Catalans sign.....

[tjhrads93]

Slightly off topic, I thought Jullien was excellent at Warrington and am always shocked that he doesn’t seem to have kicked in at Catalans, does anyone know why that’s so?

In terms of the signing, the lack of remorse - when there seems to have been an acknowledgment of guilt - bothers me.

[UTK]

11 hours ago, The storm said:

What a truly absurd comment 

The only reason he was in the GF side was because Mitch Kenny did his ankle late season.

He's a reserve grade utility, must not watch too much NRL if you believe otherwise.

[Hvy wg]

14 hours ago, tjhrads93 said:

Slightly off topic, I thought Jullien was excellent at Warrington and am always shocked that he doesn’t seem to have kicked in at Catalans, does anyone know why that’s so?

In terms of the signing, the lack of remorse - when there seems to have been an acknowledgment of guilt - bothers me.

Jullien is hit or miss. There is no in between. Unfortunately for him, he's not as busy as Whitley and not as strong a runner as McMeeken.

He misses a lot of tackles and is guilty of reading the game sideways at times.

He's decent but probably not as good as he could have been.

[Archie Gordon]

On 02/12/2021 at 18:26, WN83 said:

...

If I look at this May signing, why did they need him? I believe he’s a utility player who could cover 6, 13 or pretty much any position in between. Maybe I’m answering my question with that description but Morgue can cover the halves, they have French lads who can play centre (Leguerre impressed me last season), lads who can cover the loose forward role and so on. 

It just takes opportunities away from those lads and that can’t be good. I look at Morgue and when does he get a starting shirt? The lad looks quality but Pearce and Drinkwater are tied up and Tomkins sounds like he’ll retire over there. If you can’t put faith in that lad, I’m not sure who they’ll put it in. 

Yeah, I worry about Mourgue too. He's 22 now and I can see him spending another year as interchange hooker. I think he's been handled quite well so far but another season as a utility will damage him IMO. 

Laguerre and Chan seem ready to me as well. I hope May doesn't hold either back.

In terms of the French national team, I am a bit worried that Catalans are stockpiling squad players whilst Toulouse haven't really strengthened their squad. Seguier, Le Cam, Dezaria, Jullien, Chan, Goudemand - most of these guys would be in the top 17 at TOXIII but will be fighting for 1 bench spot if everyone is fit at the Dragons.

[ATLANTISMAN]

1 hour ago, Archie Gordon said:

Yeah, I worry about Mourgue too. He's 22 now and I can see him spending another year as interchange hooker. I think he's been handled quite well so far but another season as a utility will damage him IMO. 

Laguerre and Chan seem ready to me as well. I hope May doesn't hold either back.

In terms of the French national team, I am a bit worried that Catalans are stockpiling squad players whilst Toulouse haven't really strengthened their squad. Seguier, Le Cam, Dezaria, Jullien, Chan, Goudemand - most of these guys would be in the top 17 at TOXIII but will be fighting for 1 bench spot if everyone is fit at the Dragons.

Funny enough Archie I was having a good chat on the phone with a friend about this last night and my feeling is that the Dragons will 100% loan out some French players to Toulouse.

The Dragons are on a mission to win SL next season

Toulouse just need to avoid the drop

It is NOT in the Dragons interests for Toulouse to be relegated.

 

Paul

[Lowdesert]

5 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

Yeah, I worry about Mourgue too. He's 22 now and I can see him spending another year as interchange hooker. I think he's been handled quite well so far but another season as a utility will damage him IMO. 

Laguerre and Chan seem ready to me as well. I hope May doesn't hold either back.

In terms of the French national team, I am a bit worried that Catalans are stockpiling squad players whilst Toulouse haven't really strengthened their squad. Seguier, Le Cam, Dezaria, Jullien, Chan, Goudemand - most of these guys would be in the top 17 at TOXIII but will be fighting for 1 bench spot if everyone is fit at the Dragons.

A lot of worrying Archie.

I disagree on Mourgue and I think he’ll take over from Drinkwater at the end of the season or Tomkins will move into the halves and Artur will go FB.  24 games last year with 8 starts as FB or HB.  

Chan is a 2nd row forward and is 19.  Played 7 games last year, Laguerre 22, played 7 games.  Nothing to suggest either of these is being held back either. 

