How have wakefield made it possible for Toronto to field a team? Toronto have been in existence for 3 hours and already have an average gate double what Wakefield have, even though wakefield have been in existence for over 100 years. In fact my mistake. It’s 3 times when you factor in the lack of away fans. As for SL quality players, not like Wakefield product any. Just because you promote an academy player doesn’t constitute SL standard.

Wakefield are a drain on the game, Toronto aren’t

Did you bash the keyboard while typing this?
I see you regularly mock the Wakefield education system, yet type barely legible bilge.

As for the actual content - well, it's obvious you are a troll so I won't look too deeply into it.

I think it's another account from the fake Frenchman.

It would seem so yes.

WTF have Wakefield got to do with this conversation ?? and you really need to check your maths


The comment that I passed was that without SL, Toronto or any other plastic teams wouldn't even exist.

It's not rocket science



Back to SL sides, who are duty bound to run academy sides ??

The crux of this issue is the practicalities, long term, of having N.American sides competing in a European SL.
They exist purely because of money and without roots or substance.

Tell you what, let's scrap the game altogether in the UK and have 2 sides in each continent around the world. Each one clocking up air miles galore and without any heritage whatsoever. Would you pay to watch it ??

We havent even touched on whether its right that someone from N.America should be able to takeover a club and hijack it's licence to play over here (New York).

What kind of "sport" are we all following because RL is turning into farce, a far cry from its inception, when decent working blokes just wanted some expenses for missing some shifts at work, where local clubs played against each other for the SPORT and entertainment of "the working man".

As for Wakefield being a "drain on the game"






They receive less than EVERY other SL club in central funding so, they may be doing the rest of SL a favour

I agree, but don't get taken in by the Faux Frenchmans latest guise, I thought half term was finished, but it seems the poster in question is more than likely on full benefits and heavy medication.

Looks like Ottowa is the location for Canada 2. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... the-future

Looks like Ottowa is the location for Canada 2. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... the-future

But the working man has changed from 1895. He doesn’t want to go crumbling stadiums to watch a small town team anymore. He wants to watch big events at decent stadium that he’s not embarrassed to take his mates to or talk about on Facebook or twitter. He wants to watch Man City v Liverpool not Plymouth vs Mansfield. And that’s only referring to the working man. The working woman should be a massive part of RL.

The unfortunate thing is that RL never established itself in the nations cities other than Leeds and Hull. It remained in the small towns and villages that are never ever, ever going to get substantial enough followings from both supporters and sponsors to make a top club viable in the sport if we want it grow from where it is. And they’re certainly not going to appeal to broadcasters and advertisers.

As for Wakefield receiving less central funding, I assume that’s essentially a fine for the stadium? I think all of RL would rather Wakefield had a decent stadium.

DING DING DING DING DING! We have a winner!

The world has moved on and the thing that has perhaps changed more than ever over the last 20-30 years or so is the concept of the "working man".

The "working man" doesn't get dirty working in factories or pits any more - they work in clean, comfortable high-rise office blocks and on out-of-town business parks.

They aren't members of a trade union any more.

They are more likely to go to university than they have ever been before.

They don't have a "job for life" in the same town that they grew up in any more - they're much more transient, moving around looking for new jobs, promotions and living in different places.

They don't go to the working mens club for a pint of mild and bingo on a Saturday night - they go to the fancy bar in the city centre where they sell expensive cocktails because that's where the good-looking people go.

You can hate that societal change all you want, but you can't fight it. You can try, but you'll lose and right now, most of our clubs are losing. Tony Blair famously went after "Mondeo Man" and that's what RL clubs still seem to be doing, ignoring that "Mondeo Man" is now "BMW 3 Series Man".

What does any RL club in the UK offer to the "working man" of today that they can't get elsewhere?

Ok, let's have a discussion on where the game should be heading and why people actually watch the game.

Personally, I follow Trinity because I'm from Wakefield and RL IS part of the culture.
Yes, there is a myriad of choice when it comes to how one may wish to spend their time and amongst other things, I follow Wakefield.
This usually means all home games, barring the odd one that may clash with something "more important" and I also attend around 70% of away fixtures, including Catalan, plus, home international games.
The most enjoyable fixtures are the derby games (Leeds and Cas especially) plus, the annual trip to Perpignan and I've done this for most of the last 35 years.
Despite doubting that Toronto should be in the competition, I will also attend this fixture when they make it into SL, although this is likely to be a one off, rather than an annual trip.

As I have said previously, RL has no sensible forward thinking, none and I firmly believe that replacing UK based sides with N. American clubs, will kill the game in this country and IF the sport is serious about growing the game over here, "we" should target an area, give it 5 years (minimum) of the Magic Weekend to help generate local interest and assuming the "new" club was in SL, protect them from relegation for 3 -5 years.
WE should also look at ensuring that Toulouse are included in SL a.s.a.p. to try and lift the games profile in France.

At this point, moving "magic" back to Newcastle would be sensible, to allow their fan base to grow as, currently, Magic is nothing more than a mickey up and it's not doing anything to "spread the gospel".

Maybe "we" could also consider having Magic or maybe The Challenge Cup Final at the Nou Camp, which again would create some great publicity.

You've not mentioned anything about marketing & TV games which hits new audiences and would attract new supporters in all areas and particularly new growth areas
Also growing grass roots rugby to hook kids and families into the game- in new areas

Moving 'stuff around' is no different to introducing a shot clock. Its gets noticed by the regulars

The Magic Weekend is like a mickey up because that's what it is designed to be. It's designed to be an event that the RFL can sell to cities and venues. Any notion of it being an "expansion" exercise is either secondary, or manufactured by people who want to point out that it doesn't work.

RL may not have sensible forward thinking, but that's not just an RFL issue. Where is the forward thinking at the vast majority of our clubs to improve the matchday experience, to generate bigger crowds, to reach new audiences that don't currently buy into the sport, to attract new commercial partners and to make the TV product more attractive? There's very little evidence of any of it and these are all within the capabilities of the clubs.

The reason why North America has even made it onto the agenda is because the clubs here aren't doing these things. Whether that is through inability or inaction, our clubs have generally decided that instead of doing things that will grow the sport, the best way to stop the rot is to keep offering cheap tickets, insist that the need more loop fixtures to get more money from a declining supporter base and to make the playing talent take real-terms pay cuts for 20 years. You cannot blame the RFL for any of that - its the clubs that are voting for loop fixtures, the clubs that are under-selling the sport with cheap tickets, the clubs that are offering stadium sponsorships as raffle prizes and the clubs who aren't attracting new audiences. If they were doing these things, the appeal of having a team in Canada or New York is massively reduced.

You're right in that RL may well be a proud tradition in Wakefield, as it is in many other towns and small cities. But even if you take Canada and the US out of the equation, if this sport and the clubs continue with this path, how much of a tradition do you think it will be for the next generation and the generation after that?