Listen you - Harold knows who his friends are & he won't be falling for that kind of scam!



(With many, many apologies for straying off topic again

)

Mr Kim Jong Un, I am very sorry the posts do not meet with your approval, oh glorious leader.

Got a mate who lives in North Korea. I asked him what's it like there.

He said he can't complain.

Toulouse,London and presumably Toronto have very successful professional RU teams and, any fledgling RL Team will have a job on to overtake them for popularirty!
Barrow, Dewsbury and Keighley were there at the inception of RL in 1895 and, will very likely be there long after Toronto and Mr Perez has gone! Dont ridicule our Heritage, the likes of Toronto will never play as many games as these famous clubs!

From the Canadian Guardian Newspaper

Eric Perez reveals plans are already advanced for a second Canadian team to enter the Rugby Football League within two years.

''Within six months the world will hear about the next Canadian side coming in for 2019, so get ready.''

''I can't say where yet but I will say it is the way to generate serious revenue in this market. Having one team is not enough we want two. three, four then five North American Teams. Once you have done that, revenue will begin to spill into the British game to help prop up clubs who are struggling.''

He also revealed his desire for a Northern Emishere League created within the next ten years, allowing the best rugby league sides on both sides of the Atlantic to combine forces.

''It is not inconceivable that ten years from now Toronto Woolfpack could be drawing crowds of 30,000 and next season at some point sell out the capacity at the Lamport Stadium in the Championship''

Personally I don't know what to make of this but I can't help but admire his vision for the future of Rugby League.

Well I am all for it.

Some may say I am a lttle set in my ways or a little long in the tooth but 'The greatest game' and I truly believe it is can not just be consigned to Australia and the M62 in England forever can it ?

How many current players in Toronto's squad would not be around if they got in SL by 2019?.

None. They'll be playing for New York.

Now do you understand expansion?

Zimmer frame rugby

Aye..

I think I'm correct in saying that Toronto does not have a professional Rugby Union team.
Like them or lump them, Toronto Wolfpack have hit every mark for their first season.
- won league
- gained promotion
- unbeaten at home
- average crowd 7209
- huge numbers on social media
I agree the heartland clubs deserve our respect and more backing from the RFL/Sky for the good of the game in the future but I really hope Eric Perez sticks around and produces on the second Canadian Rugby League team promise. Vancouver strikes me as a great place to try it out Eric

VL.What has been done is tremendous for the game. But we have a failing/shortage lack of players in the pool. The RFL will place any new entity in League 1 from now on.

Expansion on this level is fantastic,unfortunately the game doesn't have the youth to cater for it.

Thats were the expansion clubs need to step in.

I don't doubt you Atomic, which is why I say that the RFL/Sky has to step up the backing of heartland clubs. That is where most of the future players will come from. However a huge untapped future pool is available in Canada/North America. Just watch one College Football (American Football) game and see the atheletes on display (and the size of the crowds, 42,000 average). Start showing some of the atheletes of the future that Rugby League is a viable professional venture for them and they may just start to come over at an early age. Long term vision that will need years I know, but very possible if Eric Perez's dreams become reality.
For now I hope that the RFL makes sure that the Toronto venture doesn't take a single penny away from the smaller UK clubs. I hope they succeed but not at the expense of any current U.K. Team.

I'm not sure how this venture will pan out. I only know the pool of players is running out. With another expansion club added to that, only adds more pressure to the game.. You can have as many teams as you want,but the player pool is another thing.

Our squad does not have many spring chickens in it

I agree with the comments re: the reducing pool of quality players. Tony Smith has been scathing about the state of the English game and rightly so.

Being honest how many top quality matches have there been throughout this season - the game with 5 drives and a kick is mediocre at best.

Teams such as Wigan adopting bullying tactics and the RFL simply trying to copy Australia in everything including rule changes have led to the boring arm wrestle.

Thankfully Castleford have bucked the trend and played fast attractive rugby - until the rest of Super League including us get back to playing an expansive game - the game will be in decline in the heartlands - never mind expanding in North America

Look no further than the management of Super League who invest nothing of the Sky money in grass routes rugby and the individual teams within who import players from abroad rather than taking a chance on players from the lower leagues with very few exceptions. Perez on the other hand has introduced the game to the youth of Canada and seems to be willing to invest his money in the long term development players in that country.

Well he hasn't done that. Toronto are a completely seperate entity to Canada RL. Thats where the youth is along with the ladies RL which has been established some 7 years. Again the investment is a consortium,not Perez on his own.

But I agree with your point about Sky,although to put bums on seats requires household names,and a SL club can't survive on chance.

''Canada Rugby League was formed in February 2010 by Eric Perez with a vision to bring Rugby League to the people of Canada. The organization was founded to redevelop organized Rugby League in Canada'' [Wikipedia

As a result Rugby League is played in High Schools in certain regions of Canada and senior teams established playing in regional leagues. A result of this is Quinn Ngawati who earned a contract with Toronto Wolfpack after playing the game in British Columbia.

=#FF8080But this is a new one on me can anybody enlighten me Wikipedia states Scarborough Centurians Rugby League Club a team in Canada formed a partnership with Leigh Centurians from England in 2011.

Yes,but the redevelopment plans changed when Toronto Wolfpack was born.They have no connection to Canada RL. Which is suppose to be the governing body of Canadian RL. Toronto currenlty fall under the RFL. Not CRL..

What are "redevelopment plans"?


They're not directly connected, but it's not exactly the truth saying that there's [ino[/i connection. Take this weekend, a Wolfpack & Canadian National team double header at Lamport. Whilst they don't govern" the Wolfpack, both organisations are certainly working together for mutual benefit, and both untimately fall under the RLEF.

All this talk of attracting NFL players to play RL and RL becoming popular in North America is a vision from Mr Perez and, his wallet!. In the sixties there was a guy called Mike Mayer? in America, and he too had this vision although, he had no Wallet

He spent years trying to get the game played in America without success, of course, he never had a team that was entered in the RFL so there is a difference.
If transatlantic Club sport is viable and interesting, why have the American football (soccer) teams not entered the Football League? Many people in the UK enjoy watching American Football (NFL) on TV so why has no entrepreneur
come forward to promote that game? I'm sure Miami Dolphins wouldn't mind standing down to admit the 'Pennington Perch' or the 'Plank Lane Sticklebacks' ?

I'm sure I speak for everyone in saying we all respect your thought, despite not really getting what point you're trying to make.