Jump to content

SBW to Toronto??


Hullfan

Recommended Posts

People should be very careful about getting to excited about this, SBW and especially Khoder Nasser (and other players agents of his ilk) are notorious for stringing along clubs for the media exposure as leverage to get more money out of the clubs that they are really interested in signing for.

If it goes ahead it'll be great for the Wolfpack, but I wouldn't start getting excited about this until it's officially announced by him that he has signed on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 129
  • Created
  • Last Reply
1 hour ago, The Great Dane said:

If it goes ahead it'll be great for the Wolfpack, but I wouldn't start getting excited about this until it's officially announced by him that he has signed on.

What's great about the Toronto Wolfpack, so far, is the fact that regardless of any new "big name signing": interest continues to grow; continued success, and especially promotion, will only increase this; and most fans have been won over by the Rugby League game itself and/or the great team (in terms of skill and positive culture) we currently have.

Any new signing, whether SBW or someone else entirely, is simply the icing on the cake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, BallPlayingProp said:

Looks like Argyle has confirmed it and spoken about it for the first time here:

 Interesting too some bits about Widnes and buying a stake in the club? Is he just gonna buy a stake in every club everywhere?

Yes, purchasing Widnes now.  IMO these updates should be directed straight to Parky for due diligence purposes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

Buying players doesn’t save RL.

You miss my point. Toronto’s fixture v Leigh shows Toronto as playing away. Therfore Leigh will have to travel to Toronto whilst others won’t.

Also which marquee player would you shunt to replace with the next marquee?

Brierly is on a marquees contract and he's looking for a new home because he's not in Big Mac's plans from what I understand...bingo-bango-bongo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SL17 said:

Buying players doesn’t save RL.

You miss my point. Toronto’s fixture v Leigh shows Toronto as playing away. Therfore Leigh will have to travel to Toronto whilst others won’t. 

Also which marquee player would you shunt to replace with the next marquee?

I don't think the point is missed, even after going back through and re-reading the thread.

Toronto have fixtures scheduled as "home" and "away" from Rounds 1 through 6, despite three of those scheduled as "home" games actually being played at venues away from Toronto.  Leigh will have to travel to Toronto while others won't because that's how the RFL scheduled the games.  A game in Toronto, at that time of year, won't happen.

I would rather all games scheduled as "home" be played in Toronto and all those scheduled "away" be played elsewhere, which is why I suggest the RFL/SL scheduling tweaks to accommodate the team's unique circumstances in a way which is seemingly detrimental to no one.

In a nutshell: With a February start to the Championship/SL, have TWP games scheduled/played away for the first six rounds; OR, have the Championship/SL season start dates align more with those of the NRL, leaving TWP only needing the first 2-3 rounds scheduled/played as an away block; AND, then, in either case, schedule/play the remainder of the season in blocks of any size, with a ratio of slightly more home games in Toronto than away played elsewhere (just shy of 2:1 ratio and barely above 1:1 ratio for the first and second options respectively).

In terms of a new/next Marquee Player: I haven't a clue and will gladly defer to the experts ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, SL17 said:

Excellent you had a marquee and didn’t bother playing him. 

happens all the time in sports. new coach doesn't fancy a player so player doesn't play. Brierley is a fantastic guy and great player so I wish him all the best in the future. The last Full Eighty Podcast was discussing his situation if you have the time to listen to it, best RL podcast out there currently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At 33,Toronto won`t get much out of SBW for their $5 million,or whatever they`re supposed to be offering him. He was always injured when he played for the Bulldogs ten years ago and a few years later when he played for the Roosters. Yes,he was a good player,once,but too big a gamble if I was using my money. Anyway,surely Toronto would be over the salary cap with that amount?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, DiddyDave said:

At 33,Toronto won`t get much out of SBW for their $5 million,or whatever they`re supposed to be offering him. He was always injured when he played for the Bulldogs ten years ago and a few years later when he played for the Roosters. Yes,he was a good player,once,but too big a gamble if I was using my money. Anyway,surely Toronto would be over the salary cap with that amount?

Well I wouldn't mind him for a season at Warrington. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

Do you think the advantage Toronto are now gaining with these home/away  fixtures with clubs benefitting from not having to travel to Canada will be allowed in Sooper Dooper Leagur? Given they are controlled by SL not the RFL. I doubt very much any SL Club would. agree to the terms Toronto are presently running.

