Blake Ferguson

[Eddie]

I know this is yet another Leigh related thread, and that Ferguson has had his problems, but what an absolutely tremendous signing for a Championship club. Fev must be worried. 

[GUBRATS]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

I know this is yet another Leigh related thread, and that Ferguson has had his problems, but what an absolutely tremendous signing for a Championship club. Fev must be worried. 

The same was said when ' money Bill ' signed for Toronto 

One player does not a team make 

[Damien]

 

[DavidM]

Fergosaurus 

[Tex Evans Thigh]

Brilliant signing for Leigh. Fev signed Tyla Hepi as well, both have very strong squads, it’s going to be a fun rivalry.

[Oxford]

It's a bit like watching the Arms Race, all this.

And it has all the hallmarks of a tears before bedtime story.

 

[Eddie]

37 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

The same was said when ' money Bill ' signed for Toronto 

One player does not a team make 

Are you not happy then mate, as a Leigh fan? I’d have thought you’d all be buzzing about getting a player as good as this. 

[sweaty craiq]

Two clubs too big for a PT Championship having to throw the dice to move forward. If we won’t do 2 x 10’s  then we must expand to 14 for 2023

[DavidM]

5 minutes ago, sweaty craiq said:

Two clubs too big for a PT Championship having to throw the dice to move forward. If we won’t do 2 x 10’s  then we must expand to 14 for 2023

14 team SL and an expanded championship 

[Wigan Riversider]

Ala 1995 and all the uproar about SL... would be happy to see Fev in SL.

[RayCee]

If it works out well, he could be the icing on the cake for Leigh.

[meast]

2 hours ago, Oxford said:

It's a bit like watching the Arms Race, all this.

And it has all the hallmarks of a tears before bedtime story.

 

Are these the same clubs who basically played a play off final with 9 v 11 or something because they couldn't find or afford to pay enough players?

Are they just stockpiling players to limit the opposition between them?

Edited April 29, 2022 by meast

[GUBRATS]

3 hours ago, Eddie said:

Are you not happy then mate, as a Leigh fan? I’d have thought you’d all be buzzing about getting a player as good as this. 

To tell the truth I'd never heard of him , I don't follow the NRL , but anybody who played SOO 3 years ago must be pretty good , but it's still a team sport 

[LeytherRob]

2 hours ago, meast said:

Are these the same clubs who basically played a play off final with 9 v 11 or something because they couldn't find or afford to pay enough players?

Are they just stockpiling players to limit the opposition between them?

Stockpiling? Leigh have only just hit 25 players for the squad, we're still finishing our off season recruitment!

[Snowys Backside]

There is no hidden agenda of SL being 14 teams next season but it would freshen things up and would make sense. It would make the Championship more competitive too. York and Newcastle battling it out for promotion maybe ?

Leigh and Fev will end up paying each other 4/5 times this season and if they both get through to the 1895 final, what a glowing curtain raiser this would be for the CC final to see two quality sides going hammer and tongue in front of the Cameras showcasing what the Championship is capable of.

Its great for the game but as already been stated, lots will be released as a result of who goes up. Will the rules change next season ?  Will the team who stays down continue with the same squad ?  Will both go up with Toulouse safe for another 12 months ?

All fun and games.

[The Blues Ox]

It makes it quite fascinating between the two top teams in the division now and I think Leigh are just creeping ahead but it will be interesting to see how they go back end of the season when a lot of these players are trying to sort contracts out for next season. If Leigh can get promoted then they are going to have to offload a few overseas players but that means their contracts will have to be sorted long before any play off final which may add an extra twist or two.

[Guest]

19 hours ago, Eddie said:

I know this is yet another Leigh related thread, and that Ferguson has had his problems, but what an absolutely tremendous signing for a Championship club. Fev must be worried. 

FEV are never worried about other teams E

or put it another way

Que sera sera

Whatever will be will be 

Someones going to super league

Que sera sera

 

[Jughead]

As dangerous as the game Leigh and Featherstone appear to be playing with their recruitment to get out of the Championship, the game of Rugby League has helped create this monster by insisting on promotion and relegation, despite numerous indicators that it doesn’t quite work.

I hope the one (or both) who doesn’t win promotion doesn’t suffer from their decisions in 2021 but it does feel like it will be one of those “I told you so” situations with many people being uneasy at the recruitment of both clubs. As long as there’s a Million Pound Game, the consequences are not something The RFL particularly cares about. 

