Toronto Wolfpack: Can Canadian club complete journey to Super League?
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By Dave Woods
BBC soccer league correspondent
By pipe-dream into the border of fact, Toronto Wolfpack are just 80 minutes out of a place in Super League.
After three years of playing with their way the Wolfpack locate themselves in a marketing decider from Featherstone Rovers.
And on the back of their bidding for a spot in the elite of football league, a sport that was born in the towns of England is beginning to find its location in one of the coolest cities of North America.
I think theres a huge chance out here, explained Jon Wilkin, a multiple Challenge Cup and Grand Final winner with St Helens, that this year has been assisting spearhead the Wolfpacks on-field bid for promotion.
I presume that the idea is crazy and whacky, but its a very professional set-up weve got out here. Its just not a conventional heartland, Wilkin told BBC Radio 5 Lives Rugby League Podcast this week before Saturdays match.
Wed 9,500 individuals at our match a week (against Toulouse), and for me thats astonishing.
The Toronto Argonauts, from the Canadian CFL – the equal of the NFL – theyd 12,000 individuals go to their game and they play in a enormous 40,000 arena and it is on TV over here.
Therefore for the Wolfpack to receive 9,500, that is enormous. An presence like that isnt something to be sniffed at.
Promotion is on the Canadian side far from a formality.
Toronto, led by Grand Leeds coach Brian McDermott, were leaders of this Championship.
But who goes up to Super League is determined by means of a set of play-off matches, culminating in a decider.
The Wolfpack were in precisely exactly the same position last year, only to be shot down from London Broncos.
This year it and also the contrast between the two clubs couldnt be sharper.
Featherstone – who is fans rejoice beneath the nicknamethe flat-cappers – is a village which rests in the center of the rugby league heartland.
A stones throw from Wakefield Trinity and Super League clubs Castleford, in the shadow of their neighbours not much past, they are cast with Leeds.
But some moments are shown up by their history. Their latest afternoon in the sun was a Challenge Cup Wembley win in 1983 and they have a desire to compete with the elite .
This season despite finishing fifth in the regular season, they have defied the odds of beating Leigh, York and Toulouse – all – to claim a spot within this so-calledMillion Pound Game.
And Wilkin is not surprised they have been the opponents with this contest of Toronto.
No, not at all, he explained. Everyone in the outside looking in could say Toulouse and York are up there, another best two teams at the contest.
However, the toughest two games we have played all year have been against Featherstone. Theyve been the many games that weve played in, theres not many breaks in the game and where it is very much a tussle, and they appear to enjoy that as far as any team weve played this level.
Were eager to be there and to be enjoying with them.
Earlier this week the Wolfpack noted that 8,000 tickets had been sold for Saturday.
Thats marketed, they state , not given away.
And they expect to turn fans away on the day if thehouse full signs go up.
But lose or win, the Wolfpack will go on, and Wilkin says his year with Toronto has shown signs that the rugby league seeds in town are starting to take hold.
I think that its rising, he explained. The area of the town at which the scene is – a place named Liberty Village – is really a sort of a hipster region, Google have their own offices . Its a cool, bohemian work area, but theres residential areas around there too.
Id say pretty much everybody in that area knows about the Wolfpack. You are stopped by people at the street and chat for you. They know more about the sport, they state things likegood fortune in the last.
But the battle is downtown, the major portion of the city. Obviously the Blue Jays and the Maple Leafs are such brands and I dont think theres as much visibility there, but thats growing.
I jumped onto a road car the other day, the tram, and also the tram driverhigh fived me. It was a Wolfpack associated high . As a small bench markers, I thought that was interesting.
The odds are stacked in the Wolfpacks favour with this final game of the season. Featherstone, a mostly part-time group, had just a turnaround in flying back before jetting off to Canada.
The Wolfpack have had a week away and no need to travel from their Toronto base.
And Wilkin says his and his team-mates are focused.
You can build things up a great deal. It is a Grand Final and the implications of us winning, wed go into Super League, he said.
But the results of the matchs result do not impact the processes on the field, or else they shouldnt do. You may get too overawed by the scale of the job, but like anything else in life, if you break it down into small bite-size chunks its quite possible.
Big matches and pressurised environments change peoples behaviour. The challenge for us is that we dont need to change anything to win the game.
We are extremely respectful of Featherstone, they have a great young coach as well, but when we perform in our best I think we win the game and thats what we must do.
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