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Post by Druzik on Aug 14, 2008 17:14:13 GMT 10
great idea...cat out of the bag perhaps? lol scottish team in the ESL in 2015? Look anything is possible, I think with the NL divisions and franchising it will give the Scots a decent chance to see if they can produce a side. Personally I would like to see a Cumbrian Franchise or two come up before a Scottish one. |
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jim
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Post by jim on Aug 14, 2008 19:39:18 GMT 10
great idea...cat out of the bag perhaps? lol scottish team in the ESL in 2015? Look anything is possible, I think with the NL divisions and franchising it will give the Scots a decent chance to see if they can produce a side. Personally I would like to see a Cumbrian Franchise or two come up before a Scottish one. I would like to see them get a SL franchise but I would rather see a 2nd and possibly 3rd french team first. Toulouse will most likely be in in 2012 and I would say a Paris bid may be on the cards 2015 maybe even 2012. Now I just want an Irish team in the NL's and just let them and Glasgow progress and once they are good enough for SL they'll be there. I doubt we'll see another Celtic where they makje it in 3 years. Also further expansion in England like Midlands, Cumbria etc plus another London team are vital. Soobner or later Lancashire clubs will have to be cut down IMO. That sounds familiar. |
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Post by Marv on Aug 14, 2008 20:29:13 GMT 10
Cumbria as a united side will not happen, It is something i feel i have covered many a time.
And TBH jim Widnes deserve a franchise before ANYBODY else IMO.
Expansion is great lets have a Scottish team in NL2, and lets look to a second Welsh in NL2 and French team in SL......when the time is right, but lets not overlook a bid like widnes' again
I feel the RFL have lumped with the crusaders because it may be a case of "now or never" for Wales, I didnt agree with it but I will support it to the hilt now, because, ultimatley, I want expansion.
I also feel that the RFL feel whatever happens in the next 3 years Widnes' faithful fans and the new reigieme will still be strong if not stronger.
As a Barrow fan I cant wait to see if we get promotion Because it will be fantastic to be in what is looking a strong heathy competetive comp, Widnes, Leigh, Halifax, Sheffiield, Whitehaven and Featherstone expansion clubs like Gateshead and possibly Toulouse and two of Oldham, Barrow, Doncaster and Keighley.
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Post by Druzik on Aug 14, 2008 20:57:41 GMT 10
Yes you have covered it Marv, but I still think I would like to see a Cumbrian side one day in a franchised SL/NL... anyway no need to go over old gorund.
Widnes' administrationship was its down fall, but I think if they are good over the next 3 years then they are a sho-in... much to many Leigh fans angst!
I am really gald that Barrow have done so well it is great to see them in basically top flight again. Like you say NL looks very strong and if the pseudo-franchising comes in there then hopefully the crowds will pick up. You never know one day when there are two very strong divisions of RL where clubs are full time and have the money then P&R may come back in.
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jim
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Post by jim on Aug 14, 2008 23:33:17 GMT 10
Cumbria as a united side will not happen, It is something i feel i have covered many a time. And TBH jim Widnes deserve a franchise before ANYBODY else IMO. Expansion is great lets have a Scottish team in NL2, and lets look to a second Welsh in NL2 and French team in SL......when the time is right, but lets not overlook a bid like widnes' again I feel the RFL have lumped with the crusaders because it may be a case of "now or never" for Wales, I didnt agree with it but I will support it to the hilt now, because, ultimatley, I want expansion. I also feel that the RFL feel whatever happens in the next 3 years Widnes' faithful fans and the new reigieme will still be strong if not stronger. As a Barrow fan I cant wait to see if we get promotion Because it will be fantastic to be in what is looking a strong heathy competetive comp, Widnes, Leigh, Halifax, Sheffiield, Whitehaven and Featherstone expansion clubs like Gateshead and possibly Toulouse and two of Oldham, Barrow, Doncaster and Keighley. I agree with you totally. Widnes do deserve a franchise above some clubs that made SL IMO, Toulouse and Widnes should be def. starters next time around and another team like maybe a cumbrian team or newcastle or something instead of a lancashire club. By Cumbria side I mean a club based in a city based in Cumbria. I'm not much on my Cumbrian Geography  but how many cumbrian teams are in the National Leagues? just the one? I think people (especially me) seem to get carried away with expansion to other countries when there is still alot of ground to be covered in England itself. |
