Because to start with those population figures are incorrect.
If you're taking just the city/town boundaries then it's:
Newcastle 280k
Gateshead 78k

But if you're taking what most people understand as Newcastle which includes the area around it, in the same way as when people talk about London they don't mean just the City of London, then Newcastle's population jumps to well over 1m.
Those people associate themselves with the large regional centre that is Newcastle. And even if they don't they're far more likely to associate themselves with that regional centre than they are a relatively small town somewhere else in that region.

It's also not like Gateshead has a significant fan base or following that would be put off by a name change. And since they will be actually moving out of Gateshead and into Newcastle I personally think it would be daft not to change the name.

Aye, that was the new merged team in 1999 wasn't it ?

Has it been 150 years already....lol

I also would use the Newcastle name, they are passionate about the city and sport. If it could be linked to the Football club as well, all the better. People who don't know the area, don't realise just what a big step crossing the Tyne is, either way, they are poles a part...

A team of magpies would fly I'm sure.....

You talk about the non-M62 parts of the country and then suggest Bradford .. Have you seen a map of the UK at all????

Why Bradford over Castleford or Widnes? What makes them more worthy? 3 towns/cities that are all sitting on the M62 so why suggest that dumping 2 of them in favour of one that has shown no greater ability to successfully manage a team in recent years?

So "North East Thunder" then?

That's a pretty short memory

10 years now is it?

Interesting point. There is quite a conveyor-belt of talent in PNG.

With the open promotion surely all teams are now aiming for SL.

Aiming and getting there are two completely different things

Define talent?

a whole 8 since they were world champions

Call me a detective but if you go on to their squad page the tab at the top of the web browser changes to Newcastle Thunder ...

So not recent then.

as i say, short memories.

Stanley Gene is the magnet, and as such can lure and inspire more players from PNG than anyone else.

I hope that Gateshead-Newcastle has quality in all the key players in the spine, and good props other than 106 kg Mark Mexico, so that the likes of the flying 106kg express train winger Garry Lo can do their stuff.

The PNG centre Tali clocks on at 98 kg but his centre partner Joseph Brown registers only 82kg, which is flimsy lightweight for a centre.

What I am suggesting here is that perhaps Gateshead's prospects will depend too much on the talent of the PNG players.

Gateshead's prospects depend on, should they ever get to the holyland again, not having an owner who will sell the ..... oops sorry....."merge" the club with a wealthier one thats gotten into trouble.

In fairness, Gateshead were themselves financially sunk.

You're obsessed let it lie.

We only equalled your record for number of times in admin (within the superleague) and now we're not in it you could go one further and stand as outright champions of administration again.

Plus with us not there anymore you only have Cas to challenge your standing as having the Superleague's test ground!

WTF?

Perhaps, but as a SL entity, could attract some investment to help out, possibly even a sale to an owner/co-owner who's plans were not a relegation avoidance dance for another "bigger" club!

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/ot ... le-8480762

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/ot ... le-8480762

we shall watch this space with newcastle thunder!

I think the partnership with the union team will be good. Would think there should be some sort of ticket deal to try to get union fans to go to league games and Newcastle is a bigger market to tap into so yeah, we will see.

Anyone else get sick of the M62 references. The clubs were there long before the M 62 was thought of. And for a hundred years or so Widnes were the southern most club, the original "expansionists" !

I know exactly where Bradford is. It is a slum development on the M-62 that deserves a place in SL because of its size and the size of its fan base. I believe however that smaller entities like the ex pit village of Castleford, or the chemical polluting town of Widnes, are small presences that cannot pay their way in terms of fan base size, TV appeal, or junior recruitment. They belong in the Championship.

Larger non-traditional areas like Newcastle and London, may not yet have substantial fan bases, but that will change and meanwhile they make up for that by their great TV appeal and great potential expansion of junior recruitment. That translates into more sponsorship opportunities and more players being brought into the game.