And yet strangely a few years ago I was very optimistic about the sport, but all I see now is the same mistakes being made over and over, as much at club level as at Red Hall

The answer? Striking a balance, inclusion, new idea's

Given where the sport has slipped to relative to those competitions ( and we have slipped - commercial growth of sport has been massive in the last 15 years, we've only grown a little bit ) you're almost certainly right in the very near term. But its chicken and egg. We need to create an enviroment that *could* attract exciting investment, at least as a start. A random, daft probably example, but if a rich guy can see sense in going after Johnny Wilkinson, say, ( reality documentary series "Johnny tries League", sponsors help with it, bums on seats, etc. etc. then we might think he's daft as a brush, but let him go for it. Wilkinson trying League for a season ( sure, he's past it, etc. ) would be worth far more than every bleedin truck in Europe advertising the sport.

Maybe its true that there's simply no money out there and never will be, but lets try to create opportunities for people to try to make some exciting deals. We've got to get a lot more realism in the game about what puts bums on seats.

I think almost any other idea (excluding "Wooden Posts"icon_wink.gif would generate more ROI than spending the money on a has-been RU player.

Balance between what?
We are inclusive.
New ideas? Whether at top level like extended playoffs, new territory teams....to the ground level with expansion of the game, usage of development staff, and increasing RFL involvement in player development. Or internationally, with a restructure of the european teams to try to enable european competition. There are a stack of new ideas out there.

But will all that cure the sports ingrained negativity?

And sadly, the game is run by people with as little idea as you about how marketing and the media work. Even Gareth Thomas generated more press attention than any 'marketing initiative' coming out of the RFL.

Fair enough, let's put some more ads on the side of trucks and go on and on and on and on and on and on about how we have the greatest entertainment in the world. Surely people will get it eventually.

Balance between trying to expand the sport but not exclude the clubs you already have, announcing 4 new clubs before you actually have them, and reducing the 3 rd tier to a farce next season, putting several clubs at real risk of dissapearing

Inclusion in that if we agree we need licencing to protect our premier product, then fine, but lets see more thought and work put into building the lower tiers, other than just words , " A Vibrant, worth winning in its own right " he said, so is that it?

New idea's that will help clubs to flourish at their level, yes a few years ago the clamour was for a lower tier TV deal, so we got one, but lets be truthful, it was the money we really meant , so once it became clear there wasnt any , why oh why are we still being forced to play midweek? , a pointless group of matches against French opposition?

I found the message on the Stobarts trucks quite confusing " Its all about following your local team " , this on trucks travelling all over the country , when in fact the often used insult " Its a local game for local people " is exactly the mantra the lower tiers should be sold on, at our level it is local support that will see us prosper, it is localised marketing help thes clubs need

As for how you ' Enthuse ' the fan bases of the lower SL clubs, not a clue

.....and where is that club now?
Press attention is just that - press attention. It isn't spectators. It isn't a TV deal. It isn't money. Where is Gareth Thomas's team now?

P.S. if we actually measured it, I'm sure we would find the concept of a title decided by playoffs and a Grand Final has developed significantly more press attention than Gareth Thomas's involvement in RL.




Which is exactly what I've proposed

I think there is a major opprtunity available to the clubs if they move quickly.

Each club should start a local energy buying group.

It would be open to everyone not just fans.

Effectively you sign up households to switch en mass and then deal with the energy comapnies direct to cut a better deal for everyone.on.an annual basis

The club would recieve an.annual broker fee for their services.

It would also allow.clubs to collect data on potential new fans in their target area.

To put the cash in the energy idea in perspective.

Lets say 10000 homes at an average of 1200 a year bill.

Thats 12 million.

Club cuts a deal which knocks 200 pound of each bill (which is a realistic target)
And takes a 20 broker fee.

You save 160 quid this year - Club makes 400000 this year.

We already have the trusted brands.

That negativity will always be apparent. As you yourself prove. When the RFL haven’t actually done anything wrong, you will make something up to be negative about them. Even when they do something good you find a way to look negatively at it. That isn’t the RFL’s fault, licensings fault, or something the RFL can do something about. You have made the decision that because things aren’t exactly as you like, you will talk down the sport, you will talk down the RFL, and you will be negative about the game you pretend to love. That isn’t something the RFL can change, it is up to you to change it, it is up to you to decide to change your outlook and celebrate what is good about the game instead of looking for ways you can talk it down.

If you don’t want to change, then don’t. I just don’t see why you want to spend so much time and energy being negative about something which other people like, even if you have decided you don’t anymore.

It was there prior to licensing and prior to expansion.

Back to revenue ideas:

Super League (or RFL) credit card. Cashback/discount on RL related purchases. Actually....cashback rather than discount with a sliding scale that goes up as you spend more and is a better rate for RL related spending - from tickets to merchandise to food and drink in a stadium.
Then rather than give cash back on an annual process, propose the cashback sum is traded for discounted tickets or merchandise.

Along with the money generated by the financial services, this should give a lot better data on the fanbase, as a supermarket loyalty card does.

Are you sure? Trawling boards in the off season suggests to me there are a few more than that. FC fans seem enthused by an owner prepared to invest in some decent players, Wakey are most definitely on a high after their best season for some time, Bradford are glad to be alive, Wire recognise one small step and they're SL champs. Even Broncos seem upbeat. By way of a counterbalance, there are those mired in doom and gloom but wasn't it ever thus?