Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:12 pm  

headhunter wrote:

Not sure what information you're going off here but this isn't some kind of RFL initiative, it's being 100% organized and funded by the Canadians including accommodation and away travel for the visiting British teams. As far as I know the only thing the RFL have to do with this is accepting their application to play in the UK competition, which apparently was unanimously voted through by the League 1 clubs.

Not sure how all the costs incurred to part time players & clubs run by volunteers can be properly worked out but any money put in is always welcome. However I still think this is a backwards step for the expansion of the game. I still think the right thing to do was what was being done with the new expansion teams, seems we've given them 2 years now and given up on them instead of supporting them on what should have been a 10 year project to expand the game in Britain. League 1 should be for the development of small British clubs & the focus should be to help them develop not to treat them as an after thought as so often seems to happen. Foreign leagues that want to have teams play in the English leagues should apply for the top teams in their league to join the League 1 promotion playoffs. That way if they could show they are good enough they can join at a more sustainable level, but still have to compete to avoid relegation back to their national league.

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:30 pm  

Lowton_Sparrow wrote:

Not sure how all the costs incurred to part time players & clubs run by volunteers can be properly worked out but any money put in is always welcome. However I still think this is a backwards step for the expansion of the game. I still think the right thing to do was what was being done with the new expansion teams, seems we've given them 2 years now and given up on them instead of supporting them on what should have been a 10 year project to expand the game in Britain. League 1 should be for the development of small British clubs & the focus should be to help them develop not to treat them as an after thought as so often seems to happen. Foreign leagues that want to have teams play in the English leagues should apply for the top teams in their league to join the League 1 promotion playoffs. That way if they could show they are good enough they can join at a more sustainable level, but still have to compete to avoid relegation back to their national league.

How is it possibly a backwards step? You have millionaires wanting to set up a professional club in one of the best cities in the world and you think it's a backwards step?

How does this damage the existing League One clubs? The likes of Hemel and South Wales will have a bigger profile than ever before. Their travel and accommodation costs are being paid by the Canadians. There is no expense to them. The League One clubs unanimously voted for the Canadians to be accepted.

We've all said for years that if Americans or Canadians got a glimpse of RL they would love it and want a piece. Now that appears to have happened, and you're saying it's a backwards step. Unbelievable.

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:46 pm  

He means the expansion of the game in the UK. But then, it is much easier for supporters of existing clubs to support expansion in Bristol or Birmingham, where it will be likely many years before they gather enough momentum to worry the likes of Leigh. With Toronto, within 3 years, they will either have been Leigh's biggest threat to a place at the SL trough and possibly beat them to it, OR the whole thing will have completely blown up! With my Leigh hat on, I'm very worried! With my Toronto hat on, I'm ecstatic!

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:11 pm  

headhunter wrote:

How is it possibly a backwards step? You have millionaires wanting to set up a professional club in one of the best cities in the world and you think it's a backwards step?

How does this damage the existing League One clubs? The likes of Hemel and South Wales will have a bigger profile than ever before. Their travel and accommodation costs are being paid by the Canadians. There is no expense to them. The League One clubs unanimously voted for the Canadians to be accepted.

We've all said for years that if Americans or Canadians got a glimpse of RL they would love it and want a piece. Now that appears to have happened, and you're saying it's a backwards step. Unbelievable.

How will a team from Toronto help enhance the profile of Hemel Stags RLFC?

The problem is that these clubs are barely scraping by with a handful of fans & a tiny squad of part time players are already being expected to go & play a full time Toulouse & now are expected to face a very well financed Toronto too.

As I've said a few times I've no objection to Canadian or French teams or American or Italian or wherever. I just object to how it's being done. It comes down to the purpose of each league. For me League 1 (& the French Elite league & the Canadian league) should be all about supporting new growing clubs & small clubs who've fallen on hard times grow & get sustainable again. SL should be the best 12 teams in the Northern Hemisphere. The Championship should bridge the gap. Toronto, Toulouse & whoever should come in at the level of the League 1 play offs & be trying to qualify for The Championship.

