Sun 5th Oct: Ch GF: York Knights v Toulouse Olympique KO 14:00 (The Sportsman)

[Pigeon Lofter]

9 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

I really can't see them having Toulouse, York and London though.

I suppose it depends on how "independent" the independent panel really is.

[Mark S]

York, Toulouse and London should go up. If teams can’t make it work without relying on away support then they have no right to be in SL.

[StrennyKnight]

33 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

   Well deserved win for Toulouse.They went down the middle more in the second half and tired the York forwards out.Galeano should be a clown in the circus never seen one player make so many mistakes in a  game.

Sadly Galeano made more errors today than he probably has in total for all of the other games since he came to the club put together - He really has been a superb signing for us.

For York as a team today, it really was the most untidy performance they have put in for months. Unfortunate for them that it came in a showpiece event, but credit goes to Toulouse for the relentless energy going forward and just managing the ball better on the day. A deserved win, regardless of how they put the points on the board. Congratulations TO.

A word for the travelling Toulouse fans today too. Plenty more than I would have expected with such short notice and they really added to the atmosphere around that part of the Main Stand.

Disappointing as a York fan today but I can't praise the whole Club's effort enough this year. 2025 will definitely be a season that will live long in the memory for me.

[eclecticsheep]

Toulouse really hung on to the ball, what a tough game that was...

[Bull Mania]

Considering Toulouse are the only full time team currently in the Championship, I can't see how they fail the financial test. 

If the top 14 IMG graded teams are in then it's fair although I'm sure they'll still be a conspiracy according to some because the team they don't like is in and the team they support isn't etc

If a club outside the top 14 IMG graded teams gets in at the expense of one of those graded higher then it be interesting their reasoning. 

All this social media posts about choosing the top 3 isn't quite how it works. 

Anyway I'm sure it will be well discussed in 11 days time. For now enjoy your win Toulouse! 

[N2022]

28 minutes ago, The 4 of Us said:

They completely sold the tickets for half the stadium? Could be spun as full if you squint a bit! 

Like a full packet of crisps? Contents may settle in transit...

[N2022]

11 minutes ago, Mark S said:

York, Toulouse and London should go up. If teams can’t make it work without relying on away support then they have no right to be in SL.

But why are we going for London? Have looked mediocre in the Championship, but now there are big name investors they need to be back in SL? As someone who lives in the home counties I wouldn't mind them going up, but I don't see them as inherently all that deserving. Feels a bit like we are headed to franchise model, just with highly selective geographical reasoning.

[Ainley Top]

Try being a Fax fan and having Grant as ref!

Edited October 5, 2025 by Ainley Top

[Expatknight]

6 minutes ago, StrennyKnight said:

Sadly Galeano made more errors today than he probably has in total for all of the other games since he came to the club put together - He really has been a superb signing for us.

For York as a team today, it really was the most untidy performance they have put in for months. Unfortunate for them that it came in a showpiece event, but credit goes to Toulouse for the relentless energy going forward and just managing the ball better on the day. A deserved win, regardless of how they put the points on the board. Congratulations TO.

A word for the travelling Toulouse fans today too. Plenty more than I would have expected with such short notice and they really added to the atmosphere around that part of the Main Stand.

Disappointing as a York fan today but I can't praise the whole Club's effort enough this year. 2025 will definitely be a season that will live long in the memory for me.

Agree, I also thought Ata looked like he was carrying an injury and wasn’t as influential as in some games. As I have said about our opposition in games this season you can only play as well as the opposition let you, today our opponents managed to close us down at crucial times, they knew how to play to the ref, so good on their coach, we are still a bit naive in that department. I don’t think Mr Grant covered himself in glory today, and that is all I will say about him, York were lucky not to be a man down after what looked like a shocker of a high tackle. We need to be smarter, and not give the ref a reason to penalise especially in front of the sticks, having said that you can’t always control what he thinks he has seen or his interpretation. You have to feel for the guys today, what we may have lacked in creativity and attack was more than made up for in defence, going forward they will be better players for today as much as they will be hurting now. 
Credit to Toulouse, they turned up and made a real game of it and their supporters brought more to the atmosphere than many championship sides have done this season. Let us not forget the amazing journey we have been on this season together, they turned up club, the players and the fans. There is a lotto look forward to in the future for us all.

[Damien]

 

 

[oiseau]

33 minutes ago, StrennyKnight said:

Sadly Galeano made more errors today than he probably has in total for all of the other games since he came to the club put together - He really has been a superb signing for us.

For York as a team today, it really was the most untidy performance they have put in for months. Unfortunate for them that it came in a showpiece event, but credit goes to Toulouse for the relentless energy going forward and just managing the ball better on the day. A deserved win, regardless of how they put the points on the board. Congratulations TO.

A word for the travelling Toulouse fans today too. Plenty more than I would have expected with such short notice and they really added to the atmosphere around that part of the Main Stand.

Disappointing as a York fan today but I can't praise the whole Club's effort enough this year. 2025 will definitely be a season that will live long in the memory for me.

