IndeedKingston upon Hull

Sovereign state - United Kingdom
Constituent country - England
Region - Yorkshire and the Humber
Ceremonial county - East Riding of Yorkshire

TBF Leigh will being more than 0 from Toronto...

But if you like games with no atmosphere then enjoy

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I think he is trying to say that Leigh fans will always bring far greater numbers of travelling fans to Clubs than TW ever will, understandable given the cost & time required by TW fans.

What would be interesting to see (though we never will) is the figures on how many fans travel from Leigh for example *could be any Club* to Toronto in comparison to how many Torontonians travel *rather than UK based ex Pats* to Leigh/other Club !

I get that TW numbers will always be very low but the argument still stands, fans contribute to atmosphere, British/European sports thrive on atmosphere & allegiances so to have none is alien to us .......

Unless you're a Widnes fan !

Its all well and good expanding SL, and I've said it before FWIW I like the idea of expansion, I have no issue with it.

What I always do though is try and look at things from a different perspective, what would I do faced with the same problem or decision?

The fact is SL NEEDS more money, clubs NEED to bring in extra revenue, clubs need a way to get young players coming through the system via Reserves/Alliance/Academies.

The reason we don't currently is A-its not mandatory & B-ring-fenced money is now spent on players to avoid the jeopardy of relegation.

Toulouse seem to be the best fit for an expansion side, I can see the logic, hotbed of RL, reasonably well supported, TV deal already in place with Catalan Dragons, young French players coming through, short travel distance, 2 teams in the South of France, etc etc.

The one thing I keep coming back to with Toronto is what will they FACTUALLY bring to SL above anyone else other than "Trans-Atlantic?

Unless they have tabled a TV deal that promises SL teams a decent financial handshake then im struggling to see the incremental gain.

If I were Ian Lenagan and I knew that Leigh would bring 4000 fans to the DW again at a minimum £15 a go (£60,000) and then the following week they took 3000 to Saints again (£45,000) and then a few weeks later take 3800 to Warrington (£57,000) who would I actually want at the top table from a financial/business perspective?? If I were Moran/Lenagan/McManus id offer this team a parachute payment because I want them straight back ASAP, I have a financial incentive.

What do I have with Toronto? more expense, long travel time, an empty stdium, no ticket sales and another team with no youth development.

Do SL chairmen & owners want Toronto in SL?

Who knows time will tell.

Very well put & not just because of the Leigh quote, replace Leigh with Fev, Fax or certainly Bradford & I still say it is more beneficial financially than TW, Toulouse or London, unless of course a much better TV deal can be struck by having 2 French Clubs then I say Toulouse are best option.

I would also venture to say that the average ticket in SL is nearer £20 than £15 & average spend per head nearer £30 though of course there is no evidence or study to show this.

But do you support expansion of rugby league beyond Super League, though? Did last week's England v NZ test sell a single meat pie in Leigh? No

Earlier this month, Wolfpack signed a deal with Setanta Asia, a sports network that reaches 16 countries and 55 million households. The deal covers the current season. Big exposure in new markets. Again, Wolfpack is thinking beyond the game in England.



If I were Ian Lenagan, I'd promote the heck out of Wolfpack if/when they visit Wigan.



Please stop repeating nonsense like this. It doesn't help your otherwise interesting views.

Looks like Leigh's run for the Middle 8s is running out of steam. Toronto is thrashing Leigh today.

lol....
You are a horribly negative and cynical person with a desire to put down any sign of light in the growth of the game. It makes me wonder whether London's former rugby league marketing manager Gus McKay was really as bad as you used to make out so obsessively.

In any case Toronto is succeeding in the Championship and will succeed in Super League long before the Wellington Orcas see the light of day in the NRL.

This from someone who includes a derogatory adjective when mentioning an English team.

Didn’t setanta go bust in Britain a few years ago

I had just talked about this with a friend. I think the Super League clubs would love to have Toronto and Toulouse in as they would bring there own money to the league. If they expand the league to 14 this would work very well as they would still only have to split the Sky money 11 ways if Catalan, Toulouse and Toronto are the other 3.

I suspect that Halifax and Featherstone don't really want to get promoted. They are doing well in the league they are currently in and promotion would result in a lot of change on and off the pitch. How would Featherstone do without 4 Leeds players in the squad for example. Both sides are doing well where they are.

London are very much the same. Their current home is not really geared for Super League and promotion could result long term in the club going bust. I am based in the South East and the Broncos don't appeal on multiple fronts. So unless the club want to move again then there future remains in the championship.

Leigh are a solid club with a good ground and a reasonable number of fans. They offer as much to Super League a number of the current clubs. They have a chairman that brings a lot to the competition.

So,
Toronto, Yes
Toulouse, Yes
Featherstone, No
Halifax, No
London, No
Leigh, Neutral

To go down Widnes, I have been a fan of them for a few seasons but the James Rule interview exposed the lack of ambition from the club. Living off the Sky money and nothing else. The sacking of Betts and the signing of Cummings is the nail in the coffin. Francis Cumming is the Rugby League equivalent of jumping the shark.

In an ideal world, Toronto, Toulouse and Leigh up. Widnes down. 14 team league announced at the Super 8's launch. Million pound game to be 6th vs 7th.

Leigh are in 6th place in the Championship, why should a team in 6th be promoted?

Surely they need to earn their place on the pitch if they are to be given yet another chance in Super League.