Hello

Some exciting play from both sides.

Fair enough but I wasn't the one who brought TWP up, just responding to what I perceive to be false, if forums aren't for debate then they are weak. Also, a polite request to perhaps highlight the posts of those who "derail" in the first place instead of picking on somebody who responded.

Yep just like TWP did before a totally unprecedented and unforeseeable global shutdown

Ok we'll have to agree to disagree. They never had the chance to exploit financially the publicity, merch, ticket sales, food and beer sales that they would have had for SL home games. Given their increasing popularity and already decent ticket sales, it surely would not have been long before they moved to a considerably bigger stadium with more potential for sales. Also I refer to my previous point re the fact that they were asking to increase the salary cap, and you are another who is playing down the impact of covid - it's finished hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide

Such huge debts that they were asking to be able to pay MORE wages. Anyway, it is normal for big sporting clubs to have debts - look at the huge debts of Barcelona, a massive club. And none of this is the point anyway, the fact is that a new team was set up very successfully a couple of thousand miles away and after just three years already had crowds in the Championship that embarassed most of your ideal lock-off-the-heartlands-from-civilisation world where your dream is non-expansion and steady overall decline of the sport. Others, including myself, welcomed those many thousands of new Toronto fans to the sport. And to say covid hasn't had an impact, blimey where do you start......

Would you say that Toronto getting 10000 crowds for matches in the championship (God knows what attendance they could have achieved in super League at home if covid had permitted)was a "eurika" moment for how it will never work outside the the heartlands? Get a grip

They do seem to be a bit of a shambles, but in fairness the fact that sports are not allowed any spectators currently and indefinitely in Wales makes it awkward to try and flog season tickets.

You've made a classic error, you've described a city as having "zero interest" in the sport when they got crowds of up to 9,000 in the second tier, about 10 times or more of the attendance of several other teams in that tier, and a better average crowd than at least half of super League, despite only being in tier 2. Presumably you think that all championship teams and half of super league have "zero interest" since they get less people in than Toronto managed.

Oops, missed out the word division.

I think that we should rename super League "The super northern southern premier upper conference League".

Yep. Shame the Toronto haters keep dragging it up...........

That they are improving and the gap is narrowing. What's your point?

Which was completely undermined by covid, doh! Or maybe you predicted that Covid would happen, I certainly didn't. Anyway, let bygones be bygones and all that.......

Yep, struggling so much that a couple of months prior to the pandemic they requested that they could be an exemption to the wage cap and pay even more money to players in order to strengthen their squad.

I agree with your first paragraph fully, but some rich and committed owners in a sport sure as sugar help when it comes to marketing etc.

Roman has been to a lot of matches and has been very active in decision making so I don't agree at all.

Hi. On the billionaires get bored thing, Roman Abramovic at Chelsea, and the mega rich family that own Manchester City would suggest that the total opposite is true. They are still pumping billions into their clubs after years at the helm. Toronto were stopped by one thing, and one thing only - this out of the blue pandemic. It immediately took away all of the money that they would have made from their home games with associated merchandise etc and also had a significant impact on their own very rich owner. The fact that he pumped a load of money into the sport was great for the sport, What do we want, a bunch of owners without a pot to pee in renting ramshackle old stadiums with no marketing?

Some people on here are totally desperate to claim that if England beat France in this forthcoming fixture, as they probably will considering that they've been hammering France for ages, then this is some way "proves" that Catalans Dragons et al have failed to improve the French team in the last 20 years, whilst knowingly ignoring the improvements that are there for all of us to see in French RL in recent times. Sad people who want to hold the game back IMHO

Yep, completely narrow view mine

I think that you will find that they already have found ideas on how to grow the game in their country. It's called getting 9000 fans in (better than half of SL English teams manage) to watch a second tier team become the second team from their country reach the top League with all the increased attention that this will bring to the sport in said country, particularly with the forthcoming derby. It doesn't take a genius to see that this increase in interest will produce more youngsters trying out the game in France. As for your comments about finding funding and investment, are you joking? Check out the increased funding and sponsorship from various sources at Toulouse in recent years.

Let's face facts though. One thing that's for damn sure is that they are already considerably better than Leigh before they've even had a chance to make any off season singings and therefore much better placed to stay up

And everyone else's by the looks of it.

I give up. The only ones moaning around here seem to be those who wish to hold the sport back and keep it as insular as possible.