New York City & Dublin to join the league?

[damp squib]

19 minutes ago, londonrlfan said:

I'm probably wrong, but I thought GAA wasn't that big in Northern Ireland and it was just football (soccer) that was big. That would leave the summer free for RL to get a stranglehold. 

GAA is massive among the nationalist half the population. They've also been talking for years about moving the NI Football League to a summer season and it's going to happen eventually. North or South it would be struggle for RL to get a foothold.

To be honest it's all about where the money comes from. If it comes from Belfast, the team will be in Belfast, but there's a lot more money in Dublin*.

*This is all hypothetical, since it seems Mascord was talking out of his ar$e again.

[Damien]

9 minutes ago, londonrlfan said:

I'm probably wrong, but I thought GAA wasn't that big in Northern Ireland and it was just football (soccer) that was big. That would leave the summer free for RL to get a stranglehold. 

GAA is huge in Northern Ireland, as it is in most of Ireland. However in Northern Ireland this is almost solely with the Catholic population and it is only played in Catholic schools and most clubs would be mostly, if not all, Catholic. GAA in Northern Ireland is not really played or followed by Protestants.

Soccer (Football) is obviously big but the local sides and the NI league struggle for support (this local scene followed largely by Protestants). Rugby Union is also seen very much as a Protestant game and is largely played in Protestant schools and is actually rather small outside of Belfast. However the snobbery and elitism of many that go to these RU grammer schools is as bad as you would find anyway in England.

Rugby League could certainly have a niche as a cross community game with no baggage but the trouble is where would they play? Any venue in Belfast is seen as being associated with one side (Catholic or Protestant) and any venue would probably turn away a substantial part of the other side. 

[damp squib]

6 minutes ago, Damien said:

Rugby League could certainly have a niche as a cross community game with no baggage but the trouble is where would they play? Any venue in Belfast is seen as being associated with one side (Catholic or Protestant) and any venue would probably turn away a substantial part of the other side. 

Yeah I wasn't going to bring it up but there's a whole other set of problems a team in Belfast brings...Casement, Windsor or Ravenhill and lets not even get started on the flegs!

[Damien]

Just now, damp squib said:

Yeah I wasn't going to bring it up but there's a whole other set of problems a team in Belfast brings...Casement, Windsor or Ravenhill and lets not even get started on the flegs!

The Soldiers Song being played at Windsor Park when Ireland played there against Samoa in the 2000 World Cup still makes me laugh. It also shows how clueless the RFL are and how little research they do about these things.

You are simply not going to get Protestants going to Casement or Catholics going to Windsor. The redeveloped Casement will be far too big anyway. You will also get very, very few Catholics going to Ravenhill. By and large Catholics in NI don't follow Rugby Union bar Ireland in the 6 Nations and it is seen very much as a Protestant game. If any Belfast RL team played at Ravenhill they would not attract the Catholic population and it would probably be seen as just an extension of Ulster RU. I also fear that they wouldn't attract the Protestant RU fraternity as in Belfast they are as snobby and elitist as you would find anywhere and some certainly look down their noses at RL.

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

29 minutes ago, damp squib said:

GAA is massive among the nationalist half the population. They've also been talking for years about moving the NI Football League to a summer season and it's going to happen eventually. North or South it would be struggle for RL to get a foothold.

To be honest it's all about where the money comes from. If it comes from Belfast, the team will be in Belfast, but there's a lot more money in Dublin*.

*This is all hypothetical, since it seems Mascord was talking out of his ar$e again.

His recent stories seem to have turned into click bait for the Wolfpack PR department.

I have huge respect for him as a journalist, but this whole think looks like its being done to create a news prism.

[The Daddy]

I wish the RFL would be more forthcoming with news of who.is bidding to join league one.

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

1 hour ago, The Daddy said:

I wish the RFL would be more forthcoming with news of who.is bidding to join league one.

The whole application process should be transparent.

Showing all applicants and criteria met.

 

 

 

[JoneslessBishop]

Squib, google maps tells me that Dublin Airport is on M50 which essentially rings the west side of Dublin and joins the M11 at Bray. 

 

Below low link is the head of Irish RL bugging up their set up at Bray and entry Ron league 1. For a SL team, agreed Dublin obviously a far better location, but given the logistical issues you state, a set up with a subsidiised hotel has obvious attractions at League 1 level. As per prior post, a Ryan Air tie in could have significant advantages to both League 1 and Ryan Air. Obviously highly speculative, but Toronto are showing the benefits of such a partnership, so maybe a potential, and a little speculation always aids a thread, as opposed to being dismissive. Eric Perez dared to dream, and so did York City Knights this weekend.

[Mister Ting]

On 28/07/2017 at 1:25 AM, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Dublin Shamrocks sounds good

And original too.

[Irish Saint]

https://twitter.com/Irelandrl?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

Includes full coverage of yesterday's final between Galway Tribesmen v Longhorns RL

 

 

[damp squib]

3 hours ago, JoneslessBishop said:

Squib, google maps tells me that Dublin Airport is on M50 which essentially rings the west side of Dublin and joins the M11 at Bray. 