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Post by Druzik on Aug 15, 2008 0:36:39 GMT 10
I agree with you totally. Widnes do deserve a franchise above some clubs that made SL IMO, Toulouse and Widnes should be def. starters next time around and another team like maybe a cumbrian team or newcastle or something instead of a lancashire club. well rumours are that Gateshead will be looking to link up with newcastle falcons RU and form a pro RL team out of Newcastle with an eventual eye for SL. By Cumbria side I mean a club based in a city based in Cumbria. I'm not much on my Cumbrian Geography but how many cumbrian teams are in the National Leagues? just the one? In the three levels, there are three, Barrow Raiders, Whitehaven and Workington. Whitehaven are 4th in NL1 but as a SL team unsustainable as the town id only a few 10's of thousands big and is basically the nuclear reactor work force and families. Barrow are 2nd in NL2 and look to get promoted to NL1 next year, they are bigger and then there is Workington at 8th in NL2 probably the biggest city of the three, maybe they could in the future have something but cumbria is a large place and sop how do you get all of cumbria to support let alone travel the distances to see a home game. I think people (especially me) seem to get carried away with expansion to other countries when there is still alot of ground to be covered in England itself. I think the issue is that RL fans are used to the M62 corridor and the realitve ease you have to get to all the Yorkshire and Lancashire clubs, Cumbria though rugby league heartland is quite large and travel there takes time, it Took Marv and I 2 hours to get from barrow to Liverpool earlier this year and me on train from Stanstead Airport 6 hours to get to Barrow. |
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Post by Marv on Aug 15, 2008 18:16:04 GMT 10
As druzik says there are 3 Cumbrian sides in the NLs but he incorrectly states that Workington is bigger than the mighty Barrow, Barrow is the 2nd largest Urban area in Cumbria with a population of around 80-100,000 , but it is not a city. The only city in Cumbria is Carlisle, which has never had much RL in the city it is some 70-80 miles north of Barrow. Whitehaven and Workinton are less than 10 miles apart and they are some 35 miles away from Carlilse. Barrow is probly 45-50 miles away from Whitehaven. The map....  So it shows you the distances but what this map doesnt show you is the terrain, Druzik will tell you how terrible the Barrow- Workinton road is to drive along. and it shows you that if the Cumbria franchise was placed in Workinton or Whitehaven you would alienate Barrow fans and Vice versa, If you stick a pin in the middle of cumbria you would be either up a mountin or in a lake if you were lucky you might be in Ambleside or Keswick (combined population about 5,000) but it takes about 1 hour minimum to get from Barrow to Keswick on a single lane road. Just to give you an idea how unworkable a combined Cumbrian Franchise would be. And thats without starting on the fans objections  |
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jim
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Post by jim on Aug 15, 2008 19:16:03 GMT 10
As druzik says there are 3 Cumbrian sides in the NLs but he incorrectly states that Workington is bigger than the mighty Barrow, Barrow is the 2nd largest Urban area in Cumbria with a population of around 80-100,000 , but it is not a city. The only city in Cumbria is Carlisle, which has never had much RL in the city it is some 70-80 miles north of Barrow. Whitehaven and Workinton are less than 10 miles apart and they are some 35 miles away from Carlilse. Barrow is probly 45-50 miles away from Whitehaven. The map.... So it shows you the distances but what this map doesnt show you is the terrain, Druzik will tell you how terrible the Barrow- Workinton road is to drive along. and it shows you that if the Cumbria franchise was placed in Workinton or Whitehaven you would alienate Barrow fans and Vice versa, If you stick a pin in the middle of cumbria you would be either up a mountin or in a lake if you were lucky you might be in Ambleside or Keswick (combined population about 5,000) but it takes about 1 hour minimum to get from Barrow to Keswick on a single lane road. Just to give you an idea how unworkable a combined Cumbrian Franchise would be. And thats without starting on the fans objections So which city would be best for a SL Franchise you think? As a side note I find it funny when poms talk about travelling disrtances. I am in Rugby league heartland and my nearest NRL club is 700km's either way, the Broncos and Cowboys have QLD derby yet they are 1400kms apart. Central Queensland Starts around Mackay and Bunderburg and they are 700-800kms. Even where I live is 20kms drive away from Rockhampton but I think nothing of the drive. |
