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Just Despair: Rugby League 2019

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    Just Despair: Rugby League 2019

    OK the 2018 thread died on its arse and I was guilty of starting and neglecting it, but I can't let this pass.

    As usual with RL there are simultaneously signs of optimism and pessimism.

    Jamaica have surprisingly qualified for the 2021 World Cup, beating Canada and USA to qualify, and putting the US into a repechage play off. Brazil have beaten Argentina and Colombia to win the South American Cup in Sao Paulo.

    Meanwhile the draw numbers have been announced for the Challenge Cup and taking their place alongside such names as Edinburgh Eagles, Hammersmith Hills Hoists, London Chargers, North Herts Crusaders and Wallsend Eagles - we have Red Star Belgrade (yes, that one), making their debut in the tournament.

    Presumably the RFL have done the maths and assumed they'll get a hiding off whoever they play, and have not asked them for a £750,000 bond in case they have the cheek to reach the final and affect the ticket sales at Wembley. Because that is what they have asked Toronto, Toulouse and Catalan Dragons to pay for the privilege of taking part, following the latter's Cup win this year. This resulted in the lowest post-War crowd at Wembley (51,000) and the RFL obviously took a hit on it, but there must be better ways of managing the risk than this. So Toronto have declined, Toulouse have shrugged (they didn't enter last year either) and Catalans have accepted it.

    Meanwhile at the top level the international game is in disarray, with the collapse of the arrangement for the US to host the 2025 World Cup, and Australia's usual refusal to commit to an ongoing international calendar, despite a recent successful inaugural test against Tonga. Leaving England and New Zealand scouring the globe to find anyone willing to front money up to host them, whether or not they actually have the means to pay.

    Super League are moving Magic Weekend to Anfield, the venue where they ended up basically giving away tickets to reduce the embarrassing amount of empty seats for England vs New Zealand, having been pissed about by the local authorities of the so-called 'event city' who couldn't cope with two sporting events taking place on the same day, causing a relatively late date switch.

    As usual my attention span will be smashed to bits by Easter, but I am looking forward to getting to a couple of the early CC rounds, and hoping one of the Cumbrian sides (or Wallsend) get an 'exotic' home draw. Although any match at Distington, Wath Brow or Kells is exotic enough I suppose.

    #2
    It's rather scandalous, but Toronto Wolfpack seem to be almost welcoming the snub, as it allows them to concentrate their resources on securing promotion.

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      #3
      Tony Adams (yes, that one) will be the next president of the RFL

      Comment


        #4
        Adams's role will be ceremonial, a fact which seems to have escaped a lot of people who have commented on social media. Doncaster's Carl Hall will be vice-president.

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          #5
          Originally posted by Walt Flanagans Dog View Post
          As usual my attention span will be smashed to bits by Easter, but I am looking forward to getting to a couple of the early CC rounds, and hoping one of the Cumbrian sides (or Wallsend) get an 'exotic' home draw. Although any match at Distington, Wath Brow or Kells is exotic enough I suppose.
          This ended happily with Red Star drawn at Millom, and on a weekend I can make it, although the chances of the weather playing a part here are high.

          From elsewhere in the wacky world of RL:

          Rugby league in Greece forced to play games at midnight and players risk being arrested.

          The article at least concludes on an upbeat note with one of those sentences that would have seemed ludicrous a few years ago - namely that Greece will play Norway in the World Cup qualifiers in London next year.

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            #6
            Super League kits:
            https://www.rugby-league.com/article...er-league-kits

            Comment


              #7
              Distington 48-0 Torfean Tigers

              Terrible conditions, the visitors kept it respectable in the first half (12-0) but collapsed a bit in the second. Proper mudbath (Workington's football club, only a few miles away, had to postpone their home game due to waterlogged pitch) and things got a bit lively in the second half with one stramash resulting in one in the bin for each side. We got absolutely pish wet in the first half, dried out in the clubhouse then traded some pitch view for shelter for the second. Poor beer selection in the club house, and the other let down was that the home fans' song of choice was "Distington, la la la" and not the more inventive " D. I. S. ING TON"
              (the first T is silent, fact fans).

