Don't let the negators get to you. There are lots of RL fans out there rooting for you and willing Celtic to succeed, however difficult things look just now. I was sad you had such a bad loss and at home too. Your lads must be well down on confidence and inspiration just now. I hope something happens to change that for the better.

Yes, hopefully we'll get a reaction next week at bat quins.

Bat Quins, maybe, but beat quins? Never

Saturday was just plain bad and I had been expecting us to get walloped by someone sometime or other. However the bigger picture is not in our current results.

The key to the success of this club is for the team and supporters to stay patient and loyal to what we are trying to achieve here, namely an established and sustainable SL side in South Wales.

We do this by turning up week after week , giving our support to the players and the team no matter what. They don't play badly on purpose, they don't need to hear us giving them abuse (as much as I and others really wanted to last Saturday).

We are not a million miles away from being a really competitvie side in this league, the squad that we have had largely remained with us throughout NL1 & 2 and now its starting to show to a certain extent.

With all due respect to Fev and Widnes , they would get hammered even worse then we have with the squad's they have this season, the step up is bigger than many thought here.

Our crowds are not bad that bad, when you think only Leeds,Hull and St Helens get crowds over 10K and they have much larger catchment areas than ourselves and our average is still better than Harlequins who have been going very well this season.

We have a good hardcore fanbase down here who will not let this club fail.

And wakey didnt have a full strength squad out thank god

I agree with most of what you wrote, but I do reckon that South Wales is a bigger catchment area than Leeds or Sintellens - maybe not Hull if you measure it in potential rugby players.
You're the new team, so will have a few extra away fans for this reason. Next year you should expect less away fans (especially since you'll start winning more games) so getting the same numbers through the doors would be an acheivement.

In the next two years the main focus is gates and geting some of your young WELSH players into the squad. Don't get uptight about comments that you're a squad full of ozzies even after you've developed your own players, we get that from the BBC pundits.

No it isn't , the main focus is winning some games and then getting more people to attend

Unless they turn it around on the pitch , winning at least a third of their home games they are unlikely to build any kind of home support

Who is playing for them is irrelivant , better ateam full of aussies competing than a team full of locals getting hammered

Of course they would, that's why they've only recruited a squad for a crack at the NL competition!!!!
Not that that has any relevance.



No they won't, but is not enough in isolation. - what will cause a failure is - if for some reason the financial backing of Leighton Samuels isn't sustainable at this level for some reason or if the income streams remain as they are without a substantial amount from sponsors and season ticket holders etc. If there is a will in wales, the RFL will continue to support the Welsh project.

1st...Giving the crowds a cheer even when you play bad? What about the players being booed off the pitch at half time last week?

2nd...the original players from the last few seasons are the players that are not good enough for SL.

3RD...HOME SUPPORT IS VERY POOR AND IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE WAKEY FANS LAST WEEK, GOD KNOWS WHAT THE CROWD WOULD HAVE BEEN. WELL BELOW THE 2000 THAT WERE THERE. THERE WERE BETTER CROWDS THAN THAT IN NL2. LS HAS TO REALISE THAT THERE IS NO SUPPORT IN BRIDGEND. NOT FOR RL, RU OR ANYTHING ELSE, THE LOCALS ARE BLASE ABOUT EVERYTHING. THEY SIT IN THE LOCAL PUBS AND CRITICISE THE CLUB BUT NEVER GO TO WATCH.

Someone else mentioned the will to win etc. but when you saw the players laughing and joking behind the posts after the opposition scored, I wonder if the will is there or whether the players are content to lose every week and have got into a situation where they are content with life at the moment.

Unless there is a vast change at the club in the coming weeks then I have nothing but despair for them. If the fans cannot see that the crowd at the moment is voting with their freet and are not coming anymore and the crowd is getting smaller every week.You cannot rely on away support every week to make the crowd look good. I do feel though that the crowd do look at themselves and think that everything is rosy but in this respect, I think they are a bit blinkered and should look at the real picture and not take heart from another fan that as a view that they agree and go along with and then think that everything is fine, IT IS NOT.

Just commenting on this part of your post Neil. Serious question - where do you think we should play our home games if not Bridgend?

If it's the Neil I think this is you're more confused than Scooby Doo.

You have voted with your feet and are not coming any more, or so you have said.

Bradford fan on here, Leeds elsewhere and had it with this club so what you doing on here?

Did anyone see Boots'n'All tonight? There was a feature on your youth team who won their grand final and what was so great about it was hearing the Welsh accents of the boys in the team and those who have now gone on to play in the under 18s at Celtic.

I hope there is a core group of supporters who stay committed to the Crusaders. Listening to those boys tonight, it would be a real shame if the first team performance let the whole thing down as there does seem to be a real interest in playing rugby league among the young people. I just hope your first team Welsh Aussies can find a way to rediscover their form of earlier in the season and start challenging again (preferably with a half decent ref instead of one who awards tries to the opposition that don't even reach the flippin touchline! )

I've recorded this and recommending that the club use it to promote the game in schools. It will give a great example to kids that you too can win trophies, be on Sky and play for Wales. A fantastic piece.

I hope so, too. There's a cracking looking winger in that group of youngsters, it has to be said. He looked like seriously good potential.