Well, we have nearly made it to our 30th season, though once again the dark clouds have been building and the vultures have started circling . This season promises much with the home grown contingent coming through, and Williamson and Robinson adding some solidity to the pack. Having Dorny back will be great and it will be interesting to see how Golden, Kaye, Gardner and Nanyn go. It will be tough to make the top eight but it is possible with finances being tight at a lot of northern clubs. This may mean that the season will be more competitive but I doubt anyone will leave with Leeds. As for the Skolars the loss of key foreign players will see a season of consolidation with a chance for Callum Irving to earn his spurs. For a bit more structure I will attempt to keep this blog up to date and have at least one per month! Have a happy season.

It is easy to spot a London RL fan we have chips on both shoulders having to put up with the flat-cap M62ers and the northern refs. Figures in this weeks League Express show that we are bottom of the penalties chart i.e. we gain the least. Why is this? coz the refs don't like travelling to the smoke? their friends and family give them a hard time if London win, who knows! But we should not be surprised in the lack of success of southern teams (and Catalans were second bottom) if the merry whistle blowers penalise us and not penalise our opponents.

It could be that the refs are intimidated by the northern crowds and we are just too fair. It is strange that we won the fiar play league last year but refs percieve us as miscreants.

Our best chant is " the referee's a cockney" when we get a decision.

Rant over (for now).

 

 

I had to laugh when a Cas fan described Perpignan as " Fev with palm trees". Well he has either never been to Fev or Northern Catalonia or Perpignan as we call it. One of the main things they have in common however is their passion for RL. The atmosphere at Gilbert Brutus is as good as anywhere I have experienced, though the Loyal & Loud in the Lexus at the Stoop this season is getting there on a regular basis currently. Is there a main stand in RL where a majority get to their feet to sing a song?, I doubt it! Despite the fact that there is no relegation there is still a big drive to avoid the lower levels of the league and the battle for the top 6 looks really juicy. Saints and Loiners look the only classy outfits but beneath them well you couldn't put a cigarette paper between them.  

Who would have thought that QuinsRL would do so well, with the likes of Marty, LMS, Scott Hill and Hecks out! Who would have thought that the Skolars would get hammered by 50 points in their first three league games? ah, the uncertainty of sport. The great plus at QuinsRL has been the Loyal and Loud, this has transformed the atmosphere and it is party time at every home game. The way QuinsRL are playing I think a CC run is on the cards and if the injuries clear up a top six place is entirely feasible. As for the Skolars, they will need to get their heads on soon, but to be fair the first three games were against three of the four promotion hopefuls. so once the Saints CC game is out of the way, the team can concentrate on moving up the table.

Well, it is a new season and QuinsRL are being tipped as cannon fodder for the northern hordes again. I reckon a lot will depend on injuries, Scott Hill and Danny Orr, and if the side has the heart to succeed. As the side is aspirational, the six London lads will have to develop quickly. QuinsRL have not got the money of Wigan, Saints, Leeds, both Hull clubs, Bradford, Warrington and Hudds and so will have to battle it out. The biog clubs up north get crowds of 10,000+ so if we want to compete we will have to grow the crowds. The new regime has done well to try and boost the gates as only a winning side will grow crowds in the capital. It will be interesting to see if the new 'Loyal and Loud' section will provide enough vocal backing to inspire the team. I can't wait.

So the season is nearly upon us  and I am strangely optimistic, although QuinsRL have only made a handful if signings this in my is positive as in previous years we have had wholesale changes and it has usually been counter-productive. The new regime of owner Keith Hogg and new CEO Paul Brown are making all the right moves even if some of the pricing for tickets has been confusing. We campaigned long and hard for a noisy fans area, and what do you know, we now have two! Along with Loyal and Loud in the Lexus we have Cheep (or is it Cheap) and Cheerful in the East Stand (rather them than me). As for the Skolars, they have a new coach in Tony Benson,formerly at NL1 Leigh,  Latham Tawhai has become the assistant coach at the Quins. I expect the Skolars to push on to the play-offs and I hope the QuinsRL make it, but I am less confident. I think the QuinsRL squad is light in the centres and has a general lack of numbers, so if injuries kick in they may struggle. An awful lot depends on the Hill, Orr, McLinden triangle - if it clicks they can give anybody a game, if not, apart from Purdham I can't see much inspiration. Anyway the London Challenge game at Moorgate may give us more clues.

Now we have a new Chair and CEO, we really need a marketing strategy to catch the imagination not just of the cities RL folk but to reach out to the wider sporting market. Only bums on seats will fill the gap between us and the big spenders up north. Granted we need a winning team, but also a club administartion with flair and elan. We have the best set-up that London RL have ever had and if we can get an increase in crowds we can compete with the best. Easier said than done, but the punters will turn up if we are going in the right direction. We have a small base of fans but there is a a wider market of a further 7,000+ people who could be attracted by the right package. The real task of the new admistration is to address this deficit. Can I suggest a new marketing person who could be employed on the basis of results. First of all we need a higher profile in the London press, in 2007 season it was non-existant. Get the buzz back and they will come! Let's have the PT Barnum  approach "Roll up, roll up for the greatest show in town". If we don't believe why should the London public. So if we do have the best show in town, why not shout it from the rooftops? No time for half measures - let's go and make this a RL city!

One Henry's not coming, the other Henry is pi**ed.

If Fa'fili has gone this is shocking! We have now lost 3 players in 2 years who had signed contracts, why? One has got to wonder about the effectiveness of our Recruitment guru haven't we ? Last season we were holed below water with the two losses and now this! Very depressing, and given the HP story one wonders whether we have offended some gypsy at some stage.
The new season is looking less appetising by the minute.

There is a great piece in Time Out this week, showing what great work is being done in London by the RL community guys and girls. I alwys thought that RL is one answer to disaffected youth. Why even the Feltham Young Offenders Prison play RL. They should make it compulsory, and try it for all teenagers. Then again it may be better as an Alternative life style, if kids have to do it they won't! Kids will take to it like ducks to water, this may be the route for RL to secretly take over London sport. Well I can't think of a better way at the moment!

I saw both the QuinsRL and the Skolars games this weekend. Skolars struggled and were second best for 50 mins and then took advantage of a favorable reffing decision to win by 20 points. QuinsRL however, had three TV ref decisions against them plus injories to Purdham, Hill and Temata and lost by 14. TBH Wakey had the bigger pack and were good for the win, but how much does a game turn on a officials call? Skolars now have a better the 50/50 chance of the play-offs (predicted by me months ago!) and the Quins season is over. Skolars have got better by the game and avoided injuries whilst Quins have lost key players from a thin squad at crucial times. Needless to say I am now looking more to the Skols run-in than the lads form the Stoop. It can be a cruel game.