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Post by Marv on Aug 15, 2008 20:01:54 GMT 10
So which city would be best for a SL Franchise you think? None, Barrow is too far away from Whitehaven/Workington and Whitehaven/Workington is too far away from Barrow On a personal note I would say Barrow because I live there! As a side note I find it funny when poms talk about travelling disrtances. I am in Rugby league heartland and my nearest NRL club is 700km's either way, the Broncos and Cowboys have QLD derby yet they are 1400kms apart. Central Queensland Starts around Mackay and Bunderburg and they are 700-800kms. Well when Druzik visted He mentioned 2 things, firstly how thin and windey the British Roads are (Barrow/Whithaven road is single track maybe 1/4 of the way) and secondly, Remember that there are more people living in the north of England than there are in the whole of Australia! Another good example is the road linking Cumbria and Yorkshire has no motorway, none whatsoever again some of the road is single track......single track roads into a major UK city! As druzik also says Barrow is only about 90-100 miles (62km) away from Liverpool but it took us knocking on 2 hours there and 2 hours Back Even where I live is 20kms drive away from Rockhampton but I think nothing of the drive. Well 20kms is only about 12 miles Jim its the same distance from where I live, to Barrow Similarly Jim when Australians talk about distances between their major cities My head starts to hurt because as an Englishman its hard to comprehend the distances!! |
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Post by Druzik on Aug 16, 2008 2:40:18 GMT 10
...So it shows you the distances but what this map doesnt show you is the terrain, Druzik will tell you how terrible the Barrow- Workinton road is to drive along.... Mate that was the best rollercoater ride I have ever had, beats the gold coast ones hands down and then there were the dodgem cars... |
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Post by Druzik on Sept 22, 2008 22:27:20 GMT 10
The draw for next years Murrayfield Magic has been done. Teams were split into 3 groups based on the standings in this years Super league. Teams could only play team in their groups and were drawn at random. Group 1St Helens Leeds Catalans Wigan Group2Bradford Warrington Hull KR Wakefield Group3Harlequins Huddersfield Hull FC Castleford Celtic Salfiord [glow=red,2,300]And the winners are[/glow]
Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos
Wigan Warriors v St Helens
Warrington Wolves v Hull Kingston Rovers
Wakefield WIildcats v Bradford Bulls
Hull FC v Castleford Tigers
Salford City Reds v Harlequins RL
Huddersfield Giants v Celtic Crusaders |
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Post by Druzik on Mar 19, 2009 20:45:56 GMT 10
Magic weekend kick-off times confirmed
The kick-off times for the matches in the engage Super League Magic Weekend have now been confirmed.
All seven games in Round 12 of engage Super League will take place at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium over the May Bank Holiday weekend (2nd/3rd).
Saturday 2nd May
Salford City Reds v Harlequins RL ko 3pm
Wakefield Wildcats v Bradford Bulls ko 5pm
Wigan Warriors v St Helens ko 7pm
Sunday 3rd May
Huddersfield Giants v Celtic Crusaders ko 12.30pm
Hull FC v Castleford Tigers ko 2.45pm
Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos ko 5.00pm
Warrington Wolves v Hull KR ko 7.00pm
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Post by Druzik on Apr 4, 2009 5:52:54 GMT 10
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Post by Druzik on May 3, 2009 5:26:38 GMT 10
Day 1
Score updates Game 1: Harlequins 24-16 Salford Game 2: Bradford 32-16 Wakefield Game 3: Wigan 38- 18 St Helens [glow=red,2,300]Crowd: 29,627[/glow] |
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Post by Druzik on May 3, 2009 6:38:32 GMT 10
Day 2
Score Update Game 1: Huddersfield 40-16 Celtic Game 2: Hull FC 24-16 Castleford Game 3: Catalans 36-16 Leeds Game 4: Warrington 36-28 Hull KR [glow=red,2,300]Crowd: 30,122[/glow] [glow=blue,2,300]TOTAL CROWD: 59,794[/glow] |
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but how many cumbrian teams are in the National Leagues? just the one?