agree 101%

Myth 1: People have taken up RL in London due to the presence of Quins in SL
Myth 2: People in the South watch SL on Sky due to Quins being in SL
Myth 3: London is a big city therefore it is unfair to expect people to support Quins

For Post of the Year this one gets my vote....







2500 fans in an 8,000,000 population city is shocking, however you dress it up.

London has had hundreds of thousands of kids playing at school level for 20+ years (if you believe the people on here). By the law of averages, surely by now they would have unearthed a james roby, or Kyle eastmond, or a lomaskell and not just some posh guy with a long name?

Not only that but the kids who started playing 10 years ago will prob be at least mid-late teens at the mo, so surely the crowds would therefore have seen benefit by now (if they were ever going to).

If you're refering to LMS and you think he's posh I can assure you that he's not.

Hiya chaps, just takin off mi flat cap and t'whippet is in front ot fire.

London is essential for RL growth, indeed 2 clubs are essential. What the s have just seemed to grasp is that you cant just place a club in an area and watch it flourish, you need roots, passion and belonging.

Take the geographic mix of the past decades ST holders in London, they must have that info surely. Look at the strong amateur/junior set ups closest to the mix and start from that area, aligning the junior club to the SL club with a local identity and getting the buy in of the hardcore supporter.

If 3 junior clubs could be aligned from a reasonable geographic area, 1000 kids extended families give a hell of a lot of people to target.

Good luck in London, Wales and France as RL needs strong clubs and structures in these areas but dont leave behind the reason the game is here after 115 years.

Two SL divisions of 10 is the simple solution as we expand our sport.

There isnt enough playing talent to support 14 clubs, let alone 20

Thank you. Very kind. But then....



Kind of wondered why I bothered.

Some excellent points.

Only questions I'd ask, playing devil's advocate, is do Quins have appropriate long and short term plans in place take advantage of all work being done at grass roots level, whilst staying afloat in the meantime?

I wouldn't argue that RL can't work in London, it's just the club themselves, should be aiming to do better (like many clubs). Yes, arguments can be made about the size of the city, other activities in London etc... but these are obstacles that Quins have to overcome if they are going to survive.

Given the content of the post I think it was referring to Tony Clubb Englands top scorer during the 4 nations-(Take one B of if its to long a name.)- Anthony is well spoken for the record

Good post.

Not really. Its a pathetic attempt to undermine the positive developments that RL is experiencing in London.

Read it again and try and disagree with anything young Katie said.

Good luck.

Martin Offiah is an immediate name that comes to mind. Mark Calderwood, is another.

Im going to guess that several of the current Quins team was born in London, so thats Tony Clubb, Lamont Bryan, the Bolger Brothers, Olsi Krasniqi and i guess i could go on for a little while longer.

there will be others in Super League, but to be honest im not too up on where players were born.

The OP was highlighting that this year there will be 30 000 children playing in a competitive competition in London, the kind of foundations that will foster the London version of James Roby, Kyle Eastmond and Lomaskell (whoever that is).

You mean the young Katie that is you and Baz?

Hopefully, this might help get people in next week... www.thisislondon.co.uk/esrewards ... m-stoop.do

Hopefully, this might help get people in next week... www.thisislondon.co.uk/esrewards ... m-stoop.do

Lol @ anyone thinking "hundreds of thousands" of kids have been playing RL in London schools for "20+ years".

This is undoubtably "true" as they were being trained in Hull by HKR.

Havn't you been reading these forums?

The results are obvious to see in their first team

Troll

No. Not even close. There might be more than 100 teams in London though. A club might run several teams.

Tbh I thought the article rather over-egged the pudding (probably why John Drake referred to it as "controversial" in the editorial).

E.g.

Fact: Sky figures show that very many people in the south watch RL on Sky Sports
O'Hare's interpretation: All these people are southerners

Fact: Youth RL has a relatively high level of participation in the south
Glossed over truth: Most kids that do play RL, play a much shorter season than would be the norm in heartlands areas.

He did make some good points and tbf there has been a lot of good development at grassroots levels going in London but I think the article gave the impression that the talent conveyor belt in London is more developed than it really is. It is still early days.

Where are these 'James Robys" at Wakefield, Hull KR, Castleford, Salford, Warrington, Huddersfield and so on? If that's the only standard of player that you're allowed to bring through now, then there won't be many decent players coming through in future then.
At least we're actually developing players and playing them, many of your beloved 'traditionial' clubs don't give two s about development, except come licence time when they suddenly have such amazing development and plenty of talent coming through.

And if you think LMS is posh, then you're an idiot. Btw, internationals we had last year, were Clubb, O'Callaghan, Bryan and Krasniqi (Academy). We've also got three players named in the under 16s squad (two of them having "posh" names btw) and another three in the England Academy squad, so get your facts right before spouting rubbish.

Hate to be bitchy Leaguefan (esp about a club I respect) but when the Cougars get into SL you can have a go at us...

*

* And yes, I still stand by your club and sympathise with you been completely screwed over in the 90's, but I just had to reply, sorry.

You will have a long wait.