Not much discussion on here about Toronto, but they could possibly get to SL in a few years. Perhaps we are all thinking that they will be a flash in the pan, but I saw on the BBC website that they have already managed to get 5,000 ST holders for 2017; www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/38065484 Together with fairly impressive recruitment for lowly League 1 standards, you would have to bet that they can easily make the Championship by the end of next season and join newcomers Toulouse. Not sure how all the travelling is going to go down however, that could well be a real problem for supporters, but it certainly looks bright for the expansion of SL atm.

Not much discussion on here about Toronto, but they could possibly get to SL in a few years. Perhaps we are all thinking that they will be a flash in the pan, but I saw on the BBC website that they have already managed to get 5,000 ST holders for 2017; www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/38065484 Together with fairly impressive recruitment for lowly League 1 standards, you would have to bet that they can easily make the Championship by the end of next season and join newcomers Toulouse. Not sure how all the travelling is going to go down however, that could well be a real problem for supporters, but it certainly looks bright for the expansion of SL atm.

At todays exchange rates a return flight to Toronto from Manchester will cost from $610 that is £358
I would be there in a flash for a long weekend not much more expensive than Perpignan and a brilliant change of scenery.
The flight I looked at left Manchester at 9.15am and arrives at 4.15pm.

It's 5k ppl interested in season tickets not tickets sold.

But Toronto has a 3m population so they should have some big crowds!!

Listen to the article on the BBC again carefully; " with 5,000 season tickets already sold" is at the end of the clip.

Can't understand this at all. Why would it work? Makes the cats trip seem like a breeze. Can't see it making sense business wise.

Cost wise it would be similar to a cats trip

I'm at a loss as why people are opposed to it or not really seeing any benefits to it!

If Toronto become a success other teams from Canada USA may follow this will massively widen the pool of players all clubs have the opportunity to sign.

Coach trip to Wembley with stops 5 hours,flight to Toronto 7 hours not a great deal of difference.
And what a great experience.
Plus a few trips while out there Niagara Falls ?
A trip into the hills to hunt a few of them thar Injun's

( thats a joke folks before the PC brigade get up in arms)

Do/did they have Indians in Canada?

Sure did fella Last of the Mohicans was set there.

LOL. No the Native Americans kept themselves south of a none existing border created between two countries that had yet to be formed.

Thought it was round Lake George in USA? Either way one of my favourite films and the score was excellent.

I for one would love a trip out there what an excuse to have a great holiday and to watch the wire there. It should be embraced .

Whoooops you are right I got the wrong Movie,But LOTM was a fantastic film must have seen it 3 or 4 times.
It was Rambo First Blood that was in Canada


... and no There were no Rampaging Injuns in Rambo


Still it would make a great change to go over ... Injuns or not.

Seemed to work for Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere alright for years with clubs flying to and from SouthAfrica Australia NewZealand Argentina and Japan.

They also have two tv deals in place, one in Canada and one on Premier Sports.

yes but Rugby league has an existing fan base that wants the magic weekend back at the Etihad in Manchester because Newcastle is the other end of the country. we all seem to view travelling to games very different from other sports.

Rugby league fans also have a romantic notion of getting behind existing Historic massive clubs like Featherstone rovers and Batley Bulldogs, and developing a huge team in the country's least densely populated county of Cumbria.

So you can see why trying to get a rugby league team going in a huge modern city with a thirst for entertaining sport might not be a good idea....

London.

The larger pool of players all should not be overlooked. Hopefully it's a success and causes an increase in participation. As superleague for many would be the goal

I'm all for viable clubs to be part of super league wherever that team might be based, I think they could well be in super league in 3/4 seasons and have a good home support too.

So, since I started watching RL in the very late Seventies, we've had several new sides under the name of expansion.

AsLoyd Grosman would have said in Through The Keyhole......Let's look at the
evidence

London...failure, despite rules/special dispensation for them . Now treading water.
PSG. Don't exist anymore
Cardiff. See above,
Southend/Kent Invicta. See above
Mansfield Marksmen. See above
Scarborough. See above
Springfield/Trafford Borough. See above
Carlisle. See above

Are we spotting a trend here, gentlemen?
Add to these, several other name change/town moves, Gateshead, Wales etc.

