LR23

Congratulations. I didn’t disagree with you in principle but if you want to focus on Coronavirus impact on society and life in general and avoid discussing rugby league maybe don’t come on a thread titled ‘Coronavirus: Impact on Rugby League’. As someone else mentioned, there are some people looking to rugby league and these boards as a diversion from the awful current state of the world. Nothing wrong with that in my view.

I get your point but this is a rugby league forum and a thread specifically focussing on the impact of the virus on rugby league.

I only watch the odd NRL game so can’t really comment but I was really impressed by Flegler and Haas - Brisbane didn’t look the same team when they went off.

Fine expressing hopes but I should also be able to express realism and then help our clubs get through this. See the message he was replying to mentioning multiple venues, etc. Traveling across the country and even playing rugby goes against Government recommendations intended to stop the spread. Social distancing includes players and staff. Lets say it somehow gets the go ahead with a full testing regime, who pays for these games behind closed doors? Sky are putting Sky Sports subscriptions on pause so they are not making any money from these. Let's say all that gets sorted and Sky throw money at it, what happens when a player or member of staff gets infected and a whole team needs to go into self isolation? And the teams they have recently played? What happens with Cats and Toronto with international travel all but locked down? Like I said, the situation could change but it seems pie in the sky to think we'll see a game any time soon. I'd love to be proven wrong but the actual experts think otherwise.

I don't watch a huge amount of NRL but really enjoyed the game on Sky this morning fans or no fans. And yes the cut to fans at home was pretty good - we can all relate to that. Regarding the game, Brisbane's starting props were exceptional.

Nobody seems to be listening do they? The Prime Minister has just said he hopes to stop the exponential increase in cases in 12 weeks time - and that's if everyone pays attention to social distancing measures which they are not. And that's hardly the same as beating the virus which is a long, long way off. And as the Imperial College report stated, as soon as social restrictions were relaxed then cases would likely surge up again until we have general immunity or a vaccine (a year to 18 months away). Circumstances could change of course but at the moment I can't see Super League starting up again for the foreseeable future.

Saints v Wire 2015 round 6 is on You Tube tonight.

I've just read up on the Imperial College modelling that the Government used when it decided to implement social distancing measures. It basically says if we relax these before a vaccine is available then infection rates will soar again leading to large numbers of deaths and the NHS being overwhelmed. A widely available vaccine isn't expected for 18 months. They may find a balance with social distancing measures but from what I read that is unlikely to include mass gatherings. I think it is likely the season will be a write off.

I think the clubs need the money from the additional home fixtures though - if we cut a load of fixtures (even the loop fixtures) will those without wealthy benefactors be able to cope?

I'm hoping we can just postpone for 4 weeks, get rid of the playoffs, move the postponed games there and have a 1st v 2nd Grand Final - minimal disruption and nobody goes bust. This all depends upon the Government strategy which seems to be leaning towards isolating the vulnerable and letting the rest of us get on with it. Toronto and Catalans may throw a spanner in the works. We'll have players out with illness but that will be balanced out by the mid-season break allowing recovery from injuries hopefully. The main issue is full team outbreaks but I'm sure games can be rearranged ad hoc. It's nowhere near as simple as that but you've got to start somewhere. Playing behind closed doors or reducing the season length puts the viability of a number of clubs at risk unfortunately.

All the concerns about expansion are very relevant and all the possible benefits are pipe dreams without an innovative long term strategy in place agreed by both the RFL and Super League.

Being pedantic but the Salford leadership haven’t spoken out against expansion like some others have. The issue is that we represent the biggest team in the ‘Manchester’ area. Manchester is undoubtedly somewhere you would want to keep in the game when looking to expand at the same time. It isn’t a rugby league place but it has potential if the profile of the game catches of. A smaller rugby league town has no potential to do much better really. I do agree that on current crowds and budget we will only hang on for so long at this level though.

I’m convinced that Salford’s crowds will never improve until rugby league becomes relevant with the wider public - people in the area just don’t care about rugby league at the moment. Expansion may be a way to make the sport relevant if there is a plan and further ideas to shake off this M62 image. Unfortunately, I don’t see where Salford fit in with that short term (changing to ‘Manchester’ does nothing in isolation) and I doubt we’ll survive long enough in Super League to find out or for our crowds to benefit.

Because of the likely enforced Coronavirus break does this mean we’ll also have to endure a mid season ‘silly season’ of endless threads like this until we have some rugby to talk about again?

It might be because the ‘fans’ of this sport find any excuse possible to moan?

Some lemon on Twitter was slagging him off at half time so I politely pointed out that he’d actually given us more than he’d given Wigan. He then tweeted me every time Child got a decision ‘wrong’. I was too busy enjoying the same. I can’t understand how anyone can be so focused on a referee when watching a game like that?!

Maybe a year late. His defensive positioning and playmaking needed a bit of work but both really sharpened up last year. He’s added a few assists already this year.

30+ years of watching Salford and they are as predictable as ever!

I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to find out why he wanted to know ?

If you are doing nothing about it then you shouldn't be embarrassed by it. That Grand Final appearance must really sting. Anyway, back to coronavirus before I get told off. Hopefully for the club and my own bank balance (few trains already booked) these games get postponed rather than played behind closed doors. And hopefully this doesn't last long as I've already got a trip to Toronto booked that I'd rather not cancel.

What are you doing to improve them then? I'm sure your proposals will be as original as your jokes.

I'm LondonRed on the Salford boards but that name had already been taken here. I played football for many years as number 23 (big Materazzi fan!) and added that to fill the name out.

Are you not a bit embarrassed that not only have thousands of people cracked this 'joke' before you, but you also couldn't even manage an original way to phrase it?

You seem to quite often miss the point Harry - why do you need everything explaining in granular detail and point by point? Everyone else manages to read between the lines. Yes I mentioned Rochdale as an example based on Toronto. I am aware people commute large distances but most prefer to move. I hate a long commute and often move because of this. On your last point you must have imagined me saying this. I’d expect an overseas team to live and train where they are based and then have a temporary training base here for the spells where they travel over to play. I’d hope they’d negotiate blocks of games up front but they don’t seem to be getting many favours. I’d expect them to have the majority of their time in their own country. Do you need me to explain this further?

You are assuming everyone lives in Rochdale or wherever they are based. There will be players from across the north, Aus and NZ who will need to move anyway. If I was moving I’d rather move to Ottawa than Rochdale (no offence to Rochdale). It’s an adventure because it’s a different lifestyle, climate and way of life. Not sure how the climates compare but I spent a year in Norway and loved every minute of it. I’m sure it would be an easy sell to a fair few young players and even a few older ones with families who fancy a change.