Treize Hombres

Just five words come to mind when reading your posts.....Pride comes before a fall. There's a huge difference between championship winners and the Super League. I wish TWP all the best for the future and sincerely hope they go from strength to strength. But please don't try belittling the less successful sides who are living hand to mouth. We are one big Rugby League family. Without the likes of Hunslet, there would be no TWP. I am writing this in a downtown Toronto bar and am from a heartland town that hasn't won anything for nearly a century. So consider yourself lucky and hold your counsel if you feel the urge to have a go at fellow RL supporters. We all stick together and the game is bigger than any one club. By the way I recommend the Collective Arts IPA from Hamilton. Cheers

I am also here in Toronto and can wholeheartedly concur with what Barnyia has said. Totally different game day experience from what we have at home. It's an event not just a fixture. Found the Canadian fans to be enthusiastic and quite knowledgeable about the game. In over 40 years of watching RL at all levels this was the highlight by some distance. The Wolfpack has caught the imagination of the public over here. My fellow guests at the bed and breakfast I stayed at were talking about the game and were fascinated by the concept of a Canadian team playing top flight sport in a transatlantic competition. This is just the start of something big for our sport. Thank goodness that the administrators have seen sense and allowed TWP to be promoted. This city is sports mad and it won't be long until the Wolfpack need a bigger den to play in. I'll be back next year and would encourage all RL supporters to make the trip. You won't regret it.

Regarding player development many pro RL clubs don't care about investing in the junior scene. It could be argued that they rely on the likes of Wigan and Cas to do all the work for them at youth level. This has been going on for decades. As for framing the future that was a complete joke. Some top clubs wouldn't meet the criteria for entry into SL based on their facilities and what happened to the crowd levels that had to be met. If memory serves it was about the 10,000 level. Sort of what TWP are hitting now. And you mention for playing by the rules. What rules??? TWP have done so for the past three seasons, are days away from a championship final and the powers that be are still dithering on what the hell is at stake on Saturday. This makes our sport look Mickey Mouse as a previous poster suggested. The only good thing to come out of this that the Canadian fans have found out at an early stage how inept our Administrators are and how short sighted and greedy some of the SL clubs are.

And also with no Melbourne born players for quite a while. Who cares if TWP have no Canadians in the squad at the moment. These things take time. The London Broncos have been around in various forms for decades and their junior development is now coming to fruition. After three seasons TWP have done more for the game than any club outside SL has ever done. To get the level of interest shown from scratch has been phenomenal. Just imagine what they could achieve if they become established as a top 5 side. That will take longer than some of our Canadian friends on here think but the potential is obvious. The only reasons for the negativity are jealousy from some RL supporters and the downright greediness of some of the SL chairmen. The game is dying in some areas and it looks like the prognosis is terminal for a few lower league traditional clubs. This could be the just the start of something massive for our game. TWP have got off to a flying start....how many other new RL clubs have done that and have not only maintained the level of interest but built upon it in such a short space of time. SL should be welcoming them with open arms not trying to block them for spurious reasons.

Agreed. Can't understand why Leeds don't just throw McLelland straight in and see how he goes. I reckon he'd be a huge success. You can only get SL experience by playing at that level.....look at the youngsters at Wigan. They are playing like a house on fire because they have been given the chance to show what they can do. Forget farming excellent youngsters off on Dual Reg....get them used to playing at the elite level as soon as possible.

Good point Eddie but it looks like your question got lost in all the vitriol being posted on this thread. I'd say they are about the same in terms of being able to have a crack at SL. Both have got better facilities than some SL grounds, both are of similar playing standard currently and both have passionate and loyal support. Financially we know Leigh have had their issues and if they try to buy success at the top table then they will be heading for another fall. The London model seems to be they way to approach it. They are also small towns surrounded by much bigger clubs and are unlikely to be able to hold their own should one of them get promoted. The Broncos have done so this year but it's an exception to the rule. This sort of season rarely happens in RL and that's why it's been so exciting this year.

There may be no hard evidence but RL has a track record of moving the goal posts at a late stage of the season. Keighley were denied entry to the top flight and the club has never recovered from that set back. I wouldn't put it past them to block TWP on logistical grounds, despite letting them compete in the lower divisions without issue. The outrage and discussion is precisely because it wouldn't surprise many of us on this forum if SL pulled such a stunt.

Totally agree with you on that score. I've watched RL for over 40 years and have only ever come close once to giving up on the game.....that was when Gateshead were sacrificed to save Hull . To deny them entry would be a outrageous if this story is true. What makes this season any different from last. Had TWP beaten London would they have been denied entry ???? Either we want this game to grow or we continue to put a few elite clubs above everything else.

There are now so many permatations that my head wasn't functioning properly after watching that game last night. Thanks for correcting my error.

By my reckoning London could beat Wakefield by 70 + points and still get relegated if HKR and Huddersfield both win. What a season this has turned out to be. Best one in years and a real boost for the promotion and relegation system. Hope London can do it...they have been a joy to watch this season....no big name stars just teamwork and hard graft. Danny Ward must be coach of the year no matter what happens next week.

Hello and welcome. I wouldn't rule out any position but two immediately spring to mind The first is that you obviously have the weight to play prop. Secondly, as you are mobile then second row is a possibility. You don't need the height that you do in Union. As for hooker you are probably too big weight wise... in RL they tend to be smaller than in RU....it's a completely different position and you play more like a scrum half. The main thing is that you join your local team and find out for yourself what a great game RL is. I'm sure they will find you the best position to play in. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

That's good to hear. I want RL to expand and sincerely hope TWP can get established at SL level. Maybe the Canadian sports fans have a different mentality when I comes to supporting their teams and see game day as an event rather than just going to watch the match itself. Plenty of "fans" in the UK would go to watch their side on the basis that they were on a hot streak. Same in Australia...look at the crowds Canberra are now getting compared to a few seasons ago.

I appreciate that but they are massive competitions and are not new teams. How many Torontonians (if that's the correct word) followed the Raptors before they won the NBA.....in comparison to Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fans?? My argument was more along the lines of would TWP be getting 7000+ crowds in the lower two divisions of RL if they weren't battering everyone. The interviewer kept banging on about the amazing win-lose ratio and not the quality of the opposition.

Bob Hunter speaks a lot of common sense in that interview and clearly knows how to build a brand. I find his approach more positive and proactive than the Executives that we have over here. Two things concern me though. Firstly it would appear that Canadians love watching a winning side no matter which sport and not caring too much about the strength of the opposition. How will TWP grow if they get into SL and can't win every week.... I don't think they will be ready to challenge for the title anytime soon.....but am happy to be proved wrong on that. Secondly, there appears to be no real distinction between RL and RU. Bob Hunter didn't make it obvious which code the TWP play, although he clearly knows his stuff. I just hope that they don't cosy up too much to the Canadian RU because we know where that usually leads to. Apart from that it's an interesting interview. Its refreshing to hear a CEO talk so positively about his club and the direction it is going in.

She was in the row behind disguised in a retro Saints top and flat cap