I completely agree with the first post. Before the creation of the Superleague we had the fastest growing sport in this country! Now we are battling to be taken seriously! This is a great sport that is being ruined by a bunch of idiots that don't understand it and are just interested in lining their pockets! Wish we and the other clubs outside the superleague had the guts to break away!!! Remember our roots and why the Northern Rugby Football Union formed in the first place!!!

Agree with this general feeling. The game is dying slowly, though, not quickly.

I think Leigh will struggle to maintain four figure crowds by 2014, such is the lack of interest in a game and league with nowhere to go.

Last night, looking about me in the West Stand, I was one of the youngest members of the crowd I could see. There were very few people below the age of 30. The fan base at this level is literally dying off.

I've always maintained that monies should be distributed on a sliding scale according to where you finish in the league - whatever division.

It was never P&R that was the problem, just the utter financial cliff edge that was created between the leagues. If that cliff edge was smoothed out to just a financial steep hill then P&R would be the natural safety net that it always was and both leagues would benefit from the reinstatement of on-field interest (and therefore excitement) rather than us debating the results of the tri-annual powerpoint presentation competition.

That's because you go in the West Stand - you should go in the North Stand to be surrounded by the young and young at heart

My disappointment in the loss last night lasted all of 5 minutes. It doesn't even compare to how I felt when we lost play off games under Paul Terzis and Tony Benson.
One of my greatest Leigh memories is winning on the last day of the season at Warrington, under Billy Benyon, to secure our top flight status.
Under the current system feelings like that can't be reproduced, and when fans lose the ability to feel passionate about their team, its just another nail in the coffin of lower tier RL

Not denying it at all, but I think we're certainly in a better position than other clubs in the league, which I suppose says a lot really

Fact is, it's hard for kids to grow up in this day and age of instant success, Premier League football etc and going down to Leyth in the hope of getting promoted every three years. I and the lads I stand with are all of a generation starting to go to rugby in the early 90's when Wigan were winning everything - it wasn't much fun supporting Leyth then, and I suppose the situation is even worse these days.

I agree, came off disappointed, discussed the flaws of the team in the car and sulked for 5 or 10 mins when I got home and been fine since.

The fact of the matter is if the RFL don't drop this ludicrous obsession with the franchise system there will be no lower league clubs to develop and nurture talent in the years to come because clubs outside SL will have nothing to play for.

Why can't they see what they are doing to the game outside SL, or is it simply that they don't really care? Surely what has happened at London/Harlequins over the years should have proved how much time, energy and money they are wasting on developing the game much further a field. Wise up you chumps (RFL)!

excellent post. Must admit, by the time I got home (10 min) I was OK, didn't enjoy 'talking' about the game today though. The excitement 'prior' to a game has lessened. The emotions when the game is actually on (apart from calling the ref !!) have also weakened, the 'nervousness' of a close game, or the joy/disappointment of the result are nowhere near what they used to be. I will NEVER stop buying a season ticket, but it's NOT the same for me now, and I doubt it's my 46 years of age.
My mate quipped on the way home "least that's £14 saved from the next game", and I replied "aye, and if we had won, we would have got stuffed by Fev or Fax"

Positive thinking eh ???

If you don't feed the roots, the plant dies, and the same goes for RL. The rot set in when Lindsey sold us down the river, and where is the little b*****d now? Not even involved in the game he's poisoned. The game's dying on it's feet, and if the SL clubs think that they'll be immune to the fate of such clubs like Bramley, Doncaster, Oldham etc., then they need to think again, pulling up the ladder won't save them.
This great game of ours will only survive if the grass roots of the game are looked after, from the amateur and schoolboys level upwards, otherwise all the kids will be lost to ru. Things need to change. I'd like to think that the fans from ALL the clubs could get together, vote with their feet, and demand changes, this problem transcends any club rivalries. Ever since the NU was formed the rfu have been trying to kill the game off, they don't need to bother now, we're doing the job for them. All they'll need to do soon is pick over the bones of the game.

He's currently poisoning Preston FC now

Interesting to note as well the increase in crowds in the kick and clap premier league who do have P&R and is a winter based program.

I agree Super League is killing the fabric of the sport and the alright jacks in our game should hold their heads in shame.

On reflection Leigh improved immensley on last season so progress made.

But to be honest even if Leigh would have won the grand final, I firmly believe it would not have got them into the promised land.

possibly oh well onwards & upwards...... eventually LOL

When Uncle Mo launched SL he made a direct quote about concentrating on the elite and getting rid of the "dross clubs" from the game. At least he was honest about it.

The current Red Hall incumbents are much more sneaky and are continuing Mo's philosophy through stealth. It'll take a bit longer but they'll get their wish in the end.

I honestly dispair at how so many people have been taken in by the Lewis & Wood show. Its all smoke and mirrors, despite all of their "innovations" there has been very little actual change in the overall status of the game. Media coverage seems to be getting even worse, the majority of clubs are still struggling financially (even some of the top ones), there are still dozens of average overseas players trotting about in SL, we've made little progress internationally, but its fine because people keep telling me that Richard Lewis is the game's saviour and is doing a fantastic job. This is the same Lewis who people describe as the successful ex head of the LTA, yet people in the LTA describe him as someone who spent a fortune and achieved very little progress for British tennis. Move over David Copperfield, you're an amateur illusionist compared to this guy.