I had thought that London Broncos were doing really badly last match and today's, in shedding 100 points. Then I read the thoughtful words today from the team's astute coach:

"Once we found some rhythm as a team I thought the guys really stood up for each other and worked their way through the game okay.

"We spoke at half-time about being more physical and working as a team. The shape was okay but we just had to step up on the physical aspects of our game.

"I think the number of London kids in there was outstanding and it really gave it a buzz. It's funny when you work with the team it gives it a really good London feel."

I'd hardly expect him to say that the team played like sh*t. We had how many making debuts today? And how many London players in the team? It's not like previous efforts of having nearly a full strength side and failing like that.

I think he got it dead right, and no management speak! OK we lost the game by the 20 minute mark but for a thirty minute period starting around 30 minutes in we did look like a team. Inevitably collapsed with 20 to go though.

When you are putting youngsters in who are not fully developed physically yet in such great numbers chances are you are going to be physically overun over 80 mts. This is whats happened with saints this season when their 1st team regulars have been injured. I rcall Rammo on here saying theyd gambled on putting most of their SC on a smaller experienced 1st team squad and just hoped they could cover any injuries with their youth. Thats fine with just the odd injury but not when you get a lot all at once. We are now in the same boat.

I don't disagree but you don't see many people running over the Wigan youngsters. Wonder what their secret is?

When Wayne has taken a gamble (as he did recently on a televised game? against a team at the lower end) and put a lot of youngsters is he almost came unstuck and won by a small margin after they had built up a lead and were pulled back as their stamina ran out. He wont try it against Wire, Hudds or Leads.

Didn't he do this last season and got beat early in the seaon and lost to a weaker side and got slated for doing it?

You're right he did last season, and he nearly came unstuck against Widnes, a game I saw. But I think the point I'm trying to make is that the young Wigan players are not dominated physically as much as other youngsters. When they payed London they actually dominated against more experienced (admittedly poor) and mature players. London's young players seem puny in comparison, which is a pity, but there must be a reason for it

Pies

No other possible reason.

Then Gus needs to get in touch with Pooles ASAP

Wigan and Warrington have a situation whereby they can cherry-pick quality youngsters from a good catchment are. These young guys will probably be living at home with their parents in the immediate vicinity. They can get them onto to a directly complementary course like Sports or Physiotherapy or another training course like a day release scheme or a few A-Levels part-time at an Adult Education College. The club is funding them with a relatively low payment, and supporting their education and paying them under £10,000. This will be based very close to the club's training ground and thus can train in a similar way to the fully professional players, thus they will develop to their full potential physically, versus guys who might only train two or three times a week.

When they start to develop, the chances are that they will join a nearby partnership club such as Swinton and thus play against grown men, which will take their development on at a higher rate of progress than just playing against other youths. They will also look to loan them out to a middling Super League club with an injury crisis or generally weaker squad such as St Helens or Bradford. The more cunning deals give the lender the opportunity to pull back the player at relatively short notice. Season long deals may occur when the player is third or fourth choice for one position and is insistent about first team football. But generally the deal suits the lender.

This gives these clubs far more depth to their pool, because they have a first team squad, their own academy which can progress more players more quickly as other players go out on loan, arguably a feeder club and achieve the seasoning process through other clubs, versus suddenly throwing in a player who are part-time and with only age-specific experience against grown men, some of which are internationals.

The difference between training a couple of times a week and daily can be seen.

If you look at players we have had, like Dave Williams, he was two metres tall, but he only played about 15 times in a few seasons for us and arguably did not build the strength and bulk that could have made him a man mountain. He could have been 19 stone and another 50 games at a better level than the Academy would have done him the world of good. I am sure that a nearby Championship club and a PE style course to help bulk him up would have been ideal for his progress, but none was available.

Whilst Dan Sarginson does not look noticeably bigger than when he first came through despite being an A-Level student two years ago and training full time. You could argue that he is joining Wigan not to play first team football, but to have the opportunity to build himself up for two or three years, and then break into the team. If he does this he will probably be an international. If he does not he will probably be like others we have had. If you look at the likes of Worrincy, Caro, Sharp etc they are now Championship players because they left too soon but did not develop through simply playing first team football because arguably all had suspect tackling technique. The thing is for our youngsters over the years, there have been a fair few guys who have left at the first sight of a more lucrative contract, and who have been reasonably well regarded at the club. But when you are overpaid relative to your ability, you'll go at the end of your contract.

