Wollongong

That’s actually quite debatable... one could argue that the landscape created the current hierarchy.... however My full opinion on Gayle’s article is that it is little more than a poorly constructed pseudo-celebrity blog... he argues against himself on more than one occasion in the first three paragraphs. Oddly, he praises his own club officials for keeping him informed of developments, yet the tenor of his piece is that he hasn’t been kept informed!?! do I think professional players should have role in running the sport, as he seems to suggest... No do I think professional players should be consulted on issues which affect their livelihood and personal health, as he also seems to suggest... Yes whoever leaked to the press, did so in the knowledge that it would create division and friction. As Wakefield CE Michael Carter has been quoted, they haven’t even discussed the real cost of starting up the season again, in a safe and controlled way; yet someone has come up with a proposal for fixtures and dates, which was leaked to the press, without full agreement and approval. clearly the discussions had not reached any form of maturity, and certainly not the level of advancement which would involve consultation with staff. I’m not saying that change shouldn’t happen but I'm a great believer in the Clare Graves mantra of change management... in that we must understand and articulate any change as ‘from what ... to what’ sadly Gale’s article barely raises higher than an a passing observation and at its base form is simply an ill-directed whinge... ...and, by no means raises a cogent and thought out argument for change.

As an ex player I can categorically say that I didn’t want a say In the way that the sport was run. as a pro/ semi pro I wanted to satisfy myself that I was happy with the reward I was receiving for my time and talent... as an amateur I just wanted to enjoy the sport. if those two criteria weren’t satisfied I wouldn’t involve myself. Over the fifty years I’ve been around Rugby League I’ve only met a couple of real quality business minded administrators, a few more people who have special expert skill (players, coaches, grounds keepers)... occasionally players will move into becoming top quality coaches... and very very occasionally players will transition Into becoming good administrators. Hardly any have become entrepreneurs who buy and finance teams. so on balance I say let the current hierarchies remain... but encourage better education, consultation and collaboration... and maybe the landscape will change.

Possibly Wakefield.... I know Chris Chester is an admirer.

Oddly I often walk past the leagues club but I have never been in. As a Sharks fan I struggle with St George being our local team... that said, the Illawarra is a hotbed of RL I understand Vic Hey played for a number of English clubs in his career and was a highly respected footballer and man... it must have been exciting for you to travel around the world and see family memorabilia displayed so!

I haven’t watched an origin series in years... I find the hype is bigger than the entertainment... so my personal preference is international football. however... you have to realise that the toll in Australia just reached 100 Covid related deaths... this was largely achieved through closing state and international borders and clamping down on outbreaks. Western Australia now has a hard border from the rest of the country and Is arguing against free movement from other states. New or emergent cases are really rare in most states and on the east coast emerge in very low numbers daily. whilst Covid 19 is still rife around the world I cannot see Australia welcoming unnecessary international travel. The focus of the county seems to be self sufficiency ...for trade, tourism and sport... the tenor of the discussion would not be surprising in near normal circumstances... in this ‘new normality’ it’s to be expected!

Hmmmmm... Greg Inglis was one of the best players ever to pull on a shirt to play rugby league...but, during his last full season (2018) he was disrupted by a shoulder injury and was (by his own high standards... pretty poor) this culminated in being apprehended after a drink driving offence, for which (somehow?!?!?) avoided conviction. He lost the Australian captaincy and very soon afterwards, he retired. Since then he has been in therapy for his mental health whilst adjusting to life away from playing. those issues, physical and mental... make this ( in rugby terms) a very risk signing. Add to that the moving and living in another country, away from close family and support networks, adds to the risk. that has to be balanced against the opportunity to parade one of the biggest names in the sport in a Wire shirt! The deal is twelve months... and it seems the financial commitment is being well managed. I remember being a disappointed Trinity fan when I heard we had signed Ray Price to come out of retirement after 3 years... my disappointment was short lived as he was an inspiration to the team and the club... will the same be said of Inglis with hindsight??? I hope so... moreover, I think it’s worth the risk!

Nah!

Being a trinity fan in my youth...I always wanted the handling skills of Keith Smith and the energy and strength of Mike Lampkowski although I would have been happy being an injury free Nigel Wright

I agree that the Superleague season should be abandoned in its current form... play out the challenge cup... a form of round robin league contest ... and a couple of nines weekends then start again ( same teams in same tiers) next season

Wally Lewis v Peter Sterling... both debut in trinity v hull game at Belle Vue in 82... watched Henry Paul play for the junior kiwis at Wembley.... Martin Offiah’s Wigan debut... oh and widnes beating Canberra at old Trafford...

Yes I watch as much RL as I can find the diversity on streaming is awesome!

Hull did as has been mansplained... and dumped it amidst the altruistic gesture of merging with Gateshead taking an unfeasibly large cheque and their best players... along with a lenient version of the overseas quota rules. St Helens does have a second name.... it’s Helens.

I think international borders will be sealed for a good few months yet... certainly here in Aus where a Covid 19 patient is more difficult to find than a koala in the charred remains of the Australian bush, and restrictions are being lifted with the help of a citizen tracking app... there are no plans to open the borders to plague ridden foreigners... with the possible exception of a NZ/ Aussie bubble... tourism and immigration is on indefinite hold! The government is already talking about also becoming less reliant on overseas business (which is odd as the ‘citizen tracking app’ is owned and run by an American company and the data will be stored overseas) anyway... back to the point... no to an exiles team ... but maybe a ‘Prime Ministers 13’ Or an Artist formally known as Prince Harry’s invitational team... would be much easier to market Boris or Harry to their new fawning working class masses!? I think lockdown is bringing out the sarcastic cynic in me....

Fair comment... unfortunately for most people ‘history of the game’ stops at their first personal memory. few... very few... treasure heritage or even accuracy in those memories. The creation of the sporting organisation of The Rugby Football League (I take issue with the claim that the sport of Rugby League was created on that day as they were still playing the same sport as the RFU, but sanctioning payments for broken time... rule change and diversification happened later) would seem to be an irrelevance to most modern fans.

I believe that there is evidence from the fossilised remains of these creatures, that they may have been covered in downy feathers. Often brightly coloured, which experts hypothesise may have been used in mating. similarly coloured individuals would be attracted to like colours... for example amber and black creatures would have the need to mate with other amber and black creatures imprinted on their DNA. There were, experts say; a red and white hooped, a marked red V and Blue with a bright golden breast science is beautiful