“Ontario will be your next rugby league hotbed”

[langpark]

2 hours ago, Oldbear said:

It’s interesting again that Perez is highlighting Ontario whilst making no mention of British Columbia. BC happens to be the rugby union bedrock of Canada and the talent produced by BC would be much greater than Ontario, so is Perez deliberately staying away from BC to avoid upsetting Rugby Canada, or does he think it would too expensive to recruit BC players into an academy, or what?

I cannot see Vancouver ever being an option.  It is just that much further from the UK than Ontario.

[langpark]

2 hours ago, Oldbear said:

It’s interesting again that Perez is highlighting Ontario whilst making no mention of British Columbia. BC happens to be the rugby union bedrock of Canada and the talent produced by BC would be much greater than Ontario, so is Perez deliberately staying away from BC to avoid upsetting Rugby Canada, or does he think it would too expensive to recruit BC players into an academy, or what?

I cannot see Vancouver ever being an option.  It is just that much further from the UK than Ontario.

[langpark]

2 hours ago, Oldbear said:

It’s interesting again that Perez is highlighting Ontario whilst making no mention of British Columbia. BC happens to be the rugby union bedrock of Canada and the talent produced by BC would be much greater than Ontario, so is Perez deliberately staying away from BC to avoid upsetting Rugby Canada, or does he think it would too expensive to recruit BC players into an academy, or what?

I cannot see Vancouver ever being an option.  It is just that much further from the UK than Ontario.

[fighting irish]

22 hours ago, TIWIT said:

And actions speak louder than words.

I'd put the 2 teams Perez has helped establish against the words of an anonymous poster on a forum any day (even if that's all I am too).

 

He's a Ra Ra mate.

[Man of Kent]

8 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

He's a Ra Ra mate.

Fool.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

23 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

Super League/ RFL should be looking at targeting the South of France, Newcastle and Ontario/ East coast for expansion

How about the 30 million people in the South of England?.... All of which are much closer to the heartlands than France/Canada and some of which are the same as Newcastle ( e.g. Luton is 2.5 hours from Cas..... when I drive fast) 

[fighting irish]

28 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Fool.

What happened to your response to my last post? I got the notification that you'd responded but the post wasn't on the thread. 

[Mr Plow]

32 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

How about the 30 million people in the South of England?.... All of which are much closer to the heartlands than France/Canada and some of which are the same as Newcastle ( e.g. Luton is 2.5 hours from Cas..... when I drive fast) 

Yeah, have Broncos in SL with Skolars being a feeder team for them. Plenty of amateur clubs

[Themusician_2]

That's big talk by Perez considering the whole of Ontario has only 2 clubs. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

22 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Yeah, have Broncos in SL with Skolars being a feeder team for them. Plenty of amateur clubs

Dream world says a couple of massive backers take on both clubs and they both storm SL

London and the South East is an enormous (and wealthy market) just a couple of hours from the heartlands 

Why Argyll couldn't take on Broncos from Hughes I'll never know 

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

How about the 30 million people in the South of England?.... ( e.g. Luton is 2.5 hours from Cas..... when I drive fast) 

And equally as picturesque 

[TheReaper]

4 hours ago, Oldbear said:

It’s interesting again that Perez is highlighting Ontario whilst making no mention of British Columbia. BC happens to be the rugby union bedrock of Canada and the talent produced by BC would be much greater than Ontario, so is Perez deliberately staying away from BC to avoid upsetting Rugby Canada, or does he think it would too expensive to recruit BC players into an academy, or what?

That's not really true anymore.  Ontario has won something like 6 of the last 9 MacTier Cups (Canadian Rugby Championship). 

 

[Eddie]

50 minutes ago, Themusician_2 said:

That's big talk by Perez considering the whole of Ontario has only 2 clubs. 

Two more than you’ve ever set up. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

Ontario is an interesting one Toronto is now totally dominated by American sports the Argos gates have fallen to an average of around 12000  last season Vancouver also is a difficult market hardly any native Canadians left its mainly Chinese nowadays which means the CFL BC Lions gates have dropped to around 18000 average.

