Time to get shot of Catalans

[Cumbrian Mackem]

And replace them with the London broncos. They do nothing for French RL which I believe was a major part of them being accepted into super league in the 1st place.

[Tonka]

There you have it

[Damien]

Er no it's not. Its time to get Toulouse in Super League and have 2 French teams.

[Smudger06]

6 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

And replace them with the London broncos. They do nothing for French RL which I believe was a major part of them being accepted into super league in the 1st place.

Its more enjoyable going to Spain & having a day in France than it is going to an amateur venue in North West London. Plus they've been with us for quite some time now, they are like a part of the furniture. 

[Cumbrian Mackem]

10 minutes ago, Damien said:

Er no it's not. Its time to get Toulouse in Super League and have 2 French teams.

And have 2 “French” teams packed with a majority of average oz, kiwi and English players. 
 

no thanks. Let’s get the broncos back in super league and continue the good progress in areas like York and Newcastle for future expansion.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

22 minutes ago, Tonka said:

There you have it

Indeed. Ever decreasing French influence in their starting 17 and overall squad and packed for the most part with average overseas players. 
 

im so over the dragons experiment and don’t want Catalan 2.0 with Toulouse. Let’s develop southern talent with the broncos.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

And before anybody says anything I don’t want Leigh or featherstone in super league either if I’m honest.

[del capo]

The last time I looked at Tier 1 it was being run by SLE. ( Super League Europe ).

By all means retrench back to little old England if you want.

But don't  make the mistake of talking up York , Newcastle etc as future expansion for SL. 

SL will stick at 12 and it's  some of the M62 clubs that will have to make way for  newcomers if there are ever to be  fresh faces as you suggest.

Just look at the NRL.  They have had billionaires lining up for a spot in real expansion areas without success.

SL will only ever increase membership if massive, truly massive and guaranteed money flows in to the current cartel's coffers.

How likely is that going to be ?

[Man of Kent]

Catalans have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole with the whole aging Aussie import/McNamara/thuggery thing.

Does that mean we should get rid? Mais non.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

6 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Catalans have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole with the whole aging Aussie import/McNamara/thuggery thing.

Does that mean we should get rid? Mais non.

Don’t forget the biggest blunder of all that was the decision to scrap the u19’s academy team competing against English academy teams.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

4 minutes ago, Celt said:

Absolutely.

Not only that, but we are showing by Brexit that we want to get AWAY from Europe, and not integrate with them.

Let them organise their own Rugby League competitions.

I'm not sure about London Broncos though, I would prefer a club a bit closer to the M62. That way, they will bring some away fans.

Let's leave this European stuff to rugby union. Their fans are probably happy enough to go abroad and integrate.

A northern sport for northern people.

Haha!! You sound like a remoaner.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

Are people more bothered about a short holiday or actually developing French talent?

[Yakstorm]

2 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

And replace them with the London broncos. They do nothing for French RL which I believe was a major part of them being accepted into super league in the 1st place.

What is the criteria for determining their 'contribution' to French RL? Is it exposure? crowds? participation? professional contracts?  Maybe let's answer some of these questions. 

Are there more people playing the game?
Yes, up from 7,000 registered participants, to 30,000 in 2012 and reported over 50,000 recently.

Are there more RL games on TV?
Even this year, there is more than there was prior to the Dragons getting in. The FFRXIII couldn't afford to cover games on local TV, there was no Super League and no NRL. Even with SL's stuff up this year, there has been NRL, Elite One games and at least the trial of Dragons games on FTA in France.

Have they been able to attract Major Sponsors / Major French companies?
Some of the Catalan's sponsors include:

• AXA (Major multinational, made 104bn last year alone...)
• Air France Hop! (Part of Air France - not a nothing airline)
• BPI France (Investment Bank - Avg Income over 1.4bn pa)
• Altrad (Also the current French RU Major Sponsor)

They've also previously attracted the likes of Nike, Citroen, IDEC, SeaFrance and Renault to name a few.

Are there more French players with professional contracts?
In 1999, before the Dragons, there was Jerome Guisset (Raiders) and then....??? I know there were others, but you could honestly count them all on one hand. There are at least 15 French nationals in the Catalans 30-man squad alone, plus there others playing across Super League and the Championship.

Have they been able to attract crowds?
Yes, they actually hold the Super League attendance record (31,555), and are one of the few clubs that has actually grown over the past decade.  They were one of only 6 clubs to attract over 10K on average in 2019, and their lowest home crowd was larger than Wakefield's, Huddersfield's, London's and Salford's largest home crowds. 

Have they taken games around to spread the code?
More so than some clubs, they have at least taken matches to Barcelona, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Narbonne and Carcassonne among others.

Is France more competitive on an international front?
Arguably no, but on the flip side, where might they be if there was no Catalans? That potentially is more scary.

