I'm with Snowie on this one. Okay with Toronto in Super League given the right cost measures for clubs going over there as now, to help establish the game in US/Canada. Any more North American teams in the European Super League and it starts to get daft. If we got booted out in favour of New York or whoever that would be it for me. They need to get their own North American Super league.

I'm not sure I'm even OK with Toronto. At the end of the day I want to be able to watch my team play home and away. It's completely unrealistic to expect an average fan to be able to fly to Canada every year for a super league fixture. Catalans fair enough it's an affordable weekend away once a year.
If New York want a team great let's support them setting up a US/Canada version of the league. Invite them to the world club challenge. Maybe even challenge cup.

Well one things for certain. I wouldn't be flying to Toronto and there's also the fact that they will bring zero support. Could Super League really afford this? Let's see, a Wakey v Cas derby or a vist from Toronto?

I'm very much with you on this one, foxy. By all means let the US and Canada start their own leagues much as they have in the round ball game. I don't see the need for foreign clubs to infiltrate our league. I'm not over happy at Catalans playing in our league at the expense of clubs like Leigh, Fev and Halifax. Why does expansion of the game (which I'm all for) have to include foreign nations in a domestic league, and why don't New York and Toronto apply to join the NRL?? The answer is that they wouldn't have them!!!

Be careful re: Away support comment. You will have the Rhino expansionist group here telling us how we
shouldn't rely on away support blah blah blah

That's an interesting use of language; your flat cap must be chafing!

I'm fully in favour of SL supporting the development of new league structures in other countries - we should be mature and established enough by now to be able to do that - but as stated previously, I don't think that should be at the expense of existing clubs. I don't count Catalans in that by the way - they've earned their place and for me, stinky season aside, they add value to SL in their own right.

It will certainly do no harm, if a North American league takes off, for ESL to be their new BFF's, because it has the potential to be way more successful and powerful than SL ever could be, purely on the basis of scale. It's a longer term project of course, and that requires vision and patience.

Sadly Bren, the game has supporters who want to maintain a "local" M62 league. Forget New York, they wouldn't want to travel to Edinburgh, Bristol or Exeter for example.
Such a big shame we could not make Ireland work for us, North or South. Canada is on my bucket list thank goodness!
The NFL is massive and they run budgets based on home support due to the size of USA. Even though the game may be sheiite to us, there is still a massive atmosphere on match day.
RFL needs new visionaries looking at marketing us in a better way, then again, we all know this and all agree on this.
Image is massive.
Fat Nigel and the Invisible man looked embarrassing at the G.F.

That's an interesting use of language; your flat cap must be chafing!

Dictionary definintion of the word "Infiltrate", Bren : "To enter or gain access to an organisation or place surreptitiously and gradually". I have a distinction in GCE English and have NEVER worn a flat cap!!!!



I even followed Trinity to Kent Invicta, Southend etc back in the day, but d,
But seriously, I have no objection to expansion in this country or abroad. I even followed Trinity to Kent Invicta and Southend back in the day, but would just prefer countries to nurture their own leagues.

A bit of terrible typing editing there, I think!!

I shouldn't worry about it, he's bright enough to work it out

Yet 6000 to 7000 was a great League One crowd, surely a SL game would increase that

You do realise the Toronto club dont subsidise our reporters from our rugby papers! Thats why they dont cover there home games ! So if you think that British supporters will go over in there hundreds think again, and home supporters wont no the difference between championship and super league untill they start to lose a few then watch the crowds drop.

To market a sport that nobody knows about and get 7000 fans to watch games against third tier opposition, is some effort.

Any National league, most Championship and over half of the current SL clubs would be over the moon with those numbers (and with little or no away support).
The RFL are missing a trick by not getting Perez and some of his team involved in marketing the game.

I agree that the real test will come when they start losing games but, they may be up to 10k by then, which would be a fantastic achievement.

I'm completely in favour of one US and one Canadian club in SL under the principal of developing there own players and national team
If it can do for those countries what it's done for the kiwis with the Vodafone warriors then it's a great thing, same applies with Catalan and France

When they get to the stage where they can produce enough players then great, introduce a second team

That's something that will happen in the NRL too
Another kiwi team has being on the cards for some time and I'd say we will see it in this decade
The next NRL franchise discussions are not that far away

Fiji Samoa and tonga will all get a team in NSW/Queensland cup soon enough too like PNG, all v positive steps for RL

Our game abroad is clearly getting stronger

Its just a shame that chairmen of the present super league clubs dont feel the same way!

Someone should have told them in wales! How many miles away is that? There super league life did'nt last long but a bit longer than paris!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... -1-toronto Interesting read!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... -1-toronto Interesting read!

hang on didn't we get figures like that to find that we was supported by free loaders

It's not just the 7000 fans, it's 7000 new RL fans that have watched Toronto at home, against low ranked opposition and with no away fans ! and form a cold (sub zero) start up.
It's reasonable to expect that playing games against "better" opposition and with increased marketing etc, they should grow their support base still further and whilst there are some issues with location and the practicalities of having a North American club in The Championship, for a guy like Perez to get this thing off the ground and have some vision to try and establish RL in new territory, is a superb effort.
Unlike some of the failed "expansion" efforts in the past, this one has some serious backing behind it and they are working to a long term plan, investing in some local based players and trying to convert some new players from "football".
Although there are implications for the game in the heartlands, it's up to THe RFL to manage the situation properly and maximise the benefits for the game as a whole.
Whether they can do this remains to be seen but, IF and its a huge if, RL can establish itself in new territory, we should all hope that it succeeds.
The potential is massive but, getting the thing right and working out how this best fits with RL in Oz, NZ, the UK and France and not damaging what we already have, will be a tricky balancing act.

Splashing out on old NRL has beens and the thugs of RL is not a long term plan.

Might not just be those type of players if the new clubs over there keep springing up.

Until they can produce and develop their own players aren't they just a parasite on the game over here? You could end up in a few years time with Toronto and NY both in SL full of Brits, Aussies and Kiwis. For all the 7k attendances where are the new players coming from? What good does it do the game in this country if it's just producing players for foreign clubs?

Don't understand what the end ambition is here.

Do the RFL think that having a super league with 2 American teams in is the way forward? Makes sense if it is temporary with a view to setting up a north American league. But to have two teams on a different continent just doesn't seem to make sense long term.

the question is are they just opening the doors, don't question the ability for expansion, lets put it this way corners shops don't get the same amount of footfall if the product cost more do they

Its worked for wakefield for how many years?

Regards

King James

Do Toronto even have an academy?