I honestly believe we have the best academy in the world.

That's a very fair point Billy, though I can's see that, logistically, Toronto would be able to utilise it for Canadian youngsters and nor would we be particularly keen on losing our best young players to them before we've even had a couple of years out them for ourselves. Particularly over the next year when Toronto will be in the Championship, as they will be competing for exactly the same lads as ourselves. Going forward a couple of years and Noble's side may well be in SL so the dynamics would obviously change.



I'm trying not to be too negative about our chances, but I suspect Toronto may well have bought themselves into SL within the next two years or so, whilst we, if we ever do get back, will be some considerable time afterwards, which, again, would put us on the backburner for recruiting our own academy lads to actually play for the Bulls. Whilst I'd fully expect Nobby to do the logical thing and set up his own academy, in Canada, for Canadian talent (and wouldn't the RFL expect the same?), I hope our academy is nothing to do with the deal, to be honest.

TWP can’t dual reg players as far as i’m aware, due to them being on Canadian work visa’s. Hence them signing a load of trialists last season then getting shut of them early in the year because they were never going to get a game.

Saw it a mile off.

RFL 'You need an academy to get into SL'

TWP *shuffles papers* 'We have one! We err just decided to call it 'Bradford Bulls'



What an utter f**king let down..... thought it was about time we had some crappy news...

I would think they will want to use Tong training facilities when they are over as well.

Whatever. If we're running a joint reserves side then I think it can work for us.



Being fobbed off like we were with Widnes last season and it's less good.

I would hope Nobby would play fair with us.

Thinking about it, I am against the dual reg. It felt like we are starting to rise again. Under our own steam, on our own two feet. Slowly, but it was us; our work.



We know DR's never truly benefit anyone but the higher team.



Once WCCs now feeder team to a North American experiment who can access the only jewel still shining brightly in our crown.

I genuinely don't have an issue with it. If we keep harking back to the WCC days with every decision the club makes then we are never going to move forward. The facts are, experiment or not, Toronto would knock us out of the park in a proper fixture every single time with the players they have and we are in the bottom tier of professional Rugby League. How beneficial it is, time will tell. On the face of it, it seems to be a lot more thought out than last year’s rush job duel reg with Widnes (I had to look up who it was with, as Leeds seem to be of more assistance to us last year). Not the be all and end all, and it could well be the difference come the end of the year, especially with our of favour players who don’t fancy being in Canada for 2 months at a time.

Maybe of short term benefit but letting the fox that is Nobby into our hen-house is something we may live to regret.



But as I say the pride was returning in the Bulls for me based mainly on the fact we seemed to be sorting ourselves out.

We still are sorting ourselves out and the pride is still very much there. I like to think of it as a bit of additional help for us. I mean if we pick up a key injury in the prop department and are short on forwards, Toronto might just have an Olsi Krasniqi or a Luke Menzies available for us.

The prop department is likely the last place we'll get help from Toronto, they've just sacked 3 of them.

With Keyes and Chisholm still coming back from injuries do Toronto have any surplus halfbacks?

They'll recruit replacements before the season starts. Or not long after anyway. But either way the prop thing was just an example.







Wallace and McCrone as starters. Brierley, Dean and Wheeler. Can only really see Dean going anywhere out of that lot. As Wheeler will play somewhere in the back line.

well, another promise kept, a reserve side. Not in the form as we may have expected it, but a typical pragmatic approach by Chalo, something is better than nothing. For that alone the tie up is worth it.

I seem to recall Reece Dean leaving them? Assuming that's who you're referring to.



I could see Gary Wheeler coming in for us fairly early. Especially if one of Chisholm or Keyes aren't 100% for the opener. Wheeler himself is massively injury prone so some game time for him would benefit Toronto while their first choice halves are fit, and benefit us while ours are injured. Unless Toronto play him in the centre of course.

I thought that idea had been proposed and rejected some time earlier as not being feasible?

I don't recall the reasoning, but they were certainly going to train at Tong when they were first announced as entering League 1, but then it fell through and they ended up at Brighouse instead.

Aye, hmm yes you are correct. Left for Doncaster. Then again Luke Menzies left last season for professional wrestling but in a recent article it states he's still there :/



I honestly can't see Wheeler coming to us. Would love him to come for a couple of games like as I think he's a good player when fit. If one of them isn't fit for the opener we will go with Smith or Minchella/Halfback and McNally at Fullback.

The feel good factor is returning slowly but we are not completely back to 100% yet so I will accept any bit of help we can get and if it benefits us both then fair enough.

I am happy with what we have been told today and shows that Chalmers is doing his job off the field even though he isn't the most communicative chap we have ever had. That doesn't matter though as long as we improve as a club over the next few seasons.

No longer at Brighouse.They currently train at Manchester University sports complex.Apparently its "state of the art" and was owned by Man City till a couple of years ago.

Menzies is a wrestler now

I'm pretty sure the only announcement about the plan being dropped mentioned some unspecified 'difficulties'. I'd guess the bigest difficulty would have been both clubs needing the facilities at the same time and, if that was the reason, I'm also not really sure how much that effect would be changed by us now being both part and full time for this season.



Of course, it may well have been all the financial stuff going on at the time.

Well,.I really don't like dual reg full stop. However getting out of league 1 at the first attempt is the main priority, so if Chalmers thinks this will help that in the short term then fine, but the sooner we can manage without it the better.