So here we are, Round 20 of the BetFred Championship. Toronto are currently 7 points clear at the top of the table and have confirmed their place in the middle 8’s. A win this week would see us awarded the League Leaders Shield.

My family have been here for 3 weeks and the sun is shining. A lot. It seems surreal that we no longer have a home in England and that Claire sold my car whilst I wasn’t there as I wouldn’t be needing it again.

‘What about when I go back to England for the middle 8’s?’

‘I didn’t think about that…….’

Anyway, everything is as good as it could be and whilst trying not to think about it, there is a little cloudy patch at the back of my head niggling at me, letting me know that in 11 games time I will be setting up for my last game with the Wolfpack for a while. Even though the journey hasn’t finished yet, I can safely say that this has easily been my best experience in Rugby to date. A big testament to how the club has been run. I genuinely see the future of Rugby League including several North American clubs in a North American / European conference style league. I understand that anyone that hasn’t experienced the fervour over here will be sceptical. And I understand that some feel that expansion should begin in the UK. I’m not going to bang on about it as mostly every player / fan / official that has made the journey has gone home buzzing about where Rugby League could and maybe, should end up. It’s easy for those who haven’t been to throw disparaging or derogatory comments. But those who previously have, and then have visited, have very often changed their tune.

So I now have to start looking towards my travels post-season and what I will be doing to fill my time. Although there’s the children to look after and home school, I’m going to make the trip a learning experience for myself. As we visit different countries, I’m going to look to visit different sporting teams to see how different teams, in different sports, utilise and perform their coaching and analysis. It’s a journey of development and one that, when I think about it, is an amazing opportunity to develop my own expertise and knowledge. We will be looking to visit at least 5 different continents and I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of anyone that has had such an opportunity and now I can’t wait to start looking at   which teams we’ll be near, which teams I’ve got contacts in and which sports may be worthwhile having a look at. It’s a whole new adventure in itself that will benefit me massively in the long run!

Rugby Union – South Africa v Japan – IRB Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool B – Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton, England – 19/9/15 Japan celebrate victory after the match Reuters / Eddie Keogh Livepic

It would seem that the last 2 years with the Wolfpack was just the beginning….