Toronto Love (Merged threads)

[Roy Haggerty]

Welcome to our Canadian cousins. Marvellous to have you on board, and I'm looking forward to a Super League next year which seems just that little bit fresher and more interesting already.

I know you'll get some serious moaning from those who think nobody should be allowed to play rugby league more than ten miles from the M62.  I think a century of being a sport which was actively persecuted and discriminated against by the ruling establishment in both the UK and France generated an incredible bunker mentality. That "what we have, we hold" view has become a crushing insularity for some. But not all. Don't mistake volume of moaning for the breadth of discontent. There's an awful lot of SL supporters who are delighted about this, and are already planning their visit to Canada to watch their team.

See you next year.

[Whippet13]

Brilliant statement Roy, couldn't agree more. To me Toronto are EXACTLY the reason we stood up and fought in 1895.

[westside]

Congrats TWP!

[Jampot]

Congratulations Toronto!  Hats off to Featherstone for a manful effort throughout the playoffs, but I'm well happy that Toronto made it!  Watching the enthusiasm and excitement in that sizeable crowd made me feel more optimism for the future of the game, and they're already giving SL increased media focus within hours of promotion.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Well my profile on here has my interests listed as "spreading the gospel of rugby league around the world" and I think we can all agree that we've all done that as a community. The rugby league community is second to none in sport, we are a family and we stick together through all the tripe we've had to put up with so calling our Canadian cousins, well cousins, is just right, they're part of our family as well, no matter what a very small minority of ignorant, narrow-minded morons think. Welcome to the rugby league family Canada!! (despite the fact you've technically already been part of it for 3 years! :D) 

[Whippet13]

Just to counterbalance the equivalent troll thread of "Toronto haters".

Toronto Wolfpack, built out of nothing and within 3 years reached Super League. 

A club which wants to grow the game and epitomises the anti-establishment free spirit which led to the 1895 rebellion.

[Big Picture]

Just now, Whippet13 said:

Just to counterbalance the equivalent troll thread of "Toronto haters".

Toronto Wolfpack, built out of nothing and within 3 years reached Super League. 

A club which wants to grow the game and epitomises the anti-establishment free spirit which led to the 1895 rebellion.

And in addition, they've brought real Canadian football to the attention of the Canadian sporting public.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Plus there’s a large range of beer!

[Damien]

Toronto getting promoted is fantastic for the game and can be a real game changer.

[Whippet13]

 My first RL game was Boxing Day 1983 as a 16 year old, Wigan v Saints.

I had absolutely zero knowledge of the game but was immediately hooked on RL and dropped soccer like a hot potato.

We now have an amazing opportunity to influence similar kids in Toronto and build a real RL culture.

Lets do that and build Rugby League in North America.

 

[Futtocks]

Just another uneventful weekend - Salford qualify for Old Trafford and a Canadian team gets into Super League. Now, just Canberra in the NRL GF and Newcastle gunning for promotion on Sunday.

Bring back the thrills of a muddy, rainy mid-table slog in the winter between two teams whose fans have perfected the art of hating everything and anything.

[mightyship]

Well done to Toronto on gaining promotion to super league from a Fev fan. They’ve done it in the right way by working their way up from Champ 1 and Championship and fully deserve their promotion.

I personally think that they will have enough to compete in SL and stay there next season; especially if they can use this success to attract some top players to add to their squad.

Well played this evening and congratulations

[RayCee]

51 minutes ago, Whippet13 said:

Just to counterbalance the equivalent troll thread of "Toronto haters".

Toronto Wolfpack, built out of nothing and within 3 years reached Super League. 

A club which wants to grow the game and epitomises the anti-establishment free spirit which led to the 1895 rebellion.

I didn't even bother reading the haters thread. I know they are there but the relatively few haters in this world have always had their opinions given too much attention. There's too much to like in RL this weekend to focus on negative views. 

[RayCee]

1 hour ago, Roy Haggerty said:

Welcome to our Canadian cousins. 

Any nation that has a strong following of Coronation St (and can therefore understand the Northern accent) is always welcome. 

