Tony Angelino

Thought so. Was he talking up the south’s v Leeds match in Florida or just talking about south’s in general?

I think he scaled back his involvement and investment due to a divorce a few years back but still has a somewhat smaller stake in the club.

I could have also dreamt it but I think he went on a US late night talkshow wearing his south’s jacket and talked about the game. Could have been jay Leno or David letterman. Not quite sure?

Although it was only a pre-season friendly but didn’t Crowe promote and attend the south’s v Leeds game in Florida?

Wasn’t st. James park newcastle talked about hosting double header semi-finals?

What’s York city knights capacity? Im guessing that’s a shared venue as well?

Wasn’t it something to do with paying for the new Wembley or something?

Doncaster? Hull?

I actually preferred the FA cup semi-finals at villa park and Hillsborough to Wembley as playing at Wembley twice for the 2 finalists lessens the occasion somewhat.

What was the last stand-alone semi-final that topped 20k? I remember a couple of saints v Leeds semi-finals at Huddersfield around 2008-2010 that looked good on tv.

Wigan v saints depending on availability should have been played somewhere like bolton or Preston for a 25-30k stadium or Widnes to ensure a certain sellout.

Anything short of 25k would be a failure for me. Who plays 1st? Wigan v saints or giants v KR?

Maybe in Queensland and Sydney but not Perth or NZ but I agree that junior development is vital.

I think a wealthy backer willing to underwrite any financial shortfalls for either bid would tick more boxes than junior numbers for the NRL bosses.

Another Queensland club is probably the less risky option for the NRL compared to Perth or NZ2 and when you factor in the projected population explosion in places like Ipswich and Logan it could tip the balance. Personally I’d prefer Christchurch and then Perth over another Queensland team.

It’s potentially good for the England national rugby league team.

Great news for Harry rushton and English RL. As for Oliver gildart his back could be up against the wall already with the form of To’a who is very highly rated within the NRL and players like Talau and kepaoa still to come back from injury.

And semi-finalists.

Kr are getting great crowds and have reached the semi-finals of the challenge cup so far this season on top of getting their act together off the pitch regarding their home ground. So yes they(KR) have been a success story this season.

Well Huddersfield won’t be needing 8k for a start. Hopefully any remaining unsold tickets will be shared out between KR, wigan and saints so we get a full house.

What’s the likely limit for each club?

Indeed. Last year as well. The club definitely feels and looks on the rise both on and off the pitch. They are most certainly on a upward trajectory.

Whilst I agree with you that pacific nations like Fiji, png, Tonga and Samoa other nothing to the NRL financially they do offer potential superstars of the game like sivo, kikau and olam etc that light up the competition and get people coming through the turnstiles or watching on TV or talking about it on social media etc. Talk of NRL teams in PNG or Fiji etc is just pure pie in the sky stuff but investment in these countries at grassroots levels and creating pathways like that of the png hunters and Kaiviti silktails and hopefully other nations like New Caledonian, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands will see big returns for the NRL for all the reasons stated above.

Didn’t the dolphins pay some sort of entrance fee to the NRL?

The Dolphins are a safe option for the NRL as they are based in the RL stronghold of south east Queensland and are I believe one of the richest clubs in the NRL if not the richest. As for the 18th NRL franchise also being in Queensland I would personally hope not as I believe either of Perth or NZ2 would be more beneficial to the NRL and RL as a whole in the case of NZ2.