Back on topic.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/45736296

Back on topic.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/45736296

Some common sense at last.

So instead of responding to CMG's points, you post quotes of somebody's OPINION on expansion, as opposed to providing evidence to support your points, whatever they were:

I have the same questions for Ward as I asked you......maybe he'll give the answers that you plainly can't?

I'll try again.

What will Toronto bring to the table other than a different home for average players and £1,800,000 of TV money?
Why did Paris, London (in SL) Sheffield all fail...Big Cities, with decent size populations and no interest. Toronto admit they are hemorrhaging cash and relying on freebies to get fans to games...£1,800,000 ain't gonna fix that, so how will they "make money"?
Toronto currently pay the production company to film their games and then give those games free to networks. Next year, if they take the £1,800,000 then they aren't allowed to show anything without SKY TV saying so.....so no TV deal. Their Sponsor will now have a minimal outlay as away sides will pay their own way....so where is the Benefit to the game?
What makes you think NYC, Hamilton or any other pin-dropped city will fal in love with the game, other than the you think it's a great game?
Do you think that a side in Canada, playing in a UK league using UK players from a shrinking player pool with no local development structure is going to deliver the sport from it's current scenario and if you do, please expand on how they will do this?

Oh, BTW. I regards to Danny's comments. What would you expect the coach of an expansion team to actually say about an expansion team?

Well, it's a solution in order to stop the game being a farce - albeit by allowing new players in they're turning the Championship Final into a glorified friendly, which still makes it an embarrassment for the sport.

It's a solution - agreed. And fair play to the RFL, and Championship/League 1 clubs who have agreed to it. The alternative - of one club turning out with between 9 &12 players, and the other with about 13/14 - doesn't bear thinking about.

You say it has been turned into a 'glorified friendly', but the whole concept is a bit of a farce anyway, in my opinion. We had the situation where the two finalists were decided, before any of the games had been played. Both those finalists came within 1-2 points of competing in the Middle 8's, had to jettison players to balance the books and, in all honesty, have just been going through the motions of a terrible anti-climax, since their fates had been decided.

Thats all it has ever been, can you name any previous finalists (without using Google ?)

To be fair, I don't consider London an expansion team any more at all. Still remember their first game as Fulham in the Early 80's. 15k fans rings a bell ? 37 years of existence tells its own tail, good, bad, mad and sad !

FWIW, good luck to London. I hope they upset the apple cart as there are a few bottlers in that Toronto side from their Leigh days. Its funny how Leigh have thumped London 3 times yet they still managed to finish top 2. Fair play to them ans I wish them well.

Paper round days, them. Fulham made the back page of most of the tabloids on the Monday following their opener.

Yes Bradford

Cas won both at a canter. Hope that saves you agonising.