https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/51837246 Have a good look at this and see if you can work out why a lot of fans aren't seemingly excited by it? The club has roots in early attempts to get the game going with South Shields as long ago as the turn of the century, then a Newcastle club in the 1930's before the current Gateshead club's inclusion in 1999. In that very first year with the right funding (which they have now got again) the club came sixth in Superleague and rolled over Saints, Wire and Wigan crowds were 4000 with plenty of scope to increase that significantly. Today's club has the investment, the player production and would underpin an English TV deal (I think they have TV's in the North East) There is a band of English "expansionists" who actually have noted Thunders brilliant work, and exciting future, but somehow we are small in number? Are you in?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/51837246 Have a good look at this and see if you can work out why a lot of fans aren't seemingly excited by it? The club has roots in early attempts to get the game going with South Shields as long ago as the turn of the century, then a Newcastle club in the 1930's before the current Gateshead club's inclusion in 1999. In that very first year with the right funding (which they have now got again) the club came sixth in Superleague and rolled over Saints, Wire and Wigan crowds were 4000 with plenty of scope to increase that significantly. Today's club has the investment, the player production and would underpin an English TV deal (I think they have TV's in the North East) There is a band of English "expansionists" who actually have noted Thunders brilliant work, and exciting future, but somehow we are small in number? Are you in?

I'm in. Some great stuff happening up there, most interestingly for me is the success at increasing participation numbers via the creation of a number of amateur clubs over the past few years. The below map was from the 1st of Jan, and since then a new club has popped up in Hexham. 16 junior clubs feeding into Thunder is a pretty handy catchment.

Well that's two of us signed up on here.

Superleague [uREAL expansion[/u is available north and south of the M62 and does anyone think for a moment the door to the 2022 SKY deal is not being held wide open for Mr. Kurdi and Mr. Hughes by Mr. Lenegan and company. Does anyone really think that Superleague is going Transatlantic now?

I can see it all as Superleague's 2022 SKY deal unfolds for an expanded English game, those still clinging onto the American dream may well be moaning we are just an A1 league

Get a rugby league club in Sunderland going and then things’ll get really interesting up there.

As an ex cramlington resident I’m in!

Who wouldn't be on board I think it's brilliant news that the games expanding up north might even reach up to Edinburgh professionally, I'm still dumb founded that South Yorkshire still struggling to evolve into anything of any substance.

Soon as we drop these fake international clubs the better

Donnyman,
Reading your OP - I am shocked!

Are you suggesting that 'we' give Toronto,and Ottawa,over a century to get things right,and then we can all celebrate how wonderful they are?

I never thought I would see the day.

I'm in, have been for some time. My second club.

I'm in. Their amateur development has taken 20/25 years. Sheffield sadly have not achieved the same and maybe that's due to two football clubs rather than one.

I appreciate what you are saying, but I have always said that Toronto....and same for Ottawa and New York....should be allowed to play in the championships as long as it takes to get the game going at grass roots level in Canada and the USA. If you watched backchat this week Craig Harrison (player agent) was adamant that these so called "expansion" clubs will only truly expand the game when they nurture Canadian and USA players in enough numbers to find top class professionals to add to the pro player pool.

If you were shocked I was certainly more than shocked when Martyn Sadler sat there and actually agreed with Harrison and what I have said for years that these clubs cannot try to muscle in on the player pool here, they have to "expand" it to be allowed to run at Superleague level. The issue I have always had with TWP was the rubbish they talked about converting Grid Iron players, just to blag a place in the game here. Then after that they made no attempt whatsoever to work with Canada RL to try to get Canadians playing Rugby league. Sure it takes years to build a grass roots, but when a club like TWP don't even bother to try to build one then how do they deserve a place at the top table? How do a club like the London Broncos deserve to be relegated when they DO run a great player development system.

Over to you?

Are you Brian Carney?

Mr. Wilby reckons New York intend to start in 2021 with three exhibition games against NRL clubs. They’re apparently going to play in the Challenge Cup, and will have a season of 25-30 matches which will be friendlies next year, all in preparation to join the Championships in 2022.

Do you doubt this?

You've found me out Donnyman