Yep...lets kick out the french, london and the taffs......SKY will trip over themselves pump money into M62 Derbies.......just like they did in 1994......oh, hang on a minute?

Back on thread....offiah was a great player......but should be kept away from younger players, TV , twitter and a keyboard....he's only interested in himself.

Did I ever mention kicking them out? I asked if they were not there would the viewing figures alter, would the sponsorship amounts change...etc but pretty sure I said I would never kick them out due to them being a needs must!

it would have an adverse affect on advertising revenues.....simple.

Cannot be proven though. Do advertisers really consider the fact there are teams from places like London and Catalans? Or do they just see that the sport is open to the whole country on television?

I would also say that enough has been done to secure these sponsors with our without those clubs, however I personally do not mind any of them and have no issue with them not being in the league, I just think smaller steps would create a better expansion rather than jumping a few hundred miles here and there.

Preaching to those that know a little has got to be easier than converting the non-believers.

i dont have links, someone else can bother with those but I read mid way through last season that Sky have had a 30% viewer increase in wales since the Crusaders came in and 2 or 3 years ago there was an article that there were more SL viewers from inside the M25 than the rest put together. Whether Quins affect this I dont know, in fact I doubt it but I found it interesting nontheless. If theres interest in this area and theres a pro club for this interest/talent to reach then its only going to increase the player pool

I know it is totally off topic and not fair on the regular season pass fans of Harlequins but could there be an option for one season only to take the Quins home games to different locations in and around London? I know it is a bit far fetched but something like this or even just say 5 games of the season taken to 5 different locations could increase the supporter base they currently lack??

RE. Dico - those figures are fantastic and it certainly shows there is an appeal inside the M25, just a shame they won't go and watch the live games even international games between NZ and Aus!

Everything in union is geared toward the international game and this is where the union spin machine really excels itself. The publicity is awesome and in a quantity/quality RL could only dream of. After winning the world cup the spin machine made the England players nationally recognised celebrities, with regular appearances on a variety of entertainment shows on the BBC and even in adverts on ITV.

Until the RFL and Superleague address the issues that prevent our national team from competing we will remain a "Northern" game and be treated as such by the media.

I don't think some of our stars leaving for RU is a bad thing (as long as it isn't excessive), on the contrary we should make the most of it as highlighting why our game is so good. I can't recall ex RL players dissing our game, in fact Edwards, Robinson and Farrell were ambassadors.

Is there an option to take 5 Hull KR games in a season on a tour? Around Newcastle, Middlesbrough, into Cumbria, etc? No, so why do it for London?

London's transient existence over the last 10-20 years has stopped them developing as a club, as they've built up a base it has been smashed as they've moved over an hour or so travelling distance away. And people wonder why they've never built up crowds.

The fact we average around 8000 supporters per home game and your last attendance was beaten by Championship sides shows that having a base is not working either! Do you really think Rovers would increase their supporter base by moving to these places? Do you think Quins could do any worse by moving a few games a season to other loacations around the city?

The people that may go to RL games in London is not the Rugby Union heartland. Said it before, just because they use a similar shaped ball doesnt mean they like both codes. The Australian and antipodean areas of London are quite far away from any RL in the capital so why not give them a chance to go see a live game once or twice a season?

No...you're right. It's all done by guess work.

P&G spend a billion a year on advertising and sponsorship based purely on the tides, the suns activity and the gut feeling of their CEO

I work in the marketing world..I don't agree with the methods used to measure potential "reach" of a campaign, but believe me, if RL reverted back to being an M62 hobby, the income from TV would drop to such an extent that maybe Leeds, Wigan and FC could possibly stay full time...the rest would be buggered.

SKY find it easier to get more revenue selling a NATIONAL sport.......return to being a hobby and the advertising revenue would drop for SKY........ergo, their investment would be reduced as well.


As for taking games "on the road'......I repeat..................The average fans for the London RL franchise, apart from maybe season 1 and half of 2 have been pretty static. Regardless of where they play, what they are called and what jerseys they wear....the problem is the same...LACK OF MARKETING!

Let's say, for example, they played a game at West Ham.....and got 5,000.......how many of these 5,000 would traipse across town to the next game at say.....Fulham? Then, there's always the issue of the stadiums...as proven by Charlton and Brentford......they don't like egg chasers on their hallowed turf
The Stoop is one of the only purpose built Rugby Stadiums in the South East. The other "London" clubs play on soccer pitches and one by one, they are being moved on......only London Irish seem to have a good relationship with their soccer buddies....maybe because London Irish are the best at MARKETING themselves and get decent crowds.

The London RL Franchise for the next 4 years will be Harlequins RL. The one and only thing the club need to focus on is getting more fans in......everything else is in far better shape now than it has been since SL began.

Hate to pop your balloon but griffin park to the stoop by bicycle is 15 minutes or 20 minutes by bus. So this will be year 10 in west london with 2 grounds less than 4 miles apart. Average gate in that time is about 3500.............
One more time......just for you....
M A R K E T I N G is the issue.........nothing else.

So you don't want HKR crowds to get bigger?

Just marketing? Really?

If Rovers would benefit from taking fixtures on the road I would happily travel to see a few games at different grounds from time to time.

If the Humber Bridge were to not have the toll charge or even a £1 toll I'd be keen to take a game or so to the south of the Humber. There are untapped resources down there that could give them some top flight sport to take advantage of. Even if they don't attend all home games even just a couple a season would be fantastic plus the merchandise we could sell at these locations.

Not only then would I hope a club south of the Humber be accepted into the semi-pro game but one day have a franchise of their very own.

So yes I want the game to grow, I want Craven Park to be sold out every game, I want the Stoop to be sold out every game too but it seems you are quite happy just accepting low crowds because you are getting more people interested in playing the game and are producing a very good standard of player down in the capital.

Gutterfax I agree marketing is a tool clubs often don't feel the need to spend big money on and think a winning team will do the job for them. I have long wondered why a Safari park like Knowsley can advertise on TV during peak times yet a Rugby League clubs have never taken to this method of advertising.

The amazing rise in crowds since HKR got promoted is quite something but we have been limited to what more we can do due to the size of the stadium, kind of a catch 22 situation, advertise and welcome people into a stand or two that are poor facilities to say the least or try and get the money in on lower attendances to build a bigger stadium. Luckily we have worked very hard to get the stadium on its way to being a top facility but once it is finished I'd hope the club have initiatives to market the club correctly and to a wider audience.