 

Below low link is the head of Irish RL bugging up their set up at Bray and entry Ron league 1. For a SL team, agreed Dublin obviously a far better location, but given the logistical issues you state, a set up with a subsidiised hotel has obvious attractions at League 1 level. As per prior post, a Ryan Air tie in could have significant advantages to both League 1 and Ryan Air. Obviously highly speculative, but Toronto are showing the benefits of such a partnership, so maybe a potential, and a little speculation always aids a thread, as opposed to being dismissive. Eric Perez dared to dream, and so did York City Knights this weekend.

You're correct but it still takes twice as long to get to Bray as it does to Phibsboro, and the city centre is easily accessible from Dublin Port if people are arriving by ferry. In any case, convenience for away fans should be a secondary consideration when choosing a teams location.

You are right though that there are far fewer obstacles to setting up in Bray in the short term, I just don't see much chance of a long term future there and I don't think it's a good idea to plan a club with a view to upping sticks in a few seasons. There are also problems with the Bray football club at the moment as I mentioned that RL would do well to avoid.

I don't remember dismissing the idea of Ryanair sponsorship but I think it's very unlikely. As far as I'm aware the only sport Ryanair sponsor at the moment is horse racing and that's because Michael O'Leary is an owner and fan. You would have to make a strong business case for sponsorship and I'm not sure there is one unfortunately.

York City Knights are a historic club in the heartlands and Eric Perez is a marketing whizz with billionaire backers. If Dublin had either of those going for it I'd be more optimistic!

I'm all for speculation, or I wouldn't still be discussing a fictional Dublin RL team!

[JoneslessBishop]

Fair points squib. I just think that interview with the head of the Irish RL is the most concrete thing we have to go on for for any Irish team, and the fact that Nigel Wood attended what was heralded as a very well hosted World Cup qualifier and RLIF congress must really put them in good stead for a League 1 application.

 

A League 1 team would be great for the organic growth of Irish RL, so a move to Dublin might never be needed. They might never get to SL level, but that's not to say they wouldn't benefit the game by being a League 1 team in the short term and a championship one in the medium. I have never been to Bray, but I am sure most people's horizons gravitate easily to Dublin, so if they ever did up sticks, would lose all of their small Bray suppport, and Dublin is where they could prosper in the long term. Playing some big games in Dublin and smaller teams in Bray wouldn't be beyond the scope of the imagination, especially given the packed sporting landscape in Dublin in the summer that you have cited. And if Ryanair don't play ball, ferry crossings might be the best bet until Champ/ SL income arrives, so the MCGettigens hotel adjoing the stadium in Bray might be very useful to away teams.

[Tre Cool]

On 28/07/2017 at 7:29 AM, West Leeds Riviera said:

Dublin would be great, create a pathway for Irish players to play pro RL. 

What Irish players?! There aren't any.  

[Spidey]

12 minutes ago, Tre Cool said:

What Irish players?! There aren't any.  

They mean the players currently playing domestic RL in Ireland who I'm guessing are irish

There have been a couple of genuine Irish Players playing in the championship before, Wayne Kerr for one

 

[Tre Cool]

4 minutes ago, Spidey said:

They mean the players currently playing domestic RL in Ireland who I'm guessing are irish

There have been a couple of genuine Irish Players playing in the championship before, Wayne Kerr for one

 

There's nothing like enough amateur rl to talk of a pathway to pro.  It barely exists.

[DoubleD]

31 minutes ago, JoneslessBishop said:

Fair points squib. I just think that interview with the head of the Irish RL is the most concrete thing we have to go on for for any Irish team, and the fact that Nigel Wood attended what was heralded as a very well hosted World Cup qualifier and RLIF congress must really put them in good stead for a League 1 application.

 

A League 1 team would be great for the organic growth of Irish RL, so a move to Dublin might never be needed. They might never get to SL level, but that's not to say they wouldn't benefit the game by being a League 1 team in the short term and a championship one in the medium. I have never been to Bray, but I am sure most people's horizons gravitate easily to Dublin, so if they ever did up sticks, would lose all of their small Bray suppport, and Dublin is where they could prosper in the long term. Playing some big games in Dublin and smaller teams in Bray wouldn't be beyond the scope of the imagination, especially given the packed sporting landscape in Dublin in the summer that you have cited. And if Ryanair don't play ball, ferry crossings might be the best bet until Champ/ SL income arrives, so the MCGettigens hotel adjoing the stadium in Bray might be very useful to away teams.

