: Tue May 26, 2009 9:24 pm  

Leeeigh Leeeigh wrote:

Leigh Miners and Easts are the best aren't they - especially Miners (:wink:). Put them clubs on Bridgends doorstep, and throw in a few SL clubs like W1gan/Wire/Saints. Then they don't need their own rules.
Junior development is beyond me as an outsider tbh. Mick Higham for example to some Leigh fans was developed by us and thats it. Surely a player progresses and gets better or worse as he goes along from school age right up to SL level. Doesn't matter if a player was playing dodge ball in jungle somewhere in Africa and was then taken on by a club to play RL then they have contributed to that player making progress surely - even if its a short period. Also to me postcodes don't mean anything either.
Regarding Leeds - I think you have a major gridge against them.

Not with them per say , but with all the hype their fans and the media put out about them

They play in a poor quality stadium despite them being probably the only club that can afford to finance their own top class ground

They have for years flouted RFL rules on the numbers of Scholarship kids they are allowed [ along with a select few other clubs ] to have

Also I have met Mr Hetherington , his opinion of Leigh Centurions and the lower leagues is not very complementary and in my opinion he carries far too much clout within the RFL

They also cheat on the pitch more than any other club

Sorry but your post doesn't answer my anger about the double standards applied to junior development

How long has there been a RL team playing from Leigh Miners ?, be they senior teams or junior

Would we have these teams so strong in junior development if there was not a Pro club in the town ?

: Tue May 26, 2009 9:41 pm  

Starbug wrote:

Sorry but your post doesn't answer my anger about the double standards applied to junior development

How long has there been a RL team playing from Leigh Miners ?, be they senior teams or junior

Would we have these teams so strong in junior development if there was not a Pro club in the town ?

Don't know what you mean exactly about double standards. I thought my exagerated example of the guy in Africa with great ball skills in Dodge ball was hinting that even if players had rugby skills and potential already - did Celtic make a contribution also ? I am assuming tho they represented Celtic and not a local amateur club.

Regarding your Pro team and Miners example, then surely this shows having a high profile team in the area does help in the long run.

The thread is getting tedious now (no offence against yourself of course ) tho I think. I think too many things are just being repeated from months ago.

Re: burnley put : Tue May 26, 2009 10:09 pm  

Leeeigh Leeeigh wrote:

But RL is not a regional sport like it used to be. Its played up and down the country, and Sky viewing figures show there is interest. We all got introduced to the game one way or other. The future generations outside the heartlands of RL enthusiasts will thank us for it 20 years down the line - how many that will be who knows.

For me it comes down to the RFL being embarressed that the sport is a largely played in the North.
A RL game is worth watching if its in Bridgend or Batley so long as its played to the same rules for all and everyone has the same chance of failure or success.

The Heartlands died a long time ago and doesn't really exist IMO, I'd love people where I live to know about RL (circa 10mins from a local lower league team, circa 50 mins to a host of SL teams) but they don't.
I here " expansion , expansion" is what's best by people at Redhall - even taking the game to expand in France but the game is still a minority sport in the UK with vast area's near to where you or I live not knowing anything about RL - a huge untapped audience ignored .

Yes we should be alarmed at Leighs gates, but so should the RFL, Once old style clubs in what once was the RL "Heartlands" lose support then its time to start worrying, especially if support in the new clubs doesn't match expectations.
Mr Lewis seems to have a obsessive quest to overhaul Union in being a national sport, what he has compleltley missed is that Union knows its heartlands and largely looks after them as well as trying to expand , they know only a idiot bites off the hand that feeds them.

: Tue May 26, 2009 10:48 pm  

Scooter Nik wrote:

Too many years watcing Blackburn Rovers with the ex wife, and living for about 20 years in an area over run with the vermin fans that they have. Landlord of my local pub (a Preston fan himself) used to say that if there was ever an argument between Rovers and Burnley fans, it would ALWAYS be the Burnley fan that would throw the first punch.
Although they did give me my favourite football moment about 10 years ago. When Rovers beat them in the cup, they did their usual trick of going on the rampage and trashing the town centre. Only problem was that it was played in Burnley not Blackburn...

Thick thugs covers it.

Next question.

Bit like the Wire fans in our SL year.........