That's like saying all the sports you just listed there are different codes of football, not different sports.

That's a good point.

The issue I have with using the word 'Rugby' is that the Onion lot don't use the term 'Union', they just use 'Rugby'. This is then used in the meida. So, for example, I sent a letter of complaint (because I'm cool like that!) to ESPN and BT Vision when I started my TV contract last year because in their respective catch up functions they had a section for 'Rugby', which only contained programmes covering the Onion code.

The complaint did nothing, but it is noticable how often 'Rugby' is referred to in other media outlets, like the news. I remember years ago when League and Union were differentiated. I'm also sure I remember that when opening the segments on each code there would be photograph of ball tee'd up in front of some posts would appear behind the reporter. If they were talking about Union, there would be a Union ball, League, a League ball.

The solution is either to raise the profile of the code again or change the name completely. I'd be happy with referring to it as League with an official name of League XIII.

Why don't we go the whole hog and just call ourselves FOOTBALL?
We're both stupid for letting soccer take a monopoly on it!

Or...

Why don't some fans just swallow their pride, accept that union is the bigger game, has a monopoly over the name "rugby" and find a [inickname[/i (like soccer in the US and Aus) to distinguish us from them? Because those that think we should call ourselves rugby to spite the unionites (and claim it as some kind of history lesson) should be suggesting football.

And "League" isn't distinguishing enough either because that could mean anything. Premier League? Magners League? A "Rugby" League? Doesn't help.

No majority will like a particular suggestion though, as the majority of the game's fans are stubborn.

I'll throw one out there though:
Rugby League Football - Sport's official name (as now)
Leagueball - Sport's nickname.
Leaguer - A player
Leaguey - A fan (pl: Leaguies)

You can tell its a sport by the name, and there's an obvious connection with our game. Won't be confused with other leagues, and gives us identities as fans and players.

As above, Union have hijacked Rugby and we have let them. I quite like the Rugby Xiii logo.

But like I said, it's just like complaining about association football having a monopoly over the word "football". Back before the split, they were both "football" - Rugby rules and Association rules (previous to that, whatever school's rules).

Us choosing to verbally drop the word "rugby" is no more a defeat for us as them (and us) dropping the word "football", or "soccer" being the name of choice for association football (why try and compete with "American" Football, or gridiron as it's nicknamed in parts of the world with a stronger code of football).

Look at QLD and NSW. They call RL "footy", RU "rugby" and association football "soccer". Is that a loss to rugby or a win to football? I think take it as a massive win that we're the dominant code of football in those areas, and have relegated football to use "soccer". Rugby is secondary, not primary in distinguishing our sport, so why people are that bothered about that but don't care about the "football" part shows their ignorance of the sport's history and their petty jealousy of the other code.

And association football has hijacked Football, and everyone has let them. Why doesn't this bother you?

I don't like the idea of XIII as a distinguisher. What about nines or sevens? How do we distinguish them from union sevens? It just makes is appear a modified version of "rugby" (which worldwide usually means union). We need separation.

This is why I said one of the solutions is to raise the profile of the game. If the game can garner the sort of profile it used to have in this country then there will be little issue with the name. An informal naming arrangement can help distinguish the two codes of Rugby and help raising the profile of the game. Look at NZ; they call Union 'Rugby' and League 'League'. Officially its 'Rugby League', but informally its called 'League'.

I suppose another argument for not dropping the 'Rugby' term is considering the history of RL in France and how League clubs were banned from using the term 'Rugby'. Should we really give into Union's political pressure, even after all this time?

Do we really think we can raise our profile enough to overtake to the point where people call the game "rugby" exclusively though? I don't, certainly not in my lifetime. Even football doesn't try in places, and they're huge.

The informal naming arrangement is exactly what I was getting at. I don't think we should change the name of the sport, just give it a nickname (like soccer, gridiron, etc). We are informally referred to as "League", but that can cause confusion, e.g. you can't have a National League League, it would be stupid. And if you choose to change the word "league" (as in the competition, not the sport) to something like "championships" (National League Championships), people will be like "what sport is that in?". It could mean anything.

The XIII idea won't work for reasons already mentioned.

The NFL does not refer to its sport as "NFL", it calls it "football" and that's "football" plain and simple with no qualifications.

The Aussies refer to NRL as "footie" too.

Superleague is a brand that's worked and continues to work. Perhaps Rugby League as a whole can adopt the name rather than just the top tier of the sport.

The Sport becomes Superleague, every team from amateur to top divison champions play Superleague.

Divisions become:
1. Elite Series
2. Championship Series
3. National Series

The winners of each division finish top of that division and receive a real trophy, not a plate. Then the top 6 of each division enter playoffs to try and become 'Elite Series Champions' or 'Championship Series Champions' etc.

The 3 Grand finals could be played on one day, Superleague Grand Finals Day.

Franchise system stays and you must have won one of your divisions respective trophys to apply for promotion every 3 seasons.

Association Egg Ball.

We could corner the whole egg market. The leagues would be sponsored by Egg. Half time eggnog instead of a cup of tea. A good eggzample of an eggstremely marketable concept i feel.

Depends which part of Australia. IIRC, in the AFL strongholds, "football" is AFL, and "league" is RL.

I just wish that when we split (or even later) we had named/renamed it "Professional rugby" which would have made a clear distinction between us and Union. I think that the "professional" term would definitely have created a more positive perception/position for our sport to non-fans if this name had been embedded, because you would normally think of the professional version of something as being the "better" version, especially in sport.

Sport was seen differently back then. Being professional was seen negatively by the middle and upper classes. Highlighting this fact more would have made no difference.

I wish when we split we had replaced the word "rugby" altogether. At the end of the day, "Rugby" is just named after the place it was invented and codified. It was "Rugby rules" football.
We should have been "Northern rules" football really, and just dropped the "Rugby" part altogether. It wasn't necessary to keep. NRFU wasn't helpful at the time. When we changed to RFL decades later, we could have had a completely different name.

I just think the term "rugby" is completely unnecessary and confusing, especially for new fans, and the sooner we come up with a suitable alternative/informal/nickname then we will struggle to garner any serious media attention other than the "lesser cousin" of union.

What has 'Super' got to do with this discussion - that's the name of the league, not the sport