A great benefit of the dual registration system that hits our squad as well. Does anyone know if Bridge was injured yesterday when he went off not to return ?

Rugby League is a serious sport. every time you play you run the risk of injury. dual reg should not be taken lightly. Even rugby at our level(which is a level most SL fans and the RFL see a a joke) is played with passion. injuries are part of the sport. the only way you'll stop it is by making our league tag. and i wouldnt put that past the RFL.

As for Bridge he seemed to pop his shoulder out. Nothing on our website that tells ua how he is.

Was I not paying attention at Wilderspool last year, were the under 20s playing on a bouncy castle wrapped in cotton wool? Whilst I am as critical as the next man about dual registration it is pretty ridiculous to blame it for injuries!

I don't know any SL fans that consider the Championship a joke. I am surprised you even think that. It has certainly been abused by some of the SL chairmen (but not Wire), and particularly Hetherington, but there is nothing wrong with the standard of rugby.

I think there is a small number of fans who think that there is no rugby league worth watching outside Super League. There's been a few people who can't get their heads round why I chose to watch Leigh. I think it is a problem created by coverage being so SL focused.

I think there is plenty of good rugby outside of SL. Anyone who has not seen an U19 / U20 match should pop along, they would be very surprised at the standard. TBH, some weeks last year I chose to go to an U20's rather than attend the Wire match.

anybody who agrees with the abolition of promotion and relegation thinks championship rugby is a joke. thats most SL fans!

Barnie there are a lot of SL fans who think that P&R should be part of the game

No, it isn't.

I supported the introduction of franchising and whilst its application has been hit and miss (to say the least) and hasn't stopped situations developing alarmingly quickly such as at Bradford - I do believe on the whole it has had a positive affect. I recall fear of losing a SL franchise being used as big driver supporting the planning permission application for the HJ for example. We've had new money, owners, stadia or all three at most clubs in SL - arguably most of which wouldn't have happened without franchising.

That said, I have never, ever considered Championship RL a joke. And I now think franchising has served its purposes and we should be considering a return to straight P&R ASAP.

My point exactly, no longer playing against their own age group, but in a big pond with big bruising players who have been there & back & got the tee shirt. It's a much harder apprenticeship than the under 20's .

The lad was playing for Hull KR last year. Has to play with the big boys at some point!

You've just made me really nostalgic for alliance games on a thursday (was it?) night at wilderspool,

being able to sit in teh bevan stand, hearing the players communicating on the pitch, seeing young lads proving themselves against first teamers.

Also where my first love of mike gregory came from, i first got took along by my bro on one of the nights mike was coming back from one of injurys, we went especially to see him. I th8ink that was the start of my Warrington rlfc apprenticeship.

Sorry, thread hijack there, carry on.

Just to return the thread;

Laithwaite had an operation on his ankle at York, and according to his twitter a/c he will be out for about 10 weeks. Not good.

Fridays I think they were. I used to go regularly, they were bloody ace as you say. A South African triallist played one night under the traditional guise of AN Other, scored a try or two and looked handy. I still wonder who he was. Mate told me off for swearing though - said it wasn't appropriate for A team games