was going to post something similar to WF1985 (but wouldnt have worded it so well
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Play-offs IMO currently make RL a long pre-season, with the odd game of intensity, but they tend to be Wigan v Saints, Wire and poss Leeds. Outside of those games i struggle to get up for them as it often feels like there is nothing riding on them. i can honestly say that the majority of games v Wakey, Hudds are just complete borefests and i really dont look forward to going to them
the point about the NBA etc i cant answer as i am not into American sports. One thing however i do know is that they treat them as an experience having spoken to friends who have holidayed in the USA and been to NFL / NBA games etc. It is all about being there, with the entertainment / waiter type service to your seat. I'm sure Wigan (IL / KR) went to USA a few years ago to look at this.
1. Completely agree with this point and have posted either on here or RLFans previously. Where is the Scully type sponsorship with Gillette, poster boy and adverts. Sam was probably the last well known / household name in his 1st stint at Wigan but i dont think there is now a poster boy of rugby league. i reckon most households wouldnt recognise the majority of super league players and i include RL fans in that. In the late 80s - early 90s, it wasnt just 1 player who was well known outside of RL, but virtually all of the Wigan team, plus several players from other teams
I know RL players are nowhere near the league of professional footballers in terms of social media followers, but why stop them from using social media, if they can generate some extra income
2. again i have posted something along these lines previously. i used the term bringing the game down to the lowest common denominator at the time.
i like your analagy of the peloton,and if we were to set the bar at the highest level i.e. Wigan when the game went professional, it could perhaps have been a whole different ball game. But, in RL case, instead of all striving to be the best, we have lowered the standard to teams who dont want to spend money, dont want to invest in their acadamies, dont want to invest in a ground
with the above, that has covered off the players and how they could put themselves into the shop window to earn a little more, and having owners who are prepared to speculate to accumulate.
i believe there should be a minimum standard that all clubs should reach, which is where i think the initial licencing system was aiming to get the clubs too. By copping out and letting clubs not have an academy, reserves setup, crap ground, this has been one of the triggers leading to the decline. why should Wigan, Saints keep producing young players to prop up all the other clubs who at times simply cant be bothered
Marketing of the game from top to bottom is at best attrocious. I love to watch international RL but recent series have been so poorly marketed it is untrue. At club level, Wigan led the way for a good few years, and i think Wire have had a good go recently, but that has mainly been attempts to rile local rivalry
i think ticket prices, and i said this a few years ago are really at a tipping point for rugby league. Once we have gone over £20 per ticket for regular season games, i honestly think that does have an impact on attendance, and paying silly money to stand in the rain at Headingley, Wakey and Cas does nowt as a travelling supporter. it would be interesting to see if the clubs put a max price on a ticket if that would do anything for attendances
just some simple maths for my example above (i appreciate there is a 50% increase in attendance for the example), but those sorts of figures for most RL clubs should be achievable with a bit of marketing and effort to attract the fans in
5,000 @ £25 = £125k
7,500 @ £20 = £150k