For me, they've definitely brought value to both Super League and the French game, and arguably stopped the game from dying in the country. As to why hasn't the French national team kicked on since their admission, there are a few reasons for that including:

• Other nations have gotten better: Not only do we now have the Pacific nations getting stronger, even the likes of England and New Zealand have gotten better and are no longer anywhere near as hot and cold as they once were.
   
• Conflicts of interest: Catalans do want France to be stronger in international Rugby League, however that is like priority 7 or 8 for them... for the Catalans they want to avoid Relegation first, then try and win a trophy or two before worrying about what country a player comes from and if that will strengthen the national team.
   
• Lack of depth: Let's face it, for France to be really competitive, they need at least 30+ full time professional players and they're not going to get that from the Catalans alone.
   
• French Team Management: The French national team lacks the leadership it needs to make eligible French players want to play for the Les Chanticleers at all costs. It's why you see many top players only turn up around World Cups.

Sure they are not perfect, and there is more that the club could do, but to say they aren't doing anything for French RL is a terrible ill-informed statement.

[Copa]

10 minutes ago, Yakstorm said:

Are there more RL games on TV?
Even this year, there is more than there was prior to the Dragons getting in. The FFRXIII couldn't afford to cover games on local TV, there was no Super League and no NRL. Even with SL's stuff up this year, there has been NRL, Elite One games and at least the trial of Dragons games on FTA in France.

My son was recently in Paris, he turned on the TV in his hotel room and State of Origin was on with French commentary.

[PEANUT HEAD]

2 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

And replace them with the London broncos. They do nothing for French RL which I believe was a major part of them being accepted into super league in the 1st place.

The london experiment as been going on for a lot longer and is no further on than Catalan. 

[jacksy]

No.

[Yakstorm]

42 minutes ago, Copa said:

My son was recently in Paris, he turned on the TV in his hotel room and State of Origin was on with French commentary.

beIN Sport provide French commentary for 4 NRL Games a week, that's not a minor commitment to the sport.  Makes the whole scenario with Elstone demanding more money from them so much worse... Whilst beIN arguably could have paid more, it wasn't like they weren't provide value in other ways which weren't directly tied to the broadcast fee (ie. Providing more SL content overall, which provided additional value to Sky, to the sponsors plus translating games into French).

Its ridiculous that it is easier to follow any NRL team in France on TV than it is to follow the Dragons and Super League.

[Oxford]

I'm quite shocked this thread was so Totally unexpected.

[The Rocket]

One thing for sure Bernard Guasch and the Catalan sponsors and fans deserve better than the prideless drivel dished up by the Catalans RL team all too often and especially on big occasions. I can remember all the hoopla and excitement when they got those four home televised games earlier in the year and how there was so much excitement with the opportunity to showcase themselves to a wider French audience and what happened, they got thumped and in the recent semi " Catalans 80 minutes away from Grand Final glory " thumped again. There is something fundamentally wrong in that club, personally I think the coach must be a dud, players who get beat 48-2 aren`t playing with any pride. Guasch, the sponsors and fans deserve better.

[gingerjon]

6 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Catalans have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole with the whole aging Aussie import/McNamara/thuggery thing.

Does that mean we should get rid? Mais non.

This iteration of Catalans are an unlovely bunch. Maybe they need to be but, for the first time ever, this season was one where I was cheering for whoever was playing them.

Doesn't mean I'm advocating for the ejection of Catalans and I'd be embarrassed if any genuine London supporter joined in the argument that we should replace them.

[Mr Frisky]

7 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

And replace them with the London broncos. They do nothing for French RL which I believe was a major part of them being accepted into super league in the 1st place.

Think someone was bored and decided to cause some mischief.......

[Damien]

I never really get the argument of writing off a country on the back of some bad decisions made by a club. In that case we may as well write off several SL clubs and areas.

I think Toulouse in SL are exactly what Catalans need and I think the competition would spur each, and French Rugby League, on to new heights. It would also give the game, players and fans an alternative when it comes to all those things that some criticise Catalans for.

[Omott91]

7 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Indeed. Ever decreasing French influence in their starting 17 and overall squad and packed for the most part with average overseas players. 
 

im so over the dragons experiment and don’t want Catalan 2.0 with Toulouse. Let’s develop southern talent with the broncos.

Are you Parksider 2.0?

[gingerjon]

3 minutes ago, Omott91 said:

Are you Parksider 2.0?

The posts are about 40 lines too short.

[HarrogateKnights]

Not sure if this post is designed as a wind up or not. On the view it's not until Elite 1 in France is viewed at least on par with the RFL Championship both Catalans and Toulouse need to be here in the system. They probably contribute just as much as they should for a team banging on the door of the playoffs with French talent. No team in Super League can say their squad is solely English they all rely on imports and most in the critical areas like halves/backs.