I work closely with Ryanair as a customer and there's no chance of them providing any sponsorship, it would be completely at odds with their business model. Far more likely is someone like Stobart Air (Aer Lingus Regional) or Cityjet who both have HQs in Dublin

[Plan of Attack]

I think the LAST thing league 1 needs in anymore American/Canadian teams, what all these posters  calling for them don't seem to realise is the players in league 1 and most of the championship are PART time and have to use holidays to play in these matches , Barrow Raiders for example have to go to Toronto for a SECOND time in one season and I can imagine them struggling to raise a team , after all  if you weres would you want to waste all your holidays to do this and I can imagine if more american/.canadian clubs join the league 1 teams just turning round and saying ' we are not going as we cannot get a team up as our players have no holidays left'

[ojx]

27 minutes ago, Plan of Attack said:

I think the LAST thing league 1 needs in anymore American/Canadian teams, what all these posters  calling for them don't seem to realise is the players in league 1 and most of the championship are PART time and have to use holidays to play in these matches , Barrow Raiders for example have to go to Toronto for a SECOND time in one season and I can imagine them struggling to raise a team , after all  if you weres would you want to waste all your holidays to do this and I can imagine if more american/.canadian clubs join the league 1 teams just turning round and saying ' we are not going as we cannot get a team up as our players have no holidays left'

That is asking alot of the Barrow players. They should not have to make the trip twice. One problem is the strange structure of League One.

I'm not sure why they don't try to reverse the fixtures during the super 8s (as much as is possible). Toronto should visit Barrow, and York while Whitehaven, Doncaster, Newcastle, Keighley & Workington would come to Toronto. Then it will at least be home and away among the top 8 teams.

Perhaps Montreal should enter the Championship directly in 2019. However, that would mean missing out on wonderful occasions, such as the one at York yesterday.

[JoneslessBishop]

Fair point re RyanAir DoubleD. Seemingly one of the most callous negotiators out there, which I was conscious of, but I got a bit intoxicated with the RyanAir RL phonic. Aer Lingus RL works just as well, and like you say, there are others.

 

I just liked the fact that RyanAir do fly (when I looked some time ago) to Cardiff (for West Wales Raiders), Coventry, Bristol (for All Golds), Leeds, Manchester, London and Newcastle, so a good way of marketing their geographical spread in the U.K. to a budget airline demographic. Callous negotiators yes, but seemed like a good synergy, as marketeers like to say (or certainly did in the noughties).

[JoneslessBishop]

Tre Cool, I do believe we had a similar discussion about there being 'no Irish players' a year or two ago on a similar thread.

 

The below states a number of players who had been kicking around back then, who the likes of Wayne Kerr and Colton Roche could be added to:

 

http://www.loverugbyleague.com/news_21080-mcallister-continues-oxford-s-growing-irish-tradition.html

 

No one is suggesting here are thousands of Irish RL players, but if you pulled together the likes of the above, throw in a few heritage players, create some links with Wigan St Pats, Siddal and Dewsbury Celtic, and looked at what an increasing number of amateur teams  are doing in Ireland, you could pull together a pretty Irish set up pretty quickly to build up. Could certainly look a lot more Irish than TWP look Canadian, albeit to to meet very different objectives than Eric Perez is trying deliver, the sort of objectives the Irish RL talk about in the below:

 

http://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=287927

[TheReaper]

1 hour ago, Plan of Attack said:

I think the LAST thing league 1 needs in anymore American/Canadian teams, what all these posters  calling for them don't seem to realise is the players in league 1 and most of the championship are PART time and have to use holidays to play in these matches , Barrow Raiders for example have to go to Toronto for a SECOND time in one season and I can imagine them struggling to raise a team , after all  if you weres would you want to waste all your holidays to do this and I can imagine if more american/.canadian clubs join the league 1 teams just turning round and saying ' we are not going as we cannot get a team up as our players have no holidays left'

The answer to that is hell yes, to me anyway.

[CanaBull]

I don't think I've seen any negative overall reactions from any visiting team to Canada.  Though I can easily see why 'wasting' vacation days might be an issue to WAG's and/or families.

[Southerner80]

On 28/07/2017 at 8:17 AM, Converted Northerner said:

I once thought Dublin, but with currently little presence / gaelic games taking over the country every summer, not sure how it would pan out. 

People forget how big GAA is out there.... Union isnt the rival... 

Dublin would be fine for a showcase match as could get a good turnout for Wigan v leeds with fans ahd some curious locals but for a full time team?

 Lucky to get a 2,000 average gate over a season 

[Spidey]

6 minutes ago, Southerner80 said:

People forget how big GAA is out there.... Union isnt the rival... 

Dublin would be fine for a showcase match as could get a good turnout for Wigan v leeds with fans ahd some curious locals but for a full time team?

 Lucky to get a 2,000 average gate over a season 

2k a match is more than plenty of Championship & League One clubs. I'd say that a Dublin club would be beneficial to the game as it could increase the player pool if there was a player pathway 

[ojx]

Forget Ireland, they are already tainted by the preconceived notions that Union has sold.

If New York & Toronto are on board, you have two of the top three North American cities with teams, a great basis for growth. With Montreal in 2019. Things are looking up. The New World is the where the game can grow.