The Morning After: Toronto saga rumbles on, gutsy Wakefield and credit to Catalans

James Gordon

Tom Johnstone (2) of Wakefield Trinity denies Liam Farrell (12) of Wigan Warriors a try as he chases him down and flips him over

Toronto saga rumbles on

As Super League battles on, the on-field action is overshadowed by the ongoing situation surrounding Toronto Wolfpack.

Robert Elstone spoke to media at half-time of Warrington’s win over Catalans to provide more information on the Wolfpack, revealing that the bid submitted was “disappointing” and that prospective new owner Carlo LiVolsi had acknowledged it wasn’t good enough and asked for more time.

Initial Toronto bid “disappointing” says Elstone as Wolfpack given more time to convince Super League

There are those that blindly support the Toronto bid no matter what, but their approach ahead of this particular meeting has been the wrong one. They are in some ways fortunate that they’ve been given another chance to get the bid put together appropriately.

No real clue was given as to which way the vote will eventually land – nobody knows what the plan is or what’s going to happen – and you could probably assess Super League in general like that, not just Toronto.

Gutsy Wakefield

Chris Chester has copped some flak in recent weeks, and he has argued that Wakefield were missing a leader for their ship.

Well, in comes Jacob Miller, and they put up a real fight against Wigan, with a performance that deserved more than they ended up with.

REPORT: Wigan 28-16 Wakefield: Warriors break Trinity resolve to keep pace at the top

It’s important that even with little to play for on the pitch, that the clubs at the bottom end of the table do enough to keep their fans engaged and inspired, especially with the increasing battle to ensure that when crowds can return, whenever that be, people still want to do so and haven’t found something else to spend their time or money on.

Although they lost, the application and attitude they showed will have gone some way to appeasing fans disappointed by recent displays – perhaps best reflected by the late chase down of Liam Farrell to deny a try when the game had already gone.

Credit to Catalans

Catalans deserve great credit for their efforts in ensuring that their Super League commitments have been fulfilled, not just last night, but in general.

They have had to invest considerably more money and effort in travelling to games, with just one home game in return so far.

Owner Bernard Guasch was bitterly disappointed by the Challenge Cup exit at Salford last week, when a cup run would have gone some way to providing a reward for the financial commitment made.

Coach Steve McNamara refused to use their eventful day travelling to England as an excuse for the 30-16 defeat to Warrington, even though arriving at Liverpool airport less than two hours before kick-off is as good a one as any.

Warrington 30-16 Catalans: Ninth straight win sends Wolves top

Maybe a second French team in Super League moving forward would be a nice boost for Catalans in growing the game.

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