I really don't think BC being a rugby union hotbed would make any difference.

The main Canadian redneck cities Winnipeg/Edmonton/Calgary are CFL strongholds this season would IMHO have been a make or break to establish the TW in Toronto a year off is a long time in a very fickle market place.

Just hope I am wrong however I can see DA moving it where god knows (I hope not) 

 

Paul

[dealwithit]

Based on the pathways in London, you would say they are a hotbed for producing players in the way Perez is describing. Plenty of London players across SL and championship clubs, and the Broncos juniors do very well. 

In terms of Ontario players, there’s probably about, i dunno, 200 people playing rugby league in Canada. With a year until they debut, if I was the Aces I would be selecting a pool of the best 30 and putting them through intensive training over the next year with the hope that a handful may be ready for League 1.

[The Great Dane]

13 hours ago, langpark said:

Fair enough, which is why my only gripe with that whole article is the part where he says they are going for the 'organic' approach.  Just don't say it, especially if you contradict it only a few sentences later.

He didn't contradict himself.

You have to plant the seed before it can grow, so for a place like Canada this is the organic approach. 

[Copa]

11 hours ago, Oldbear said:

It’s interesting again that Perez is highlighting Ontario whilst making no mention of British Columbia. BC happens to be the rugby union bedrock of Canada and the talent produced by BC would be much greater than Ontario, so is Perez deliberately staying away from BC to avoid upsetting Rugby Canada, or does he think it would too expensive to recruit BC players into an academy, or what?

BC is probably too far away.

[Anita Bath]

Ive not kept up with the north american expansion topic but wonder,  if Ottawa is to be more 'organic' that TWP have been, given that the Ottawa climate, and in particular winter, is usually far harsher and longer than the toronto climate, where will this team be based and when will they play games in Ottawa?

[ATLANTISMAN]

LONDON 100% is the best bet for producing the majority of new SL standard players outside of the heartlands along with France (Traditional areas) and then the North East .

It never ceases to amaze me how many fantastic players have come from France over the years given the fact that RL is a tiny minority sport outside of a few places.

The abolition of franchising IMHO has done more damage to the development of young French players at the Dragons than anything else YES there are plenty around in the reserves (St Esteve) however you cannot blame the club for not risking them staying in SL is the NO1 priority.

Oh for the days of Mick Potter who gave many young local french players a chance would be interesting to see how many French players made the Dragons first team in 2006/7/8 add them up and compare to the last 3 seasons.

 

Plenty of time on my hands at present so I will have a check and come back.

 

Paul

[Davo5]

4 hours ago, SL17 said:

I’ve be hoping for sometime  @Davo5 you would possibly actually express an opinion. Obviously not forthcoming.

Just a click per usual.

 

 

I’ve been hoping for some time you’d actually post something worth replying to.

Obviously you’ve failed.

Just the usual anti expansion rubbish Derek.

[HawkMan]

11 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Dream world says a couple of massive backers take on both clubs and they both storm SL

London and the South East is an enormous (and wealthy market) just a couple of hours from the heartlands 

Why Argyll couldn't take on Broncos from Hughes I'll never know 

It amazes me people still seriously think London has any future for TGG. As a born and bred Londoner I can tell you there is zilch interest and never will be. London has a dozen or so football league clubs plus more semi professional clubs outside the league getting good support.  London is also tribalised into football areas. People who have no interest in the game still.think of London as divided into football areas.  Heard people discuss where they live such as ," Barking ? , that's West Ham innit?"

I was recently in Edgeware on a bus and heard football being discussed and I slipped into wondering to myself,  " Edgeware mmm? Tottenham or Arsenal area don't know"

In cricket too there's a little bit of this tribalism,  not much but it's there. East London that's Essex, West,  Middlesex,  South ,Surrey . The concept of a London wide team where all Londoners get behind is just alien. Isn't there a London Basketball team though? Yeah MASSIVE aren't they I don't think. 

