Not enough games like that it all fairness. Some games can become boring but i will always get a season pass and support the club i love. Bring back relegation or do something to make this league more competitive.

but shouldnt the very fact that supporters of various clubs joining this thread be a warning to the RFL? the season has now been reduced to nothing more than qualifying for a four week knock out, add to that Manchester magic, the fact that the derbies have been devalued because we play saints (but not just wigah, hull and hull kr etc) at least 3 times a season, add into that cups and playoffs and its as bad as the old firm in scotland.

it is also flagging up that there are too many blow out scores, and at least 3 teams that qualified for the playoffs were crap, and the games were of a poor standard.

the general feeling isnt we want to turn our backs on the game, but and it is a big but, why go to games which some teams treat as not much more than a friendly, and has about as much value. I am picking and choosing next year, I will be baseing the decision on which game i think will be competative, and entertaining. I will still attend away games, but again, will decide if i think its worth the effort and petrol attending. I will still watch england games because international RL should be the pinnacle of the sport, but that is a whole other issue.

Fundamentally for me its down to: do I feel its worth freezing my chuckies off in feb, when in reality the season is all about who hits a bit of from at the end of September.

didnt realise it was covered in my season ticket.

I don't think anyone will disagree - but (and this is the key) how many other games through the last season can that be said of? How many games through the season can you honestly say were exciting, nail-biting or had you on the edge of your seat.......that is the point a lot are making in this thread. The game has somehow lost it's way - I watched quite a few games on Sky featuring some of the less glamorous clubs and the fact is the standard of play was at times dire - a lot of amateur teams would be ashamed of the standards.

How interesting is it seeing the likes of Wigan/Warrington/Saints/Leeds etc put 40 and 50 points on other teams? And is it good for the game in general?

The weekly rounds have become mostly a sort of preliminary to the play-offs and as such have lost a lot of meaning - finishing in the top positions (1-3) doesn't really mean that much now so there is no real incentive for the tops teams once they have established themselves near the top to really go for it.

As noted on the thread this has nothing to do with the fact we have won nothing, and more to do with the pointlessness of the regular season. In an ideal situation i would do is this:

Divide the teams into Super League and Championship, with SKY showing 2 games from SL and one from C per week

Super League

Wigan
Leeds
Warrington
St Helens
Hull
Catalan Dragons
Huddersfield
London
Bradford
Hull KR

Championship

Salford
Cas
Widnes
Featherstone
Leigh
Halifax
Sheffield
Batley
Keighley
Dewsbury

Schedule: Teams play each other 3 times with home/away fixtures alternated each year.
Play Offs: 1=Through to the grand final 2v3=Semi Final, same for the championship
Promotion for Championship GF winner Relegation for bottom team.

To spice things up you could have a play off between the 9th place team in SL v the runner up in C for a SL place.

I feel this would completley revitalise the challenge cup because many team wouldnt have a realistic chance of winning the SL. For too long the poor team have dragged SL down, this system would force them to change.

Feel free to tear it to shreds!!

They feel its unfair though sadly. Example Wigan Warrington saints and Widnes can all stand alone so there wouldn't be a northwest merger. IMO if Leigh merged with Wigan and we moved to LSV it would actually be good as theres a stadium which is an ok size but could be expanded i imagine and it would also free up most of Leigh's team to improve the championship.

But then you've got teams that simply don't cut it Huddersfields crowds are rubbish but who do yo merge them with? They're certainly good enough as a team but the crowds aren't good enough to sustain a top flight team and Leeds won't merge maybe Sheffield would as it moves them to a top flight team but where would they play? Sheffield wouldn't like it. To me the only ones that can work are merging Castleford and Wakey as they're the same town at the end of the day and have average crowds at best and barely break even if at all but they've got a new ground coming and could make one team and if you got all of each teams fans into one it would make a team as followed as Leeds and Wigan nearly.

Hull would work too but why? Both teams crowds are ok anyway but together they would be 20000 which leaves just enough room at the KC for the away fans. And they could make money from the sale of craven park making a good solid base for a club.

Maybe a Cumbrian club? Salford need to be left as is as their new stadium is good but how can we allow them to stay as they are when their crowds are worse than wakey or cas?


It's tough but it needs doing people are going to be upset but its the right thing to do. If I was a wakey or cas fan I'd be up for it. It's better to have a stable club for a while than keep two separate unsustainable clubs.

Merging clubs is a sure fire way to get fans to leave and never return. It took the NRL close to 20 years to get its crowds back up (indeed, many fans left and never returned). The same happened here when they started to merge teams about 15 years ago. Merges might make 'commercial' sense in theory, but in practice it would only turn fans away.

Mergers are not going to happen; if anything it would create even more unrest within RL.

Going through the motions is the current state of the game at the moment.The state of the game in superleague and at international level is woeful.Having been to most games at home this season all wigan had to do was turn up and expect a win

Like when you played Leeds?

i take it you mean the game just played. if so then that is POST season, i think you will find that most people have a problem with the regular season.

with the current setup it is starting to dilute the regular season, you can get away with just doing enough for a top four or five place, and that is not right if you are going to have a playoff structure in your sport.

If your jealous of Leeds why don't you finish 5th and then turn on the heat in the play offs. Sour pies if you ask me. I don't have a problem with top 6, it's the other two spots i have a problem with. Deal with the competition or follow another sport.

who rattled the Troll's cage ?