When you look at where the game was in 1995, crumbling stadiums, woeful crowds, almost at deaths door, the progress to what we have today is amazing. Yes, the Skye deal has been huge but careful stewardship from the RFL especially since Lewis came on board,has seen the Skye contract renewed, attendances skyrocket in SL, player development come on in leaps and bounds, the 4 nations and world cups slowly recussitating the inernational game. The geographical spread of the game via the summer conference is also amazing. I have issues with the RFLs ringfencing of super league and the neglect of the championships but, in recent times they seem to have some plan for the future and the expansion of the championships. There have been some hiccups, Crusaders, Paris, Wakefield and Bradford come to mind and the refusal to give Keighley their rightful place in SL at the very beggining also annoyed me greatly but the overall graph of RL progress, despite some minor dips has been a gradual incline upwards. I think next years World Cup could be a massive catalyst to further positive progress for the game in this country and the way the RFL are going about organising it is more planned and structured than the four team excuse for a competiton which took place in my youthful years. I think the RFL are doing an excellent job for the most part.

They're doing a largely excellent job, unlike some of our clubs chairmen and owners.

Whatever the right answer is, my non-heartland friends who are also sport enthusiasts have no interest in the game because it all seems a bizarre carry on to them

Gradually the RFL will de generate our game into one of insignificance with very little marketing and media presence. Richard Lewis did the same thing with British Tennis around 2003 were he turned the sport into 3rd world status.
The RFL are very good at changing the rules to sweep things under the carpet, the franchise system is basically a "glossy brochure" with deep problems under the surface.
What the "voiced clubs" are concerned about is how are they supposed to generate backers and sponsorship when the RFL themselves cannot market the game and increase media stature. The Stobart deal promising (Wood) benefits to the game of £2.5 million is just make believe.

Daren't tell you what the Tri-Nations and then 4 Nations sponsorship was sold to Gillette for then.......
RL commands 5%-10% of the sports pages at best and gets a couple for 250k-300k viewed programmes in the UK and then gets about 1,000,000 pairs of eyes fro the CC final...once a year.
750k for sponsorship of the main division would be about right......

BTW...Manly may well have got 750k from Pepsi a decade a go........it's 750k more than cronulla have managed to nail down this year....

I voted (a) to be controversial. OOOOoooOOOooOOoooOOooOOO

It's amazing to see how many of you have your heads in the sand.

Tthe sport is now in a really precarious position. The 14 club Super League is clearly unsustainable and the Championship clubs are either struggling through every season hoping for a better future that isn't coming or being bankrolled by benefactor's who's passing or loss of interest will see the end of the club.

Would you have us return to the pre-SKYTV money days? Fine by me....London had about 1,000 less fans but at least we were competative in out league

Let's go back to pre-Lewis then. It was a far better time. I believe the year was 2001. There hadn't been relegation for a few years also. The World Cup had just cost the game millions, sending it nearly bankrupt. Two expansion sides were forced to merge with heartlands sides. The game had failed in France. The international team were still crap. The media coverage was less existent than now. The Sky deal had been reduced in money. We got knack-all from sponsors even then. Players were still going to RU such as Robinson and Harris.

Was Lewis the reason for all of them as well?

Why go back to pre Lewis. We need an RFL that can raise the profile of rugby league through marketing and media. Sport is now a business and global product, Lewis and Wood can,t grasp that, that's why we can,t find a creditable blue chip sponsor to come on board to our flag ship competion.
Lewis and Wood sound like funeral directors who are undertaking ideals without transparency. I agree with some of the club chairmen who have voiced there opinion and are a bit closer to the concerns, rather than Lewis and Wood who can,t see beyond there own back yard.
Maybe we should get Sir Alan Sugar to study the business model, the probable result ................Lewis and Wood you,re FIRED.

Rugby League is a great product and has the sky viewing figures to prove this. A good question is do the RFL make the most of this?

I think they score about 3/10 for this.

It pains me to say this, but just look how the wigan club market games, the first TV advert for a game, "the big one" has more coverage to most people than the magic weekend does!

Why go back? Because you're talking like Lewis has taken the game backwards, which is a complete and utter lie.

Lewis has been the best administrator of our game in my lifetime and seen the game through its healthiest ever period. Who has done a better job?

Lewis and Wood in my opinion have stagnated the game and we need better more profession able people on board.
I agree with Saddened that the situation is precarious, if all the backers who bankroll the clubs pull out then we would probably end up a Superleague of 3 (Leeds, Wigan and Hull) back to the pre Lewis days of an uncompetitive Superleague.
Lewis and Wood have failed on the franchise system, have failed on reducing the overseas quota to produce home grown talent, have failed on referring standards, have failed on expanding the professional game nationally, have failed on sponsorship to raise the profile of our sport.
Who would have thought it we advertise our game on the side of "some" Stobart lorries outside the public window, can compete with a team of 10 overseas players, showcase our game expansion weekend in Manchester.

So since they came on board, there has been no development of progression at all? Really?

Why is that Lewis and Wood's faults? It's the same in any pro sport. You're just picking anything now. If anything, it's good that the sport is in a place to attract such investors.

So they've failed on a franchise system that has forced clubs to improve standards? They've failed to reduce the overseas quota despite putting a new system in place that will eventually get us around the Kolpak ruling (that effectively meant it was unlimited before) once all the exceptions have retired (can't break the law can we). There are more players eligible and being talked about for international honours now than ever. There are three additional semi-pro clubs with four more to come. They have successfully expanded into Europe professionally (only administration to do this).

But yeah, the game hasn't moved since they came in. In fact it's gone backwards

Why is it do difficult for some people to understand that viewing figures aren't the be-all and end-all of TV deals and sponsorship?