Which he's backed up with cold hard facts.

I think the loss of the Brigantes was huge. The DW is a morgue these days.

It's been generally better this year than last, albeit not by much. The Brigantes did bring a lot of noise, but it was hijacked & ruined by a minority of morons.
A discussion that's been done to death on here several times.

I think a collective nervousness as to which team is actually going to turn up isn't helping. With error strewn displays & inconsistent thinking on the park, regardless of the fact that we've not lost at home for ages, there's a pervasive sense of jitters that hums around like a distant murmuration.

Thursdays don't suit a lot of people (me included) and for those on shifts, not knowing in advance what the fixtures are going to be in these last games makes it impossible to get to the stadium for a not insignificant number. And I think this factoid crystallisation might well have an impact on at least early ST sales for next year. How many games is it that you have to miss until the season ticket becomes the reverse of what it's supposed to be?

Add all that to school holidays & people saving their pennies until (or if) we get to OT, I don't think it's at all surprising that the casual walk-up supporters aren't, and the majority of the bums on seats are die-hards.

Yeah, agree with most of that. As a long-distance fan, I've just been looking at the remaining fixtures. Normally I'd go to Headingley on Friday, but I've got something on locally on the Saturday which pretty much counts that out. Then, like a lot of folk, I'm on holiday for two weeks. I have nothing planned, but will go away for a few days 'on spec', depending on weather etc. So I might get to Warrington. Maybe. I'll probably go to the Millwall game as it's *only* 100 miles away, and I could meet up with my son. Then, maybe, maybe one out of two of Hull or Saints. Saints is the more attractive fixture, but Hull is last game at the DW. Decisions, decisions. And the Saints game could be pretty much a dead rubber if the four are cut and dried by then.

I agree with WarriorCraig that the new format is an improvement on what we had. But as he says, it's no panacea.

The Saints won't be a dead rubber at all. It will probably decide who will finish second and get the home tie in the play-offs.

Well, I hope you're right. Time will tell.

The loss of the Brigantes was crucial in keeping me going going to all home and away games.
No way did I want to be associated with a group of fans waving a scull & crossbones flag, wearing hoodies and covering their faces up so cctv could not recognize them. The DW Stadium is still the best stadium in Rugby League and is a better place without the Brigantes.

disagree, thats not what they were, people like that just started to associate themselves with the name and group.

Back in 1996 the football off season was a lot longer. Sky Sports also had a smaller portfolio than it does now. Rugby League had it's place and it kind of made sense (holidays aside). These days the football off season is non-existent, the cricket season is far more compelling than it was back then (largely due to 20-20 and quicker one day matches), a lot more people travel abroad and how people spend their time during the summer has probably changed a lot. Rugby League has a lot more competitors than it did in 1996.

Let's not forget to that Sky are only concerned with TV audiences. Rugby League is for the most part a great T.V sport - it's relatively short, fits into a busy schedule, can be exciting and is generally entertaining. Whether the crowds turn up or not at the ground, the T.V audience will always turn up and keep Sky and it's advertisers happy.

My main concern with the switch to summer is that, apart from 3-4 seasons the game is nowhere near as exciting as it was. Summer has failed to improve standards or make RL more exciting.

I've said this before but watching old matches from the 80's and 90's on Youtube is a breath of fresh air. Today's game is dominated by size, speed of defense and is very structured - creativity is stifled and frowned upon.

That applies to all sports, though. You can watch old footage of Brazil strutting their stuff in the 1970 World Cup, or Gareth Edwards dancing round opponents in the mud, but defensive systems have improved out of all recognition; they couldn't do that today, billiard-table pitches and sunshine notwithstanding.

I disagree with your RU analogy. It's still not great but it is far better to watch now than back in the day, mainly due to the back rowers being far better athletes now. Bill Beaumont once claimed that some of his best games were those when he never actually touched the ball. He may well have been exaggerating to make his point but he made it nonetheless.
With regard to our sport, I don't know what the answer is. My own view is that too many rule changes have sanitised the sport. It's not too far back in the past when you couldn't wait to see Leeds Bradford just to see what Baz and Stu got up to. All gone now, I'm afraid, resulting in a sport that sees Ben Pomeroy sent off for a "sickening" shoulder charge. Now, where's my flat cap? I know it's raining but the whippet still needs exercising....