Bradford Bulls have been liquidated. 
Robbie Paulâs heroics in the 1990s are consigned to the bin.
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Loig is completely fucked in England. Lucky that itâs going so well in Oz.
Bradford Bulls sold their soul when they changed their name from Bradford Northern.
Rugby League sold its soul too.
Gone are the little traditions that made the game great.
Gone is the traditional Wigan-St. Helenâs Boxing Day derby.
Gone is the Challenge Cup final at Wembley (also called âWigan Southâ) on the last Saturday in April.
Gone is the Regal Trophy final which, along with the FA Cup third round and the final of Embassy World Professional Darts Championship, made the first (or second, as it sometimes was) Saturday of the year the sporting highlight of the year.
Gone are the biennial Ashes tours.
Gone is the almost weekly live Saturday match on Grandstand.
Gone is the commentary of Ray Ffrench.
Gone are cathedrals of the game like Central Park and Knowsley Road.
Gone is the great Wigan team of Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah, Frano Botica, Shaun Edwards, Joe Lydon, Denis Betts, Kevin and Tony Iro.
Gone is the annual poaching of the Welsh rugby union teamâs brightest young prospects.
Gone, gone, gone, all of it.
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Ray French I am fortunate to count a friend. He is still going strong, and still a bull of a man.
And an absolute gent.
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are Wakefield Trinity , Whitehaven and Hull Kingston Rovers also gone @Sidney?
Do Great Britain still play against Australia?
All still exist. Whitehaven are not worth talking about really though as semi pro but Wakey have been decent and HKR were superior to Hull there for a good while but are back down the leagues now. Some good derbies on Good Friday in Hull for a few seasons there. Stevo on Sky was loving the derby.
Great Britain as a team hasnât played in a decade at this stage. They decided to play as individual nations to try and grow the game a bit, it hasnât gone very well really. England still lose regularly to Australia but the Australian players these days donât give a shit about internationals and take breaks every few years now on Tests. Itâs all about Origiiiiiin.
Itâs partly why loig is so fucked in England. They donât have any events that earn them big coin and the better/ambitious players now flee to the NRL or union.
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NRL is watchable. Superleague is rubbish
Not true. Some super league is fantastic.
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I dont think I ever enjoyed a game of it tbhâŚhavenât watched in few seasons mind you
Saints v Wigan is more often a great game than not.
Yes Super League has been better for a good while, albeit with the quality of player not as high.
The NRL turned into a wrestling competition for a few years with robotic structures. Sonny Bill Williams commented on his return to the NRL about it.
Hull KR contested the Challenge Cup Final in 2015, granted Leeds absolutely hammered them, they were relegated from Super League this season. Wakefield qualified for the Super 8s last season and are decent. Whitehaven are a 2nd tier team and always have been.
I lived in Wigan in the early 90âs and was a regular visitor to Central Park, meat and potatoe pies and pints during the match, down to Billy Bostons for more pints after.
Wigan had a serious team including the likes of Andy Farrell, Jason Robinson, Gary Connolly, Shaun Edwards, Denis Betts, Tuigimala, etc.
Sunday morning spent down Newtown Labour Club doing the RL Coupon trying to predict the spread on Rochdale Hornets v Hunslet or Dewsbury v Rydale York, halcyon days indeed.
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Leeds outclassing Castleford in the Rugby League Grand Final.
I was down in the Strand earlier and it was on in the background. Amazing crowd at it.
Rugby league is as big as association football along the M62 Corridor.
My beloved chooks are world champions.
There wonât be a cow milked in Bronte or Tamarama this morning.
this - well done pal
ive read it a few times now
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I still weep inside over the fate of Central Park.
What a ground.
Castleford better never leave Wheldon Road.
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