I agree with this. It can be difficult to get neutrals to sustain interest.

Also, I think Europeans like league championships, rather than a transplanted American/Aussie system of playoffs.

Europeans (I say that because it's not only a British thing) like the inherent fairness of a league system - you win the most games, you're the rightful champions at the end of the season.

I know the Grand Final is a money spinner, but the system of League + Challenge Cup + Regal Trophy fits better with people's understanding of how sport works here. It's the same as football basically - a league, a knockout cup, and another minor cup (like the Carabao or whatever it's called now).

They sold out a game against Castleford that was a play off to see who was relegated. They had 11,000 there and not many Castleford fans at all. They are however a habitual losing club in a terrible stadium.

I suppose if they had Paul Caddick as a chairman they'd sell out a redeveloped Belle Vue ground every game......

They are also up against Leeds United. Wakey to Elland Road is an easy journey......

I'm sure you are right and this is another factor in terms of crowds. We can't however rely on crowds at stadiums to support the professional game.

I think we all know if Superleague didn't have a TV deal there would be no Superleague and the game's profile would shrink badly as would crowds who would not want part time RL shorn of the big players. I remember the superleague season when Leeds played Bradford...

67,000 in the cup final
19,000 in the Headingley derby
21,000 in the Odsal derby
19,000 at odsal in the third league game
15,000 in the play off game at odsal

In a way I didn't like this in principle, but in practice these were great games, they drew big audiences to the games, and no doubt someone wanting to watch so RL on SKY would probably have welcomed Leeds and Bradford for the fifth time rather than Huddersfield-Sheffield against Wakefield for the first time that season.....

We are what we are thanks to TV, and the BBC must have been delighted at the Bradford.v.Leeds game in the cup recently.

See above.

It's insane that the game doesn't work hard enough to get Bradford back in Superleague, and the fans don't cut them any slack.

I can appreciate the purists idea of "fair play" and "this is sport". However I don't think it really is just a sport. It's a business that has to find the best way to survive and prosper.

As a "sport" shorn of the SKY deal and BBC money I honestly think our audience would shrink badly, and that top Rugby kids would be looking to play Union, who themselves would probably look to create another Sale RUFC in west Yorkshire.....Recreating Leeds RUFC.....

For me it's got nothing to do with the stadium I watch the game not checking out the facilities, I suppose if you stunted in growth it is difficult to watch from Belle Vue but try watching a team that you know will never reach a super league or even get the opportunity to grace Wembley all because we're not rich enough to afford the better players that the top clubs can get,
you wonder why some fans leave the game when they see clubs bend the rules to clamber up the league leaving you light years behind.
Then add the the lopsided refing that makes a mockery of the game whether it's televised or not,
then the bias to the richer clubs being on sky the most,
then you get the snobbery of fans that used to play out of holes but have forgotten about their past and get helping hand by their council's or latch on to football clubs but bleat on about ours

And you wonder why fans of the game are getting peed of with the game

That's very hypocritical of you, how's that song go "old faithful in any kind of weather"

Spot on there old boy, some people have short memories on here.

That's a mighty rant....I'm sure you and me both would, and have, and still would watch games stood on a pit heap (didn't Post office road have an unterraced banking of pit debris behind the sticks at one end?)**** But if we want the crowds we need to have the facilities - for the ladies if the loo's are a tip that's enough for them to refuse to go. ANYWAY.....

We have to put up with Leeds, Wire, Wigan and Saints playing for all the trophies decade after decade, but one thing I think we may forget is that wasn't there a time when they received "dispensation" because they moaned they could afford to buy big talents from Australia that would "grace the game" and the cap blocked this?

So this is the "better players" thing?

That Leeds or Wigan can stick another couple of hundred thousand on their "cap" and buy top Aussies may also mean that when top kids in Wakefield are ready to join an academy, they don't join Wakefield's but go to Leeds and yes Wigan?

I'd agree the cards are stacked against Wakefield.....Probably both ways......

Odsal's banking at the far end was a mix of rubbish and cinders from 100 years of coal fires in the city, I can remember pulling out empty BYB beer bottles out of that tip....

God I didn't think you were that old

Maybe it is a rant, what I should of done is added the second post to the first one I did which was ullfc post of getting wet and couldn't watch the game because of shallow steps coming from a fan who's grotty old stadium wasn't even fit to keep cattle in, council then builds them a top notch stadium and now they talk about wanting to leave it and bleats on about being the 3 top wage spender and can't afford to run the team

My heart bleeds for them

No, it's insane trying to bring back a club that have proven they can't operate within the rules set from a financial POV, the begging bowl passed round for Bradford 1964 that were piddled away was duplicitous, the RFL should have let them fall by the wayside instead of wasting money and effort, it could have gone into supporting other clubs that weren't completely bankrupt. I'd rather have London in SL than a Bradford.

The example you refer to attendance wise simply proves my point, by the play-off there was a 30% drop off in fans, that was a huge game, 10% drop off by the third league game, the CC final attendance is meaningless, neutrals make up a significant number.
Look at it another way, two top teams with a combined city population of well over a million (never mind outlying areas) only mustered 21,000 at its high point that season (3,000 less than the 24k high point in 1999).