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Magic Weekend 2020 - Fixtures Announced


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8 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Aye, so Huddersfield v Toronto first on Sunday in front of 5000

How do you know there will only be 5000?The Wolfpack may be a big drawcard  this coming season.

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10 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

How is playing the SL GF runners up easy ?

We’re going to face a Salford side that no longer has Hastings, Jones, Bibby, Griffin, Tomkins and Wood. They’re a different animal from 2019, as are most sides. 

Apologies for not being upset about not getting Wigan, Warrington and to a lesser extent Hull and Cas at Magic. 

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49 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

We’re going to face a Salford side that no longer has Hastings, Jones, Bibby, Griffin, Tomkins and Wood. They’re a different animal from 2019, as are most sides. 

Apologies for not being upset about not getting Wigan, Warrington and to a lesser extent Hull and Cas at Magic. 

Fully aware of the changes , but it doesn't work like that , and you know it 

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12 hours ago, Rhinoferg said:

Well you are being very rude lol.

We are debating what a load of male genitals the RFL are doing with the magic weekend. Bring back the derbies, the current fixtures listed won't entice people to attend,I certainly won't be going to watch these fixtures

I think SL are now in charge of this and not the RFL. So Mr Elstone and his Paymasters will have come up with the fixture list.

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Saints have done well for themselves since they complained about the Wigan v Saints derby being repeated. Cas, Hudds, Widnes and Hull in the last 4 years has seen them just as a random other team, while Wigan have played Wire 3 times and Leeds once.

Maybe Wigan didnt complain loudly enough.

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The derbies will be repeated - just not at Magic weekend. I fully expect to see Wigan-Saints and the Hull derby on the opening weekend like last year, as they both drew big crowds and high TV ratings and got the season off to a good start. The fixtures will then be repeated at Easter and in high summer. I expect this will be the annual pattern going forward, and Magic will have to get used to other combinations if it continues. 

As for Saints Salford match up, never underestimate Ian Watson, he'll have them there or thereabouts this season too. 

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According to SL on twitter, its sorted by 1v3, 2v4, 5v7, 6v8, 9v11, 10v12 based on last season's league finishing.

Thats to say they split the 12 teams into 3 groups - top, middle and bottom - and have odd place finishers play eachother and evens likewise. Despite complaints on here this is one system I don't see the problem with. Derbies were overplayed in SL and in many aspects were contrived and unfair. At least in this system there is an element of "qualification" to the fixtures. 

I must admit I'd rather have a nines tournament however.

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I think we need to stop trying to go with any kind of fairness element. This is a special event, rather like boxing we should be putting our best matchups together to make the most of the big crowds, appeal to more neutrals and the blanket tv coverage.

I'm not suggesting we go with the same fixtures every year (that is a problem in itself) but it is odd that we have never staged the so-called biggest derby in the game in the four years we have been at Newcastle.

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2 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

According to SL on twitter, its sorted by 1v3, 2v4, 5v7, 6v8, 9v11, 10v12 based on last season's league finishing.

Thats to say they split the 12 teams into 3 groups - top, middle and bottom - and have odd place finishers play eachother and evens likewise. Despite complaints on here this is one system I don't see the problem with. Derbies were overplayed in SL and in many aspects were contrived and unfair. At least in this system there is an element of "qualification" to the fixtures. 

I must admit I'd rather have a nines tournament however.

But what is that 'qualification'.

It is neither a seeded draw (no advantages for finishing higher, you play better teams), nor is it hand-picked to get the good battles.

Its a half measure that always has the risk of unattractive games. 

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Teams playing each other an additional time in isolation isn't the issue. The issue is that when you throw loop fixtures, cup games and play-off games into the mix, teams are facing each other five, six or even seven times a season. 

In the last five years, Wigan and Warrington have played each other 21 times. In 2018, they played each other six times. In the same period, there have been 14 Hull derbies, despite the clubs not even being in the same division for one of those years. 

The season needs to cut out these repetitive fixture lists. Elstone himself recognises this, but the people pulling his strings from above won't let him. 

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2 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

We’re going to face a Salford side that no longer has Hastings, Jones, Bibby, Griffin, Tomkins and Wood. They’re a different animal from 2019, as are most sides. 

Apologies for not being upset about not getting Wigan, Warrington and to a lesser extent Hull and Cas at Magic. 

One player however good (Hastings) does not make a team, Salford actually are far more than the sum of the parts of their squad and the replacements for the others you mention are arguably better than those who have left, add the likes of Lussick, Lolohea etc and with a quality coach Salford will be up there again. 

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18 hours ago, callmedave said:

I see the great minds of the RFL have put Giants vs Wolfpack on 1st match on The Sunday. That means a 7.30am kick off in Toronto. So much for trying to engage the new fan base and expand the reach of our great game. Surely any other of the kick off times would have made more commercial sense in terms of media coverage.

Last year the Toronto game was played 15 minutes later than they will in 2020. It rated fairly well in Australia, beating out all bar one rugby union game on the same weekend.

 

If Toronto are smart they could market the hell out of it and increase their fanbase in Australia.

new rise.jpg

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18 hours ago, callmedave said:

I see the great minds of the RFL have put Giants vs Wolfpack on 1st match on The Sunday. That means a 7.30am kick off in Toronto. So much for trying to engage the new fan base and expand the reach of our great game. Surely any other of the kick off times would have made more commercial sense in terms of media coverage.

Er..... the RFL don't seem to have anything to do with this. Unless, of course, you know differently.

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29 minutes ago, DG70 said:

One player however good (Hastings) does not make a team, Salford actually are far more than the sum of the parts of their squad and the replacements for the others you mention are arguably better than those who have left, add the likes of Lussick, Lolohea etc and with a quality coach Salford will be up there again. 

I mentioned six Salford players moving on, not one. That’s your opinion, I’d argue that they’re weaker and will find it harder to stay where they finished this year because of that but partly because of others (Wigan, Wire, Hull, Cas and Catalans to name a few) strengthening too. 

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1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Saints have done well for themselves since they complained about the Wigan v Saints derby being repeated. Cas, Hudds, Widnes and Hull in the last 4 years has seen them just as a random other team, while Wigan have played Wire 3 times and Leeds once.

Maybe Wigan didnt complain loudly enough.

When did we complain? I can’t remember that happening. 

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7 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

I mentioned six Salford players moving on, not one. That’s your opinion, I’d argue that they’re weaker and will find it harder to stay where they finished this year because of that but partly because of others (Wigan, Wire, Hull, Cas and Catalans to name a few) strengthening too. 

Yes and I alluded to the 6, thank you yes its my opinion and its different to the one that your entitled to, no great shakes.

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42 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

When did we complain? I can’t remember that happening. 

A few years back, think it was when it was at Manchester. Hasn't been a Wigan v Saints derby since. Similarly didnt the Hull clubs also complain and now they dont meet each other?

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