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Leeds got a spanking by the Storm but they did that to many a side in 2017, including in the Grand Final and they’ll do it again to plenty in 2018. It’s no disgrace to lose to a team as good as Melbourne, though it just shows the gulf in class between the top of the NRL and the top of the Super League.

Don’t let the outcomes of the two friendlies this weekend mask that. They’re friendlies and count for nothing. 

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Leeds didn't really have much of a kicking game and they had quite a few chances before the 6th tackle in the first half to loft it diagonally and see what they could get, they just didn't have the ability overall.

Interesting to see how Melbourne will get on without Cronk this season, Roosters held as pre-season favourites. Imagine they'll be up there over the next two seasons with Crichton due to join in 2019.

Edited by Danny
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9 hours ago, Danny said:

Leeds didn't really have much of a kicking game and they had quite a few chances before the 6th tackle in the first half to loft it diagonally and see what they could get, they just didn't have the ability overall.

Interesting to see how Melbourne will get on without Cronk this season, Roosters held as pre-season favourites. Imagine they'll be up there over the next two seasons with Crichton due to join in 2019.

Read a lot that Brodie Croft is the next star off the conveyor belt at Storm to replace Cronk. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Eddie Hearn in talks with the RFL, potential involvement with the sport. Thoughts?

Could be great for the sport, especially with the potential inclusions of more North American sides. For the sport to be a contender with Union it needs to have more impact in the South, couldn't even tell an England got to a World Cup final through the online British media coverage.

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8 hours ago, Danny said:

Eddie Hearn in talks with the RFL, potential involvement with the sport. Thoughts?

Could be great for the sport, especially with the potential inclusions of more North American sides. For the sport to be a contender with Union it needs to have more impact in the South, couldn't even tell an England got to a World Cup final through the online British media coverage.

Though it would be nice to have a bigger impact in the South and more specifically, London, it’s not exactly imperative at the minute and the game’s biggest issue is marketing. 

Marketing is the Hearn’s game. Look at what they’ve done to Darts. They’ve projected blokes like Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Rob Cross into homes across the UK and made them recognised sporting figures yet in reality, they’re ordinary looking blokes playing a game that most would agree is a pub game. Play ‘Chase the Fun’ by Planet Funk into classrooms in the UK and I bet there will be kids in most classes recognising it as from the Darts. 

Rugby League as a whole is pretty terrible at marketing the game. I bet most people wouldn’t recognise a ‘big’ name Rugby League player in the UK yet I could tell you ‘big’ name sporting figures from sports that I have no interest in. Eddie Hearn, Matchroom or whoever it is overseeing things needs to be making names like George Williams, Mark Percival, Stevie Ward and Greg Minikin into easily recognisable sporting figures. 

There’s been talk of a Nines tournament eventually replacing the Super League Magic Weekend and I’d let Matchroom ‘have’ that. I’d tell them that they have free rein to do what they want, just put bums on seats, get people watching on TV and put names like Widnes Vikings, Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants into the limelight. 

I cannot see the Super League teams letting Matchroom take control of the game in the UK after gaining a bigger influence on the game. They won’t let it from their grip easily, I fear. 

I do think that it’s not a coincidence that on the same day The RFL meet with Eddie Hearn, the details of England taking on New Zealand in Denver has been announced. I can see Matchroom getting that, which wouldn’t be disastrous. 

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NRL kicks off this Thursday where St. George host the Broncos and I believe James Graham should be making a debut unless injured?

10pm kick off time here in Auckland, 9am Thursday morning for you lot.

Friday Newcastle host Manly where Mitchell Pearce will make his debut for the Knights and on Sunday Jaryd Hayne gets to make his debut since signing for Parra again against Penrith.

Penrith/Parra should be entertaining.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

@Smiley Culture I know you like doing amateur football, have you been to any of the amateur London rugby league sides? I've been having a butchers as I'm probably going to pop down to a couple once I've finished my travels and there seem to be more sides in or around west London than I thought. Wests Warriors, London Chargers and Richmond. I believe the only east London side are Newham Dockers? And then it's around Essex or Kent?

Brixton's a bit too far and even though the Broncos are on my doorstep I'm sure I've explained my feelings for them before.

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36 minutes ago, Danny said:

@Smiley Culture I know you like doing amateur football, have you been to any of the amateur London rugby league sides? I've been having a butchers as I'm probably going to pop down to a couple once I've finished my travels and there seem to be more sides in or around west London than I thought. Wests Warriors, London Chargers and Richmond. I believe the only east London side are Newham Dockers? And then it's around Essex or Kent?

Brixton's a bit too far and even though the Broncos are on my doorstep I'm sure I've explained my feelings for them before.

Ironically, it was mentioned on Sky last night that the London League is starting this weekend.

I go to London Skolars, who play in League 1, semi-regular. They’re based in Wood Green. 

As for the amateur stuff, I tried a couple of years ago to watch Newham but it seemed that there game had been cancelled as the opponents failed to raise a team and they didn’t bother to update their social media so I ended up in a park in West Ham looking confused.

Yeah, West Warriors are a team made up of Kiwis in London from what I gather, Hammersmith Hills Hoists (who play at Wasps I think) are the Australian equivalent. Both have played in the Challenge Cup but I don’t know what the standard is like. 

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20 minutes ago, Smiley Culture said:

Ironically, it was mentioned on Sky last night that the London League is starting this weekend.

I go to London Skolars, who play in League 1, semi-regular. They’re based in Wood Green. 

As for the amateur stuff, I tried a couple of years ago to watch Newham but it seemed that there game had been cancelled as the opponents failed to raise a team and they didn’t bother to update their social media so I ended up in a park in West Ham looking confused.

Yeah, West Warriors are a team made up of Kiwis in London from what I gather, Hammersmith Hills Hoists (who play at Wasps I think) are the Australian equivalent. Both have played in the Challenge Cup but I don’t know what the standard is like. 

Yeah I've thought about Skolars but it's a bit of a trek for me. Yeah Wests are a Kiwi side in Acton and I think surprise a few teams/competitions because of the quality of Kiwis on 2-year breaks coming over, but seem to have a large upheaval as people leave the country. You're not wrong about Hammersmith, I saw a picture of their kit and it's essentially Australia's.

From what I can gather Richmond and London Chargers seem to be the only local based rather than Aussie/Kiwi based side in the south west Londonish area. Chargers being a merger of South London Storm and West London Sharks who both played at the same level. I wonder what path for progression, if any, is available for these clubs in terms of support from the RFL. All the talk about sides from Toronto and New York and I'm sure they'll be looking at London too...would they go with a completely new side or would they look to push on someone like Brixton Bulls who're fairly entrenched in the local community with youth teams, open age and women's sides.

Not London but I also read that Oxford and the Gloucestershire All Golds are trying to merge to create a Bristol based side, would be interesting to see how that pans out.

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  • 1 month later...

The MCG is such a beautiful stadium, been there on a tour but seeing it nearly full for the Origin game makes me wish I was still in Oz!

A young and exuberant NSW team with the win last night, after my time spent living in Queensland I follow them for this and I think my timeline will be full of a lot of angry farmers 😂

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  • 1 month later...
4 hours ago, The Rebel CRS said:

I don't watch Rugby, but this guy is a site manager on the new site I'm working on:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Harrison_(rugby_league)

 

He's a top lad to be honest, sound as fuck. Any of you Rugby fans know of him? He played for Warrington Wolves @DeadLinesman

 

Big Ben was a beast. Sound lad on and off the pitch.

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