If parking is a problem can a suggest the conference is transferred to Leigh RL .... there's plenty of parking there, especially on match days

All fair points but speaking to numereous fans over the past few years who have become dissatisfied with the way the game is going they are not at odds with their own particular boards. My own club for instance where the Directors are first and foremost fans ,doing their best trying to keep up with the ever moving goalposts .Most fans find the bigest threat to their club to come from the body who you would think was their to support them .The made up franchise system rules, promotion and religation (or lack of it) uneven share out of monies and if your anything lower than Super League the RFL are not interested are these things going to be addressed at the meeting?

I'm not privvy to the agenda for the meeting, however, all your points are valid issues surrounding our game, some think good, some bad, ultimately though, not every club needs a trust per sé, not every club is the same as the next, but every club has the same Rugby League fans, i'm sure if you attend the meeting you will meet people who are more and less up to speed with the workings within the game than you are, but most of all you will learn a lot from sharing your own issues and ideas for the game amongst similar minded people, albeit from different angles of the game.

I urge anyone with ideas and comments about the game a whole to attend if they can and offer their own experiences up at the meeting.

There are obviously a number of issues in the game that affect all clubs, regardless of the league they play in and these are definitely issues we would like to look at down the line. We encourage all supporters trusts to develop as big a membership as possible in order to strengthen their voice and as the umbrella organisation, it is the same for us. We need to develop a larger network of trusts in order to strengthen our voice as only by representing a good proportion of supporters will we realistically be able to tackle the bigger issues in the game.

We also need to ensure that rather than simply being unhappy and complaining about things not working, we put forward sensible, workable ideas that can be implemented throughout the game.

So, in short, the conference won't be focussing solely on the issues you have mentioned above but they are certainly something on our radar for the future. This first conference is about showcasing what Supporters Direct is about and showing the variety of things supporters trusts can do.

It's also worth noting that at the end of this year there is going to be a consultation period focussed on the Championships, similar to the one recently held around the community game. As part of the consultation, SD will be submitting proposals to the RFL and everyone attending the conference will have the opportunity to put their ideas forward. I plan to include as many of these as possible in our proposal.

Oh well that `s a relief then, glad to hear we will all be able to give our views about the way the RFL are slowly reducing the Championship clubs to merely feeders for the Super League. One thing I would like to know is why us "mere mortals" never get to hear what is on the agenda at these RFL away days so we could all have an input. We have got to stop leting them just alter the rules to whoever they want in .We are just asking for a level playing field for us all ,each club is just as important as the next.

Rimmer Steps up for SD Incoming Chief Operating Officer for the RFL, Ralph Rimmer has been confirmed as the latest speaker in the line up for the first ever Supporters Direct rugby league conference. Rimmer, who takes up his new role on October 11th has stepped in to cover for original speaker, Chris Thair who has unfortunately had to pull out of the event. He will be speaking about his role with the RFL and offering his take on supporter involvement in the game. Ralph will be joined by previously announced speakers, Robbie Paul, Danny Lockwood, Martyn Cheney and Jason McCartney along with Neil Kelly, Foundation Director at Warrington Wolves and a number of supporters trusts from across the movement. Rugby Leaguehttp://www.supporters-direct.orgrl or for more information, please contact Rugby League Supporters Trusts Development Officer Laura Harrison on Laura.Harrison@supporters-direct.org

Rimmer Steps up for SD Incoming Chief Operating Officer for the RFL, Ralph Rimmer has been confirmed as the latest speaker in the line up for the first ever Supporters Direct rugby league conference. Rimmer, who takes up his new role on October 11th has stepped in to cover for original speaker, Chris Thair who has unfortunately had to pull out of the event. He will be speaking about his role with the RFL and offering his take on supporter involvement in the game. Ralph will be joined by previously announced speakers, Robbie Paul, Danny Lockwood, Martyn Cheney and Jason McCartney along with Neil Kelly, Foundation Director at Warrington Wolves and a number of supporters trusts from across the movement. Rugby Leaguehttp://www.supporters-direct.orgrl or for more information, please contact Rugby League Supporters Trusts Development Officer Laura Harrison on Laura.Harrison@supporters-direct.org

all sounds interesting.

As stated previously, the Supporters Direct conference is not an RFL event. We are a completely separate organisation looking to bring about positive changes in rugby league and other spectator sports by working with supporters.

Yes I work quite closely with the RFL and my role is part-funded by them but we are not owned by them nor are we part of the same organisation.

As has been stated on numerous occasions, this conference is and always has been open to anyone with an interest in rugby league so any of the "mere mortals" you make reference to are more than welcome to come along provided they have registered on the Supporters Direct website at rlhttp://www.supporters-direct.orgrl. As things stand, the number of delegates is looking very healthy at the moment and we may well reach capacity before the conference date.

Pleased to announce that all available places for the conference have now been taken and registration is now closed.

EXCELLENT

Some really good speakers, topics and conversation.

The next year should be interesting to say the least.

I d like to echo those words.

Really interesting event, real broad spread of the game represented.

Hopefully a lot of positives can be drawn from it.

So when is the next one ?

Is this coming up - ie 2011?

Due to recent funding issues, things have been a little bit delayed this year but we're still hopeful of holding an event in 2011 so please keep an eye on www.supporters-direct.coop for details.

Due to recent funding issues, things have been a little bit delayed this year but we're still hopeful of holding an event in 2011 so please keep an eye on www.supporters-direct.coop for details.