Yorks Tim

Cornwall 22 v 26 London Skolars Midlands Hurricanes 22 v 18 Workington Town KO North Wales Crusaders 16 v 26 Oldham Rochdale Hornets 22 v 28 Dewsbury Rams

It could be argued that Hurricanes beat themselves today after Rochdale capitalised on their indiscipline. Two sin-binnings and too many penalties given away in danger areas. We were probably close to a team warning at one point as we desperately defended our line. Harsh maybe as Hurricanes also showed great character by coming back after conceding two early tries and getting a lead against a decent Hornets side who were quick off the line and resolute when defending. After going behind again we had a try disallowed (it was clearly grounded I could see it from where I was stood 40 yards away) that would have equalised the scores and maybe turned the tide in our favour. We're getting there but still some work to do before we are a serious play-off contender.

Will be my first visit after Covid prevented me from going to the Cornwall game. Not sure what to expect from this place. I used to enjoy wandering freely around the pitch at Portway following the action. Thing to remember with the warm-up bit of the Alex is that it isn't designed for spectators and so everything has to be set up by the club. Hopefully visitors will appreciate this and cut us some slack.

The Hurricanes v Bulls tie has been switched to Odsal "for various reasons". Not sure how I feel about this but have no idea what any of those reasons might be. As long as we get through to the next round though, I'm sure I'll be happy!

No wait, that's the preferred easy route for the Hurricanes!

London Skolars 10 v 42 Hunslet Doncaster RLFC 28 v 18 North Wales Crusaders Midlands Hurricanes 24 v 22 Rochdale Hornets

I'm sure I wasn't the only neutral to enjoy watching it, errors n'all.

Sounds like the Cas fans don't agree with you

I'll be happy with that. Looking forward to watching a game somewhere I've never been to before and sure there'll be a warm welcome for us.

Midlands can play better than that but we usually get given the opportunity by the opposition. You just weren't making mistakes nor leaving gaps for us to exploit. We have only played Cornwall and Hull Dockers before so perhaps missed the benefit of being properly tested before facing you. Thanks for the friendly welcome for supporters though you could have opened the Bailey Bar half an hour earlier as there was a bit of a queue to get in!

When there are the same number of RL fans in Birmingham as there are football fans in Manchester, then we can have more than one Birmingham RL club! I don't even think the London analogy applies in the Midlands just yet either. Also, I'm from York and live in Coventry. Why would I support a Birmingham side?

A. No it doesn't. B. There is already a Birmingham RL club - Birmingham Bulldogs RL

Fun fact: last time I was in Dewsbury was with Coventry Bears playing the Celts. Playing for Celtic that day was Alex Walmsley. What is the beer / food offering in your stadium? Will I need the big coat?

To be honest Graham I'm hoping we play better on Sunday than we did against Cornwall but then that was over as a contest by half time and it was the season opener. We played Swinton first home game last time and they blew us away. The difference between Championship and Championship 1 was quite stark that day. We'll see how you've adapted to the lower division in a couple of days. We think we've got a better squad this season and we're talking play-off contention as a serious aim for a change. I'm not expecting us to win this one but you never know what might happen on the day if you underestimate us. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to a day out in Dewsbury and hope it's a good game to watch.

YouTube link Hurricanes CEO Greg Wood talks to Rugby League Outsiders. Pretty much covers everything you were wondering about.

Dewsbury Rams v Midlands Hurricanes KO 15:00 Hunslet v North Wales Crusaders KO 15:00 Oldham v London Skolars KO 15:00 Rochdale Hornets v Doncaster KO 13:00 Would expect Hunslet and Oldham to win at home but not sure about Hornets at this early stage of the season. Not really expecting Hurricanes to come away with anything from our visit to the league favourites. Will be a big test after games against Cornwall and Hull Dockers but hopefully the margin will be respectable if we defend well.

You should maybe get the train if this is what your grasp of geography is like

Hope you don't mind me intruding here and expanding on this topic. Hurricanes are using Ellgren for the first time this season and you might be able to help with my question. I can't help with the bobble hat question as everything in our shop apart from jerseys is listed as 'out of stock'. My question is to do with general sizing. I'm generally XL but buy replica playing shirts in 2XL as I like them a bit loose. However the Ellgren 2XL jerseys are not as loose as our previous supplier's and so I'm wondering if I should go with 2XL for hoodies, jackets etc. Cheers.

Hurricanes were slow out of the blocks and lost their discpiline late on but otherwise put up a good fight today. We deserved another try at least but Lions defended well and have certainly upped their game for the Championship. Excited for the new season but worried by the big gaps in the calendar. Not a good look for building a club in a new home.

Tough one for Hurricanes at Hull Dockers. Both teams will want to make a statement I reckon. Tasty.

I'll be at Swinton on Sunday for the Hurricanes game. Think it's the only one we've got arranged at this point.

Also the lack of any coverage from the main local newspaper which obviously favoured the established union clubs. Happily though, I am told the Hurricanes stadium move has been included in this morning's Midlands TV news. Didn't see it myself but, however small, it has to be a good thing.

Credit to Midlands Hurricanes Supporters Club on Facebook and Twitter

Public transport options for the Alexander Stadium Yes we'll be playing on the smaller part of the complex but this is only for 2023 while work on converting the main stadium is completed. My understanding is that the transfer of rights from the Commonwealth Games organisation to Birmingham City Council took longer than anticipated. I don't know why there is a charge to use the stadium bar after the game - possibly it's not that big and numbers are restricted (?) - but there will be food and drink available from stalls around the pitch anyway, as there was at Portway. A clause in ground regulations about not taking your own food/drink into the ground is standard for sports stadia isn't it? And post-Covid, surely most places are cashless now.

Public transport options from central Birmingham Good choice for all preferences.