League Express Mailbag w/c 28th October 2024

This appears to me to be massively disproportionate to his alleged offence. Since resigning as Chairman and director of Sheffield Eagles 2000 Limited on 2 October 2016 I have had no involvement in the running of the club and have not spoken to any of the current management about this distressing situation. I have met Mark as a friend to ensure that he was coping mentally with the immense stress that he was facing and as a result I had his take on the situation prior to the tribunal.

I have read the judgement a number of times and although it is clear that RFL protocols have not been strictly adhered to, it does appear to be an alleged victimless crime.

Safeguarding of head injuries has changed massively since my involvement with the club and I fully understand why. I also understand how difficult to rigidly follow the protocols it must be in a part-time environment with largely volunteer or nominally reimbursed medical staff. The players only train in Sheffield a few times a week and the player in question lived and worked 70 miles away in Hull.

It is clear that (club physiotherapist) Mick Heys made a mistake with the dates he sent to the doctor and this will have rightly given the doctor some concerns.

Notwithstanding this, Mick appears to have carried out all necessary head checks on the player and deemed him fit to play.

However, the doctor considered that the protocols had not been correctly adhered to and conveyed to Mick that she would not be signing him off for the Wigan game.

My question would be – if Mick had satisfied her that the protocols had been correctly followed, would she then have signed him off without checking him herself?

In the part time environment to do so would potentially require a journey to or from Hull just to ascertain whether Mick’s diagnosis was correct, bearing in mind that there would be no reason to suspect that it wasn’t.

The validity of Mick’s checks don’t seem to be in question, just the timing of them.

Mick clearly thought that player was fit to play and had passed that information to Mark so it is difficult to see who the victim is in this situation.

To say the punishment does not fit the crime is an understatement.

Where, in the scheme of things, is the scale of what ban someone can receive for which crime they have committed?

When a player on the pitch is banned for a head tackle which can result in an HIA, the most they receive is three to five matches or, to put it another way, for three to five weeks.

What uproar would be created if a player was suspended for 30 to 50 matches, which is what Mark Aston has been banned for.

It’s not too late for the authorities to have another look at this and reduce the severity of the ban.

What does surprise me is a comment from Mr Sadler that he is sad that Toulouse and London won’t be in.

Well I’m not. I have nothing against London but just how many more years are we going to wait for Rugby League to take off in the capital, another 40 perhaps?

As far as Toulouse are concerned, they, like Catalans, bring nothing to the game and should not be in the competition in the first place.

In today’s climate, every club needs as many bums on seats, and as many feet on terraces as possible. Not only does that increase gate revenue but helps matchday takings for corporate dining and general refreshments.

Sponsors want their adverts to be promoted to as many people as possible. Every penny counts.

Having visiting fans helps create a better atmosphere and makes for a better matchday experience.

We already have a few poorly supported teams in Super League, so to have two more who bring a handful would not be helpful.

Let’s help our own clubs, such as Whitehaven or Halifax, first.

After losing the Skolars from the professional ranks, the future of the Broncos has come under the microscope.

The withdrawal of David Hughes has left the club dropping from Super League in 2024 to an uphill battle for 2025.

It’s a challenge and one the club and fans are aiming to meet.

Fan fundraising efforts have begun with a crowdfunding campaign although I realise the Broncos aren’t the first club to ask and probably won’t be the last.

Anyone able to help can donate here, with all contributions gratefully received – https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-london-broncos

Thank you.

In 2024 we only lost one match, secured top position with two matches to go, virtually tripled our average crowd, signed a secure 10-year lease at a 13,000-plus capacity stadium and yet we drop three places in the rankings.

There should be a weighting to show improvement made in the last year.

I do understand that one of the poor markings was that we don’t utilise the full stadium, choosing instead to pack one stand, which rocks.

Oh, and we don’t have a gantry, presumably for cameras for a TV deal that we don’t have.

