Maybe. We'll see.

Widnes getting their first win in forever is bad news for Toronto though. I'm going to go out on a limb and back Widnes against Toronto. Widnes are going all out for survival and Toronto have not yet beaten any SL team.

When did Widnes last beat a Super League club?

22nd March

When was the last time Widnes had 60+ put on them?

Quick question, should Toronto get into Super League next season. a) Would you consider going over there to see your team play them?

b) How many supporters from your team do you think would make the trip?

I reckon Widnes will win at Toronto !

Hurrah, another believer (see my post earlier).

Of course, my ulteria motive is because if we beat Toulouse and Widnes beat Toronto then we can't be caught and will avoid the MPG.

However, I still think Toronto are the new Leigh from 2015, all talk but fail promotion. Yes Widnes are rubbish (3 wins in the regular season) and deserve to get relegated because if it, but they ARE (barely) a SL team playing a championship team. Widnes have finally got another win this year. Toronto have been very lucky with their win at the weekend and haven't beaten an SL team yet. Will Toronto choke? Whilst far from certain, there is a distinct possibility that they will.

Also, which team is more desperate to avoid the financial strain of championship funding? Toronto have a wealthy backer, Widnes might not. In that case, Widnes are playing for their livelihoods.

When did Toronto last beat a Super League club?

This is widnes's cup final......if they play structured RL, complete sets and simply do the basics, then they're in with a shout of the MPG, no matter how remote......I hope they spank Toronto, who then need to get a result v Leeds to even get an away shot at the MPG

Widnes have had a lot more go’s at beating a Super League club than Toronto, who were very unlucky to lose to both Hull kr and Salford.


All of Toronto, Toulouse, London and Widnes could still make the MPG. Even Hull kr could end up in the MPG. What a fantastic competition the middle 8’s is. Personally i think it will be Toronto v Toulouse

...and more if not equally lucky to beat three championship sides by a average of just 9 points per game.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.......it's not a fantastic system at all, with sides Like HKR and Salford throwing money at short term recruitment, widnes gave up in july and so far there have been no upset results with everything going to form.....just because professional full time squads, of which there are 7 in this comp have played out some close matches, it doesn't change the fact that there isn't enough talent in the UK to sustain anything other than a 10 side SL


Based on what? Toulouse beating either Salford and/or HKR or London not beating Salford or Halifax? The form book points to London at Toronto....and the form book is what has been adhered to for the first 5 rounds....so it'll be bye bye Widnes this weekend and away wins for the other SL sides.

No video referee announced for the Toronto game again........bet you there'll be one the following week at Headingley....and surely at the MPG the weekend after if it's as expected in Canada.

To be fair to the form book you only have one example of Toulouse vs SL in France and they beat Widnes well. Granted HKR are better than Widnes and will still be favourites but they didn’t find it easy travelling to Canada.

Then it probably comes down to points difference if Toulouse come up with a win with London beating Halifax final week. Pretty close points difference so could come down to how many they both lose to Salford by and Salford probably going through the motions in Round 7 vs Toulouse.

...whilst Halifax will be a sharp as tacks?


Chances are Halifax will get tonked by Leeds and already have clocked off for the season by the time they head south...well, same chances as Salford players trying to keep their jobs for 2019 and with Hastings back at the helm.
I say Toulouse not to win again and London to visit Toronto....

I think Widnes might save themselves.


Widnes have finally won one to remind themselves they can play.

Toronto have flattered to deceive in these play-offs and look to me to be getting worse, not better, with each game. I see Widnes beating them in Canada, and Leeds beating them soundly at Headingly. They then finish on 6 points but the two defeats will take their PD into negative territory.

Toulouse will lose to Salford at Salford, and given that Hull KR still need points to be safe, I think they'll go all out in France and beat Touolouse there. Toulouse finish on 4 points.


London will lose to Salford, but beat Halifax, finishing on 6 points. Depending on the scores of those games, they may finish above Toronto.


