Is the game played at the home of the team that finishes the highest ?
Is the game played at the home of the team that finishes the highest ?
As a Wigan fan I will be disappointed if it is played as the curtain raiser as I struggle to get to the DW on time for the 7:45 kick-off after work so have no chance of making it. If I miss it it will be the only U19s home game I will have missed all season. I feel sorry for the Saints fans if they do have to pay full price. I took time off work a few years ago to watch a final at the DW and it was attended by two men and a dog as people can't get there in time for a 5:30 kick-off
Main blame is the RFL saying that it should be played on a (first team???) ground decided by the highest placed team in the final with appropriate facilities for sponsors etc. We didn't have that at Orrell but we may have it at Robin Park if we're lucky.
Maybe LSV on a Saturday and a stand alone match would have been a better solution. Nice little ground, good facilities, neutral venue etc. would make it a bit more of an occasion. Only drawback would be that it's in Leigh.
Went to the saints Wigan academy grand final a couple of years ago at saints ( stand alone event) and it was great.
Good crowd, very good rugby.
Play the game on its owne for me cheap tickets big crowd
Last edited by Saintfryer; 14th September 2019 at 11:02. Reason: Spell checker
Announced after our 50:22 win over Warrington today that it will be the curtain raiser for next weeks play off game.
Well Warringtons ground is neutral.
I have just read that 5 lads have been promoted to the academy , one of them is Tommy Martyns lad I will be the first to be pee Tommy off by saying I hope his lad is as good as him .
Saints fans can watch the game on Friday for £5 and £3 when using a certain turnstile (P5) in the North Stand according to the club’s Instagram page
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2hZ-hcg...d=nljlwxekbns3
Both Wigan Warriors and Saints have agreed the Academy Grand Final will go ahead at the DW Stadium this Friday with kick off at 5:30pm.
Saints fans can gain access via Turnstile P5 of the North Stand with match tickets priced at £5 for Adults and £3 for all concessions on the gate ️
At least some sort of common sense has prevailed but it's still really difficult to get there for a 5.30 start, for both sets of fans. It's an insult to them and the players as they'll be playing the biggest game of the season in front of a virtually empty 25k seater stadium.
It would have been so much better to have this as a stand alone game on Saturday or Sunday afternoon at Orrell. That place is just about the right size and it would be a great atmosphere with 1-2,000 packed in there.
Somebody has mentioned the final at Saints a couple years back (when Richardson kicked the winning goal). It was a great match and a great atmosphere from a sizeable crowd.
But insisting it's played at JJB and, therefore, as a curtain raiser shows, once gain, the incompetence of Rimmer and his cronies at the RFL and their amazing ability to continually shoot themselves in the foot and discredit the game. It's another example of them alienating the players and fans and just generally cocking things up.
"Never write off the Saints!!"
I was at the Academy final you speak about and it was a very good game played in a good atmosphere and it doesn't do justice to the way the young lads have played all season for the final to be played when nobody has had time to get their . There are clubs not involved in anything who could have played it as a game on its own.
My take on the rationale behind this, and I stand to be corrected by our crust munching friends, is that it had to be at a SL standard ground and, as Wigan were the higher placed team, they were the ones to host it. As Wigan RL don't have a ground the cost of playing it stand alone at JJB, assuming there was a slot in the calendar with no football, would be prohibitive as the crowd and subsequent revenue wouldn't be worth it. So, other than forfeit home advantage, Wigan's only option was to play it as a curtain raiser.
If Wire had won the semi there would have been no issue as it would have been played at LP.
It's the RFL insisting it has to be at a SL ground (why?) and then Wigan's fault for not having one that are the issues.
"Never write off the Saints!!"
Right for a fiver I'm off to the pie dome on Friday night , might even dust me wedding dress off
Other issue is what happens if there is a draw and extra time played. Will Wigan and Salford have to cut short their warm up or will the match on Sky have a delayed kick off?
I think it would be the RFL, yes. They were the ones involved in the Reserve Grade issues and the decision to bring that back, and that comp includes non-SL teams. So I'm pretty sure they have the same jurisdiction over the 19's, which is a similar set up. Bit weird, I admit, as the top tier of the SL clubs is run by SL but the lower levels, it would seem, by the RFL. But, as I always say, this is Rugby League where common sense is a rarity.
"Never write off the Saints!!"