What was it Rogues said the other week, They should just have a drop kick competition and if the scores are tied then bother with a game. Would save a lot of time and bother

I don't see how my getting fed-up of the game/administrators of the "Pro" (sic) RFL is a [i"joke really"[/i, I've never watched union, where would I in Hull anyway at any decent level? so get stuffed !!!

I will now occasionaly wander to East Park (Dockers), or Rosemead St (East Hull) and perhaps Saltend (Skirlaugh) and watch RL without the bull

It makes me laugh when people criticise the games administrators now, like prior to Richard Lewis et al the game was in rude health and the 80's and 90's were halcyon days were the game was strong at all levels.

They seem to forget that prior to Richard Lewis the game and the RFL were dying on their s.

It wasnt Richard Lewis who allowed the game to become a side-show, where we were lucky to get half a game on a sunday on the BBC, nor was it Richard Lewis who wasted millions of pounds at the start of SL.

How short their memories must be to forget we had administrators, doing the things you ask, running the game the way you wanted for all of our history up until about 8 years ago, and we are only now recovering from it.

Richard lewis rescued this game, the way he is treated by some in it is embarrassing

That previous administrators were mostly total incompetents doesn't mean that it's okay for Lewis to be half-way incompetents.

He may have got many other things right but he has got this one badly wrong, very badly wrong in fact.

yeah it seems to have gone terribly wrong, we went from having no representation in Wales to having to move from Bridgend to Wrexham, with two different clubs battling to be admitted to the lower leagues, oh no! Wont somebody please think of the children! However will the game survive whilst more clubs in different areas want to be part of it?

Its gone so terribly wrong we have gone from 0 clubs, to 1 club, to 2 clubs in the space of 4 years

long may everything else go that wrong as well

Firstly if he had played his cards right, CELTIC Crusaders would still be in CC at the Brewery Field developing a SL team in waiting. As it is they will probably be extinct very shortly.

Secondly he took the wrong option in giving South Wales Crusaders the CC1 slot instead of Glamorgan Warriors.

has tht been confirmed yet?

No, Crusaders were supposed to make a statement today but they aren't very good at making announcements when they say they will.

You are Richard Lewis and I claim my £5

.


Come on Smokey.

The problem many people have is, not the RFL striving for expansion into South Wales, but the way it was fast tracked.

richard lewis is seriously wasted on people like you

can we have him in the nrl please.

he gives me hope that RL will finally reach its potential in england.

fast tracked? its a hundred years late mate, we are always going to be playing catch up because we spent nigh on a hundred years looking at our belly buttons wondering why no-one else wanted to bend over backwards to be part of our sport.

Making allowances for expansion sides isn't fast tracking, its just seeing the bigger picture

And why’s that?

Because he & his cronies fast-tracked a team into S.L. from an area of the country that’s dyed in the wool Union territory.

Maybe because the said hierarchy also gave us a French team, because why? To increase the gospel or give a home to an ever growing number of Aussies, who become French! It certainly wasn’t to improve our (G.B’s) chances of winning an International competition.

The only way (G.B) will improve it’s potential, is to get some better Coaching & Conditioning, after all the World Champions have hardly got the greatest playing pool.

People like me……….

do you still, honestly believe that if Celtic Crusaders hadnt been promotes, Leighton Samuels (whose expressed aim was to have a SL side as soon as possible) would now be happily funding a semi-pro Championship side?

and why would we want an SL team in waiting when we have an SL team in being?

frankly, im embarrassed by yours and parts of the RL communities death riding of welsh RL, its pathetic, and considering the indignation with which Widnes fans treat any mention of them going bust, massively hypocritical

is a Wakefield fan really having a pop at the amount of overseas players Les Catalans have?

And what is this bigger picture, going bust after a whole season, then relocating to an area with even less interest than the first?

no, its seeing that risk is intrinsic to expanding the game, and as such there is always a possibility that it wont be 100% a success. Its seeing that not expanding the game condemns it to a slow death and that taking these risks are needed to ensure our survival as a game.

Its understanding that the heartlands are starting off from a stronger point, they have inherent advantage that expansion clubs will need allowances to overcome. Its accepting that if we want to expand the professional game we need to have professional clubs in new areas,.

Its understanding that because Bridgend didn't work out it doesn't mean Wrexham wont, and if Wrexham doesn't it doesn't mean Swansea wont, we are always on the road to success and that failure only comes when we stop trying

Ah, I wondered when club loyalties would come into it.

Wakefield has about eleven club trained players in their 2010 squad, that’s eleven players that could in theory play for G.B. Whereas Catalans are now giving Aussies passports & playing them in their national side – how bizarre!

As a Leeds fan, you can sit in your ivory tower and survey the British game from a different perspective to that of many supporters from other clubs, the, ‘I’m alright jack’ scenario comes to mind.

No, but Brewery Field Limited were and still are.



Because that club won't be around for very much longer.



Yes, I think that Glamorgan Warriors were a better bet than stationing Crusaders reserves in Neath and calling it expansion.

Unlike you, I actually give a damn what happens to Bridgend fans whereas you never did.

It's about not giving a damn that the chances of success are about zero and going ahead and screwing up every opportunity that comes along.



So in other words, you recognise that there are inherent problems that expansion clubs suffer from but think that they ought to be ignored.



Success will only come when the tactics are altered. If every time a method is tried, it results in total failure then it is insane to keep doing exactly the same thing. Unless you enjoy failure of course (and you certainly seem to).

where as Les Catalans have 15, thats 15 players that not only in theory could play for france, but 15 players who have played for france, only one of which didnt have a french passport prior to playing for Les Catalans, Clint Greenshields.

Maybe you would like to contrast the Clint Greenshields situation with the Damien Blanch situation? or the Michael Korkidas situation? or greek/canadian/australian Jason Demetriou issue?

and Catalans are giving Aussies passports? i would have thought that was an issue for the french government, and playing them in the national side is surely an issue for the national side? Its not the same as encouraging a player to play for a national side so he can get a different passport and you can get around the quota

I’m not disputing that the game shouldn’t expand out of the heartlands, however, a fledgling club needs to walk before it can run. Recent events have shown that this has been the case with C.C.

You’re of the opinion that it’s worth a try, if only to increase the geographical spread, but at what cost. I’m not talking about the financial cost, but, the way the game is perceived. Do the RFL want to become a laughing stock in their desperate pursuit of expanding the game?

Dont you know actually caring about the fans of an expansion club and wanting them not to have there club moved to the other side of the country is the halmark of a flatcapper.

blah blah blah blah blah, you think the new crusaders wont last, fine, no one cares, you're just guessing, and your guess is no better or worse than anyone elses,

no one on these boards has enough information to know whether it will be a success or not, no one even has enough to make an educated guess, i accept that, but im happy to see it run its course. If you arent, fine. It makes no difference, if you need to wish welsh pro RL out of existence to make you feel better about your own teams inadequacies, thats fine, i dont care

we already are,

there isnt some meeting of all the sports where they get together and pick on RL, nobody cares about celtics failure outside of the game because people barely know it exists,

if a club fails it really isnt a big deal, clubs fail in lots of sports all the time, its life, its sport and we move, it really isnt that big an issue

That’s not a fair comparison.

Blanch & Co won’t be pulling on an International jersey any time soon, whereas Mogg, Pelo & the likes will.

I just cannot see the benefit of having a French team in S.L. other than a good trip away for many fans