 

[Angelic Cynic]

13 minutes ago, Jughead said:

As dangerous as the game Leigh and Featherstone appear to be playing with their recruitment to get out of the Championship, the game of Rugby League has helped create this monster by insisting on promotion and relegation, despite numerous indicators that it doesn’t quite work.

As long as there’s a Million Pound Game, the consequences are not something The RFL particularly cares about. 

 

  Could you state the reasons why you are of the opinion that promotion and relegation do not work? I seem to have read that the owners of both Leigh and Featherstone want promotion,as do their supporters,and the broadcast people don't object.

Please also state the benefits of Licensing.Both Lewis and Findlay who put it together,have left the sport.It doesn't seem to have benefited, Bradford,Widnes,or the progression of Super League, or the national side.

On topic - allowing convicted criminals into the country simply adds to the malaise around governance - of both country and sport.

[Jughead]

23 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

  Could you state the reasons why you are of the opinion that promotion and relegation do not work? I seem to have read that the owners of both Leigh and Featherstone want promotion,as do their supporters,and the broadcast people don't object.

Please also state the benefits of Licensing.Both Lewis and Findlay who put it together,have left the sport.It doesn't seem to have benefited, Bradford,Widnes,or the progression of Super League, or the national side.

On topic - allowing convicted criminals into the country simply adds to the malaise around governance - of both country and sport.

It creates unsustainable situations like this one with Leigh and Featherstone spending vast amounts where clubs go big chasing a dream, thus creating Leigh’s 2018 season where liquidation become a serious threat after failing to make the top four in the Championship. That’s not good for the clubs, the players or the sport. The 2018 Shield Final where both Leigh and Featherstone had to draft in numerous players was amateurish, at best. 

Since London Broncos beat Toronto Wolfpack to gain promotion to the Super League, promoted/elevated sides (Broncos, Toronto, Leigh Centurions and Toulouse Olympique) have played 67 games, winning 13 games of which ten of those thirteen were by London Broncos, who are the exception here, not the rule (and still got relegated). Of course there are reasons behind these clubs struggling like the lateness in the calendar year that they’re promoted and funding issues but it doesn’t really look like changing any time soon, so why we persist with something that isn’t working is beyond belief.

The same players are bouncing around the same clubs. James Cunningham plays for Toulouse (likely to be relegated), in 2020 he played for newly promoted Toronto having joined from 2019’s relegated side London. Matty Russell plays for Toulouse, who signed him from relegated Leigh, who signed him from Toronto. Toulouse’s side also contains a number of players who have played for London in the last few seasons too. Leigh’s 2021 side included four players signed from Toronto’s demise and another relegated in 2019 with London. It’s a cyclical routine and I dare say we’ll see similar this off season too and some of Toulouse’s players will at whoever gets promoted.

It stunts clubs. How can clubs grow when the trap door of relegation is always open below them? How can we expect to grow the TV deal in France that we have this year if we’re to lose Toulouse next year? Is there an appetite to see Toulouse v Dewsbury televised in France compared to Toulouse v Catalans or Wigan? How can clubs commit to spending in areas off the pitch if their funding could be cut significantly if they’re relegated? 

Licencing was poorly implemented as it sought to protect those inside the club and not judge them fairly. It does not mean it doesn’t work. Widnes suffered problems once relegation was brought back and Bradford’s financial problems existed in a non-licensing period, too, after a MPG loss at Wakefield. 

Edited April 30, 2022 by Jughead

[Masters 13]

The highs and lows of a rugby league career. 

You could be playing against Melbourne Storm one week, then Dewsbury Rams the next!!! 

[EagleEyePie]

To think he started the year in a Japanese jail and now he's on his way to Leigh. Things are going from bad to worse for this guy.

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Jughead said:

As dangerous as the game Leigh and Featherstone appear to be playing with their recruitment to get out of the Championship, the game of Rugby League has helped create this monster by insisting on promotion and relegation, despite numerous indicators that it doesn’t quite work.

I hope the one (or both) who doesn’t win promotion doesn’t suffer from their decisions in 2021 but it does feel like it will be one of those “I told you so” situations with many people being uneasy at the recruitment of both clubs. As long as there’s a Million Pound Game, the consequences are not something The RFL particularly cares about. 

 

Rugby league insisting on P&R? That’s because it’s what clubs and fans want. 

[Jughead]

3 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Rugby league insisting on P&R? That’s because it’s what clubs and fans want. 

Fan don’t, well not unanimously anyway. 

[Cardypaul]

10 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Fan don’t, well not unanimously anyway. 

Most fans do, certainly of the championship clubs