Harlequins

[Mark Ashton]

Well, I wonder if they are going to help Whitehaven as well......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_leag...don/8973976.stm

[lingard]

The RFL are nothing but a set of . . We must be mad watching this bs. Expansion my ring piece.

I listened to Eddie Hemmings tell me that Wrexham is 20 miles away from St Helens, fantastic branching out that far. We can't even keep a team afloat on Doncaster.

Sorry for the ramble had a drink and on hols. but the RFL are complete and utter . throwing good money after bad.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Matt J
repeated bad language, didn't delete post as its on topic.

[S.T.R]

Ahh but London is a huge development area with loads of enthusiastic young lads who are bound to make the grade, and they all need to watch professional rugby so with two fantastic teams in the city how can they lose

or on the other hand chalk it up as a failed experiment, pump all the cash into development of home grown lads who maybee just maybee make the grade and go on to beat the aussies

[Bob Fowler]

This isn't about Harlequins or the RFL it's about keeping the finances coming into rugby league. London, hosts FIVE premiership football teams and countless championship teams. It is a gold mine for investors if marketed properly. The News Coporation money keeps our game alive and we as folowers, are slaves to that money, we have no choice. To have a top London team would be the pinacle of making taking the game to the Nation, there is a very large Antipodean community in that area . It is not about saving the Doncasters or Whitehavens it's about bringing the game to the National stage.

Having said all that, which I believe to be true, but I don't necessarily agree with, Who are News Corporation ? Well apart from SKY tv they own countless newspapers and magazines, many of which don't bother even reporting the games played . They have T.V stations which for the sake of a few quid , could advertise the big games , but they only advertise the one's which will be shown on their channels. I welcomed the London teams to the game when they emerged in the 1970's, I thought it was great that the game was spreading and would bring about exciting changes to the game, it didn't though. London have had over 30 years to make a go of it, they have been Nomadic ( although London is expensive) they have shown that talent is available, but until they can get rugby league into schools, then there will always be an uphill battle.

As for Whitehaven , well there's always plenty of fans to follow the game in Cumbria, Doncaster ? not many fans, but those that are there are faithful. Ask most Super League fans about Featherstone or Halifax or Leigh and they look over their glasses in disgust that we should mention them in the same vein . Any team given the privilege of three years to build can do a crusaders, if the will is there. The Sky team say the season's climax is exciting, but how much more exciting it would have been if the clubs were not only playing for a play off place, but their future as well.

The goal posts are moved every year, the stipulation of being more than a certain number of miles from another club seems to have disappeared, (thanks to Crusaders) which leads us to believe that there is a conspiracy ( what a daft idea anyway when a Derby always attracts better crowds). The romance of the game, for me anyway, has always been that David ( Rovers) could always pit it's whits against Goliath ( Leeds, Wigan Saints) and come out on top.

I love the game, I hate the way it's being disected , but without the money it doesn't exist, so harlequins, Catalan and Toulouse will all survive, no matter what.

Romance has just died.