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From despair TO where: Rugby League 2018

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    From despair TO where: Rugby League 2018

    I haven't got a lot to say but it's New Year's Day, the RU thread has started, so it seemed time to get us on the board too.

    The big story of the year is whether Toronto Wolfpack make it to Super League, and then whether their success to date triggers further expansion in North America.

    Meanwhile without quite as much fanfare Toulouse Olympique were close to making the promotion play offs last year and again their continued success is vital for the future of the game in France.

    The despair in the title is two fold - England went close in the World Cup final and will be keen to test themselves against Australia again. Except they can't of course, because Australia can't be arsed with international RL so we've got a three game home series with New Zealand instead.

    Meanwhile Castleford had their best chance of breaking the big clubs' hold on the Super League title, and will do well to go as close again.

    As ever the action off the field will be as entertaining as on it. All the time I've been aware of RL it has been a sport that can be seen to be simultaneously contracting and expanding at any one time, and the next few years will be vital for the long term future of the sport. There needs to be a proper long term plan for international RL, the ruling bodies need to decide how best to manage the Pacific nations and North America, in terms of both international and club football, and then actually go through with the plans.

    #2
    Toronto appear to have developed a genuine fanbase, though I would expect that much will hinge on how they do in the first eleven matches that they play away from home.

    They could potentially benefit from what looks likely to be a down year for the baseball Blue Jays,

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      #3
      They do seem to have done well in developing a fan base and that was built on a couple of years of good grounding with the Canada RL internationals staged in Toronto. I'm always a bit sceptical with crowd numbers in this sort of setting as you never know how much of it is down to discounting and giveaways, but can't knock it either way.

      This being RL, it may be that it doesn't matter how they do on the field this year - the RFL have yet to decide on the league structure post 2018. We could see a return to licensing and Toronto (and maybe Toulouse) invited in, a straight merit based approach, or a mixture of the two. Unless Toronto collapse completely, the RFL will want them in one way or the other and will do what they can to make it happen.

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        #4
        Looking forward to the start of the season as ended up getting quite into rugby league last season. Hadn't really intended to, but ended up getting lured in by Leeds as my local club due to their promotions and really enjoyed it.

        Would be interested to hear who everyone has as their early favourites for Super League? Have seen quite a few people going for St Helens, with the likes of Castleford, Leeds, Hull etc not far behind. There's been a bit of praise for Warrington's signings too...

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          #5
          Fairly open in Super League this year, no one is standing out as a clear favourite. Saints are fancied because they finished the season well and almost got to the final, even if they didn't really deserve to. I feel Castleford have blown their chance a bit but should still feature in the top 4. Leeds I feel will have another transitional season similar to a few years ago when Peacock and Sinfield left, this year they've got to replace Maguire and Burrow, but to employ a cliche you can never rule them out.

          Saints, Cas, Wigan and Hull for the four and after that anyone's guess for the final and winner. Leeds to miss out, Warrington to improve but fall short, but a competitive top six for most of the season, is my guess. The rest cut off, but whether it matters who knows - depending on what the RFL announce it could a be season of dead rubbers.

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            #6
            Oh no. PNG starlet Kato Ottio, signed by Widnes, has died.

            http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/42615127

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              #7
              .

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                #8
                Desperately sad news. RIP Kato Ottio.

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                  #9
                  Walt, what's the broadcasting situation at the moment? Premier are plugging "22 Championship games" which presumably means Toronto's regular season fixtures. Am I right that NRL is not being shown live any more?

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Kevin S View Post
                    Walt, what's the broadcasting situation at the moment? Premier are plugging "22 Championship games" which presumably means Toronto's regular season fixtures. Am I right that NRL is not being shown live any more?
                    NRL is going to Sky Sports, although you can also buy a 'pass' for streaming.

                    Premier are still showing Toronto - well, to the extent they are allowed to, as there has been some dispute with Leigh blocking their coverage on the grounds that they aren't getting a cut of the money.

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                      #11
                      England have announced a 4-year deal with sportswear manufacturer Hummel.

                      Something akin to the mid 80s - early 90s Danish football team's away kits would be most welcome.

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                        #12

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                          #13
                          Or even the recent one:

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                            #14
                            Oh man.

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                              #15
                              Oh sweet jesus, that is beautiful

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                                #16
                                I think the extent of the hammering of Ireland must have taken our attention away from the glory of the kit.

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                                  #17
                                  Challenge Cup begins tomorrow, and there's a game on the BBC sport website I think.

                                  The Super League kickoff is Thursday. I think this year's collection of kits is superb, possibly largely helped by Hull FC and Wakefield going very traditional with theirs.

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                                    #18
                                    Yeah some good strips on display there, Saints should be a proper V (like on the badge) rather than that thing though.

                                    A few of the local teams are in action tomorrow in the Challenge Cup but I'll be at Carlisle United unfortunately.

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                                      #19
                                      Hoping to make it to the East Leeds game this afternoon and the league opener on Thursday. Hopefully East Leeds team is a bit better than their website. Really looking forward to the start of the season...

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                                        #20
                                        And it's back.

                                        https://twitter.com/Jamiee_Russell/status/959184785729052672

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                                          #21
                                          Atkins has taken to twitter to acknowledge his mistake.

                                          Huddersfield blown away by a strong second half performance from FC. They aren't my team but I do like to see the Giants do well.

                                          I have to wait another two weeks before League 1 kicks off.

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                                            #22
                                            Not sure what happened to Cas the other night. Looked completely disjointed against a Saints team that played really well.

                                            Made it along to Warrington (free coach travel for Rhinos members) - Leeds were more comfortable than the score made it look but Warrington will probably improve as the season goes along. Leeds looked reasonably sharp but probably to be expected given the Melbourne game coming up. Was a good evening, but probably not as good value as the Challenge Cup game the previous week between East Leeds and Thornhill Trojans. Thornhill ran it in repeatedly in the first half, East Leeds played their way back into it at the start of the second with a couple of tries and there was a large-scale punch-up towards the end that resulted in two red cards. All for £2 so can't complain.

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                                              #23
                                              Last weekend was Challenge Cup first round action in Cumbria. Report here.



                                              Second round next Saturday, probably favouring British Army v whichever of the two Antipodean London bar workers teams won in the first round.

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                                                #24
                                                Slightly off topic, but BB&F!s report is very much home turf for me, so I could've added all manner of dull factoids to it. However I'll settle for just one, which is that although the Ravenglass & Eskdale railway terminates in the middle of nowhere, that nowhere is very close to the spot where Derrick Bird offed himself after killing two of my Mum's neighbours and shooting a friend of my Gran in the head. Dull but true.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Ah, Boot. Home of the Burnmoor Inn.

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