Rugby League Today: Feel good, superhuman and a BBC treble
The hectic period leading up to the season is over and now we’re back in to the routine of the season. Still lots going on.
What’s on site
Featherstone have added to the positive feeling around the start of the season by revealing an attendance record. A lot of clubs could use Featherstone as an inspiration for how they handle PR.
Rugby league players are superhuman we know that. Add Patrick Ah Van to the list of wows. He scored a try on Sunday despite playing with a broken arm! Sadly he is now out for 12 weeks.
Mark Aston has expressed his concerns about the player pool and players walking away from the game.
The Widnes squad will play on grass for the first time on 2018 on Sunday – is Denis Betts worried?
After Toronto put out a statement with their win at Leigh on Sunday, we ask whether anyone from the Championship will progress in to Super League at the end of the season? (Presuming we eventually find out the structure for 2019…)
What’s in the papers
The Daily Star have done a nice feature ranking all the grounds in Super League by capacity. Check it out!
Gareth Walker’s excellent features on young talent in rugby league are back for 2018, and St Helens prop Matty Lees is the latest to be profiled.
What’s on social
An astonishing, if alarming, story about former Wigan and Australia international Ian Roberts.
BBC Sport – ‘Rugby league gave me brain damage’ – ex-Australia international Ian Roberts https://t.co/Cj7YL3YlxD
— Dave Woods (@DaveWoodsSport) February 6, 2018
If you haven’t seen it yet, there is some great content from the first Physical Disability Rugby League match between Warrington and Leeds on Sunday.
Congratulations to @RugbyLeeds for winning the first ever Physical Disability Rugby League game against us @WWCLSFoundation 22-10. This photo of @alex_brooker and I sums up the result. pic.twitter.com/CYTB6AsYns
— Adam Hills (@adamhillscomedy) February 4, 2018
Nigel Wiskar continues to fly the flag for the greatest game in The Mirror, here’s a teaser of their paper coverage on Wednesday.
Solid page of #rugbyleague in tomorrow’s @DailyMirror from @garethwalker looking ahead to @WiganWarriorsRL v @hullfcofficial in the Gong. Little Saturday morning @SuperLeague TV bonus for the weekend pic.twitter.com/nUCZsHjEvA
— Nigel Wiskar (@nigelwis) February 6, 2018
What’s on TV/radio
The BBC have revealed which game they will show in the next round of the Challenge Cup.
The first Super League Show of the season is available to watch now via iPlayer.
Also on the BBC, Dave Woods speaks to an expert on head injuries in the latest 5Live Rugby League Podcast.
In other TV news, as part of the deal that sees Rugby AM hit freeview on FreeSports TV, live games from the National Conference League will be shown, with a full schedule to be confirmed soon.