It is the old story, the more milk you produce, the more cream you produce and if you are patient you can see more than you will if you rush in and fail.

Cheers
Rammo

If we are serious about SL, we will have to learn how to bend the rules, that's how the big teams do it. Well said Rammo!

The infrastructure under Super League in the South is building in our favour with the four Championship one clubs

One of the best things that could happen for London Broncos is to see one or both of London Skolars or Hemel enter the Championship because we could then lend out our players to a higher standard than Academy, whilst Championship one is probably similar.

Oxford could also be potentially useful, although is beginning to get to the maximum frontier of reasonableness which would allow a player to train with both us and them, given the distance.

I don't see Gloucester as being a reasonable option for dual contracts given the expense and distance unless they are happy for a player to train just once a week with them and go straight into the team on a matchday.

We need to make use of this in future and in fairness we are starting to do this.

It's a shame that the abysmal marketing and dwindling crowds are increasingly likely to kill off the Broncos as a Super League entity, as the club is for the first time actually trying to make some effort to give plenty of local kids a chance to shine at the top level for an extended period of time. This season was always a bridge too far to make any considerable progress given the amount of deadwood Rae has to live with, but you must consider the opposition on Sunday: plenty of experience throughout, but only one local youth product in the 17. I think if London signed the right players rather than Aussies looking for a holiday there might be some progress to be made.

1) Marketing will not work unless you have a decent team for people to watch.

2) But the right players wont come South because of the cost of living?

Crowds are dwindling because the team are so poor and they offer nothing to bring crowds in. WHo wants to continually watch their laziness week in week out, they are boring with no idea and no passion. Gus can't take all the blame how can you sell tickets to watch such continual drivel

Agree entirely. I've been watching playing and sometimes coaching RL since 1966 and I've never seen a more useless set of players. I have never slagged off an individual player online until this year. I always thought every payer went out to win until I saw this shower. I am sick of lazy Aussies coming over for a paid holiday.

Marketing 101.

Understand what it is you sell.
Understand who it is you want to sell it to.
Understand what this audience finds frustrating or desires.
Deliver.

I appreciate that 23 wins from 99 games, with only 14 of them at home since the start of the 2010 season, don't help, but we have had crap teams in the past and managed to get crowds up.
We were in 2004 dropping 3% on the previous year, yet even when it looked like we were folding in 2005 we managed to up the gates by 13%.

Gus (and to be fair to him, Blanchard/Hogg) has failed to:

Understand what it is he is selling (curry don't count!).
Understand who it is he wants to sell it to.
Understand what this imaginary audience finds frustrating or desires.
Deliver.

The elite Wigan youth players are paid around 4800 a year on apprentice contracts through something called the AASE qualification, which basically allows a relatively full time training schedule, whilst earning and also getting a sports related qualification. The basis for this being a) Wigan don't have to pay them as its funded by the course provider b) it's a carrot prior to a full contract for them but also l
Players who may not be quite at that level. For any 16 y old that money in essentially full time education is a draw but also allows for physical and tactical development. Perhaps Broncos need to get onto this as other SL clubs and even the midlands academy offer this.

You could argue London has much greater potential for finding young players under schemes like this than any other location. We have a huge potential talent pool compared to other clubs and no shortage of educational establishments.

Yes, but are the club doing ths ? London Irish run the scheme, but I find nothing on it when googling the broncos.

Imagine that Tony Rea spotted two good 16 year olds from e.g. St Helens and Wigan.

He could put down £5000 on the table and do the education programme as per Wigan.

But would £5000 be enough with travel and accomodation to pay for?

I know the club owns several houses, so in theory this could be used.

I wonder if the club could also seek host families for players?

The club owns several houses? I don't know where they're hiding them on the balance sheet.

the club dont own the houses they are seasonal rentals and each year terms are renegotiated occassionally a house is rented year on year for the contracted players