Serious question. Given the fixture schedule, can you explain to me what advantage are Toronto gaining?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

Unless their dispensation allows three marquee’s.. Hence one marquee needs to  depart.

Why not invest NZ$5 million into development if they have money to waste.

You mean development in Toronto? Fine,but it`s obvious Toronto want to buy their way to Super League,there`s no other way they can do it. 

The Gold Coast Titans brought a so called marquee player in a couple of years ago;Jarryd Hayne. Turned out to be the biggest flop and waste of money for many a year,almost costing the club its NRL status,so clubs have to be very careful who they bring in. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

Do you think the advantage Toronto are now gaining with these home/away fixtures with clubs benefitting from not having to travel to Canada will be allowed in Sooper Dooper Leagur? Given they are controlled by SL not the RFL.

Toronto isn't gaining any advantage by having games scheduled as "home" yet played away, in the U.K.  If anything the reverse is true, with Toronto being denied a supportive home crowd and the away teams not having to deal with the travel fatigue and jet lag they otherwise would have.

If the "Super Dooper League [sic]" were smart, they might consider the scheduling tweak proposals in my previous posts, as it actually mitigates the effects of and limits the need for any TWP special treatment as well as introducing other benefits... ?

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

I doubt very much any SL Club would. agree to the terms Toronto are presently running

Should Toronto gain promotion, the Super League (and it's constituent clubs) would be rather short sighted, and I would argue ill advised, if they were not to not find some way to continue to make things work.  The scheduling solutions are really fairly simple logistics; having an SL team in Toronto a win for all involved, even more so with a 14 team SL as TWP promotion wouldn't displace anyone; and, while some seem to still deny the obvious, there is something rather special happening over here and Toronto has serious potential for Rugby League to break into a new and very lucrative market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SL17 said:

You are still a guest to the sport. Why would SL bow down to something that creates them problems. 

The lower tiers create problems for them but they can’t get shut of them as they create the player pool.

Your schedule wouldn’t make the top table as for one it would not fall in line with Sky.

Back to drawing board in that one.

I'm going to leave the back-and-fourth at this, as I think our respective points have been sufficiently made and because I don't really see the conversation going anywhere.

If the attitude towards Toronto is, indeed, that the Wolfpack is simply a "guest to the sport"; then, perhaps, the insular, jaded, and narrow-minded heartland stereotypes, we have been abundantly warned of are, sadly, more prevalent than most of us had hoped.  Not a good state of affairs.  I'm still very confident, though, that such an attitude is not representative of the broader Rugby League community, and that Toronto's continued participation in the RFL/SL is a win-win, a chance to grow the game.  Feel free to prove me wrong, though.

Nobody is asking anyone to bow down, nor to create problems.  Suggesting as much, and in a pejorative manner, I think purposely misrepresents the whole situation.

Tweaks are being suggested; tweaks which mitigate the logistical challenges of a trans-Atlantic league and ones which present little to no downside (beyond change itself) for anyone involved.

On the one hand, as much as this may surprise some here on the TotalRL forums, the world does not revolve around Sky Sports.  On the other hand, Sky Sports itself clearly sees sufficient potential to carry every single game, home and away, for a second tier team which is apparently a mere "guest".  Go figure.  With Championship teams otherwise struggling to get any airtime at all, and with the odd SL game still somehow not making it to TV, perhaps we should focus on the positive, here: The growth in Rugby League interest, and broadcast, in the heartland and abroad alike.  Perhaps we should build on this interest, and pester the powers that be to ensure that even more games are televised and that even more teams share in the privilege.  Perhaps I'm a bit naïve.

Honestly, I just hope this whole TWP experiment works out as it's been an absolute blast to attend games in person, and be able to follow something truly new, unique and exciting.  Bring on a Montreal, a NYC a Boston, a Liverpool, or a Philly, as far as I am concerned!  The fact that the couple of dozen people I've brought to games, their first RL games ever, have ALL loved it and returned to see TWP at Lamport of their own accord (paying for their own tickets, merchandise, food and beer) means I'm far from an outlier.  The untapped, or perhaps barely tapped, potential is clearly there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, DiddyDave said:

At 33,Toronto won`t get much out of SBW for their $5 million,or whatever they`re supposed to be offering him. He was always injured when he played for the Bulldogs ten years ago and a few years later when he played for the Roosters. Yes,he was a good player,once,but too big a gamble if I was using my money. Anyway,surely Toronto would be over the salary cap with that amount?