It just seemed to me that TO wanted it more. Did York think that all they needed to do was to turn up ?
Memories of the TO v London final a few years back.

[TrueBull]

7 minutes ago, oiseau said:

It just seemed to me that TO wanted it more. Did York think that all they needed to do was to turn up ?
Memories of the TO v London final a few years back.

Toulouse knew they needed to win to force the independent selection panel to consider them for the SL places. If they lost, it would have been much easier to overlook them

[Leeds Wire]

Such good entertainment this afternoon and it was a pleasure to not worry about who was going to win. 

I'd love to see York, Toulouse and London in SL next year. The game feels a little stagnant and needs to make some bold moves to refresh it and move on positively, rather than regressively. 

It's such a shame that the process isn't as transparent as it ought to be. 

 

PS: I still don't know who that excellent commentator was today.
 

[Fevrover]

5 minutes ago, Leeds Wire said:

Such good entertainment this afternoon and it was a pleasure to not worry about who was going to win. 

I'd love to see York, Toulouse and London in SL next year. The game feels a little stagnant and needs to make some bold moves to refresh it and move on positively, rather than regressively. 

It's such a shame that the process isn't as transparent as it ought to be. 

 

PS: I still don't know who that excellent commentator was today.
 

I knowwho it wasn't Wilkin or Paul.

[Just Browny]

Very good final, not much in it but the better team won on the day. They had by far the most dangerous player in Ashall-Bott, and kept their discipline better than York in key areas of the field.

Both clubs are a massive asset to rugby league.

Edited October 5, 2025 by Just Browny

[Agbrigg]

I think every sensible person agrees York, Toulouse, London would be the ideal choice. The SL would be far more marketable with those three joining. However a certain Gentleman who worked his way back into power will no doubt disagree as it most likely contradicts his personal agenda.

[StrennyKnight]

8 minutes ago, oiseau said:

It just seemed to me that TO wanted it more. Did York think that all they needed to do was to turn up ?
Memories of the TO v London final a few years back.

No, I don't think that was case at all. York defended their goal line successfully against a really good team for 80 mins, but ultimately just came up with too many errors (whether that was handling errors with the ball, or penalties without the ball). I couldn't remember more than a couple of TO handling errors in what was blustery conditions for the whole game. I put the win down to effort and ball control by TO, not York's desire - and definitely not arrogance.

[Worzel]

What more can Toulouse do to please the dinosaurs?

I mean, they’ve been working hard at this for 23 years, starting with their Challenge Cup entry. They’ve created a commercial base, developed French players, have good attendances by Championship standards, are in a big city with huge potential for growth and have now even won the league… the prize that all the T-Rexs and Diplodocus tell us should mean automatic promotion anyway.

[Sailaway]

Lewis Smith is the Sportsman commentator. Always very good and Paul Rowley makes a good job in support

[Archie Gordon]

Love The Sportsman but let's get the Champo playoffs and GF on Sky. And let's have them pay something for it. 

Brilliant entertainment and large numbers of viewers on YouTube. Monetise this please, RLC.

[Ainley Top]

2 hours ago, Phil said:

I think he’s had a decent game, should have been a card for that high tackle on Ashall-Boult but he was solid and consistent 

I disagree there Phil. Picking a player up and carrying him over the line is an absolute basic isn't it? He wasn't bad last week for the Fax game but that was a rarity. 

[Expatknight]

41 minutes ago, oiseau said:

It just seemed to me that TO wanted it more. Did York think that all they needed to do was to turn up ?
Memories of the TO v London final a few years back.

I don’t think anything could be further from the truth, at the end of the day York scored two tries to zero, their defence was immense, hardly the sign of a team not wanting it.

[Segovia Carpet]

24 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

I think every sensible person agrees York, Toulouse, London would be the ideal choice. The SL would be far more marketable with those three joining. However a certain Gentleman who worked his way back into power will no doubt disagree as it most likely contradicts his personal agenda.

These three clubs will bring maybe 100 fans each to away games. Bradford Salford and Widnes would bring an average of maybe 1500.  Food for thought.  Also in assessing attendance figures. The enormous costs for away matches should also be considered for all clubs who are heammoriging money annually.

[Just Browny]

19 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Love The Sportsman but let's get the Champo playoffs and GF on Sky. And let's have them pay something for it. 

Brilliant entertainment and large numbers of viewers on YouTube. Monetise this please, RLC.

You wouldn't even have to change much about the coverage; just integrate the proper game clock, perhaps a few more camera angles and a lead presenter. Could keep the same commentators and basic presentation exactly as is.

No need for a video ref: one of the best bits about the Championship is the flow of the game.

[Mumby Magic]

2 hours ago, Fevrover said:

ANY team bar Bulls.

As a Bulls fan I agree. I've not really commented as much as I used to do. We don't deserve it on any level and with (no matter how much I love it) our ground and a recent history of financial instability it'd be a joke.