Curly perm

Great for Wakey over a few years. Could easily fit into Wigan and do well if he can stay fit, surrounded by top players. Willing him to do well - full back, half back, wing if needed

It could be really good when they had a guest on but I was cringing at times. Agree about producing professionals. It felt like they needed a steady hand to keep them in check! I wasn’t surprised when Powell pulled the plug. He was one of their guests just a few months before they finished, so don’t think he was always against it…probably just thought they were going to get themselves into trouble soon, which was fair in my opinion.

Agreed. Young forwards all look ready and we’re reliant on them for depth this year. Windrow and Eseh look like they’ve bulked up a bit. I liked Butterworth from the academy/ reserves over the last couple of years…looks assured and fit into the attack well today.

Of course there are loads of reasons but it’s difficult to conclude that ‘people in the north aren’t interested in rugby league’ (which is what I was originally responding to) in the current climate - everyone is affected. I also mentioned high ticket prices, all games on telly etc - then there’s all the other stuff around the sport.

We can’t keep comparing RL to football - they’re just worlds apart in terms of popularity, marketing, coverage, participation, finances…everything. And a lot of the time we’re not just relying on the same type of people as football clubs, we’re relying on the same people who then have to make a choice (particularly in the current climate). Yeah, no doubt, mistakes will have been made but are we expecting one tournament to fix all the underlying problems in the sport immediately and get people turning up in their tens of thousands? These are long standing issues.

If all tickets were a tenner and we got the same attendances, that’d prob be a fair conclusion but there are so many other factors affecting attendances. We’re in the middle of a cost of living crisis, accommodation/petrol/travel is so expensive at the moment, the ticket pricing structure weren’t great for a lot of games and all games were on the telly. People are interested but attending games is a luxury and the fan base isn’t exactly flush.

Too many mistakes

Welsby needs to stop kicking the ball

Watkins thinking he’s playing in the back row

Michael Carayannis on yesterday’s Australian Daily Telegraph NRL podcast mentioned (albeit, fleetingly) that Tim Sheens met with John Bateman about a potential move to Wests. I think he’s contracted to 2024 but there was talk a couple of months ago of an offer from Wests.

Jake Clifford to Hull confirmed.

Wakey apparently in talks with Gold Coast prop Sam Lisone.

My little boy is autistic and plays football, rather than rugby league. He’s coming to the opening game as his first RL game. Having an upbeat, mainstream band like the Kaiser Chiefs is a godsend for us with getting him looking forward to the game and enjoying it. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but these things make a difference to some and enable families to attend who might not otherwise. Also, he can’t wait for the Siva Tau and hopefully a few other things going on as part of the opening ceremony.

There’s a thread on here about whether Nathan Cleary will make the Australian squad and we’re talking about Sneyd as our starting 7. Talk about levels. Hardaker, Hall, McIlorum? Time to give the young uns a go I think. I’m pretty nervous for the Samoa game if I’m honest.

Clearly has to be at 7 for them, surely. They put way too much emphasis on Origin in my opinion. Manly were a shambles for half the season, finished nowhere near the 8. Hynes at 14 I reckon.

St Helens and Warrington’s facilities need to exceed Headingley because Leeds have the location.

For some reason I didn’t realise it was on C4 yesterday, which is gutting. I really like Mark Wilson’s commentary. Bill Arthur constantly identifying the wrong players and making name mistakes was funny at first but are taking their toll now. Just unprofessional.

He ran my coaching course earlier this year…pretty much looks exactly the same!

We barely brought anyone in before the start of the season and now, when a lot of senior players are leaving and Poching has the chance to build his team, he’s gone. Don’t understand.

To be honest, it could be the community part of RFL waiting on confirmation from RFL top brass who are in discussions with DCMS…brief message, easy to interpret in different ways.

RFL are waiting on confirmation from Digital, Culture, Media and Sport dept to see if junior games can go ahead this weekend. Would be a shame to stop kids playing.

Kenny-Dowall instead of Leutele

Yeah, McQueen threw himself down for that penalty. I presume Watson highlighted players cheating to win penalties again in the Sky interview?

Does anyone know if there is an opening ceremony at the England v Samoa game? There was talk of one last year but I can’t find any detail now - just says it starts at 2.30pm, which I assume is the kick off time. I wouldn’t usually be too fussed but my youngest is coming and if there’s some kind of show, it might help to keep him engaged!

Like they did in 2019 when they fielded a youth team against London in August and relegation went to the last game of the season. London may have beaten a full strength Saints, we don’t know, but much less likely. Cas benefitted from a young Saints side back in Apr and are now one game away from the playoffs. I’m not blaming Saints at all (or any other club that does it, I just remember these games in particular being a Wakey fan!); they’re trying to give themselves the best opportunity amidst fixture congestion. In my opinion, it’s a product of the tight fixture scheduling and considering player welfare (which is a must).