              Walking back to the car my daughter let it be known that she thought we were in Darlington.

              Comment


                #8
                I was approaching this season with some trepidation, but some positive news has appeared in the last few weeks:

                The Challenge Cup has a sponsor, and the BBC made the Millom - Red Star Belgrade clash available to viewers worldwide.
                Catalans are back in the cup after a volte-face by the RFL.
                Keighley are back from the brink after a takeover.
                Some interesting signings announced (including Blake Austin and Gareth Widdop to Warrington, Trent Merrin and Kevin Naiqama to Leeds).
                Increased coverage of Championship and League One rugby.

                Hopefully further good news regarding the New York venture and World Cup 2021 venues this week.

                Comment


                  #9
                  True, there does seem to be good stuff around. There was talk of a standalone Sky channel for RU/RL which I'd be all for - currently accessing RL on Sky involves paying a price that reflects the Premier League football deal, and a more realistic price for accessing all the rugby rights they have would swing it for me, even if it meant paying slightly over the odds for RU that I'd rarely watch. As it is I'll have very little live televised RL this year, as Premier have all but given up.

                  The RLWC venues will be interesting, there is talk that 80% of the games will be in 'the North' reflecting the grant funding made to the bid by the Northern Powerhouse Fund, but hopefully this still means Newcastle and Cumbria get games.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    And here we go:

                    The draw will take place on November 27, two years out from the final, and the full list of venues for all three tournaments* is:
                    • Newcastle - St James' Park (52,405 capacity)
                    • Sheffield - Bramall Lane (32,702) & English Institute of Sport
                    • Doncaster - Keepmoat Stadium (15,231)
                    • Hull - KCOM Stadium (25,586)
                    • York - York Community Stadium (8,005)
                    • Huddersfield - John Smith's Stadium (24,500)
                    • Leeds - Elland Road (37,890) & Headingley Stadium (21,062)
                    • Liverpool - Anfield (54,074)
                    • Manchester - Old Trafford (74,994)
                    • St. Helens - Totally Wicked Stadium (18,00)
                    • Warrington - Halliwell Jones Stadium (15,200)
                    • Leigh - Leigh Sports Village (12,000)
                    • Wigan - DW Stadium (25,138)
                    • Bolton - University of Bolton Stadium (28,723)
                    • London - Emirates Stadium (60,260) & Copper Box Arena (7,500)
                    • Middlesbrough - Riverside Stadium (34,742)
                    • Workington - Workington Community Stadium (under construction)
                    • Coventry - Ricoh Arena (32,609)
                    England (hosts), Australia (holders), Fiji, France, Jamaica, Lebanon, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Wales, plus four other European teams (from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Norway, Russia and Scotland) and one other qualifier from Cook Islands, South Africa and USA.
                    * Men's, women's, wheelchair.

                    Pleased with that, some "interesting" venues - Middlesbrough and Emirates and three games in Cumbria. Emirates gets a semi final, and OT the double header final (mens and womens). Surprised they aren't using Wembley or the Olympic Stadium, but happy with Emirates as a new venue for me.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium will host three games, so excellent work by all concerned there. York's new stadium will get 3 women's RLWC games - a group fixture and both semi-finals.

                      I thought the BBC presentation this morning was very good.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Saints off to a winning start last night then.

                        Unlike Ben Barba, it seems... should have stayed on Merseyside... (Wonder what he's done, though?)

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Barba apparently assaulted his wife at a casino in Townsville and the incident has been caught on cctv. He has history in this respect and as soon as this incident came to light North Queensland Cowboys sacked him. Depressing.