 

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

7 hours ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Funny enough Archie I was having a good chat on the phone with a friend about this last night and my feeling is that the Dragons will 100% loan out some French players to Toulouse.

The Dragons are on a mission to win SL next season

Toulouse just need to avoid the drop

It is NOT in the Dragons interests for Toulouse to be relegated.

 

Paul

I expect Catalans will loan players to Toulouse, it’s in both clubs interest. It’ll get Catalans players Super League experience, while they have their reserves in Elite 1 Super League is a much tougher competition, and it’ll strengthen Toulouse’s squad.

[The Rocket]

On 03/12/2021 at 23:21, The Rocket said:

 the two highest rating games on Sky this year, and by a country mile, involved the Catalans. 

 

 

On 04/12/2021 at 04:36, Dave T said:

 

Similarly we don't have to go over the top with the benefits - there are some nice tv number quotes - but when Salford made the Grand Final there were almost 200k more viewers and 20k more in the ground, and we know the state Salford are in.

 

The reason that both Catalans and Salford both achieved extraordinary ratings was that both clubs were able to capture the imagination of the wider public. Salford have been unable to capitalise on that -  Catalans have.

The difference being that Salford were unable to build upon that one good year whereas the Catalans figures are an accumulation of a number of good years: CC victors; the Nou Camp game; and of course consistent top 5 finishes and the GF.

I think it is justified to go slightly ' over the top with the benefits ", Catalans are obviously turning consistent success into greater investment and in turn using that into building a team that will be in a position to have a red hot go at winning the competition next year. I expect their viewing figures will to continue to reflect that.

Sky and Channel 4 will be watching.

 

[Dave T]

Just now, The Rocket said:

 

The reason that both Catalans and Salford both achieved extraordinary ratings was that both clubs were able to capture the imagination of the wider public. Salford have been unable to capitalise on that -  Catalans have.

The difference being that Salford were unable to build upon that one good year whereas the Catalans figures are an accumulation of a number of good years: CC victors; the Nou Camp game; and of course consistent top 5 finishes and the GF.

I think it is justified to go slightly ' over the top with the benefits ", Catalans are obviously turning consistent success into greater investment and in turn using that into building a team that will be in a position to have a red hot go at winning the competition next year. I expect their viewing figures will to continue to reflect that.

Sky and Channel 4 will be watching.

 

If you do some analysis, you'll find that Catalans games were often some of the lowest viewing figures too. The two high games often referenced were a season opener that went to golden point, and the semi final/lls game (I forget which). 

And you ignored the modest GF figure that I highlighted. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

32 minutes ago, Dave T said:

If you do some analysis, you'll find that Catalans games were often some of the lowest viewing figures too. The two high games often referenced were a season opener that went to golden point, and the semi final/lls game (I forget which). 

And you ignored the modest GF figure that I highlighted. 

Which is our biggest problem most RL fans in England support the clubs and NOT the game.

This is why we need England internationals and plenty of them played outside of the heartlands to tap into new fans.

 

Paul

[Dave T]

28 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Which is our biggest problem most RL fans in England support the clubs and NOT the game.

This is why we need England internationals and plenty of them played outside of the heartlands to tap into new fans.

 

Paul

I disagree and find your post contradictory. For a sport with such a modest footprint, many of the regular club fans are the ones going to the internationals and event games. They do support the wider game, more than many other sports I would argue. 

I do agree with your conclusion though - we rely too much on this modest sized pot and need to work on new populations. 

[Scubby]

3 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I disagree and find your post contradictory. For a sport with such a modest footprint, many of the regular club fans are the ones going to the internationals and event games. They do support the wider game, more than many other sports I would argue. 

I do agree with your conclusion though - we rely too much on this modest sized pot and need to work on new populations. 

I have never understood why the RFL would book a modest sized stadium in the heartlands for an England v France international and be satisfied that 5k or so turned up.

International RL should be seen as an opportunity to expand - fans outside the heartlands will get it. It feels as if sometimes they simply don't know how to do it. The concern is that they do know how to do it but can't be arsed and don't see the value in the investment. Other sports use it to expand the corporate sponsorship base as much as new audiences.

[newbe]

Slightly off topic, I wonder if Catalans get more away supporters than any other S/L in total, great weekend, weather etc.