Pretty sure it's just for one year and it's to get more interest in the team and the sport in Canada. Big name will have lots of exposure and fans from both codes would love to come see him play. I'll trust that the billionaire knows what he's doing with his money...he is a billionaire after all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

Pretty sure it's just for one year and it's to get more interest in the team and the sport in Canada. Big name will have lots of exposure and fans from both codes would love to come see him play. I'll trust that the billionaire knows what he's doing with his money...he is a billionaire after all

So a lot of people in Canada know,or even care,who Sonny Bill Williams is then? I`m telling you he`ll be a whole waste of time and money. A game here,a game there,then he`ll suddenly have family problems and have to rush back to the Antipodes. Pay per play is all I`d be offering him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, DiddyDave said:

So a lot of people in Canada know,or even care,who Sonny Bill Williams is then? I`m telling you he`ll be a whole waste of time and money. A game here,a game there,then he`ll suddenly have family problems and have to rush back to the Antipodes. Pay per play is all I`d be offering him.

Let's see what happens. I'm pretty sure our marketing department won't hesitate to push the story everywhere about one of the biggest names in all of rugby joining Toronto. I bet you it will be picked up by all the media in Oz, NZ and the UK as well. Nothing wrong with building up the profile of the sport and getting more eyeballs on it is there? Pretty sure Mr. Elston wouldn't moan about us pulling this off as none of the SL clubs could do it could they?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sonny Bill has to be one of the most famous players in any code here, probably only behind Jonny Sexton, and maybe still Dan Carter and Ritchie McCaw. He also fits the "rugby is rugby" approach of TWP being a cross-code player. It has the potential to be a very big deal if it happens. I mean, he's an All-Black- EVERYBODY has heard of the All Blacks and know they're the best team in the world. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, TheReaper said:

Sonny Bill has to be one of the most famous players in any code here, probably only behind Jonny Sexton, and maybe still Dan Carter and Ritchie McCaw. He also fits the "rugby is rugby" approach of TWP being a cross-code player. It has the potential to be a very big deal if it happens. I mean, he's an All-Black- EVERYBODY has heard of the All Blacks and know they're the best team in the world. 

I've heard of Dan Carter, but don't know about Jonny Sexton and Ritchie McCaw (presumably they are All Blacks). I know I could google their names, but don't have any intention of researching RU players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, TheReaper said:

Sonny Bill has to be one of the most famous players in any code here, probably only behind Jonny Sexton, and maybe still Dan Carter and Ritchie McCaw. He also fits the "rugby is rugby" approach of TWP being a cross-code player. It has the potential to be a very big deal if it happens. I mean, he's an All-Black- EVERYBODY has heard of the All Blacks and know they're the best team in the world. 

If they can sign him it will be huge news for the sport of rugby (both codes) and also the Wolfpack in Toronto...Argyle seems to be very serious about this and he is usually a man that gets what he wants.  I really think he intends to build the finest rugby franchise in the Northern Hemisphere (either code) out of Toronto.  RL is lucky to have him!

I just can't wait for the first home game this year....its causing me a alot of stress.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Kayakman said:

If they can sign him it will be huge news for the sport of rugby (both codes) and also the Wolfpack in Toronto...Argyle seems to be very serious about this and he is usually a man that gets what he wants.  I really think he intends to build the finest rugby franchise in the Northern Hemisphere (either code) out of Toronto.  RL is lucky to have him!

I just can't wait for the first home game this year....its causing me a alot of stress.

You’ve already had your first home game.

- Adepto Successu Per Tributum Fuga -

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sonny Bill Williams is also a boxer, and he may be looking to make it in America in that sport. If he does, I want him promoting rugby league while he does it! 

Of course, he also already happens to be one of the best known and most marketable rugby players in either code. He's got a proven winning record everywhere he's been, the Roosters still talk glowingly about the impact he had on their culture (they signed Cronk to replicate it), and... Geez, do I need to go on? He'd be an immense signing, for Toronto and the game. Who knows? A 2021 RLWC swansong with Samoa could be on the cards. How good would that be?? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.