Lock it.

League`s biggest enemy is the game itself

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 438123.stm The penny might also be dropping here too ....

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 438123.stm The penny might also be dropping here too ....

League's biggest enemy is the London based media, closely followed by Maurice Lindsey (not sure why but I'm sure he's still a menace is some form or another), closely followed by the game itself.

It's spectator apathy, far above all else.

Soccer is more of a threat to the sport than RU.

I too went to yesterday's game and was utterly astonished that anyone would be prepared to watch this turgid form of entertainment on a regular basis. At one stage all both teams were prepared to do was kick the ball aimlessly between each other.

No matter what the next promotion Mr Hetherington comes up with to try and persuade me back to watch that tripe I will not be enticed. As a League fan I would rather my money go to support Keighley Cougars in an effort to keep them in existence than watch Union again.

Especially if Leeds Utd really get their act together

Whys that mate?

League's biggest enemy is history.
For over a century it was regarded as the bastrad offspring of another game, a strange anomaly of a game, played by a few strange Northerners.
This was reinforced by the style of BBC coverage for many years and still is, by the ongoing perpetuation by newspapers of an old view that was never actually accurate.

Until these old misperceptions are wiped out, RL won't make inroads into development areas and, without growth, it will actually shrink.

Rugby league doesn't have any enemies.

Rugby union was the original version and was spread far and wide by the upper classes. That game will naturally be bigger world wide.

Rugby league is an entertaining full bloodied sport that is slowly expanding to other areas of the country. People should be happy with that.

Enemies my ar$e.

It wasn't an image that those in charge of the game itself were particularly quick to try and shed though either.

The same northern voices were always wheeled out as public faces of the game - Eddie Waring, Ray French, Alex Murphy, Colin Welland etc. The same Northern clubs populated the league from the 30s onwards when the Welsh and London sides fell by the wayside.

Even with the introduction of summer rugby, Super League and US style team branding, they still managed to find a couple of stereotypical Northerners to present BSkyB's coverage to the country at large. Sponsors continued to be beer and fags companies.

Only under Richard Lewis can the RFL be seen to be making strides to disassociate itself from the flat cap and whippet stereotype, bringing on multinationals as competition and national team sponsors and looking to expand the reaches of the sport beyond the area from Hadrian's Wall to the Humber again.

Why would Leeds Utd be a threat to RL?

RL survived when Leeds Utd were the best team in the country, at the moment they are a 3rd division team.

In what way Lawrie?

Indeed so.