I think he'll be watching from the stands.

I am looking forard to seeing if he can make an impact in our game though; good luck to him.

rlNo!rl

Crusaders squad here: www.crusadersrfl.com/article.php?id=1089

Crusaders squad here: www.crusadersrfl.com/article.php?id=1089

I did ask this be kept on topic.

He's going to be @ the game: www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=16821

He's going to be @ the game: www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=16821

I am sure it was said on the GMR Superleague show on Thursday that Gareth Thomas was contracted to Cardiff till May. BTW is he related to Malcolm Thomas who used to play for the Wire in the 60's ?

He was, but Dai Young has allowed his contract to be ended early so that he can join up with the Crusaders.

now they are really taking the mick, he must be about 42 by now, whats with Celtic signing all these old Welsh players?

Better than old Aussie players

Well if they sign old Aussie players they get slagged off, if they try to bring though local inexperienced Welsh talent and finish bottom of the league they get slagged off, just how can they not 'take the mick' when the definitions of success placed upon them are impossible and contradictory?

Sally's really reeled a few in here, excellent stuff.

Thanks Mass effect i stand corrected

By mixing top Aussies with high calibre local players, and doing well, like the Catalans.

That might not be an option for Crusaders as they don't have the money or the appeal to sign up top Aussies, and they don't have much local talent, so I sympathise with their situation however it points to them being a short lived SL franchise if that's the case.

Lesson for RFL - build on areas where there is already a good infrastructure for the next franchise, ie Toulouse, rather than wasting time where there is no potential.

Sally

I belive there is a 'hotbed' of Rugby League in a town called Widnes. I know its a dump and smells a bit but they so like their Rugby.

Agreed but Widnes need to have the finance and the infrastructure in place and show they have the potential to grow. They missed out to Celtic last time because of their shoddy financial management in the preceding years. A SL team in Widnes is likely to be able to support local players coming through because as you say they like their rugby, but they need to prove they are run properly before they are handed a SL licence again. Personally though I think there are too many teams in SL.