2017 League 1 Preview

2017 League 1 Preview

League 1 clubs would be forgiven for wondering when they will be given a fair deal when it comes to gaining promotion.  Thanks to the introduction of Toronto Wolfpack to League 1 for this season, it looks a foregone conclusion that the rest of the clubs will realistically be fighting for just one promotion spot rather than the allocated two.

There are a few questions that this season has raised for me and I explore them here in what is my preview to the 2017 Kingstone Press League 1.

ARE TORONTO YET ANOTHER FANTASY CLUB?...

As much as I agree that having Toronto in the English system will go a long way to spread our great game in Canada and, to an extent, North America, it will be interesting to see how much interest can be gained from just a hand full of games hosted within their home city.

I believe I am right in saying that if they are drawn at home in the Challenge Cup, Toronto have agreed to play these in this country rather than in Toronto.  This means they will only host between ten and 12 league matches at their Lamport Stadium this season.  For the fans of two other major sports teams in the city, the Raptors in basketball and the Blue Jays in baseball, they held either 52 or 94 home games in their respective 2016 seasons.  So will supporters of those sides really get in the mood for a team that plays only 11 games at home all season in a sport that they probably don’t know an awful lot about?

That’s not to say they won’t, and I really hope they do, and you can’t argue that they are going the right way about promoting the sport across the pond with their marketing campaigns and media coverage they have been receiving.

That leads me on to their team.  This is probably the strongest team that has ever played at this level of rugby league.  I applaud them for starting from the bottom and aiming to work their way up as I’m sick of seeing brand new ‘expansion’ teams being given direct entry into Super League or the Championship.  As history has told us, from Paris St Germain to Gateshead Thunder, and Toulouse Olympique in between, these ideas tend to end up as two or three season wonders before either folding or moving back home.

This time though, something tells me this Toronto team are doing it the right way.  Love them or hate them, the ‘marmite’ team of 2017 will stroll through League 1 this year and I’ll be very surprised if they drop any points at all.

WILL THERE BE A CUMBRIAN REVIVAL?...

For Cumbrian supporters, having all three clubs in the same division again will be a great spectacle, hopefully drawing in big crowds and tasty atmospheres both on and off the pitch.  The only downfall is that they will meet each other at the lowest level of professional rugby league.

The last time they were all in the same division was in the 2013 Championship where Workington Town were the only one to sneak into the Play-offs, albeit in eighth place.

Ever since then rugby league in the county has been on somewhat of a decline so this year could see the return of some good fortune for one or more of them as all three will be up there as favourites to claim one (or both?!) of the promotion spots.

Barrow Raiders lost out on a return to the Championship in the Play-off Final last year and have steadily built a side that is a serious contender for promotion.  The Raiders enjoyed a fantastic turn of fortune midway through last season and they will be looking to build on that this year.  If Craven Park can become a fortress the Raiders should be in and around the end of season Play-offs.

For Workington and Whitehaven, both have new coaches to guide them and both will be hoping, not only to rebuild their teams, but become a strong force in this year’s League 1.  Teams relegated to the bottom tier have struggled in recent years so the pressure to buck that trend will be on both of the West Cumbrian sides.

Whitehaven don’t meet a Cumbrian side until Round 5 where they will travel a few miles up the road to play Workington.  Barrow doesn’t visit the Recreation Ground until the final regular season game on 16^th July (Round 15).

Workington, on the other hand play both Cumbrian rivals within a week.  A trip to Barrow is in store in Round 4 before their visit from Whitehaven six days later.

CAN WE AVOID ANOTHER NORTH/SOUTH DIVIDE?...

One of the bigger questions for expansionists is the one raised above.  I call it a North/South divide but a better question would be can an expansion club break the mould of the traditional northern power-houses?

The last expansion side to have a decent season was North Wales Crusaders.  After being relegated from the Championship in 2014 they broke into the Play-offs in fifth place a year later finishing above both Rochdale Hornets and Barrow Raiders.  But last season, they finished in tenth place and narrowly lost the League 1 Shield Final to Newcastle Thunder.

London Skolars surprised a lot of people early in the season and they were the ‘expansion’ team to take eighth spot as the league split in two.  Ultimately, the strength of the traditional northern sides prevailed and they failed to win a single game in the Super 8’s.

This season I think it will be another side that has that chance.  For me it could be Newcastle who could pull a few more surprises this year.  Despite an early season draw at Barrow which was followed a few weeks later by consecutive victories over Dewsbury Rams (home) and London Skolars (away), Thunder couldn’t quite break into the Super 8’s.  But following a faultless League 1 Shield campaign, seven wins from seven including the Shield Final at Kingston Park, nothing but progression will do this season.

2017 will certainly be an interesting year!

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