the more mainstream TSN/SportsNet channels, possibly something like DAZN, or especially on an OTA-available HDTV channel like CBC/CTV/Global; but that's gonna take a few years.