Despair all you like, that's the reality. But fighting that reality is probably not in the best interests of the sport if it is ever going to get out of this rut.

The Working Mens Club analogy that a previous poster used is probably accurate. RL is currently the WMC which is dead on a Saturday night, despite the cheap drinks, with crap decor, and the only people in there are the pensioners waiting for the bingo to start. Other sports are the trendy wine bars, serving expensive cocktails, where all of the good looking people go. Trends change, expectations change and unless RL changes with them, it will go the way of those working mens clubs.

How condescending a comment is that?

I'd say 10/10 in terms of dismissing something more popular that RL as Trite and "empty".....Rugby League is a niche sport "predominantly" played in a couple of Aussie states and along an English Motorway.......the NFL is played across a nation of 200+ million people and has being laying down roots in the UK for 3 decades or more....Premiership Football is the #1 division of the #1 team sport i the UK, X-factor used to smash viewing figures........but because it's not 5 tackles and a kick, you attempt (and fail I will add) to take the high ground.

The people by what is marketed to them in terms of their disposable income.........the RFL and NRL have little concept of how to do anything than try and sell new hymnals to the same, shrinking choir and it has little to do with content, because that "test match" at the weekend was average at best and if England had lost it would have been considered dour.

If you want to see the power of marketing and perception at work, glance at the International Union results and crowds over the next 6 weeks or so...they're polishing a similar turd yet will smash us to bits.....it's not the lack of content, but how you sell it!

Your condescending remark is purely your stance that RL is TGG and people should e happy to rock up.........how's that panned out for us of late?

I went to Wembley rather than Hull too - tickets bought a long time before the test series dates were announced. Wembley was virtually sold out long before the RFL decided to even announce fixture dates.

who ever made the decision to put ENJOY THE GAME on the match officials shirts should be sacked, something you'd see at Blackpool cheapo market

I tend to agree with the poster - but I don't think its necessarily condescending; you're right of course that in this modern era of connectedness, short attention spans and diminishing disposable income, people will choose to spend their money on what they think will deliver the best bang for the buck - and it's absolutely the case that many sports have eclipsed RL in their efforts to deliver that - not least NFL, which I maintain is a triumph of marketing over content - but that's partly a personal view of a game that I simply can't get into.

What is for certain, is that RL is light years behind when it comes to marketing, promotion and engagement with people outside the 'traditional' fan base; the WMC analogy is a good one, with the added jeopardy that oversight of the sport is handled by similar people, with a similar attitude - a committee of dinosaurs who can't understand why the function room is empty, whilst the cocktail bar in town is rammed.

It doesn't look good for the game in the long term - and I don't know the answers - but it's fairly clear that the sport is being held back; partly by the governing body, and partly by some clubs - and maybe by a broadcast deal that does next to nothing to promote the sport to new fans.

Agreed, there’s a lot wrong with SL that seriously needs addressing, but the truth is commercialised crap for the short attention span is winning. 11 minutes the ball is in play in NFL but who cares, there’s hotdogs,fireworks,cheerleaders,commercials and the drone of an organ (or is that big rounders) for the other 2hrs 49 minutes. Call it condescending if you like but the things that become popular in modern culture are far removed from my values.

The game would be more popular if we had some boxing/WWE style staged drama before a game, instagram selfies of the players with rabbit ears on the big screen at half time, the officials having stand offs and colourful managers like Mourinho who act like sulking teenagers...sod it let’s go for it. The modern world, where words like vlogger, YouTuber, Facebook famous,instagramable and flossing exist, your music is mass produced and voted for in a popularity contest and there’s an online platform for narcissists to give themselves the name Call me God.

U ok hun?

I forgot to put ‘rant over’. Pm me, too many snaks

American high schools get larger attendances than SL games, with smaller catchment areas.

That to me would suggest that people in the areas of northern towns in the uk find rugby league boring

Easy tiger...... It's a user name is all it is and as GUTTERFAX was already taken, I thought it would do....

rlhttps://www.bbc.com/sport/american-football/46034493rl
Back for 5 more next year......

I can see what you mean, with only 26 letters and an infinite number of combinations the choices must have been pretty limiting.

Though being an atheist I see your claim as having just as much credence as anyone else’s.

Bless you my Son...........I have as much claim to the title as any of the others, from Christ to Krishna and all points in between....and as you say, I am as likely to be the real deal as any of the others....peace be amongst you....

It's a work in progress, but finding 3 wise men is proving troublesome ........and don't get me started on the search for a Virgin