Or maybe in the backs ?

With the upcoming Scotland v. Ireland game, after having a look at the muscle in our squad, we decided to have a look at who could provide the bit of magic for Scotland to get us some points on the board.

Gareth Moore
Wakefield  Trinity
3 caps

Moore is a great young prospect at half back. Having came through the Leeds Rhinos academy, he found himself at Batley where he established himself as a great young talent, a Northern Rail cup winner and an effective kicker. Many times it has been Moores boot that has been the difference between winning and loosing games, and this ability could be called upon at Scotstoun if given the chance

Brett Carter
Workington Town
1 cap

Young town full back Carter is certainly more than capable of slotting into the attacking line, picking up an impressive 7 tries in Championship one in Workingtons latest campaign which saw his impressive performances help Workington get to an unfortunately unsuccessful playoff final. Hopefully Carter can bring his turn of pace back over the border for the France game.

Dave Arnot
London Skolars
2 caps

Arnot is another Scottish player to rack up 7 tries this season on the wing, second on the try scoring list for Skolars to the prolific Adebisi. The hard working Fife lad who has already scored 2 tries and picked up the man of the match in a Scotland A game last year will hopefully have his try scoring boots on as he looks to add to his Scotland tally and establish himself as a regular

Callum Cockburn
Edinburgh Eagles
Uncapped

Cockburn picked up an impressive 7 tries in 8 games last season, which has led to the Eagles player hoping to pick up his first cap during the autumn tests, and stands every chance in a squad full of home grown talent. Given the chance Cockburn is sure to make an impact on the game and the inspiration of playing in front of a packed home crowd could be enough motivation to get a performance.

What do you think ? we would love to hear your opinions on our squad for our next game against Ireland. Have we missed anyone out ? Who is your favourite in the Scotland backs ? Please let us know what you think on our Facebook Page.

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Scots Raring To Go In Grand Finals

There will be no Scots playing in the Super League Grand Final next Saturday night at Old Trafford but, while most of Scotland's squad are enjoying a couple of weeks rest between the end of the club season and the international programme, this Sunday will see a group of Scottish internationals in cup final action, one in the biggest game in world club rugby - union or league. Scotland's most capped internationalist Andrew Henderson will play for Sheffield Eagles against favourites Featherstone Rovers in Sunday's Co-operative Championship Grand Final, the British's game's second tier finale, alongside club and country team-mates Jack Howieson, Alex Szostak and Mitchell Stringer. A few hours earlier, 12,000 miles away in front of 80,000 at Sydney's Olympic Stadium, their Scotland colleague Michael Robertson will play for Manly Sea Eagles against the New Zealand Warriors in the Australian National Rugby League Grand Final. It doesn't get any bigger than that.

"It would mean a lot to me personally to win the Championship, but more so for the club," says Henderson, who is again in the Scotland squad to face Ireland and France later this month. "Since arriving at Sheffield, I've really bought into the club's ethos and what they stand for. I feel what they have done since reforming 10 years ago is remarkable. They have had a long term vision to return to Super League and have took one step at a time, building a lot of infrastructure off the field and slowly improving on field performances. It would be the icing on the cake to win the Grand Final."

Sheffield have been outsiders throughout the play-off series, shocking Widnes and Leigh with superb wins in the last fortnight. Now they must do it again, and turn over the team that has led the division all season.

"We've always believed we were capable of achieving something this season, but our league form wasn't as consistent as we would have liked. But we've peaked at the business end and the boys are playing with confidence. Everyone is working hard for each other and really excited about the Grand Final. No-one gave us a cat in hell's chance of playing in the Grand Final this week let alone win the first play-off against Widnes, who we had never beaten before in the Championship until that night."

The number of Scotland internationals at Sheffield has grown over the last two years, with hooker Henderson and second-row forward Szostak joining Eagles' stalwart props Howieson and Stringer. "In some ways we've got a little group within a group but we have a fantastic team spirit here," explained Henderson, whose family are from Possil in Glasgow. "There are no cliques or egos, which is one of the reasons we're in the position we are."

Henderson, Howieson, Stringer and Szostak are all in Steve McCormack's provisional 28-man Scotland squad for the autumn internationals, but Robertson is missing. The Australian-born star is remaining in Sydney to finish his career with Manly on the biggest stage before moving to London in November to join Harlequins RL. Robertson's last appearance in the NRL Grand Final saw him score a hat-trick for Manly in their 2008 triumph.

Not that the Eagles' Saltire quartet - squad numbers 8 to 11 - have had chance to think about Scotland yet.

"I'm looking forward to Ireland and France if selected for the final 20-man squad as I love representing Scotland," said Henderson, whose Super League brothers Ian (Catalan Dragons) and Kevin (Wakefield Trinity) who have both been left out of the squad. "But my focus is purely on the Eagles at the moment and hopefully winning a Grand Final on Sunday. Once that's over I will have a few days down time, then focus on my commitments to Scotland and building towards a successful Test series."

There will be no Valvoline Cup Grand Final for Scotland newcomer Darryl Clark or Under-18 international Curtis McDonald as their Castleford Tigers Under-20s side was beaten in the semi-final by Warrington Wolves. They face Wigan Warriors, who feature Scottish full-back Shae Fraser-Lyon, in the reserves' final.