RL doesn't exactly do expansion well, does it? We couldn't even keep Richard Branson "onside".
We've got Bradford in administration, more times than Joe Grima was infront of the disciplinary commitee.

It's a no from me.

Melbourne Auckland and Catalans seem to show a different trend though and that's because they seem to have a sustainability potential, a proper backer and a decent potential supporter base and player base.

Fair play to London in that respect who despite having no real club and no real supporter base have more people playing the game than many traditional RL towns put together - wasn't it said once on Boots'n'All that there are more Londoners playing RL than Wiganers? Obviously not at elite level but it creates a potential player pool even if it's at amateur and junior levels. So although the team they had was a flop, expansion into the city wasn't! I'd bet there are more Londoners in SL than Warringtonians and we've had a club in the top league for 135 years.

And Toronto seem to have the potential of Melbourne Aukland and Catalans. A backer with a vision, 5000 season cards sold for next season in the third tier with 7000 having shown at interest in one initially. They're already better supported than a few Super League clubs who've existed for well over a century and they haven't even thrown a ball yet.

7500 gates for Canada's international games. That's better than all European countries bar England and France. Unlike the NBA there are no Canadian teams in the NFL (a sport that may be seen as close to RL and why I don't think RL will be a success in the US) and RL is different enough from basketball and their biggest sport NHL for it to gain a real interest in something different.

And Catalans seems to have sparked something in Toulouse who get larger crowds than a few Super League clubs and in the future could get themselves up to the top level (didn't have the team last time out in the Championship but may well in the future).

Newcastle also got a few gates last season larger than a few Super League clubs managed.

Do we know if our games are broadcast in Canada & has the interest come from the public watching RL ? I think there is a golden opportunity though for all sections of the game to play their part to provide the slickest possible sport for the new audience to see...do away with the spoiling tactics that have crept in over the years.

My first question was 'so we should just give up?'
But then I realised it isn't that, we have a guy who is willing to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds, maybe millions?' On this venture, so I guess the question should be what do we have to lose?

Just a point of clarity Catalans is not an expansion. i.e.) the development of a new club in a non RL area. RL has been played in the South of France since the 1930's. There is an Elite 1 and Elite 2 championship. Catalan simply joined SL from the existing French Elite 1 league.

So despite many, many years of trying Super League currently contains no new clubs played in expansion areas. So continual attempts over 30+ years have yielded zip which does seem to back up Lefty's post.

If expansion is what you are after I would advocate trying a different approach - and inside - out expansion. Start by creating out reach teams within striking distance of the core support. Where local rivalries can exist and travelling is not an issue. North Lancashire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Staffordshire and take it from there.

So by definition, the South of France is an expansion area, which kick started in the 1930's. Presumably Oz is one also, but starting much earlier.

I don't really understand why we are so negative about spreading the game elsewhere. The problems are undoubtedly challenging as it seems to take a very long period of work and development before you can get a sport off the ground in a new country or region of the world. But it can be done. Argentina now play not just RU, but at international standard. Similarly with Italy. Basketball is very popular in a lot of countries around the world. The list must go on and on....

So clearly if it has been done before, it can be done again. The problems will be different from country to country, and the time period before it takes off is certain to be lengthy, but it can be done. I think Toronto could be a huge challenge but if people are not willing to spend the time and money to tackle development I am pretty sure RL will slowly dwindle and die away. We will become a curiosity sport like the games I used to play in my youth in Ireland -hurling and gaelic football.

Charlie ,you mention the spread of RU & it seems to me that Argentina & Italy among others have benefitted their game as a whole. The two mentioned in particular seem to have brought more handling & running to the game instead of the once endless kick to touch fest.
Toronto seem to have gone all out to make a success of the venture with wide ranging recruitment days including attracting ex NFL players.