Is my love for the greatest game on earth wavering?

[TrueBlueWarrior]

Mine has because of the RFL, it's such a shame!

[the pieman]

I'm getting the impression from the antecedent posts pessimism has set in possibly because the relevant posters only started to support Wigan post 1980's when we ruled the roost. Things have changed since then. There is now a more even field.
Summer rugby great. No more frozen gonads watching the A team play on Friday nights. Better coverage from TV (no Ray French and the other comedian old "up an'under".
Skill levels vastly improved thanks to the Antipodean influence. Adjudication much improved from the days of "thugby" Ground facilities much improved. No tip toeing through yellow rivers.
Read Josie's epithet. Don't just sing when we're winning.

Yeah you're right i only started post 80's because of the success, i mean 84-85 i struggled to get to games much what with being an embryo 'n all

Also i think if you payed more attention to the posts you've claimed to have read you will see that the disgruntled fans comments are directed towards rugby league as a whole and no-one has stated anywhere their attention has waned due to lack of immediate success for Wigan

In fact if you look at what is being said most people are saying that super league has got worst of the more recent years which have arguably been wigan most successful in the super league era 75% of our super league crowns have happened in the last 7 years following a 12 year barren stage after 1998. In addition many people myself included have mentioned that should Wigan win the super league this year it would be a borderline catastrophic representation of the sport considering how utterly rubbish we have been most of the season.

I certainly enjoyed watching rugby a hell of a lot more during the barren 12 years than i have the past 5 years in which we have been champions twice, thats not because i didn't want us to win then or i am against us winning now but the sport in general i felt was better to watch and excited me more, i would of loved Wigan to win during this period but i do remember looking forward to Friday nights especially if it was a big game.

I agree with you in the sense the coverage is better and the facilities are better and as athletes the players have improved but these all come with progress of time, there are very few sports in which all these things have not happened.

The introduction of the Thursday match still grinds my gears, set there to fill a void in Skys programming it ruined the idea that the weekend started with the rugby a big Friday night clash. To boost rating sky also engineered key matches for these days which made attendances dropped and took the sting out of the atmosphere.

Rugby League as a whole, not just Wigan has got steadily worse year on year over the last 5 years and i feel like its getting to a tipping point, i think if Wigan or Saints end up champs it could kill of a hell of a lot of interest in the "regular season" why buy a season ticket if only the last 6-7 games actually count

agree with what you have said

i love watching Wigan, but want to see a competitive competition where the standards have not been watered down. i will happily applaud good rugby from opposition teams as i appreciate seeing good rugby whether played by Wigan or AN other (poss St's excepted ). yes we all want to see a winning team, but the current league (even prior to the recent changes) mean that there is no emphasis on winning regular league games, but jockeying for position and saving players fitness

it is also an interesting point you make re Wigans success in recent years - if we were all driven by success the crowds would have dropped well before they have started to do so

i also love watching great britain (for some reason i cant bring myself to love watching England) but i have not bothered with recent series / tri series because of the RFL and lack of marketing / creativity - call it whatever you want to generate interest. i recall test series v the ozzies at Wembley / OT etc where we were getting 50k+ - now we blow it up our arses with 20k as successful

[jao711]

I wish all these"loyal" RL fans would stop feeling sorry for themselves.Too many "glass half empties" .

[Wigan_forever1985]

I wish all these"loyal" RL fans would stop feeling sorry for themselves.Too many "glass half empties" .

Do you think that rugby league is in a good place? or heading in the right direction though? (genuine question)

[the pieman]

I wish all these"loyal" RL fans would stop feeling sorry for themselves.Too many "glass half empties" .

Do you think that rugby league is in a good place? or heading in the right direction though? (genuine question)

No & No, despite what we are regularly told

crowds across the board are falling. Monday / Thursday nights do nothing for the RL fan - poor crowds and poor atmosphere

i personally think it is down to the format, but dont know what the answer is being fair to the RFL. IMO there is not enough emphasis on winning the league - X no of games, finish top and get no recognition for it. i long for all teams going all out for the full league campaign and then the best team on merit is crowned champions / league winners and get the credit from all

Salary cap is a massive restraint - as i mentioned previously - name me 1 genuine world class player that you would pay to watch in SL. If they are going to keep the CAP, then allow players to earn other money from being the front for advertising (seen someone else mention that previously ala Paul Sculthorpe - Gillette) -

Positive for me is the reformation of GB - not sure of the full extent - but now needs a proper international calendar with tours

[moto748]

I don't think we are in a good place at all in England. Just a few years ago, I was arguing that although you could say the NRL was objectively 'better', SL games were often a better watch, owing to the rather sterile safety first tactics adopted by many Aussies sides. I couldn't in all honesty make that claim today.

And the reason is twofold. Firstly NRL sides (well, most of them) have woken up and smelt the coffee and are playing a more pleasing brand of footy, and secondly, SL games, not just at Wigan, are usually pretty dull affairs. Certainly the format doesn't help. I was one of those who wasn't keen on the new format, but accepted that we should stick with it for a few years cos chopping and changing every couple of years makes us look clueless. And I gather they are saying, no major changes next season. But on balance I think we need to go back to a knockout format as we had before. Top 8, as the NRL have, is too many for our standard. 8th in S L, whether it's Wigan or not, doesn't deserve a shot. I'd be happy to see league leader go straight to the Final, and 2-5 play off to see who joins them. More dead rubbers, maybe, but a price worth paying, and recognition for being the top side over the regular season.

[nellywelly]

Our game has been on the wane for many years now well before sky came in,and I believe if they had not come in our game would be in a much worse condition. I do not agree with a lot of the changes made but I understand most of them, I believe the salary cap needs overhauling and rewards teams who like ours have good youth structures and also have a reserve team. I know there is only so much money in super league and by spreading it around so thinly has ment the quality has dropped. I believe Castleford are the only team to buck this trend ,we on the other hand have gone backwards,we desperately need a new coach and someone who can kick Williams is not the answer in fact I believe his game has suffered since taking over kicking duties. Wane has had his time and though he has been a good coach he has now taking us backwards we need some new blood and fresh ideas