After demolishing League 1 year, the Toronto Wolfpack are finding out just how hard life in the Championship can be as they bid for Super League.
In 2017 as the only full-time team the new Canadian club blitzed its competition to achieve promotion. Out of 24 games they won 22, with just a single loss and one draw. It was an easy romp up into British rugby league’s second tier.
But after just four rounds of the Championship Toronto has had a wake-up call. On Sunday they were humbled 47-16 by London Broncos. It was the biggest defeat the Wolfpack have suffered in their short history. It came after an ugly draw with Barrow in round two, and a slightly fortunate victory in round three over Halifax, after Toronto were lucky not to have a player sent off for a dangerous spear tackle.
With four rounds gone they sit in fifth place, out of the promotion places. Head coach Paul Rowley let his feelings be clearly known after the London loss.
“You get what you deserve in this game,” he said.
“London were very good value for the win and if anything, they should have beaten us by more points. I just thought from minute one to minute 80 we played very, very poorly. I don’t think we were honest in our defence. The two areas we were poor in were defence and our kicking game. We got schooled in that department.
“We were horrendous today, really, really poor. But what I don’t want to do is take anything away from London. I think London are doing a good job, I thought the referee had a good game, we have no excuses, we were beaten by a far better side on the day.”
Last year the fully professional Wolfpack were up against part-timers who trained two or three nights a week. Full-timers, and ex NRL and Super League pros, against students, tradesmen and builders. This season they are not only pitted up against fellow seasoned professionals, who are also training full-time, but grizzled and hard Championship veterans eager to knock them off their perch. It will be no walk in the park.
Compounding matters was the sacking of three key forwards Dave Taylor, FuiFui MoiMoi and Ryan Bailey in the off-season. Taylor was their marquee man, a former Kangaroo and Origin star who would help them’ get to the top flight. The sudden departure of the trio has decimated their front row.
Adding to that has been a spate of injuries to their squad. Cory Paterson broke a wrist in the win over Leigh. Nick Rawsthorne suffered an eardrum injury in the Broncos game. In pre-season Gary Wheeler, Tom Armstrong, Jonny Pownall, Ryan Burroughs and Ashton Sims all picked up injuries. Toronto’s roster has been stretched.
#WeGoAgain
Away from the pitch there has been transition. Chief executive Eric Perez, the brainchild behind the Wolfpack, has left his role. He was the driving force and quotable figure who sold the RFL on the idea of a Canadian side playing in England. Perez remains a shareholder and director of the club, but no longer is involved in the day-to-day running of the club. A new structure has been set up where general manager of commercial Scot Lidbury is in charge of all non-rugby matters.
Similarly Adam Fogerty, the actor and former rugby league player, is no longer involved with Toronto. Fogerty served as a director of the club and was the public face of its reality TV series Last Tackle. According to a Wolfpack spokesperson both Fogerty and Perez are “focusing on other projects”. Perez is believed to be involved in the bid to set up a new club in the Canadian city of Hamilton.
After a golden beginning, Toronto are evolving as a franchise and experiencing their own growing pains. It will be interesting to see how they react to the challenges ahead.