Promoting the game in the Americas could well be massively important for Rugby League, I really hope the game is a success over there, on a previous post I've even suggested playing a 4 Nations tournament there. However I really don't see how putting a team like Toronto looks likely to be & a team like Toulouse is in a league with South Wales Scorpions and Gloucestershire All Golds does anyone any good.

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:17 pm  

Snowy wrote:

II hope they do too.

We cant get the expansion right in the UK never mind Canada !

Lots of money sloshing around and the pound signs certainly a factor for some.

It will be another team of greedy players wanting a final pay day along with greedy coaches wanting the same.

If 1-17 are Canadians, fair enough. I bet they arnt though and be prepared to see some 'tapped up' Leigh players next year. Lets just relocate Keighley to Toronto !

I read an article a couple of weeks ago, suggesting that the squad would initially comprise French and British players.

Today, Jamie Peacock announced (at the age of 38) that he almost went to play for them. Presumably he changed his mind when he heard that loads of rough, indisciplined Leythers would be going there too!!

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:04 pm  

Lowton_Sparrow wrote:

How will a team from Toronto help enhance the profile of Hemel Stags RLFC?

I think Hemel would benefit much more from playing in front of a big crowd in a major global city than from playing in front of 400 fans in Hunslet. And I also think people in Hemel would be a lot more interested to watch a team from Toronto than the likes of Hunslet or Keighley.

I understand what you're saying but the idea of them being put straight in the League 1 playoffs just isn't realistic, what would they do for the rest of the year? There's no downside to them being in the league other than them being too big for it, the alternative would be to put clubs like Toronto and Toulouse straight into Super League and that is a system that everyone seemed to hate, and I know it would absolutely enrage people from places like Leigh. At least this way if they fail and withdraw from the league after one season then nobody will really care and the sport doesn't lose anything from it.

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 10:10 pm  

In 2018, Chad Invincibles will be the 1st African team in the RFL....fantastic news !!

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:11 pm  

Snowy wrote:

If 1-17 are Canadians, fair enough. I bet they arnt though and be prepared to see some 'tapped up' Leigh players next year. Lets just relocate Keighley to Toronto !

How many in Leigh's 1-17 are from Leigh? And we've had 100 years to grow home-grown talent!
Hopefully they can find half a dozen Canadians who can compete at Championship 1 level fairly quickly...but to expect 1-17 North American content..well on that basis we shouldn't have any overseas players in British rugby league!

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:19 pm  

headhunter wrote:

I think Hemel would benefit much more from playing in front of a big crowd in a major global city than from playing in front of 400 fans in Hunslet. And I also think people in Hemel would be a lot more interested to watch a team from Toronto than the likes of Hunslet or Keighley.

I understand what you're saying but the idea of them being put straight in the League 1 playoffs just isn't realistic, what would they do for the rest of the year? There's no downside to them being in the league other than them being too big for it, the alternative would be to put clubs like Toronto and Toulouse straight into Super League and that is a system that everyone seemed to hate, and I know it would absolutely enrage people from places like Leigh. At least this way if they fail and withdraw from the league after one season then nobody will really care and the sport doesn't lose anything from it.

How is being too big for it,going to manage a 250k cap? That for me is the problem.They'll need a pretty big squad to play matches here in batches of four/five weeks,all fulltime players all expenses paid..Just how can they manage all that on a 250k cap?

Re: It's official - Rowley to be coach of Canadian team : Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:28 pm  

NO salary cap for Toronto Invaders.... The club will not receive central funding from the RFL but are likely to get special dispensation to exceed the salary cap to enable them to run a full-time team and have pledged to cover all costs of visiting teams, who will fly out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and return the following day. nicked from http://www.sportinglife.com

NO salary cap for Toronto Invaders.... The club will not receive central funding from the RFL but are likely to get special dispensation to exceed the salary cap to enable them to run a full-time team and have pledged to cover all costs of visiting teams, who will fly out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and return the following day. nicked from http://www.sportinglife.com