[dealwithit]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

 

The reason that both Catalans and Salford both achieved extraordinary ratings was that both clubs were able to capture the imagination of the wider public. Salford have been unable to capitalise on that -  Catalans have.

The difference being that Salford were unable to build upon that one good year whereas the Catalans figures are an accumulation of a number of good years: CC victors; the Nou Camp game; and of course consistent top 5 finishes and the GF.

I think it is justified to go slightly ' over the top with the benefits ", Catalans are obviously turning consistent success into greater investment and in turn using that into building a team that will be in a position to have a red hot go at winning the competition next year. I expect their viewing figures will to continue to reflect that.

Sky and Channel 4 will be watching.

 

We assume that this has led to more outside investment in the club. I’m curious what would happen if Bernard Guasch walked away/died. Has Bernard been fixated on silverware and simply injected more money than is sensible/than his opponent owners? 

[Damien]

42 minutes ago, Scubby said:

I have never understood why the RFL would book a modest sized stadium in the heartlands for an England v France international and be satisfied that 5k or so turned up.

International RL should be seen as an opportunity to expand - fans outside the heartlands will get it. It feels as if sometimes they simply don't know how to do it. The concern is that they do know how to do it but can't be arsed and don't see the value in the investment. Other sports use it to expand the corporate sponsorship base as much as new audiences.

Indeed. England v France is just made for playing at a venue in London like Brentfords new ground or QPR. Decent sized stadiums in London and sell the game to people that just want to see England play.

As we even see on here England v France is a hard sell to even some RL fans in the North, due to competitiveness as much as anything. Rather than being content with 5k sell it to different people instead. Play it where people want to watch internationals and where people will appreciate some great tries and skills and an England win even if it's by 40 points.

[Damien]

2 hours ago, The Rocket said:

 

The reason that both Catalans and Salford both achieved extraordinary ratings was that both clubs were able to capture the imagination of the wider public. Salford have been unable to capitalise on that -  Catalans have.

The difference being that Salford were unable to build upon that one good year whereas the Catalans figures are an accumulation of a number of good years: CC victors; the Nou Camp game; and of course consistent top 5 finishes and the GF.

The key difference is that Salford had no chance to build and capitalise on their success due to Covid. Their Grand Final season was followed by a season decimated by Covid with months of no fans and even their Challenge Cup final appearance at Wembley was in front of no fans. Yes Catalans have done great building over a number of years but the argument you are applying to Salford is a little disingenuous.

[audois]

57 minutes ago, dealwithit said:

We assume that this has led to more outside investment in the club. I’m curious what would happen if Bernard Guasch walked away/died. Has Bernard been fixated on silverware and simply injected more money than is sensible/than his opponent owners? 

Yes Guasch has put money in from day one but the total figures today have blown out across public and private. The Department which covers the whole region are big supporters - I think better than Perpignan itself. Christopher Levy in charge of Sponsorship/Promotion is I believe the key man. Been there since the beginning.

[The Rocket]

37 minutes ago, Damien said:

The key difference is that Salford had no chance to build and capitalise on their success due to Covid. Their Grand Final season was followed by a season decimated by Covid with months of no fans and even their Challenge Cup final appearance at Wembley was in front of no fans. Yes Catalans have done great building over a number of years but the argument you are applying to Salford is a little disingenuous.

Fair enough, I wasn`t deliberately ignoring the Covid angle and I`m not denying that Catalans don`t have other advantages as well, probably the biggest, apart from Bernard, in being the face of a Rugby League revival in the south of France.

[ATLANTISMAN]

3 hours ago, dealwithit said:

We assume that this has led to more outside investment in the club. I’m curious what would happen if Bernard Guasch walked away/died. Has Bernard been fixated on silverware and simply injected more money than is sensible/than his opponent owners? 

 

1 hour ago, audois said:

Yes Guasch has put money in from day one but the total figures today have blown out across public and private. The Department which covers the whole region are big supporters - I think better than Perpignan itself. Christopher Levy in charge of Sponsorship/Promotion is I believe the key man. Been there since the beginning.

Bernard is  (Although he has put personal money in) in reality a caretaker on behalf of the public and other local sponsors.

Thats how it works the club would be fine going forward,i saw Bernard the other week and he was in fine form good for many years yet so if the RFL/SL want to include him in their ongoing cash flow for fines i reckon their good for a while:)

 

Paul