Couldn't agree more - it must have been such a demoralising time for Widnes fans the last couple of years since the franchise farce. Don't blame the stay-aways at all.

When they get the franchise they deserve I reckon the crowds will shoot up like ours did.

Nice one Roofs, I doff my flat cap to you

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well lets not get carried away,we will see how many turn up next sunday against barrow with no tv coverage and then people can moan,ill go for 2500-3500 with 100 barrow fans

I notice from your post (quoting the FC team, but saying your in Sydney) that I assume you are not a resident of Hull or if you are, then you are one of our younger fans; I quote this as I am one of the FC oldies (agewise) and so remember when a trip to Widnes sent howls of 'Oh not them again'. I went to the KC last night and saw one of the best open rugby games of many a year -not the armwrestling s..t we've been served up by those media happy moguls at Sky lately, and I just hope the Widnes you say you'd rather miss. Saints maybe, but Warrington no-one of the wrestler lovers.
I look forward to seeing Widnes BACK in SL. IIRC they never actually LOST THEIR PLACE - they missed out when Sky decided on a CUTOF from the old First Division, although as I said I stand to be corrected on this. I still believe however that they would have proved a better option than what Huddersfield did, remembering that Huds have more than once been saved from demotion.
I'm still one of the old school who ardently believes than the merits of true winners can only be shown by reverting to Promotion and Relegation. With this the correct way is to give the newly promoted side 3years to cement their position. ........grannyfan Cindy

They were relegated along with Leigh at the end of the 2005 season

You're right cause of Catalans coming in and the clubs knew the score beforehand though i'm not suggesting it was right.

Scorpions haven't produced these players of course but a lot of them having been playing RL for a number of years now and have come through the academy system at the Crusaders or local RL clubs. All Welsh will have played RU as a kid.

1. Craig Richards - rugby union
2. David James - signed from Blackwood Bulldogs RL - dual code player
3. Lee Williams - came through WRL academies
5. Ashley Bateman - came through WRL academies
6. Loz Wildbore - English
7. Steve Parry - came through WRL academies
8. Lewis Mills - came through WRL academies
9. Shaun Owens - came through WRL academies
10. Gil Dudson - came through WRL academies
11. Christian Roets - South African born. Been an amateur RL player in Wales for six years.
12. Neil Dallimore - rugby union
13. Aled James (c) - came through WRL academies
14. Jamie Murphy - came through WRL academies
15. Andrew Gay - Australian born, Welsh father
16. Joe Burke - came through WRL academies
17. Barrie Phillips - dual code player. Crusaders reserves
18. Matt Hutchings - dual code player. Signed from Bridgend Blue Bulls
19. Lewis Reece - started playing RL at 18 for Crusaders youth
20. Geraint Davies - came through WRL academies
21. Sam Studley - rugby union but played for GB Community Lions under 18 a few years ago
22. Curtis Cunningham - dual code. Started with Cardiff Demons then Crusaders reserves and London Skolars.
23. Alan Pope - rugby union
24. Liam Roch - Aussie
26. Jamie Tibbs - started playing RL at 18 for Crusaders youth
27. Dalton Grant - started playing RL at 18 for Crusaders youth
28. Loren Quick - started playing RL at 18 for Crusaders youth
29. Harri Greville - started playing RL at 18 for Crusaders youth
31. Elliot Kear - came through WRL academies
33. Lloyd White - came through WRL academies
34. Ben Flower - rugby union. Signed from Bedwas RU but played some junior RL with Cardiff Demons

I fully understand your point , yes of course the Skorpions and to a larger degree the CC have had a massive influence on the number of young welsh RL players we have

I was being slightly

pedantic as in the past I have had many arguments with SL club fans about who exactly can claim the credit for the development of junior players , they have suggested that unles a player has been in a clubs scholarship from age 10 then it is all down to the amatuer club

So yes well done the Skorpions , they will most likely get promoted to the Championship in the next 2/3 seasons and to see a 90% welsh team playing Leigh at the LSV will be great

All the best

so widnes should be in SL because they play an open style of football?

what have they had the same coach and players for 100 years?

good RL teams know how to tackle and slow down the play the ball.

To themselves. After all, a lot of Widnes fans have claimed that teams have been parachuted into SL without justifying their promotion on the pitch.

What was the point of your post?

You certainly do. In 1995/6 Widnes failed to win promotion to SL by finishing in one of the 10 promotion places. You're right that they didn't LOSE THEIR PLACE though – they continued in the first division. In 2005 they were relegated from SL as a result of finishing in a relegation position. Exactly the same as we did in 2004 and 2006. That's promotion and relegation for you.

All very well, but the 10 promotion place idea was conjured up mid-season, arbitrarily, by the SL people. It was NOT in place at the outset of the year. That is why Widnes went as far as taking legal steps about it. In fact, the 10 clubs to be included were changed on the very day of the decision to at first include us, and then not - again, not exactly endearing them to the club, or the people of Widnes. Just the first instance of us being treated with scant respect by the governing body.

I'd count yersels lucky then

It was 1994-95, and there weren't 10 "promotion places", any more than London Broncos "earned" the 11th "promotion place" by finishing 4th in the old 2nd Division (ie 20th overall).

But why let a few facts get in the way of the usual revisionist bollox eh?

The point of the post was that the criteria for obtaining a place in Superleague currently do not necessarily include winning a championship and therefore such a feat would justify nothing. Having fulfilled the current on-field criteria (i.e. NRC cup win) the Widnes club appear to have chosen to attempt to fulfill the other current criteria for SL membership in order to "justify" their place should it be awarded.

Also I believe the majority of Widnes fans problem with the last decision was that they felt (rightly or wrongly) that their club better fulfilled the criteria put forward than the ones who were awarded a franchise and was nothing to do with whether they had succeeded on the pitch or not.

There weren't? The 12 SL places didn't go to the top 10 in Division 1, plus London and Paris?

And remind me again where Widnes finished and why they didn't get into the first SL?

Clearly Talent Spotter is a troll who starts these threads to wind up Widnes folk, now if i started a regular thread about any number of clubs poor attendances surely the threads would be locked?

No, there weren't as you well know.

Any luck in getting the right date yet btw? Or does the history re-write now include putting everything back by a year?

1) Possibly. The way to deal with trolls, though, is to ignore them. However, attendances are a perfectly legitimate and regular subject of discussion on the Sin Bin (see numerous threads on Quins, Crusaders, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Salford, etc, etc [ipassim[/i.

2) No they wouldn't. See 1.

The 12 places in SL didn't go to the top 10 in Division 1, plus London and Paris then? The thing that annoys me about the rewriting of history to claim that Widnes were denied their 'rightful' place in SL at the start by a stitch up is that it totally ignores, eg, Featherstone, who finished 11th and are the club who actually would have got a place in SL if 2 hadn't been reserved for Paris and London. Not that I think they'd have been any more successful than Workington Town, mind.

Not a troll, but anytime Widnes get a good crowd/away following etc all we hear is what fantastic fans they are, so when they get a poor crowd I like to expose this myth.

Not a troll.........................and im father christmas.

I thought you said you were taking a break , he's not fallen out with you has he