Most English and French fans have not been to Toronto. Give them a chance to enjoy that city, especially in the spring and summer.

Why should your fortunate experience of having been to Toronto be even relevant to causing the RFL to limit the life experience opportunities available to 99% of northern hemisphere rugby league fans?

A very valid point, about opportunities for RL fans to enjoy the experience of a 'jolly' in Toronto. Indeed, I have no doubt that most English and French fans have not been to Beijing and, given the current make up of the TW team, we may as well have started a club there!

However, on your final point, I wonder how many of the 99% of northern hemisphere RL fans, would be able to afford the expense of a 'jolly' to Toronto?

I didn't think SL was boring last season when Cas were doing their stuff (bear in mind I write as a Fev fan so I'm hardly likely to be biased towards Cas.) Now Saints seem to have taken up the baton. But from what I've seen most sides are still playing five drives and a kick. I watched the Aviva highlights on C5 last night. They appear to be playing more football than we are at the moment. We used to call Union kick and clap, our game seems to be degenerating into that at the moment. You see more football in the Championship.

This is a Rugby League forum, not a travel expo.....you are Judith Chalmers and I claim my £5!

Toronto were hailed as the saviour of the sport who would open up opportunities to generate more revenue......the only opportunity to generate new revenue so far has been to employ a few Leigh rejects and some pretty average ANZACS.

They will take their place in SL next year and as a result (unless they replace Catalans), the average crowds will be down in 2019, the TV figures will be down with one less game shown (if they replace Catalans) and Betfred will be scratching their heads as to why they are paying to sponsor a 12 team league with 2 clubs of no interest to them (if they don't replace Catalans).......meanwhile, in Toronto, their is quite literally no interest...see an action pic taken from the match at the weekend...
...3k there apparently....... ...did they bring the hot-dog canon?

......but I have noticed that their press releases are getting more "us and them" in their stance, claiming that the team have been away from home for 4 long months, when in reality, most have been at home with their mums

Next year in SL, Toronto will need to average 10,000 fans paying £20 sterling as the average price to break even. £4,000,000 is the figure needed to sustain a SL club and that's a bottom 4 SL club at that.....if Argyle wants to challenge for honours, then he'll need deep pockets and be prepared to throw another £4,000,000 at them to compete with the big 3 or 4 in SL.....and he's still got to stick to the cap. Given London couldn't get star players to travel 200 miles, his ability to get Sam Burgess to move to Toronto for less money will be key.......and that ain't happening.

To clarify, the average price of a ticket to Toronto's next home game is CA$25...OR £14.......Nobody here has denied that their claimed attendances last year included every Free ticket they had given away, so the reality is that Argyle is looking at a similar or worse ticketing income next year to London Broncos in SL but with TWICE the expense......if not more......and there's no sign of the TV deal or any Major Sponsors other than the contra airline deal. Then there's the subject of when they start paying regular season games at Home next year.....whomever is at the wrong end of SL will squeal a lot more about unfair advantages of blocks of games.....after all, relegation is a massive drop in income and no club can truly afford to lose 1 million in revenue......so, do Toronto give up home advantage for maybe their first 2 or 3 games....Mid March sees temps of 7 degrees in Toronto.....About the same as Liverpool in Feb.......and then I'd make them play Home and Away....let's see how many of the imaginary 7,000 will pay ca$37 to sit in an uncovered stand for the visit of Salford.......I can get tickets to the Blue Jays for ca$10........
...the TV deal and Sponsors are nowhere to be seen.......and this sport that is new to the city needs to get 10,000 punters to pay nearly 4 times the cost of a Blue Jays ticket to stand a chance of surviving.

I wish them all the luck in the world, but the reality is that with a level playing field and a level cap, they will struggle to survive as anything other than a rich-mans plaything and a place where pensionable players go to earn a crust.

I think you quoted the wrong post. That has nothing to do with what I have been posting about.

I agree about the difficulty in recruiting players but no P&R system we have used would eradicate that. The same with players gravitating towards the teams that are usually at the top. It's part of the reason those clubs are usually near the top and generally always have been. The tendency since the introduction of the split season has been for clubs facing the qualifiers (from both divisions) to strengthen using short contracts that then either get renewed if a SL place is secured or are not if it isn't. Not an ideal situation but whenever there is risk of the drop then we will get this issue until such time as the sport is cashed up enough for the second tier to be full time too so as to remove the necessity for wages to drop or players to be shed.

Quote: Call Me God "meanwhile, in Toronto, their is quite literally no interest...see an action pic taken from the match at the weekend... ...3k there apparently....... https://mobile.twitter.com/RichardHeyes ... 4667670528 https://mobile.twitter.com/renimaitua/s ... 2878823425

Quote: Call Me God "meanwhile, in Toronto, their is quite literally no interest...see an action pic taken from the match at the weekend... ...3k there apparently....... https://mobile.twitter.com/RichardHeyes ... 4667670528 https://mobile.twitter.com/renimaitua/s ... 2878823425

Bless....I like the trees in the stadium (ha ha), what type are they ? Have they been imported from the UK, in a kind of 'role reversal' way. Are they treated as if they are 'special trees' and also we should be grateful for them, and that the TREE organization will do anything to make sure that they 'prosper'. I think I am correct in my assumption....

Rergards

Percy Thrower

Just providing more footage of the crowd there....or are you the only person allowed to post an image of a Toronto crowd on here?

So did the Wolfpack. That much that they counted them as part of the attendance
They're videos just shot by fans in attendances on social media, I'm sure you could've found the exact same IF you wanted to last year. For all your criticism of their attendances last year, the number of just 3k for this game actually looks pretty fair given those clips so you just sound bitter and agenda driven trying to paint it as a lie with a selective single photograph.

It's like he has an agenda or something ?

Yes, he is just a bitter, twisted man. London Broncos/Harlequins fans can testify to this from his previous incarnation as Gutterfax.

He wants all expansion to fail. If he gets his way the game will continue to decline in the northern hemisphere.

I suppose its down to what context the word "expansion' is being used in. As Perez stated in order to get the TV broadcasters/sponsors on board would take 5/6 teams to join the party. There would be no NA league for at least 10 years, all would remain transatlantic as that aspect appeals to TV broadcasters/sponsors.

Most Cities in North America don't have more than one team in the same sport. Placement of those 5/6 clubs is paramount. They can't place 3 clubs in a relative vicinity of each other, for one the game just isn't popular enough,but the main reason being the paying customer is not accustom to that scenario.

So you are basically left with 5/6 transatlantic clubs,and the logistical nightmare that will go with that.

Just my opinion of course,but I really don't see what other options they have short term. Long term 10 + years with investment if they get these clubs going is a possibility. Just not sure the plan is going to form at present.