Perez obviously realises that London is a no go for RL. I'm sorry but it's TRUE.  Thirty years of trying and gates of 2000. Even RU clubs have not much presence. Newcastle looks very promising for the game and Coventry too. Perhaps the West country might be an area to look at, Bristol maybe.

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, HawkMan said:

It amazes me people still seriously think London has any future for TGG. As a born and bred Londoner I can tell you there is zilch interest and never will be. London has a dozen or so football league clubs plus more semi professional clubs outside the league getting good support.  London is also tribalised into football areas. People who have no interest in the game still.think of London as divided into football areas.  Heard people discuss where they live such as ," Barking ? , that's West Ham innit?"

I was recently in Edgeware on a bus and heard football being discussed and I slipped into wondering to myself,  " Edgeware mmm? Tottenham or Arsenal area don't know"

In cricket too there's a little bit of this tribalism,  not much but it's there. East London that's Essex, West,  Middlesex,  South ,Surrey . The concept of a London wide team where all Londoners get behind is just alien. Isn't there a London Basketball team though? Yeah MASSIVE aren't they I don't think. 

Perez obviously realises that London is a no go for RL. I'm sorry but it's TRUE.  Thirty years of trying and gates of 2000. Even RU clubs have not much presence. Newcastle looks very promising for the game and Coventry too. Perhaps the West country might be an area to look at, Bristol maybe.

Whilst there's limited interest in London (mainly because the game has no profile/limited presence there), it does have a future as a source for future players. There are a lot of talented athletes there to engage with..............many of the London players to have come through the system to professional level, have done by accident - they didn't know the sport before a teacher/volunteer got them involved. There's a huge base there which we've barely scratched the surface of. Which is why I thought it was ideal for Toronto to setup an academy from............

The game really needs an annual test in London to maintain support there - tests are always well supported in London but they're all too sporadic. We need to build momentum through a regular international calendar. You then tap into that fanbase (often casual fans) and entice them to the Challenge Cup Final, which has faded away from the casual sporting fans interest in recent years

[dealwithit]

Why is it so difficult to separate the concept of popular super league team from actual pathways of juniors to super league players. London is doing it. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

14 hours ago, DoubleD said:

And equally as picturesque 

That is an insult to Cas..... Genuinely 

[Click]

3 hours ago, HawkMan said:

It amazes me people still seriously think London has any future for TGG. As a born and bred Londoner I can tell you there is zilch interest and never will be. London has a dozen or so football league clubs plus more semi professional clubs outside the league getting good support.  London is also tribalised into football areas. People who have no interest in the game still.think of London as divided into football areas.  Heard people discuss where they live such as ," Barking ? , that's West Ham innit?"

I was recently in Edgeware on a bus and heard football being discussed and I slipped into wondering to myself,  " Edgeware mmm? Tottenham or Arsenal area don't know"

In cricket too there's a little bit of this tribalism,  not much but it's there. East London that's Essex, West,  Middlesex,  South ,Surrey . The concept of a London wide team where all Londoners get behind is just alien. Isn't there a London Basketball team though? Yeah MASSIVE aren't they I don't think. 

Perez obviously realises that London is a no go for RL. I'm sorry but it's TRUE.  Thirty years of trying and gates of 2000. Even RU clubs have not much presence. Newcastle looks very promising for the game and Coventry too. Perhaps the West country might be an area to look at, Bristol maybe.

120 years of trying and crowds of 3k.

What is your point? London is a city of millions, you think there isnt 10 thousand in there somewhere that may enjoy RL? Clearly London and the SE have some appetite for the sport, as we keep producing players for it.

How many of those football clubs have been around for only 30 years? They've been supporting their team before they were born and grown up around it. London RL doesn't have that luxury, it also hasn't had a propery successful one since its inception either.

Besides, if tribalism in football teams in London was so big you wouldn't have as many Man U supporters as you do down here.

Invest properly in a London club that will compete consistently at the top of the table, playing good RL and the crowds will come back, it's not like we've never had any before. Playing out a wedding venue that is hidden behind a bunch of houses in Ealing isn't the most attractive venue for the general London public.