[PatrickB]

Fun. and exciting game today with 9974 fans in the stands.

Admittedly a bit nerve wracking in the first half... I was having deja vu of last year.

But the guys, came out strong in the 2nd half.

I gave a big congrats to David Argyle after the match.

He's brought a fun new element to the city of Toronto, at a pretty large personal expense.

A lot of people got a lot of joy out of his risks and investment.

[Wollongong]

Well done Wolfpack great scenes in Toronto. 

I have a big birthday in July next year... what chance a double bucket list tick... visiting Canada and Watching Trinity play overseas... and the air fare from Sydney to Toronto is cheaper than Sydney to Europe  

 

hoping for Wolfpack v Trinity in July 2020

[Whippet13]

2 minutes ago, RayCee said:

I didn't even bother reading the haters thread. I know they are there but the relatively few haters in this world have always had their opinions given too much attention. There's too much to like in RL this weekend to focus on negative 

Salford in the GF and now Toronto in SL...its just 100% good news for the game.

[dixiedean]

It's gonna be a thrill ride next season. Toronto have done everything which was asked of them.

Can they kick on? Who knows? A dull halfway finish and well decent crowds would be a major success for me.

[thunderpete]

Wonderful news for the game.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

Worthy winners this evening and all season. I’m sure they’ll be as controversial, newsworthy and interesting as they have been since joining the game a few years ago. 

Now to try and convince my girlfriend that she’s always wanted to go to Toronto and that we totally need two holidays next year that will mean we’ll have to eat beans on toast all year round. I’ve got no chance. 

[Big Picture]

Just imagine a whole league of teams like Toronto, in carefully selected cities either side of the Atlantic.  What could that do for RL?

[Omott91]

''A great day for Toronto and a great day for rugby league."  Brian Carney 05.10.2019

[ghost crayfish]

Absolutely brilliant result, building on the Salford GF qualification as well, to make this a truly historic weekend for Super League. The game needs stories like these. In time, I think even Wigan will thank Salford for beating them - dwindling crowds suggest fan apathy has set in. A few painful losses will be just what they need to give their successes meaning again. As for Toronto, I don't think it's long before every team is glad to have them around too.

[TIWIT]

57 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Worthy winners this evening and all season. I’m sure they’ll be as controversial, newsworthy and interesting as they have been since joining the game a few years ago. 

Now to try and convince my girlfriend that she’s always wanted to go to Toronto and that we totally need two holidays next year that will mean we’ll have to eat beans on toast all year round. I’ve got no chance. 

Niagara Falls is only 2 hours away. Everybody wants to go see Niagara Falls. On a clear day you can almost see Niagara Falls from the top of the CN Tower.

[peteyjones13]

https://theathletic.com/1270055/2019/10/05/with-super-league-promotion-will-toronto-wolfpack-continue-their-rugby-league-disruption/

Here's a snippet:

Liam Kay, the first player to sign with the Wolfpack, said the club would celebrate through the weekend.

“We’ll probably party right through to Monday because it’s the biggest achievement in the Wolfpack’s history,” he said.

After the Wolfpack lost last season’s Million Pound Game to the London Broncos, several members of the teams fell to the pitch in disappointment. It meant another season playing to prove they belonged in the Super League.

Kay, who missed the game with an ankle injury, grimaces when he thinks about last year’s loss.

“I was gutted. I was gutted for the boys that played, but more gutted because I couldn’t have an influence on the game,” the 27-year-old said. “It was torture watching it from the side.”

The Wolfpack’s Andy Ackers, who previously played for London, got no joy watching his old friends celebrate that day.

“It’s one of those feelings where you just want to lock yourself away from everybody,” he said.

Last year, Noble was so distraught he joked he wanted to throw himself “into a vat of acid.”

But not this year. Now, the Wolfpack are champions and on their way to Super League.

Before Saturday’s victory, Noble said he had a few “special beers” lined up in anticipation of a Wolfpack win.

“If we get over the line … somebody might find me in a very shabby state right around midnight.”