The General 'Toronto Wolfpack' Discussion Thread

[Scotchy1]

9 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

I'm not going to go over the Bradford mess again, because it's been done to death on this forum but to use many years of financial mismanagement and dubious decision making by the RFL as a stick to beat P&R is disingenuous at best. Swinton and Oldham have been out their grounds for nearly 30 years now, so i'm not sure how by stripping funding to the championship and removing P&R you hope to magic suitable stadiums in those respective towns.

Leigh had their issues when DB decided he was going to walk, but from lumping Leigh and Fev together I assume you are referring to having to use emergency loans, despite offloading players Leigh actually went into the 8's that year with a squad larger than the one Toronto assembled this year. As tends to happen in sport though(much like this year with the injuries/emergency loans during Covid, when it rains, it pours and they picked up around 12/13 injuries including some pretty bad ones in the space of around 5 weeks. A prime example is Liam Hood, who was due to leave the club with the rest in July but the deal was called off by Leigh so we could finish competitively, only for him to suffer a season ending injury a week later. 

Fev suffered much the same fate but to a lesser degree. York have been a basket case for decades and their resurgence has coincided almost perfectly with the new system which has given them something to aim at and a chance to build more sustainably - bringing in players like Atkins and Cuthbertson who will drive standards at the club for the other players. Whitehaven haven't even been close to thinking about SL since the mid 2000's, unless you are also advocating scrapping P&R between the C and L1?

You keep making this about Leigh, but it isn't. I've already pointed out that Leigh have actually benefitted less than some of the other teams in recent years to this new funding such as Toulouse, York and even London. 

Also - "The league would look like it does now, bigger in my opinion" tells me nothing about what your preferred solution would be, because everything you're suggesting with regards to removing all the funding would result in the league looking nothing like it does right now. I'm not trying to ask a loaded question, I'm genuinely curious to what your solution will be.

 

I've already addressed this in a previous post and I'm not going to get into a circular argument on it. Yes it costs money, yes it is an investment, yes there are some benefits to that investment which you did say you agreed with in response to my previous post. There is a question of how much should that investment be worth, but the less money that goes in, the less benefits for SL clubs using Championship as a place to groom the stars of the future against seasoned pros in a tough league, not to mention picking up those late bloomers like Matty Ashton who prove themselves against good teams.

 

That will always be the case though, regardless of funding. The teams in league 1 will still be desperate for promotion so they can play teams with bigger fanbases in more meaningful games, what possible system do you have that would make Hunslet prefer to be playing West Wales rather than Bradford? 

Finally, West Wales are doing a great job? Seriously? 

ive quoted this all at once because i think it all misunderstands where im coming from. 

My argument isnt that we shouldnt fund the championship or L1. Its to question what we are funding it to do. 

Pouring millions in to so that the top championship teams can sign overseas players and ex SL players for a tilt at SL doesnt work for the vast majority of clubs or the wider game.

Im saying that the lower leagues should be funded, but funded to do the things we want it to do. That is to be a hyperlocal, development focused RL focal point of the local community. The funding distributed to these competitions should be used for a very basic premise. Get kids playing, get kids watching. 

And thats why west wales arent doing a bad job. Anyone could go spend a few hundred k renting a football stadium, get some rejects from Leeds, Saints and Wigan academy and be competitive L1 side. But thats fairly transient success. What West Wales are doing is what they absolutely should be doing, hyperlocal, development focused.

The best analogy i can think of is college football compared to the NFL. College football sides are never going to be NFL sides, they dont want to be and couldnt be. They arent anywhere near as good as NFL sides. But they dont sell themselves as that. They don't pretend they are similar.

So when I say the league would look the same, but bigger. Its not to avoid the question. Its because thats what it is. Same teams, probably more of them. Funded to bring through players, be a focal point for the local community, develop the game in their area and sell themselves as a championship club. 

The aims of a lower league club should be: Win their competition, bring through players, own and develop their own facilities, outreach to the local community, work with community clubs. Thats what every penny the game gives them should be spent on. Its about changing the priorities from a short-term get promoted outlook. 

[GUBRATS]

Thank God I've sorted my ignore criteria

[Oxford]

5 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Thank God I've sorted my ignore criteria

I don't like using it, and have to be forced into it.

Using the space on this thread in this way, seems a bit like dancing on TWP's remains and a bit disrespectful to their fans.

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[John Drake]

Time to put this one out of its misery.

Locked.