Programme Guy

Exactly.

What a cowardly post. So with almost 100 clubs, and the physical infrastructure that goes with that, not to mention the support they get from international governing bodies (international pathways competitions, structured international calendar, coaching, medical, high performance support etc), how would this happen? (ie: a change from union to League without "a single union fan switching"?) Talk me through it.

None of that is really relevant. They have the guts of 100 clubs. More than the FFRXIII. They are not going to switch to League because they have no real interest in it. My reaction was down to this recurring theme where fans on here think that because we like Rugby League, the rest of the world has to like it too. The vast majority of fans of 'rugby', prefer union. That is true for a multitude of different reasons, but it is not really going to change. The idea that an established union country would switch en masse to League just to qualify for the RL World Cup (which in terms of scheduling, is not even on a regular cycle!!) is absolutely laughable.

100%. You beat me to it!

An absolutely ridiculous (and deluded) suggestion. Rugby in Holland is bigger than League in France. Holland has almost 90 rugby clubs. It has regional academies where parents pay to send their kids. It has a dedicated rugby stadium for its union to play national games, and it retains a permanent academy at the stadium with full time staff. Its union has close ties with a number of professional French clubs and sends young players to France to play professionally. There are rugby clubs in Holland who will organise large touring groups of 50 people to follow the B&I Lions team to South Africa (for example). These people form a large community who love the game of union. They have NO WISH to stop playing/watching/supporting their sport and take up Rugby League, a separate game that they know nothing about. It shows a fait degree of arrogance to think that people would give up a sport that (for whatever reason) they love and have built a whole community around, and take up Rugby League. I am guessing you are a Kiwi (warriors logo) so will just assume you have no idea how ingrained the sport of rugby is into a (small yet sizeable enough) portion of the Dutch sporting society. There is literally ZERO chance that they are going to give all of that up and change to a completely different sport. If it is not arrogance, then I am sorry, it is deluded fantasy nonsense. League needs to grow organically and in the past there has been some great development work done in Holland. I have recommended a player to them in the past year (a guy who has been on the verge of pro union in North America) and I am aware that he is due to trial for them at RL later this year. He is a good athlete, who will be a very useful League player for their level. Baby steps.

Yet until recently the RFL thought that they should play an England game there

I would agree that internationals should be the top tier. Origin 3 this year though, was a return to the mid 90s in terms of intensity. The line speed in the closing stages of the game (for example) was insane. I would say they'd have beaten the Kiwis, and put 60 or 70 on that Exiles team that played England. I don't think there has been a transition (yet). Origin last year was poor, but this year it stepped up with a vengeance. I fully agree though that the Pasifika influence at the élite end of the game is now massive, which should see the international game overtaking Origin in the coming seasons.

All about opinions. This year's Origin was miles ahead of that England v The Rest match IMO. If you think the stuff on show at Warrington was better - fair enough - I'll respect your opinion. Can't even remotely agree with it though.

Not at all. The analogy isn't relevant here. Yeo is playing lock in the best league in the world (by far) and has played a number of Origin games, which are generally acknowledged to be a higher level than international League. (They have far more intensity, contain better players, stronger teams, and far bigger crowds. For example the 2022 AVERAGE was 64000 fans at Origin. England's last game was in front of 9000 and it looked like much less than that in reality). It's not a fair comparison.

Absolutely accurate. There's an old guy on here always talking about Tommy 'Makemson' (I know) being "world class". The guy has played 5 games for England, all against France or New Zealand. He has only played twice against NRL teams in his life: lost them both, and one was a 40 point hiding off Souths. The rest of his career has been spent running rings round the likes of Hull KR and Huddersfield - players who wouldn't even be professionals in Australia. Yet despite somehow you get people who think this is enough to make the guy "world class".

Where about do you live? The 1980s?

I know a guy who regularly plays in the Turkish tournament. He said it's a great atmosphere, with union players coming along to have a go, and even a women's tournament alongside.

Nice one. I actually reffed at the last Euros (2018). Did France-Wales M30s, and a bit of Women's Open among a load of other games. It was also at Nottingham and a great event to be part of.

I think you have nailed it here. With his sheer physical size, you would want him on the wing in order to utilize him on the early carries. He would be an asset to almost any team in that role.

Thank you. Exactly my point. I have no idea what fantasy world that other guy lives in.

I think it is actually the Bay of Plenty comp, but Taupo, Pacific Sharks, Forestland and the Hawks were all in the semis this year.

Cheers Frank. I actually saw that when I sat down to watch the game footage. There are people all tramping down the hill at the corner. The crowd in the seats looked bigger as the game went on.

There is quite a good documentary on the Bulls 2005 season on the Super League channel. Decent content with loads of footage. I hope Super League do more things like this - their online content dropped sharply in quality a few years ago, so great to see them producing some good stuff again. Part 4 will be released this evening I was at that Grand Final - remarkable to see the quality of the League back then compared to now.

Am not sure. I was chatting to one of the World Cup coaches last week, and he said that more teams now want a reserve grade, rather than using these feeder clubs. He actually said that they ALSO intend to run full Toyota Cup as well as réservé grade. I was a little surprised due to the costs involved, but he said it is a goer. He mentioned a shorter academy/U18 comp as well, but those fixtures will not be aligned to the NRL games. (I think this is the situation at present, so no change).

Happy to agree to differ, on both points. Saints would be nowhere near top 5 IMO. If there are some "amazing" players in Super League - there can't be many, as none jump to mind right now. The league just seems to get weaker every year unfortunately. It's entertaining, for sure, but quality is not it's strong point. Anyway - happy to have my opinion while you have yours!

Yeah - thanks for the reply. I was specifically talking about rugby League fans - but as you say, the game in England seems to be really struggling to get young supporters involved. The profile on here (on average) seems to be fairly elderly. I'm not an Aussie incidentally, so am aware of the obsession that england has with football.

Fair enough. I appreciate that they are constrained effectively to Huddersfield itself. That said, a proper, ambitious professional club could surely attract some Rugby League fans from the amateur and other clubs in the area. You talk about other "professional" clubs in the area, but in reality there are none. This is part of League's problem in england - it thinks of these teams as "professional" when they train at nights, are made up of part timers, and often have players on match fees only. Huddersfield should have no problem attracting kids and young people who are into Rugby League in Kirklees. Part time teams like Dewsbury should not be real competition for younger supporters. Of course the old codgers who like part time League won't move across, but the SuperLeague product should be enough to easily hoover up the youngsters, and any new fans across Kirklees. If the club goes after them aggressively with the right resources. With all due respect, your argument is like saying the Broncos can't grow outside Brisbane, because they are competing with the Toowoomba Clydesdales.

Yep. I think it's a weaker comp. Definitely. You can agree to differ if you like. You must be the first person I have ever heard casting doubt on that one, but you are entitled to your opinion.

Why is that? Shouldn't they be the club for the whole of Huddersfield? Huddersfield has no other professional clubs, so surely it is a good choice of name?

Am not mad at all!! I just said that the English got a right slapping the last time they came over (which they did - from everyone) and you jumped in with a load of stuff about an Australian coach not giving young talent a shot. The discussion was about how Samoa will go against an England team including NRL guys mixed in with some from the weaker comp. I actually said I think you'll go OK, but I seem to have touched a nerve! Instead of lecturing people about a sense of humour, why not go get one yourself? Lad.