Making a direct comparison is also futile because RL crowds were a lot lower across the board.

Yes, this is where the argument falls down every time. I know some commentators have looked to the NFL-model of 'less is more' but, to be frank, comparing English RL to it is mental.



I think there are a number of ways it could work. It's certainly something that could give the playoffs more kudos.

Quite right throughout the 1970's rugby league attendances were in decline. I recall Salford in the late 1960's getting a couple of bumper cup crowds against Workington and Widnes at the Willows in the region of 16,000. Between the late 60's and around 1971 we regularly got 10,000+ crowds and despite winning two championships in 1974 and 1976 we never averaged more than about 6,000.

RL attendances didn't really recover until the early 1980's when Hull and Wigan brought over several overseas stars.

Sky do this anyway don't they? I'm sick of seeing the same 4 or 5 clubs all season. It is coincidentally the same 4 or 5 clubs who are winning and bringing in the crowds. Sky don't care about the also-rans. They have an image that they want to portray of the game and they work to a script. Look how stumped they were when we took Wire to the cleaners last year.

The problem with a league of 10 is as has been mentioned before not enough variety of fixtures/ not enough revenue from reduced fixtures. We would have the same situation that we have with the Scottish Premiership with teams playing each other 3 or 4 times a season. Quite boring!!!

The biggest problem with RL in this country is that there are too many people with vested interests who control the game. In Australia teams who finish top one season can find themselves bottom the season after. When did that last happen over here? The likes of Gary Hetherington and co who seem to always be pushing the agenda when it comes to development don't want the Salford's and Wakefield's and Castleford's to be up at the top because it upsets his power balance. Development for them is the strong clubs getting stronger and expanding the World Club challenge which the Aussies couldn't give a to$$ about. They think that that is the way we will end up beating them at international level and that it would represent success in developing the game. Nearly 30 years of the WCC have proved that we are no closer to beating the Aussies!!

It is going to take a huge re-think in the way the game is administered and the removal of the power held within it by certain individuals who want to promote the game through the same 4 or 5 clubs. The aim should be to have as equal a competition as we can but the current administration have not got that kind of vision or motivation for the game. They need to be realistic about who we as a game can attract as investors. We do not have the clout or media power of football nor do we have the public school old boys network of Rugby Union. Our pool of investors is limited to a small number of enthusiasts and smaller companies who cannot afford the advertising/ sponsorship of the aforementioned other football codes so they put some money our way.

Yes I agree but it would be even more of an overkill than it is now.