Richymac wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:56 pm
Firestarter wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:55 pm
I blame sky for super league looking inferior to NRL...... its defo a step down unfortunately...... i really think our game needs the crowds , whereas, the NRL is just business as usual
The NRL are more fortunate to have a government who handled Coronavirus successfully and therefore got fans back quicker.
What would you suggest?
I reckon, raise the cap. Put a game or two a week on BBC on the provision that they advertise a certain way and enough. Get exposure to people who are currently not interested. Bums on seats because of the exposure. More money and bigger sponsors.
Whilst I’m sure this won’t fix the whole problem it will help a bit, I firmly believe. Going a bit off topic I know but just trying to think big, I reckon it wouldn’t hurt.
I dont think simply raising the cap will help the game - because the game itself doesnt have much of a draw therefore raising the cap will just mean a few mercenary signings for bigger spending teams. I do think the cap needs to be raised and tweaked but i dont think its the issue below are probably my big takes
Poster boy needed:
I probably sound like a broken record but the closest RL ever came to breaking out of its niche status was Sam Tomkins 2012 - he was everywhere footballers were talking to him, he was on question of sport, bradley wiggins was in adverts with him and he played for the barbarians. You cannot grow the sport without a poster Boy/Girl - F1 - Hamilton, Boxing - Fury/Joshua, Snooker - Ronnie, Golf - Rory Mc etc etc if i say Rugby league outside of the north i bet i cant get a player name out of anyone consistently - sports are built on people not the sport.
Sponsors:
Which leads to my second point the reason these players are never out there is because there is no financial gain for them to be there they cant have sponsor deals and sell their face, its imperative to increase exposure that this rule changes
League:
Trim it, dont expand it, go to 10 teams of real quality not 12-14 teams 2 of which arent even based in the country. Compact it and grow in hotspots like cumbria who actually want the game. people can bang on about the salary cap levelling the playing field etc but since superleague started only 4 teams have ever won it and 1 of those hasnt even played in the league for 6 years.
League Structure:
Personally i think youd get far more fans in with a straight league, do away with all the playoff non-sense if you want to make every game count - make every game count. People like simplicity in sports not convoluted play off systems - thats the american market and they are used to it, this game isnt being played in america its being played in the uk. I know it works for the NRL but that doesnt mean it has to work for us. Let the best team be the ones who win the most games if you want a big night out in manc then do something else for that
Thats my ramblings anyway
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