Blimey! Be careful what you stand in.

Seth, thanks for your informative reply to my inane post, perhaps I should elaborate.

I'm in Doncaster, a town on the Southern edges of the heartland. A history of rugby league support through adversity and a rapidly shrinking amateur base for the game. It is also a town with very good motorway transport links and I use them frequently, seeing many a Stobart truck along the way. I am told how great this deal was by our friends at the RFL and am still yet to see a lorry flying the flag. This is what causes me annoyance Seth. The trucks seem to make their appearances along the fabled M62 corridor, is this what is really required and if not why are the RFL not questioning the intricacies of the deal?

None on the M27

I saw one in a layby on the A34 this morning just south of Oxford. It was the Hull one. I asked my wife what she thought it was advertising - she hadn't a clue. My wife whilst not a fan of RL is not exactly ignorant of the game - how could she be? When I explained the signifcance, she couldn't believe the RFL had been so daft. God knows what the people of Oxfordshire (or anywhere else outside the heartlands) think about them if they think anything at all.
I do quite a lot of driving, and have seen precisely three since the start of the SL season. IMO the whole thing would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.

If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.

Probably a poor deal but nonetheless spotting the odd SL truck has improved many a boring drive. Apart from being baulked for 20-odd miles behind the Wakey one on the Fosse Way a few weeks back, that is.

Also, you can bet that Stobarts will be tardy in repainting their trucks (they won't pull them off the road to get rid of the branding the day the deal ends) so the RFL will get the benefit of the tail end of the sponsorship whilst also getting, hopefully, some cash through the door.

However as you suggest, in the overall scheme of things, even a "lucrative" deal of say £1m is not really going to make that much difference once split 14 ways. If Betfair were offering £750k then it really was barely worth it for the SL clubs when they were faced with that decision, especially with the other inherent problems of going with that deal.