Is the whole thing designed to give us a “stuff this, we’ll show them” attitude?

That said, it must be noted that at the time of Lewis Jones, when he scored 496 points a try was worth three points and he had 36 tries.

Therefore, when 36 is added to 496, it makes his total 532.

  And for the classy way that the new Rob Burrow Award was handed over by his children and father, retiring the old Harry Sunderland Trophy gracefully.

  As people who read my previous letters about the Harry Sunderland Trophy being changed to the Rob burrow Award would know how much this event meant to me and other families of past players who won this award.

  I write this letter to let you know what a great job was done for the past family members and winners.

We couldn’t have been made more welcome at Old Trafford.

The new trophy looks fantastic and still commemorates Harry Sunderland and the past winners, with their names inscribed on it, alongside the year they won it and the club they played for.

I’d like to thank Rhodri Jones, the Managing Director of Rugby League Commercial, Trevor Hunt, the Vice-President of the RFL, Andy Wilson, the Head of Media and Gemma Carter for taking the time to meet with me and putting on such a great event.

A new era has begun with the Rob Burrow Award and I congratulate him and his family and look forward to seeing it lifted every year from here on in.

Thank you, everyone!

But we were definitely blown away by the intensity of Wigan’s performance in the 2024 final, simply because Wigan proved that there is no ‘I’ in team on and off the field. Even Hull KR fans would agree that Bevan French played an outstanding part in a great Grand Final as no other player in our great game could.

He was the first recipient of the Rob Burrow Award and he was emotional about the fact that the Wigan club had actually brought his brother and uncle over from Australia for the game.

And perhaps somebody at the RFL had read my comments in a previous letter to this esteemed publication about the selection of more suitable performers prior to the game.

This year they chose the Wigan-based band The Lathums, who played two sets worthy of a Grand Final. That’s more like it!

Perhaps we’ll be seeing Bjorn Again performing at next year’s Grand Final

The only low of the game was that from our vantage point in the West Stand it seemed as if a large number of Hull KR fans left their seats some time before their own players received their losers medals. Okay, their team had lost the game, but surely those fans should have stayed to applaud their efforts.

Apologies, of course, to those fans who did stay to roundly cheer their team.

It seemed to me the kind of contemporary thinking rarely found in the recent marketing of our great sport.

However, upon actually listening to the Wigan indie revivalists for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel that it all sounded a bit soft for a Rugby League Grand Final.

Whilst the Wigan band would be a fine accompaniment to the World Snooker Championships or the PGA Tour, for my two pennies worth, a hard-hitting sport like League should be paired with equally hard-hitting music.

For next year’s showpiece event I, for one, hope Rugby League Commercial look to bands who are more befitting of our sport.

This is not only disrespectful to both clubs and their players, but undermines the sponsors and the whole competition.

This also shows the apathy the RFL has to any competition happening outside Super League.

Fortunately the supporters of Hunslet saw this injustice and raised £1,300 for medals to be created and presented to their players.

Shame on you, RFL!

In the play-off final they fought against all the odds and a very good Keighley side that was expected by many to win by 20 points.

It was an incredible defensive display against a big, rampant Keighley pack. And they scored some great tries.

I guess that was the best Hunslet performance for many, many years.

Let’s hope there are good times ahead because we need a strong Hunslet.

Of the Super League knockout rounds and the qualifiers for the Championship, only Wigan gave their attendance.

Hull KR seem to be the biggest culprit, although I have no idea why.

The gate is normally shared in knockout matches, but how can clubs establish the amount they should share if the obvious parameter is the number of supporters coming through the games?

The RFL should get a hold of this farce and force these errant clubs to quote their figures, as the Australians do.

You just had to get Martyn Sadler’s point about the geographical locations of Super League clubs and, if you didn’t, get someone to explain it for you.

For the record, Leigh, Salford and Wigan happen to be in Greater Manchester. Lancashire probably starts somewhere around Preston.

But so what? The logic is the same.