Widnes - this is my left-field prediction - will win both their remaining fixtures. I think they're too good for a declining Toronto, as above. But I also think they'll come up against a Hull KR side in their last game who are safe on 10 points after beating Toulouse in France. If that's the case, I would rpedict they'll be playing a Hull KR side even their own fans will struggle to recognise, and will claim an easy win. That would see Widnes finish on 6 points with a real chance to improve their points difference.


So we end up with 3 teams on 6 points, and the MPG teams decided on points difference. I think Widnes will be in it, and will have too much for either London or Toronto - whichever of those two teams has the highest PD.

Of course, when Toulouse and Toronto both win this weekend, I reserve the right to come back and delete this post.

Too late...saved for the record books.....and I have to say, that would be an ideal situation, Widnes visiting London whilst Toronto have a whine

London are not ready for SL lets be fair. We just don't need the turbulence at this stage of the clubs 'revival'. The last couple of years in SL & then Barnet...were painful. Lets just keep building, focus on youth coming through, find a benefactor to join DH......... then lets see

But we need London, along with Toulouse and Toronto, to be confirmed in Super League by 2022, so we can get a more lucrative contract from Sky to start in 2022, and possibly a good contract from BeIN Sports and perhaps from Canadian television as well.

Jean I agree the game has no future(limited) without expansion. It just doesn't need to happen today

I've said it before, we need to go back to franchising and set out standards for each club...reserve grade, youth development(maybe X number in squad), finance, facilities.....

Sadly Rimmer hasn't got the vision beyond tying his shoe laces before he leaves the house(Hopefully Elstone will take control). We need a long term vision for the game which includes stability, expansion, growth in sponsorship(these last two go hand in hand) TV deals .......

Think they’ll still go down to London looking to pick up a win. Yes they can’t reach the MPG but I don’t think they ever expected to and won’t want to end the Qualifers without a win and probably see this as their best shot.

Sorry, but he's right.

If we'd stuck with licences, Wales and quite possibly Bradford would have folded and imploded, to be replaced by "in all probability" Leigh and Fev or Fax. Del Boy would have been able to invest in other things other than trying to buy a place in SL and we'd have a 14 team SL with 2 new applications from Toronto and Toulouse to consider, resulting in 16 Professional full time sides.......no matter what structure you choose, chances are one of Wigan Saints or Leeds will feature in the Grand Final, but the steps Widnes made during licencing show what can be done once clubs stop spending money just to survive and get another hand out.....London really started to invest in the youth during licensing and because of that, we have a gaggle of home grown talet at the club now.....the return of Jeopardy has lasted 4 years....and soon it'll be 1 up/1 down with players swapping clubs as they pass each other.....
...and the loser in the coin flip between Fev and Fax for the last licence spot? Who cares? Sport is now a business and you either need 10k home fans or a sugar daddy.....so probably Fax, because Fev are drinking from a very crowded and busy well with Castleford and Wakefield already in the town and Halifax have show themselves to be more fiscally astute.

So, to be clear. If we'd stuck with licencing, Crusaders and Bradford would still have gone under and Leigh would now be in SL......

The non m62 clubs are vital for the game and should be given protection from relegation in Super League. This would help us to negotiate a strong tv deal in the UK, France and Canada.

All good suggestions, the issue is as ever cash. The RFL/SL cannot insist on businesses implementing all these things unless they can put the funding on the table to cover it. They can't (I'm under no illusion that Elstone will fare any better than everyone else who's tried and may even do worse). What we'll end up with is a botched version with plenty of corners cut/blind eyes turned. Again.

Despite what the lunatics say, Toronto/Toulouse are not vital for the future of the game.

Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong again !

IF "our" negotiating hand would be so strong with their inclusion, why is it that we have just had yet another restructure and not included any of them in SL.
The effect of the overseas expansion clubs to assist in improving the TV deal is zero, nil, zip, feck all.
How many additional Sky subscriptions will be sold in N.America / France if these clubs enter SL ??

IF there was a successful, well supported New York side plus competition form another 6/8 N.American clubs, then, MAYBE there could be something in it. However, this would also see the end of professional RL in the UK, which is a strange dream to chase. Turkeys and Christmas spring to mind.