SL Qualifying Final : Toronto v London

You don't win many RL games by scoring four points. You win even less scoring two. The Qualifying Final or 'million pound game' as it is called, was to decide who goes up to the rugby league El Dorado (aka Super League). Toronto coach Paul Rowley's side was up against Danny Ward's London.

The game was played in Toronto on front of over 9,000 fans, which in itself is a huge achievement for a sport new to the country. An arm wrestle ensued and in the end the visitors prevailed 4-2. The defence of London was awesome but the attacking nous of the Wolfpack found wanting.

London looked like it wasn't making the play offs but came though with a wet sail. It then looked unlikely to make this game but narrowly got through. Going to Canada and winning looked a tough ask but they have.

Toronto started the season roaring, but having reached the finals looked increasingly bereft of ideas. Presumably the higher level of competition found them wanting in class.

What it means:

London has had a nomadic existence in the city and needs to settle down but the current ground doesn't seem suitable. It's financial situation could hold it back from taking full advantage of what it has just achieved. 99% on Londoners will never know anything about this club and of the other 1%, 90% of them will not be too concerned. So crowds of 2-3,000 can be expected.

London have been here before with varying degrees of success. It needs to make it work this time. It has a good up and coming coach and some fine young talent. It needs a permanent home base and a sizable ground with reasonable access for fans in a city that can be difficult to travel around. It needs locals to get behind them. It needs strong financial backing.

Toronto are at the three year point of their five year plan to make SL so not a disaster. One team goes up next year so that limits their chance in some way, but the absence of play offs helps. The coach and talent scouts need scrutiny as do some on the playing roster. Whether the club will look at those in charge with a clinical eye we will have to wait and see.

The 9,000 fans per game the Wolfpack would have added will be missed in SL. TV deals that the club may have been able to arrange will be much harder, if not impossible, to pull off until they reach the top. It's not back to square one but things need to improve. In that sense, this may be a blessing in disguise.

Qualifiers Summary:

The four years of the Qualifiers comes to an end. Here is its history in terms of final placings. Blue shows SL sides, yellow Championship ones. The 4th and 5th placed sides played the Million Pound game, the (W) shows who won it:

		2015				2016
		1	Hull KR	14		1	Leeds	12
		2	Widnes	10		2	Leigh	12
		3	Salford	10		3	Huddersfield	10
		4	Wakefield (W)	6		4	Hull KR	8
		5	Bradford	6		5	Salford (W)	6
		6	Halifax	4		6	London	6
		7	Sheffield	4		7	Batley	2
		8	Leigh	2		8	Featherstone	0
		2017				2018
		1	Warrington	14		1	Salford	10
		2	Widnes	10		2	Leeds	10
		3	Hull KR	10		3	Hull KR	10
		4	Leigh	8		4	Toronto	10
		5	Catalans (W)	8		5	London (W)	8
		6	London	3		6	Toulouse	6
		7	Featherstone	3		7	Widnes	2
		8	Halifax	0		8	Halifax	0