2026 Super League Discussion

[JFK Files]

Agree, I’m not worried about his lack of size because he is in the same bracket as Keano Kini.

 

[Gobsmacked]

HKR winning was just what SL needed, a new champion!
Opening round of upsets is also great for SL, the more upsets and even the comp is the better.
Great start!

 

[Taking The Two]

Former Saint Jon Wilkin doesn't sit on the fence when it comes to his opinions with whats going on at Saints

Jon Wilkin pulls no punches in explosive St Helens assessment as 'changes' loom

Jon Wilkin has not held back on his assessment of former club St Helens.

www.alloutrugbyleague.co.uk

Scathing but the feeling amongst the fanbase is that this isn’t exactly news. Many have questioned what exactly the chief exec, Mike Rush, does these days and some decisions in the last few years with the playing squad and retention was levelled at Paul Wellens rather than Rush, though it may turn out that Wellens was not the correct source for people’s frustrations.

I’ve said since the fixtures were released that this was not an easy start and I stand by it. The atmosphere could turn pretty toxic very quickly if it’s bad onfield, especially after these comments.

 

[flippikat]

Great to see Toulouse get a first-up win - maybe closer than it needed to be in the end, but it's a good start AND an away win too.

 

[Pippen94]

Toulouse winning was suprise

 

[flippikat]

Toulouse winning was suprise

Yeah, and when you couple that with the London & Midlands (Birmingham) clubs winning their Championship games this weekend, it's encouraging for the growth of the game.

Early days, I know - but a good start for the new structure.

 

[Pippen94]

Yeah, and when you couple that with the London & Midlands (Birmingham) clubs winning their Championship games this weekend, it's encouraging for the growth of the game.

Early days, I know - but a good start for the new structure.

Three big urban centres in England are London (by long way), Manchester and Birmingham. If superleague expands anywhere out of heartlands priority should be London and Midlands.

 

[League Unlimited News]

Saturday scores

Hull FC 27 (H. Barron, J. Batchelor, C. Cust, D. Litten tries; W. Pryce 5 goals; W. Pryce field goal) defeated Bradford 20 (C. Wynne 2, W. Blake tries; R. Milnes 4 goals) at MKM Stadium.
Date: Sat, 14th February. Kickoff: 5:30 PM. Halftime: Hull FC 18-10. Penalties: Hull FC 9-7. Referee: Marcus Griffiths. Crowd: 16,653.

Toulouse 18 (O. Ashall-Bott 2, R. Tropis, P. Ulberg tries; C. Rougé goal) defeated Wakefield Trinity 16 (J. Rourke, C. Scott, W. Tate tries; M. Jowitt 2 goals) at DIY Kitchens Stadium.
Date: Sat, 14th February. Kickoff: 8:00 PM. Halftime: Toulouse 8-6. Penalties: Toulouse 8-4. Referee: James Vella. Crowd: 8,555.

 

[Ian Douglas]

Three big urban centres in England are London (by long way), Manchester and Birmingham. If superleague expands anywhere out of heartlands priority should be London and Midlands.

And it would take a Darren Lockyer style takeover/investment for cities like Manchester and Birmingham to succeed as the investment and willingness just isn’t there in England and the RFL unfortunately.

 

[Ian Douglas]

Toulouse winning was suprise

And a pleasant surprise at that.

 

[Gobsmacked]

And it would take a Darren Lockyer style takeover/investment for cities like Manchester and Birmingham to succeed as the investment and willingness just isn’t there in England and the RFL unfortunately.

It's very unfortunate.
If the same effort that was applied to Toronto was applied to a Manchester franchise, I have no doubt it would be successful.

 

[Ian Douglas]

It's very unfortunate.
If the same effort that was applied to Toronto was applied to a Manchester franchise, I have no doubt it would be successful.

That’s why I hope the roosters are still interested in getting involved with a Manchester team.

they could either enter a new Manchester team into the championship or even relocate the nomadic swinton lions to Manchester.

