BY BRIAN NOBLE
FESTIVE greetings one and all. I am penning this missive sat beside a glorious harbour on the waterfront in Cape Town, having taken a week off before the grind of the new season really kicks in.
I’ve always wanted to see Table Mountain and the Garden Route was on my bucket list. A bit of sun on these old bones and strained back was just what the doctor ordered.
Preparation for the Bulls’ return to the big time is going brilliantly well. We’ve managed to get a squad together reasonably quickly, with Esan Marsters on a three-year deal the last piece of our jigsaw, the fifteenth signing for 2026 with eleven heading the other way; it’s been some overhaul.
- In tribute to Steve Brady
- Ryan Carr to lead Castleford Tigers revival?
- Subscribe to Rugbyleaguehub.com on YouTube
We feel his capture is a coup with the number of other Super League clubs after him and interest from the NRL after he helped Cook Islands qualify for the World Cup over in Australia.
There’s been a lot of due diligence done in bringing the group together, and it seems to be a really good mix as pre-season started.
The guys are getting along, working really hard and, for some of them who were already there, the step up from part to full time is palpable.
They get longer to recover now, however, but it’s exciting and very positive. Ryan Sutton is the last one in on his return for Australia, and then all guns will be blazing.
We had an extremely enjoyable season launch at the new Bradford Live venue, the old Odeon cinema near the Alhambra.
It was the first time I’ve been there since the renovation, they’ve done a fantastic job inside and it was a terrific event, the place was rocking. The fans are up for it and so are we.
Magic Weekend makes a welcome return
THE fixtures being out have added to the reality and given an even sharper focus as to what’s in front of us – and Magic Weekend is back.
It’s an unbelievably good pairing for us facing Leeds and rekindling not only that local rivalry but memories of past Magic’s between the sides and the controversies that went into folklore.
The games with the Rhinos were the first ones that I looked for to put a ring round on the calendar, and I’ve bumped into a lot of people in both cities who can’t wait for those games to come around.
We’ll also meet at AMT Headingley in pre-season for Cameron Smith’s testimonial game which was arranged last year which means four matches between us – and potentially five if we’re drawn in the Challenge Cup – which could undermine bringing that great rivalry back with too much of a good thing.
It’s not ideal but you have to honour your commitments, and Cam deserves his stage to make some deserved brass.
Magic being at Everton may well have turned those making the decision to keep it in the list after the Ashes there.
Having initially looked at abandoning loop fixtures, called out by some as a scourge on the competition, we now have one.
That might have an influence on final finishing positions, but the prospect of big crowds on both days at a destination venue where some fans suffered FOMO must have outweighed that consideration, plus our broadcast partners would have had a say with 27 rounds paid for in their current contract.
The decision to have Catalans and Toulouse play their game in France and make it an event over there is a brilliant decision if they do it right, and it’s hard to criticize the logic behind the decision when a stadium like Hill Dickinson is available.
The future for Salford
The old Salford has gone but it’s no clearer who will be leading them into the Championship with time running out to be ready for their even earlier season kick off.
If a decision on a preferred bidder – and hopefully this time the necessary stringent checks will have been done not a Google search – is not until December 17, that will give the newco a calendar month to pull everything together, discounting a break for Christmas. Good luck to whoever takes that on.
I don’t know how they’ll achieve it and its bittersweet for me. Of course, I want a strong club to exist and then thrive in Salford, I spent time in charge there and it’s a passionate supporter base that deserves so much better.
I also have extreme sympathy for anyone owed money, be that players, staff or directors who have backed their involvement personally but on the other side of the coin, we have managed to pick up four quality players to help build our challenge at the Bulls, and that’s the nature of the business of sport.
New Salford are also the number one seeded club for the way the Betfred Championship has been put together so they’ll need to hit the ground running without a proper pre-season and players who don’t know each other, under a coach whose chosen style of play they won’t know.
It’s a massive ask but again follows the blueprint of expediency rather than strategy that the game seems to be stuck in at the moment.
The three new clubs in Super League got the decision at the last possible moment to properly plan for what’s ahead and one short pre-season to pull together competitive outfits, and then we say to Salford knock yourselves out in the whole month you’ve got because we’ve also given you the prestigious opening fixture.
Bring on the hybrid clash
I’VE read the story in the I newspaper about a suggested hybrid game being lined up next year between England RU and England RL.
We have reportedly been offered £1.5m by the Aussie organisers to play the fixture (presumably the RFU have been offer five million) although heaven knows how the schedules in either can plausibly bring that about.
The idea was first mooted 11 years ago by former Wallabies boss Bob Dwyer but nothing came of it, although the two MND fundraising inspired 745 games have shown what may work.
I’d love to see it, and the concept could be a really exciting venture for all parties.
We cannot forget we’re in the eye of the entertainment industry; as sport purists, we might not approve of a boxer of the calibre and physique of Anthony Joshua taking on a YouTuber, Jake Paul, but just look at the moolah involved, there is clearly an audience.
Who’s to say a ‘coming together’ fixture wouldn’t generate similar interest from new eyeballs to the oval ball codes, providing the top stars were released to play in it, presumably at Twickenham.
Can the RFL afford to turn down such an offer given the overall state of and pressure on their finances at present?
And is coming back together to make a worldwide rugby game and all that would entail financially another consideration to weigh up as the overall commercial axis continues to tilt? Money talks.
I’ll be very interested to see how and if that develops. It looks like R360 isn’t going to happen, which to me always seemed like a desperate attempt to pump up some tyres rather than establish an alternative model.
The codes do seem to be working a little closer together as seen by French rugby union icon Frédéric Michalak rejoining Cronulla midway through 2026, this time taking on a role as an assistant coach. He previously spent time there working as a kicking and skills consultant in 2022.
Again, it will be fascinating to see how that works out and what his exact role will be. I was reading a book about how Kiwi Vern Cotter turned around some of the sides he’s worked with and while the games are dissimilar, and clearly ours is the best product, maybe they’ve got some things we can steal, and perhaps Craig Fitzgibbon at the Sharks has seen that.
South Africa’s rugby league potential
BACK here in South Africa, there’s a huge reservoir of natural rugby talent that would be perfect for league to tap into.
I keep walking past people who are twice the size of me, all sorts of shapes and sizes and you can see the athleticism.
I’ve watched a couple of snippets of the Springboks on telly and always been keen on looking further into the untapped source that’s out here.
I brought Salford out here for a pre-season camp in 2014, staying and training at the High Performance Centre at Ingwenyama, near Pretoria and I know the NRL are keen on looking at some of their next crop being from here.
Newcomers Perth, who are eleven hours away, definitely are investigating. Watch this space, South Africa is ripe for picking.
Talking of the Bears, Harry Newman has been formally announced as one of their first signings for 2027 entry and what a fabulous opportunity for him at an ideal age.
My old mate Basil Millward, who has now joined Mal Meninga to help set up the pathways and recruitment there, will be hoping they’ve captured the next Herbie Farnworth, although Harry will have a lot of hard work to do just as Herbie did.
There’s no doubt he’s got the talent if he can keep out the Lucky Shag.
I’ve had a couple of conversations with Basil about potential targets and Perth are very ambitious. I don’t think Harry will be the last Super League player on their shopping list and they are identifying with ex-pats in the city as a core part of building their supporter base, so it fits.
Happy New Year
SEE you all in 2026 and my message for the game if it’s making a resolution would be to take every opportunity that comes your way, and let’s hope that interest from the NRL is real and tangible.
My abiding wish is to make the administration as good as the product, and if there is something big for me to unwrap under the tree, I hope it’s Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in a Bradford shirt.