Phil W

A quick piece on the importance of this weekend to Thunder and rugby league in the north east. Everyone coming up, do your bit! https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/the-importance-of-magic-weekend-to-newcastle-thunder

I really can't fault Thunder's performance this afternoon, the lads gave everything this afternoon and Goole knew they'd been in a contest. My thoughts below https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/newcastle-thunder-v-goole-vikings-and-other-league-1-thoughts

6-12 to Goole at half time here at Blaydon. Thunder are in the fight.

Wins for North Wales, Rochdale, Goole and Workington. Big few days for Thunder with Magic Friday or Magic FRDY however we want to market it on the horizon! Bit of a preview below https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/newcastle-thunder-v-goole-vikings-and-other-league-1-preview

Some really good wins for Workington, North Wales and Goole. A tight win for Rochdale and routine for Dewsbury. Some thoughts on Thunder following Dewsbury but there is stuff to look forward to. As with when Thunder were in The Championship, I genuinely enjoy League 1 and it's going to be very tight at the top this season. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/thoughts-on-the-dewsbury-game-and-the-rest-of-the-league-1-action

I don't know if this has been mentioned in the 100 pages on here, it probably has. I hope we're trying to get Netflix involved with this, give them all the access they want. Rugby union messed it up with Netflix, if league gives access it could be huge.

Thanks. There's still a lot of learning for our young squad. Quite a few are playing university rugby on a Wednesday while playing for Thunder. It's a big step up!

We're a couple of weeks out from Magic Weekend in what's always a big occasion for rugby league in the north east. For those who are in and around Tyneside on the Friday night, Newcastle Thunder take on Workington at 19:30 at Blaydon rugby club. Tickets are available on www.thunderrugby.co.uk £15 for adults, £5 for under 18s and £45 for hospitality. As a Thunder fan it's always great to see other clubs turn up and support us. Anyone who looks at results can see we've been doing it tough since reforming to keep rugby league alive in the north east. We have a very young team who always give 100% every week. With the sad demise of Cornwall we've also lost a home game later in the season. If you're around on the Friday night please come down and support rugby league in the north east, everyone is welcome. If you can buy in advance on the website it means the volunteers can have an idea on attendance. Also if you want a seat, it's limited so get there early. Away from the rugby a personal highlight of Magic Weekend for me is seeing the various rugby league shirts on display at Leazes Parkrun which finishes with St James Park in the background. There's also a marathon and half marathon from Gateshead stadium on Sunday morning for those who are around and want to support that. I know there's a bit up in the air with Magic going forward, so if it is the last in Newcastle let's make it a big one! If anyone has any questions then post them here and hopefully we'll see you down at Blaydon on the Friday night!

Don't let the Newcastle thing put you off. Thunder are playing at Blaydon rugby club and if you do ever want to come down you'll be made more than welcome.

If you go on www.thunderrugby.co.uk then tickets are available on there. If you need anything else then post on here and I'll come back to you.

Wins for Dewsbury, Whitehaven, Rochdale, Keighley and Midlands. Some very good games this week which I've had a look ahead to with my main focus as usual on Thunder. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/dewsbury-rams-v-newcastle-thunder-and-league-1-preview

Fully expecting a convincing win for you guys tomorrow, tough for us at the moment but we'll stick behind our young group. Have done a preview below for anyone interested. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/dewsbury-rams-v-newcastle-thunder-and-league-1-preview

No we don't do an early bird price but if you could buy in advance that'd be great. It'll give the volunteers a rough idea of how many people might attend.

Bradford Bordeaux and Leigh Lyon to make up the two French teams......

I know it probably wouldn't happen but imagine if the away end at Huddersfield on Sunday afternoon was packed with rugby league fans showing support for Catalans. That would send a strong message from the fans.

My thoughts on yesterday's match and a quick League 1 round up. It's really important we stick with it and continue to back this young group. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/whitehaven-v-newcastle-thunder-and-other-league-1-thoughts

Another good round of fixtures. Expect wins for Keighley, Dewsbury, Rochdale and Whitehaven. A preview including Thunder v Whitehaven, the Cornwall situation and a look ahead to this round below https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/whitehaven-v-newcastle-thunder-preview-and-a-look-ahead-to-league-1-action-with-some-thoughts-on-cor

On the subject of it being difficult, Thunder tickets are now on sale for our Magic Friday game against Workington. It'd be great to see as many people down at Blaydon as possible https://www.thunderrugby.co.uk/match-day/tickets

To top it all off this meeting is taking place on 1st April. We want you in the sport but you're getting no money and you're paying for our travel. In the week that long awaited Ashes tickets have gone on sale with a bit of hype around things, it seems like rugby league is at yet another crossroads.

I want to be positive about the future as this young team are still learning their trade. Quite a few play University rugby on a Wednesday which isn't probably the best preparation for playing at League 1 level on a Sunday. In Chris Thorman we have the ideal person for us, when he speaks he makes sense. Investment is really tricky for any team in rugby league, probably more difficult for the likes of Thunder, we're a minority sport and with Newcastle United doing well it takes focus away from other sports. Realistically we have a small group of fans who put money in, some brilliant volunteers who genuinely care about keeping rugby league alive. The ultimate issue is getting people through the door, the more we get in, the more we can spend. I'd like to think we can use our partnership with Blaydon to get some new fans interested. If anyone's up on the Friday of Magic Weekend it'd be great to see you down at Blaydon, all support is appreciated. Ultimately yes it's very tough at the moment but there has been an improvement in performances even though scorelines don't reflect the effort put in. I also write my blog covering Thunder. If anyone wants to reach out to discuss anything League 1 then feel free. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/newcastle-thunder-v-midlands-hurricanes-match-thoughts-and-other-league-one-matches

My preview of Thunder v Midlands tomorrow. Wins for Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Midlands, Swinton and North Wales in this round. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/newcastle-thunder-v-midlands-hurricanes-preview

Thanks for this Pete. Annoyingly this is the first home game I'm missing in a while!

As a Thunder fan it has been worse, lost in both cups. Our second home league game of the season on Sunday but I'm away. The only bonus was at least our two cup games were at home. It's very difficult to build anything with things being so disjointed.

Super League ready if you ask me....

Congratulations to Cornwall on their victory this afternoon. Looks as though we did our usual trick of conceding just before half time again! Definitely Midlands at Thunder next weekend. Bit of a round up below. https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/cornwall-v-newcastle-thunder-thoughts-and-league-one-round-up