paul hicks

sounds about right although of course a few have just refused terms and moved so not so much shifted out all those players as refused to give in to demands of some of them.

you would think so but its not always the case. take Melbourne storm when they started up you would have been lucky to find a junior team in the Melbourne area and it's still very much a minority sport at junior level. even now i don't think melbourne have had 10 melbourne born players in the team. what Melbourne got that new clubs in this country don't get is piles of money thrown at them for a number of years. what is needed most is the money to finance a club in a new area. perhaps a percentage of the sky deal can be put into a fund for establishing clubs in new areas.

same place as the Rochdale and hunslet fans and plenty of others

indeed, we do mostly because people can't stand the thought of another club getting 10 quid more than them.

oh, i don't know. it's not that long since good crowds were attracted to Charlton and Brentford . the difference between our heartlands and London is that up here we accept mediocrity but in London they want to see excellence so it's up to London broncos to provided that excellence that in what is a very good new stadium which would soon draw in the crowds.

leeds had one this season. next season they will have two and maybe another yet to be announced

should you not count everyone who comes through the gate that's not working at the ground. at Leeds they have kids' games on at half time so should you not count them even though they have been watching the game. sponsors watch the game so are they not also spectators. now if you went back to the old system of gate money been declared and numbers of season ticket holders that may be a better way .

if we want to expand with any hope, it's not so much a list of cities as a list of people with the money to invest which is most important. every time a club starts up it has enough money to last a season if its lucky and then more often than not just struggles on until it fails. what's needed is a lot of money been invested into a club for 5 years minimum better still 10 years. look to Australia to see how they bring clubs through always well-funded and not just for a couple of years. of course, it will never happen here as most clubs will moan if one club get 10 quid more than another in funding. we need new clubs to expand the game as its obvious that long established cubs have just gone from failure to ruin year on year. just look at the atts of many clubs that have been around for a hundred years yet struggle to reach 1,500 for a game and quite often can't even reach 500 yet still pretend they are Professional just because they did well 50 years ago or more. perhaps less clubs but better funded is the way forward.

depends what you mean by the game. i would think the game in France is in a much better place than it's been for a long while. in Britain its a mish mash with some parts doing well and others a right mess . wheelchair rugby doing well womens rugby doing very well half of super league clubs doing well either on the field or by been financially stable the other half of super league well not so good. the championship well again in mix with some clubs doing very well compared to previous seasons and others you have to worry about survival league one. well, what do we do with it. community clubs again a bit of a mix with some doing really well but others struggling to field teams. maybe time to merge some clubs

only because no British side was good enough to stop it

no automatic relegation next year is there. who knows if either club would be relegated under the IMG grading or indeed if a different club would be sent down if any.

well, if your just on about a few away fans then it's going to be a dusting not icing. as to which brings more icing well hard to say if you look at more than the dusting from a few away fans. which cub will attract more sponsors for the game as a whole and which club may attract a better broadcasting deal. that could be the icing not a couple of dozen away fans from either London or France. really what's the difference between a few Huddersfield away fans and a few Salford away fans compared to a few Toulouse or London fans. when looking back at attendances for my club since Catalan came into the league, I can't seem to find a season when the home fixture against catalan was the lowest attendance of the season. i of course do not include covid affected seasons.

go to say Castleford when there doing well and even when they play clubs with hardly any away support and you can feel the vibe. by the way i am not a cas fan by any Strech of the imagination.

indeed, your right but again money does come into it. you're talking about part time players who work all day then train 2 or 3 nights a week with a game at the weekend. as a part timer time is precious

no club needs to worry about away fans if they start not relying on them every other week to pay the bills. they could always grow home support although i realise its a lot more easy just to blame the lack of away supporters

And indeed, with leeds who seems to sign siddal players every year. why do the big super league clubs have better relations is easy. they can put players on a rugby pathway with top clubs who have the time and money to progress those players into the top of the professional game if they are good enough. really what can a championship club off a very talented young player or indeed that players club.

one word. MONEY

Leeds are very active in the city through the leeds rugby foundation. indeed, they reach out across west Yorkshire and into the likes of Oldham and up to Whitehaven. the advantage Leeds have is the Leeds rugby foundation which is a registered charity and brings in a hell of a lot of money from the business community of Leeds allowing them to employ a number of community coaching outreach people on a fulltime basis . let's not run away from the facts though and that is that the clubs with no money can't really do much in the community as they find it hard enough to run a first team. this places like oldham and Whitehaven have been glad of help from Leeds in the past. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

half back popping an inside ball to a rampaging forward to crash in from 20 yards out with defender left on there *****

i know its changing next season but perhaps if cas were to finish bottom next season they could go down and either Toulouse or London go up. that of course would mean 3 very local teams together in the championship. something many would think is the way to go.

when you think about it well thats what made the scrums a contest rather than a farce

don't be to sure of a low attendance at Toulouse. let's face it i doubt if fev would have got 5,000 for it been held at their ground. would not be suprised with a 8,000 att at toulouse

Catalan are allowed the same amount of none federation trained players as every other team in super league. no more no less

to be a french immigrant would suggest if you were not born in France then you move there then you are a French immigrant so i would suggest every player on the books who was not born in France is a French immigrant. lets not forget the 3-year residency rule for been avable to play for the country as well

indeed, and it looks like next season Leeds will have at least 9 players that will not be eligible to play for England