DI Keith Fowler

That's true but I thought we were basing this on the neutral observer, like if you were judging on a try of the season criteria. Context is interesting though as you say, Welsby's GF try isn't like a spectacular try but in the context of the game it was an incredible moment.

Now that I do agree with, they need to confirm this detail ASAP. I would be astounded if there isn't weighting to be honest, I imagine this is more or less what they're referring to when they use buzzwords like machine learning, a calculation that says a 3,000 attendance in the Championship equates to 5,000 in SL based on previous trends. If they could be explicit on this point a lot of complaints just fall away.

I think that is very true. You see young people walking around in NFL gear in cities across the north, we should definitely be targetting the goth rugby lot. The sport as played on the pitch I think you could very much get them into, but everything around the game is what is going to put them off. If we can continue on this journey of diversifying the event around the game there's potentially a younger and more affluent audience within reach.

I follow them on Twitter it's quite funny to see a game on what looks like a local park but there's about 50 people there setting flares off.

I think there's an assumption that a try from distance is always spectacular when they can often be fairly boring. Dropped ball then a speedster goes 80 metres uncontested isn't any better than a well constructed crash ball try from two yards out.

You can run analysis on how much twitter accounts are boosted by bots also.

It's been confirmed since the outset that it's the grading of Bs that determines who joins SL. I appreciate this may have passed you by but people are asking the same question over and over that was already answered on day 1. In your example, it wouldn't happen like that. It would be say for example that Halifax and Toulouse in all aspects other than performance are level on score. In that season, promotion would be announced prior to the final even occurring, and would be based on performance from the previous 3 years. Which would for example prevent a situation where Halifax win the league 3 times in a row then lose in the 4th it wouldn't count against them.

I will, yes I've made a summation based on the post here by the person who made the show along with the quotes which I can literally read. I'm looking forward to the incredible subtext and underlying themes that you've picked up on.

It's this really isn't it? You can learn composure under a high ball but you can't learn to be taller and faster. His raw attributes and current trajectory are what he's being signed for not necessarily the player he is right now.

Are you sure on that one? He did his MCL in 2018 with Widnes at Salford on a grass pitch. I have vague memories of him doing his ACL with the academy but not sure whether it was on that pitch or not.

He'll be handing out a few lessons on the rugby pitch I expect.

Will give a listen later but by the sounds of it this is very good management of the situation by the RFL.

Looked like a Super League player from the moment I saw him for Widnes, just a shame we didn't even get a full season before he got his move. Obviously it was the correct move for him mind.

He's a bit of a mixed bag, sometimes he breaks a good story sometimes he'll build things up beyond what they are. I find it a little annoying to get an email claiming an EXCLUSIVE to find a Castleford squad player I've never heard of is close to signing a new two year deal.

You've got a drawer full of nonsense is what you have.

When's a bobble hat ever been tasteful? It's called a bobble hat it's inherently silly.

It's closed now, soon to be demolished. I'm going to get a few cans and go watch when they do. Although I fully expect it will fall to the Widnes side like when the sun blocker fell on Shelbyville.

Indeed, maybe not the roots as someone put it but a vital and necessary part. You see the number of players that move between the divisions throughout their career. Do we think players would put all their eggs in one basket and pursue a career in RL so readily if it was SL or bust? Some players don't go straight from academy to SL first team. Some get loaned out and experience intensity that isn't present in academy rugby in the form of vocal crowds, pressure and the opponent literally playing to put food on the table. Some go play in the Championship and peak later, I bet people can think of countless examples of top class players who did a stint in the lower league. Then there's the players who make it big in SL then drop down to eek out a few years salary while they retrain for their new careers. Without the leagues below they'd be on the scrapheap at that point, it wouldn't help them in life and and it wouldn't be enticing to someone at the start of their career that by the time they're 30 and their body is half-shot there's no transition period between top level rugby and the rest of their life. If the Championship disappeared tomorrow (or was significantly weaker and poorer) you would not see the numbers of people choosing to pursue an RL career, the risks don't justify the rewards. Having the lower leagues there as a safety net or a holding pen allows the top level to function and keeps people in the game.

If they drop off as a result, no. "A" might be guaranteed entry in SL, but it's not guaranteed "A" status forever because you got that grade in the first year. It's re-assessed annually, they've been quite explicit about this.

To be fair it's not meant to be what the gradings will be, it's just looking at the performance aspect by adding together the last three seasons points/positions and putting that into a table.

We definitely need matches televised on a Saturday evening. Most weeks the televised fixtures are done by Friday except for the odd Saturday C4 early game. It doesn't feel right for a major sporting competition.

I think it's that Eurosport will continue at least until after the next Olympics and BT will become TNT. They may well fold Eurosport in at that point.

I think if this were a few years ago it would be concerning. But now with RL Commercial and IMG around it's a diminished role from what it previously was. I can see the sense in not seeking out an expensive out of house appointment for a job that has limited power now.

Premier Rugby. Luxury Rugby.

Could you please not tell the people of my town that, they do not need this kind of Truman Show realisation.