REMEMBER  to get your tickets for the 2011 Annual awards dinner !! Tickets are £40 per head and includes a free ticket for the Scotland vs. Ireland test series international the next day at Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow. Members of the Scottish national side and their management team will be in attendance for what should be a fantastic evening.

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Scotland Rugby League round up !

As most of you will we now have tickets on sale for the Annual Awards Dinner, so we would love for you to come and join us at the inaugural Awards Dinner to recognise the best players, teams, and volunteers in rugby league in Scotland - from the professional game to grass roots and community level.

What you may not know is that when you purchase your ticket for the awards, you will receive a ticket for the Scotland v. Ireland match for FREE ! However if you can't make the awards, we are offering a £5 discount to all of our Facebook friends. all you have to do is "Like" the Facebook Page and get your discount code, which you enter when purchasing your tickets.

We also have another offer running on our Facebook Page, because we love all of our Facebook friends, we have decided to give you the chance to win two tickets to the
Engage Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford. This competition consists of you posting your funniest rugby league stories to the Facebook Page, and getting your friends to "Like" your story. To view the full details of this competition, please click here.

Finally, to finish off our quick round up, we know that you have all been very anxious to know when the new Scotland kit will be unveiled. We have decided that the kit will first be shown on the Scotland Rugby League Facebook Page, and this will be happening in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our page, you don't want to miss it !

Are you as excited as we are ?

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Wheelchair Rugby League Launch

Scotland Rugby League to Launch Wheelchair Rugby League in Glasgow's East End.

Scotland Rugby League in partnership with the West of Scotland Wheelchair Sports Club, Easterhouse Panthers Amateur Rugby League Club, Glasgow City Council and the RFL will launch Wheelchair Rugby League on:

Saturday 24th September 2011

Whitehill Secondary School

280 Onslow Drive

Dennistoun

Glasgow

G31 2QF

Wheelchair rugby league is a version of wheelchair rugby based expressly on rugby league. It was developed by French rugby league player, coach and official, Robert Fassolette in 2004. Unlike other wheelchair sports people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top level competition. The Sport has been officially recognised by Sportscotland.

The aim of the session is to introduce the game of Wheelchair Rugby League to anyone who wishes to try the sport out, the day will commence at 10am and is a come and try day that will consist of skills/drills culminating in a small tournament finishing at 3pm.

There will be other sessions following this inaugural event that will run on a monthly basis.

Anyone wishing to attend should contact Mark Senter (Scotland Rugby League National Development Manager) in the first instance to ensure a place.

Email Mark

Tel: 07764627252

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RFL Announces extended Super League TV coverage

RFL ANNOUNCES EXTENDED SUPER LEAGUE TV COVERAGE ON SKY SPORTS

Five-year deal increases Super League income and takes partnership up to 21 years

The Super League and Sky Sports today announced the signing of a new broadcasting agreement to screen live Rugby League matches at the elite level until the end of 2016.

The new five-year agreement sees the Super League gain a record-breaking deal for exclusive rights to matches played during the 2012-2016 seasons spanning Super League XVII to Super League XXI, and taking the partnership with Sky Sports up to its 21st year.

"At a time when broadcast fees in sport have been under real pressure, this is a tremendous outcome for the sport of Rugby League," said RFL Chairman Richard Lewis.


"It clearly demonstrates the confidence that Sky Sports has in the game's current and future appeal and will give everyone involved in the sport a real boost.


"This is the first time we have sold domestic rights independently of international rights and so it bodes well for those sales which will be concluded either later this year or early next year."

The agreement with Sky Sports will see up to 70 Super League games being televised each season, including all Play Off matches and the end of season Grand Final at Old Trafford. In addition, live match coverage will be supported by additional programming every week including Boots 'N' All, Super League Super Men and Super League Extra Time.

Since 2001, television income for Rugby League has markedly increased. This growth has been matched by an increase in the number of fans attending matches from 1.2million in 2002 to 1.7million in 2010. More than one million young people received coaching over the last four years and in 2010 alone the number of adults participating in the sport increased by over 30,000.

"Our partnership with Sky Sports has been an important factor in the sustained growth of the game over more than a decade and we value the relationship we have with Sky and thank them for their continued support and excellent broadcast production values," added Lewis.


"The extended partnership from three to five years will enable us to plan for the future and tackle the issues we need to address in order to make Super League stronger."

Since the first Super League game was broadcast on Sky Sports in March 1996, nearly 3,000 matches have been screened covering some 424 rounds of weekly competition. Innovations during that time have included the video referee for difficult try decisions and events like the Grand Final and Magic Weekend, shown live in 3D this season.

Commenting on behalf of Sky Sports, Managing Director Barney Francis said:

"We are pleased to extend our partnership with the Rugby Football League for a further five years. Sky Sports has worked in tandem with the Rugby Football League as its principal media partner to showcase the game and support its development over the last sixteen years."

All live Super League coverage will be shown in HD and selected matches in 3D, and available to be watched by Sky subscribers with Sky Sports on mobile, online and tablet devices via Sky Go.

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