These are remaining fixtures before the split. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-leagu ... e/fixtures Some very interesting and important games there, we have teams fighting to stay in the 8 and teams fighting to make top 4. The beauty of all this is most of the teams involved all seem to be playing one or the other. Big result for Catalan tonight against Cas.

These are remaining fixtures before the split. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-leagu ... e/fixtures Some very interesting and important games there, we have teams fighting to stay in the 8 and teams fighting to make top 4. The beauty of all this is most of the teams involved all seem to be playing one or the other. Big result for Catalan tonight against Cas.

The benefactors that saved the club wasn't Tesco or so much SJM.... Tesco just gave us a stadium, and SJM took took control following the guarantee move to the HJ.
WBC decided was in interest to absorb the debt of the loans by taking over Wilderspool... and giving us free use of it...who was the real benefactors?...us, the tax payer.
We absorbed the debts that was tabled by WBC and the then board.

Surely he'd keep the memories of the WCC.

If it was a case of swapping a 30 year old WCC in order to win Super League again, maybe he'd swap that. But just "be competitive"? All that would do is raise Widnes to being a Warrington.

30 year old WCC versus potential death in the lower leagues though?

Oh dear. Rather than obsessing with all things Wire, if I were our two Pollutant "pals", I'd be looking at the form of Toronto, Toulouse, Fev and 'fax and wondering where their 2 points will be coming from, rather than events 6 miles down the road.

All this, and still going on about that night when grown men were crying, may I remind them of such relevences of things, that fated night.
We still had
Our first female PM
A wall dividing Berlin
Nelson Mandela still sewing mailbags
A cold war
Tianamon square
and Jive Bunny

The world's moved on. Pity Widnes haven't.

Plus the insult of going down this season cos they won't win away when playing super league opposition... And they won't beat Toronto wherever they play em...shame in a way

Will Toronto actually get 4 home games or is there something in place like it is for Challenge Cup.

Thanks, was looking for that myself.

If Warrington had won the WCC in 1989, we would still be going on about it.

Plenty of our fans continue to remember fondly the Les Boyd/Phil Blake era, just for its Premiership Trophy win at Elland Road in 1986.

If we had beaten Wigan to the league title, and then beaten Mal Meninga's Canberra Raiders in the WCC and Mike Gregory had lifted the trophy, it would have been the iconic image of the era, and it would probably be remembered more fondly by our fans of a certain age than Tony Smith's three Challenge Cups.

I'm not sure pointing out how long ago their WCC win was, was a great idea given the length of our Championship drought!

What was remarkable about the '86 win was that we unexpectedly hammered the league Champions Halifax with some unforgettable performances and long range tries. It was the first silverware for a generation of young fans since '74. Those who were there will know how special that premiership run and win was.

Anyhow I doubt we would, when sitting bottom of the league, go onto the Widnes forum with them currently sitting 3rd and start goading them about it 30 years later - surely ?

We did win quite a few cups from 74-86. It was not such a barren period.

Yes fair point.
1980/81 Regal Trophy and Lancashire Cup.
1982/83 Lancashire Cup

I've mentioned many times before that the WCC is a nothing trophy....dig some out if your that way inclined...

the World Club Challenge in 1989 was into to it's SECOND ever game (Historic eh...?), it was won By Wigan two years previous.
at no stage in the competitions entire History has it ever been anything more than a pre season pain in the backside for Australian Clubs.

in 1989 Clubs were used to playing touring Aussie national teams and no club side had beaten them since Widnes in 1978...just for reference Wire were the First club side to beat the touring Aussies in that series ...thats "First"..... not "Last"...which is something Widnes are used to... So back to the point....beating any Aussie side would have been a bit novel back then despite The Aussies indifference to the competition.

to be Lauding a pre season trophy as an iconic bit of silverware is a bit desperate for me.....

what's Brian McDermots finest Achievments as we read his CV this morning... his four Grand Final wins, two Challenge Cups wins, a League Leaders' Shield or a World Club Challenge. ??? the BBC have it right listing them in that order....

the main reason I'd like a world club Challenge win is because it would mean we would have won the Grand final in the first place.....nothing more... its the same as the Charity Shield... and that lasted 10 years too long.