It’s been just over 24 hours since the official inception of Toronto Wolfpack, and already one man has voiced his displeasure regarding the ongoings at the club.
Leigh owner Derek Beaumont has never been one to muffle his words, and he has been quick to give his opinion on the Canadian-based team.
The new club will, of course, be coached by former Leigh chief Paul Rowley, who suddenly left the Centurions on the eve of the season and went on to claim morals and beliefs were reasons behind his exit amid reports of a potential fall out between the pair.
In his regular column for Leigh Observer, Beaumont has claimed the club have already annoyed several clubs with their approach to signing players.
“There is an unrest amongst clubs about the way that the newfound club have gone about recruiting a team prior to its formal inception to the league let alone any official deadlines,” he said.
“Many weeks ago I wrote in this column that our ex-coach Paul Rowley would be their head coach based on information I had been made aware of from people within my club.
“I also believe the recently departed Simon Finnigan will be announced as Rolls’ assistant with at least two of our currently contracted players to be announced at some point in the future.
“However, I live in the real world, and am well aware that the majority of the sport start their enquiries well ahead of the May deadline and in many respects I can understand why clubs make agents aware of their interests as it’s extremely competitive and to some people it’s dog-eat-dog.”
Beaumont, who has seen his side go ten games unbeaten in the league, also raised concerns about the practicality of having a team play in Canada.
“Whilst I think it will be easy in the first instance, I don’t believe the attraction will live up to the expectation for the players,” he said.
“Travelling circa eight hours on a plane to Canada to stay three to four weeks to play three games before returning to do the same will be a tough ask.
“Being a frequent traveller to the States I still struggle with jet lag and the tired effects of it and I don’t have to train as an athlete every day.
“There are many implications to consider if players get a serious injury whilst out there, more so the visiting teams, and I can see that being a logistical nightmare for the visiting part-time teams having seen the difficulties we experienced taking a full-time team to France.”