                          Anyway, quite impressed with Saints on Thursday and can't see past them for the big prizes this season, despite many saying - as ever - that this will be Warrington's year. Certainly a big blow for Wire that Kevin Brown is set to miss the full season. At 34 he will do well to return at this level. Leeds will be more competitive this time and I fancy Huddersrsfield and Hull KR might improve but I think Cas's time as contenders is over for now.

                          Lots of fun to be had in a very competitive Championship this year, I would imagine. I will be going to Widnes- Halifax tomorrow but the big up and coming fixture is the match up with Toronto in Newcastle. Vikings need to regroup and re-energise and initial reports of how the squad are working under new coach Kieran Purtill seem positive. Certainly the behind-the - scenes shake-up has pleased supporters. Let's wait and see.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The bloke who used to own Salford has a plan to establish a side in Liverpool. It's ambitious - but I wonder about the appetite for the sport in the city. St Helens, Widnes, Warrington and Wigan are all already only twenty minutes or so away, and fans of those clubs are unlikely to change allegiance to a start up just because it's in the city, I'd have thought. He must be banking on a large demand for RL not tapped by supporting those clubs, and if that was there you'd think it would already have happened?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Would agree with that - similarly there have been moves to establish a pro team in Manchester, albeit a bit more organically. Not going to knock anyone for trying but it's an uphill challenge. Liverpool did of course have a pro team for many years (Liverpool Stanley/City/Huyton, who later became Runcorn and eventually Prescot) but they were perennial wooden spoonists.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Terrible idea, particularly if he builds the stadium in Sefton. I live in Sefton and with no allegiance to a local club I possibly fit the profile of a league fan who'd buy into supporting a new club - but I can get to Widnes, Saints, Wigan or (with a clear run) Warrington in 30 minutes, so unless he builds something within walking distance it's very unlikely that I'd become a regular, even if they somehow rose up to Super League level.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Widnes Vikings postpone Sunday's Championship game against Sheffield Eagles "with discussions ongoing to ensure the club's survival".

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Terrible, terrible news. A cautionary tale for all about how financial ineptitude and (possible) skulduggerry can destroy a fine sporting institution - although I hoped that lesson had been learned after the Bradford Bulls debacle. I've been a Widnes fan since we moved to the town in 1984 and I 'discovered' Rugby League. This will be a massive blow to many - although a few online voices had predicted it.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Now in administration, 12 point deduction and potential liquidation next week. Crying shame for any of the code's few big clubs to go this way - with the current TV deal clubs should be viable and this shouldn't be happening to anyone.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        FFS this is ridiculous. How can a league be courting teams from France and Canada while established sides in the home country go to the wall?

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Kevin S View Post
                                          FFS this is ridiculous. How can a league be courting teams from France and Canada while established sides in the home country go to the wall?
                                          I don't think the two are connected, or contradictory - the Wolfpack and the French teams are self financed (except to the extent that they get a share of the TV deal money, which is only significant in Catalans' case). I guess you can make the case that having Catalans in Super League is depriving Widnes of what could be considered their natural place, but it is only arguable.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Today we have the news that the RFL are considering two bids, one to relocate Hemel Stags to either Hamilton (Canada, not NZ or Scotland) or Boston (Mass., not Lincs.), and the another from the New York (New York, not Rotherham) consortium. Less glamorously, there's a proposal emerging for a new team in Blackpool (Lancs.).

                                            Crowds and TV ratings are said to be up, and London are holding their own in Super League.

                                            In less positive news Shaun Edwards is being Shaun Edwards.

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              Eddie Hemmings bows out tomorrow after nearly 30 years commentating on League. Sky have just had a nice, and fairly modest, tribute to him before tonight's game (his penultimate, the last being Wigan v Saints tomorrow). By his own admission he was a football fan who got into League reporting and commentating opportunistically, and that was clear back then, but to be fair he's put the work in and he's been a cut above the caricature that was Ray French.

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                                                #24
                                                Ottawa accepted (as early as 2020), New York must wait.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Wow. They're going to need quite the extension on the M62 at this rate.

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