Neil Ormston

Not a decision taken lightly, but after much debate, the addition of a previously unrecorded game increases Jim Sullivan’s World Record appearance and goal totals.

‘Peerless Jim’ now even more peerlessy.

It'll still feel like 10 degrees with the inevitable wind chill though I bet

…change to improve the sport (governance 1st, 2nd and 3rd on the list), but a ‘strategic review’ of the ‘product’ itself is desperately needed; the onset of the professional era demands the next revolution in the rule book, akin to 1906 and the limited tackle rules. I won’t hold my breath though!
6/

…to rules are now done for safety, or in a futile quest for (the ultimate fallacy) more consistent decisions from refs, rather than making the game actually flow better. Tackle height, six agains, 40-20s, video refs: does any of it actually make the game a better watch? Many things need to…
5/

… But amongst everything else that’s being scrapped over atm, there doesn’t seem any discussion about making the actual sporting contest more interesting and an easier, more entertaining watch. Talk of 9s, 3 V. 3, lasers, bands, etc missed the point; the ‘product’ has deteriorated IMHO. Changes…
4/

…is that RL has lost its focus on what actually makes it fascinating. The ‘wrestle’ and obsession with speed in the pro era has made the game much less interesting than the one I was brought up watching (I know every generation says this, and it makes me sound like the middle-aged fella I am!)…
3/

…that. I recognise that the route in to sports spectating (and if you’re good enough, participating) is still the same today as for generations past: my girls want to watch what I watch, and are interested purely because I am (despite Wire’s best efforts to dissuade them!).
What I would contest…
2/

An excellent article. It’s something I feel very conflicted about. I attended a PL Darts event & came away convinced that RL needed a 9s tournament; it just feels inevitable to appeal to a younger audience. I’m still probably of that view. But then I feel I’m betraying the sport just thinking…
1/

Well, no-one produced them, which makes it tricky. But if they did, I would 😢

And this….
There are **8 US states** that have the letter "R" in their name. They are:

1. Arkansas
2. California
3. Colorado
4. Florida
5. Hawaii
6. Maryland
7. Minnesota
8. Missouri

Let me know if you want any more info on them!

Err, I think you’ll find it’s one…

I tried this. Bizarre.

“There are **8 US states** that have the letter "R" in their name. They are:

1. Arkansas
2. California
3. Colorado
4. Florida
5. Hawaii
6. Maryland
7. Minnesota
8. Missouri

Let me know if you want any more info on them!”

The line-ups page upsets me: 6 teams with full names, 2 with initials. And Marcus Vassilakopoulos' font size changed to fit him in 😂

I 100% expect this to happen!!

It's as certain as York, Bradford, London in & Salford, Toulouse out isn't it?!

It's August.

The majority of pro clubs in RL don't know the format of next season's league competition.

They don't even know whether a competition planned to start next month will go ahead.

That's all.

For replicas yes. Maybe let the players off this one. Unless it’s a 3 on 3 comp.

I mean, if you spell it like that, it’s an indication it might not be as orderly as you’d like.

Way ahead of its time wasn’t it. And now people are saying this sort of stuff is what the game needs, like it’s never had it before. Nothing is new in RL!

My local Japanese restaurants is called Tada. I can't say it other than in 'that' way...

Contrast Rads' excellent interview (both his thoughts and the manner in which the discussion was conducted), with the two 'performances' by Beaumont over the past week - absolutely worlds apart.

We need more from the likes of him & less from the others!!

tbf, now that Rads has explained it, I fully understand Wigan's reason for abstaining, and think that was perfectly justified. Glad he explained it. It provides further insight into how things are being run atm

No need to spin it. Shows what we all knew already: Wire are better than Wigan 😂

I know it would have been an away match, but I do think it’s a pity that match 5,000 isn’t against Wire. A rivalry that pre-dates the sport itself.

It’s so far beyond a mess it’s untrue. I crossed to the dark side tonight (first time in a long time), to see what the mood was. Instead, I saw the leading light in the coup calling out journos, & another club owner virtually scrapping with fans (he’s now locked his account). It’s a terrible look 🤮

A letter to Super League's owners: An invite to address the key 14-team concerns For the attention of Super League's owners who voted to expand the competition to 14 teams.

Given there’s been no RL that’s worth comment played tonight (!), I’ve been doing some reading around instead. Thought this was a good write-up:

www.alloutrugbyleague.co.uk/news/letter-...

They did a survey and people said they don’t like loop fixtures. So that’s the problem to be fixed.

I said I don’t like loop fixtures. I said a lot of other stuff too, but that’s all been ignored. Maybe that was a bit harder to fix though 😂

My god, the more I read, the more concerned I get: “Speaking to Love Rugby League, Fitzpatrick said: “On balance we thought loop fixtures were the main issue in the game right now.”” 😳

He also throws in a ‘9% reduction on 2nd game’ claim, which I’m sure I could debunk in 15 minutes 🤦‍♂️

Yep. I love it! I’ve pinged them a message to try and find out 👍

Love that website btw - do you know who's behind it?

You just know, absolutely 100% KNOW, that there's no way we'll be playing 13 teams home & away in 3 year's time, because clubs will have some flaw in that, or the league structure will have changed, & we'll have another fixture format. RL administrators / clubs just have to tinker; it's in their DNA