Agree. The only thing I'd say lay at the RFL's door (at least partially) is attendances for the big event games like the Cup final, Grand final etc. As Bramley says the clubs know their market better than the RFL.

I still think there are a couple of things that could be done at RFL level though. I think a Heritage round (or something along those lines, if not a heritage round maybe designate 1 round every other week to be a heritage one for each club, so for instance Round 1 would be Saints, Round 3 would be Wigan etc and do it in conjunction with Sky who would televise that club's home game and could put together a programme or at least pre-match stuff about the history of that club) is a must. It's a great opportunity for us to remind people of our history and sell some more merchandise, every time a club produces a decent retro shirt they sell in large quantities.
I also think a portion of the TV money could be set aside for each club to heavily market one particular game in the season, in all the leagues.

Other than that then it's up to the clubs to do more to get people in, and it doesn't just mean lowering ticket prices. For instance Leeds ticket prices have risen and the team has finished lower in the league yet attendances have risen slightly over the last few years (or at least stayed the same) and that's at least in part to 2/3 years work at engaging amateur clubs, youngsters, schools and other groups in Leeds.
I always get a bit depressed when I hear some fans proudly talking about their club's "community work" and it seemed to amount to sending a couple of players to a local amateur club a couple of times a year. I think many clubs are doing the absolute bare minimum in terms of engaging their community (I think Leeds could do more too).

I hope they bring back Saturday games. The Thursday night SL matches are a joke.

You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fu=#FFFFFF[size=5.[/sizecked up maybe, but it's a joke how, I mean a joke like they are clowns, they amuse you? What do you mean joke, joke how? I don't get this. Is premiership soccer on a Monday a joke? Is Champions League on a Wednesday a joke? What's the "joke" about Thursdays? I think we should be told.

The issue of free/cheap tickets and their sustainability (and I agree it's no long-term policy) makes me wonder; are league fans unwilling to shell out for their product, then? Indeed, are league fans poorer (on average) than football fans? Possibly. Certainly it's much cheaper to follow a SL club and go to every game than it is to do the same with Man Utd, etc. Assuming you could source tickets in the first place.

I think we have a good product, and for 20 quid or so, you are seeing high-level sport. But I must admit I do scratch my head when I see the pitiful crowds even some successful clubs (Fartown, looking at you) attract.

Get the fu*k outta here, Ferocious Aardvark.

The RFL are targeting 10 full houses this season, they must be planning on working with the SL clubs in order to achieve their own target be it additional funding to pay for a substantial marketing campaign or some other strategy (and yes I know it is the club's responsibility to try and make sure all their matches are sold out).

For sure the CC, Magic and GF are all the RFL's responsibilities, no argument from me there.

I'm more a fan of games on a weekend as I'm a permanent away fan for my sides home games, but I understand the stability of Friday night for Saints and whilst not great for me, they have to do what is best for the club. As for Thursday's well the one who pays, gets to choose when we play.

You're a funny guy

I think Huddersfield is one example of a club that has overplayed the cheap ticket card, to the point where it has devalued their product (and indeed, the sport) to such an extent that they find it impossible to convince a substantial amount of people that it is worth full price. Remember when fans were let into a game for free for a "historic, world shattering announcement" that happened to be nothing more than a cheap season ticket deal? What message does that send out about both the club and the sport? Bradford were guilty of exactly the same.

I've been to the John Smiths as a visiting Leeds fan, a fixture that should sell well, on criminally cheap tickets. I just can't see the logic in underselling a fixture that is arguably your easiest of the year to sell. I've even seen other clubs running Groupon offers when they host the Giants because Huddersfield fans tend not to travel - presumably because they've become accustomed to cheap tickets. I'd love to have a look at the Giants CRM and see the average LTV they attribute to the supporters within it.

I'm all for tactical offers but they have to be just that - tactical. Underselling some of your biggest draws of the season seems like a very bizarre and unimaginative tactic.

The problem RL has is that there is no other credible bidder to strike fear in to SKY and create a bidding war. We badly needed BT to make a bid and get the price up, but instead we are stuck with SKY on a long deal.

As for the scheduling of games, even though Thursday night is a nightmare for fans who actually attend games, it's pretty much the only night of the week that has little other sports to compete with for viewing figures, so I think it's a inconvenience we have got to live with.

tada!

The Giants got screwed royally because their strategy of getting fans in was ironically damaged by their success and SKY.

The Giants pitched everything into getting kids and family's to games based on SUNDAY afternoon KOs.

Face painting, balloons, activities outside the ground.

It was paying dividends and crowd started rising.

We were developing a very large fan base of kids and women coming to the games. I would actually say that I felt that we had a higher proportion of women and kids than any other SL team.

But when we started winning and Sky started messing fixtures around we ended up with far too many games on evenings, Fridays Saturdays and Thursdays.

At every one of these games ONE THIRD of Season ticket holders did not attend.

Last season the club did a consultation on moving games to Friday nights but fans voted against it.

We had a marketing strategy that put all our eggs in one basket.

The basket broke

We now need a new strategy based on our games being on an evening and need to be appealing to a different demographic.

Pissed up teenagers and 20 year olds who want to come out on an evening.

Five years ago we went as a group of 20 families and kids. Now it is down to 8.

I don't get a season ticket because it is not worthwhile as I cannot make evening games regularly.

Weekday afternoons or bust for me