 

[Gobsmacked]

That’s why I hope the roosters are still interested in getting involved with a Manchester team.

they could either enter a new Manchester team into the championship or even relocate the nomadic swinton lions to Manchester.

I think you just run a completely fresh Manchester side, branded as such. Manchester FC. Source players from Oldham, Rochdale, Swinton, Salford and do development deals with those clubs, run clinics and meet and greet days in those areas right across the Manchester area.
Is Manchester United the biggest soccer club?
United.. right?

So that what you've got to do.
The English say that these towns and areas have long standing rivalry but RL needs new fans and there's plenty of new fans to be had if done right!
And maybe some old fans.. sure the folks of Salford are in with the folks of Oldham..but now they can stick it to the likes of Wigan and Leeds!

Brisbane was a comp full of rivalry but then the Broncos came in and now they could stick it to those Sydney clubs.

It works, I'm sure of it.

Someone with cash and patience could be the owner of the biggest club in England.

 

[Taking The Two]

Manchester as a whole new side is the work of fantasists.

We’ve 14 clubs who aren’t perfect and probably all need to improve somewhere. 16 clubs would be the aim but there’s a real lack of an obvious 16th club after London.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Manchester as a whole new side is the work of fantasists.

We’ve 14 clubs who aren’t perfect and probably all need to improve somewhere. 16 clubs would be the aim but there’s a real lack of an obvious 16th club after London.

If it can be done in Toronto, it sure as shit possible in Manchester.

 

[Ian Douglas]

Manchester as a whole new side is the work of fantasists.

We’ve 14 clubs who aren’t perfect and probably all need to improve somewhere. 16 clubs would be the aim but there’s a real lack of an obvious 16th club after London.

Not really if you have solid backers and investment like Lockyer at London.

the Manchester rangers were supposed to join the league replacing Oxford if memory serves but got overlooked by the RFL for the Ottawa aces and in true RL fashion we ended up with neither and the Manchester rangers folded after missing out.

 

[Taking The Two]

If it can be done in Toronto, it sure as shit possible in Manchester.

It wasn’t done in Toronto, was it? It was a club built on sand and with owners who weren’t paying players on time, weren’t paying what was owed to businesses that they had worked with and the interest in them from those financing them waned very quickly. That’s all before Covid saw them off. They were unravelling in the background long before Chinese flu and the RFL refusing to bail them out did for them.

A club that lasted 5 years isn’t exactly a good comparison.

Not really if you have solid backers and investment like Lockyer at London.

the Manchester rangers were supposed to join the league replacing Oxford if memory serves but got overlooked by the RFL for the Ottawa aces and in true RL fashion we ended up with neither and the Manchester rangers folded after missing out.

That’s very different. London, whilst they may not have been run properly for some time, are an established rugby league club with a core fanbase and a junior game underpinning it. It might not be the biggest club or the most well supported but there’s a baseline to work with. A Manchester club, you’re building from ground zero. The amateur clubs in Greater Manchester are almost all based in Salford, Oldham and Rochdale. It’s fantasist stuff to build a club from nothing and dump them in Super League.

Manchester Rangers were never joining League One. They applied and were rejected because The RFL felt the area was saturated with clubs already. Ottawa became Cornwall and were killed off when they couldn’t find investors to fund six figures to travelling the length of the country every week for third division rugby with just £10k in central funding given to them.

 

[Pippen94]

Right, too many rugby league clubs in area. Game will never catch on lol

 

[Taking The Two]

They were told to buy clubs and merge them or buy a club and move them. They did neither, knowing the reluctance they’d face and how unviable it all was. They pulled their money and the Manchester Rangers went pop. A regular occurrence in the game here.

 

[Taking The Two]

Anyway, back to reality and the real world now. Cas v Wigan today. Not a clue how that goes now after this weekends games. Wigan should win but Cas have recruited heavily and are a bit of an unknown quantity.