I cant wait to take Holly to her first game but will be a few years off yet. Once shes got over her habit of telling the players to stop running and walk nicely

It's also difficult being enthusiastic about a sport that is slowly but surely sinking back towards the doldrums of semi-amateurism.

It may actually be beyond the RFL's ability to change this, but the constant threat of players going to RU and the NRL is disillusioning me in a big way. Whatever our game does, it can't seem to generate an income sufficient to raise or even moderate the salary cap significantly. Half our so-called elite clubs can't even spend what they're allowed to (some of them are clearly struggling to exist even in this poor man's environment - what a joke the legendary Bradford outfit turned out to be), so that means the genuine go-ahead clubs are pegged back disastrously.

I appreciate that it isn't an exodus of talent, but it doesn't need to be to continually weaken us and prevent us progressing. I said when Joel went to RU that if (when?) Sam goes as well, that will be me done with the game. If we can't protect our most prized possessions, then we don't deserve to have any and we don't deserve to have any fans either.

Add to that the 'British RL disease' - the embedding of little men in big jobs (Nigel Wood, Stuart Cummings, Steve McNamara, Eddie, Stevo etc) - and you feel like giving up straight away. One thing's for sure, we'll all have abandoned RL before parochial, talentless oiks like that lot give up their positions voluntarily.

When you look at individual clubs like Wigan, Warrington, Leeds, Saints and probably Hull, you get the feeling of sleek professionalism. But that's where it ends. Beyond those lies a wasteland; it's no wonder that we barely figure on the Aussies' horizon.

A sea-change is needed: we need to hack the dead wood out of SL and start concentrating the talent at the 10 or so clubs where it will do most good. We need another French club too (the Dragons have been one of our few success stories in recen times, but for how long?) and we need to find mechanisms by which our star players can maximise their earnings. But as long as people like Eddie Hemmings and Nigel Wood can lord it at the Man of Steel and tell the world how wonderful everything is in the RL garden, then expect more of the same next year, and the year after that, and the year after that ...

Sorry for the moan, but I'm with Bilko.

I feel that there is a lot of disillusionment within the sport at the moment (with perhaps the exception of Wire fans I'd imagine).

A lack of quality imports being signed to play in the UK.

The last remaining quality imports heading back to the NRL.

The UK's best players tempted away to NRL/Union, set to continue.

A franchise system which isn't working.

Three SL clubs fallen into administration in two years.

Challenge Cup competition which nobody bothers about until the final (even that fails to sell out these days).

A playoff competition which nobody bothers about until the final.

Poorly supported international games at the end of the year.

For the third year running only two clubs (Wigan & Wire) taking the regular season seriously.

A playoff structure which rewards a club in 8th place the chance to become "Champions" despite losing more than 50% of all league matches.

Match Official standards - where do we start? Possibly the worst seen since the start of SL.

Incorrect video ref decisions.

RFL disciplinary panel inconsistency with players banned one week and not the next for similar offences.

SKY commentary team with their constant nit-picking of incidents/negative play, rather than concentrating on the rest of the game.

All bang on. But what's really annoying is a fan has just been able to compile that list off the top of their head, when there are people who actually get paid to make these decisions. There are plenty of good ideas kicking around these boards (loads of awful ones also ) with respect to improving league structure, playoff format, international games, scheduling of the CC, sponsorship, disciplinary, refereeing etc. Usually I would be against massive changes all at once but a complete overhaul is needed. The RFL needs to stop letting SL be a competition where the tail wags the dog.

I'm with everyone else on this the league is a joke i've spoke to quite a few people and we all agree that for £8 a month the nrl is the only way to get a rugby fix these days

A few things what have made me fall off the game

1- Refs now i know they will get things wrong from time to time but this season has been one big joke and this isn't just about decisions against us i'm taking about every team in the league the same thing can happen in the same game and get 2 different outcomes it stinks we need 2 refs a game and video ref at every game

2- RFL these guys are a joke the whole way they run the league stinks some of the stuff they come up with is like most of them are sniffing glue (early plea) wtf is this all about you do something you get punished, inconsistency if you have a bad record you get punished worse and rightly so but players have got away with murder cause big games are coming up Puliatua (sp) hit a guy with his shoulder in the face gets 2 games he's not a dirty player but gets the max ban

3- coaches putting weak teams out i went to Widnes away this season and find out 10-15 mins before the game a good chunk of the 'team' wasn't playing if players have got niggles fine but coaches are doing this all the time now you should put your best team out week in week out

4- Derbys we dont have one anymore it's getting boring now playing Saints 3,4 or 5 times a season when i was younger we played saints in friendly's and it was like xmas i couldn't wait to go now i have to make an effort to go to one, it feels like Wire is our derby these days

I'm all for top 6 again top 2 play for a gf spot and the loser plays the winner of the other 4 these days all you need to do is hover around the top 8 first half of the season win your cup games and your flying it's a joke

You can do it cheaper than that. Get down to watch the kids play on Sunday mornings at local rugby clubs. Seen some cracking matches over the last few months.

Bloody hell the loss to Leeds has hit you lot hard.

I know you won't, because it doesn't fit with your trolling attempt, but if you care to look back through peoples posts, particularly Jinkin Jimmy, you'll notice this has been an awful lot of disillusionment from about halfway through the season.

I felt like that most of the season to be fair.

At the risk of giving you yet another bite, my posts have slowed down drastically throughout this season to a point now where I rarely comment.

By all means laugh about this, but it's not our imagination that financially we are falling far, far behind Rugby Union, not to mention the NRL - who as they are also very keen to take our best players - can not be regarded as friends.

How anyone in the game can seriously try to present 2012 as a good season - bearing in mind the Bradford debacle and the stories coming out of Salford - is beyond me.

I've read this thread with a great deal of interest, and, tbh, dismay at the thoughts expressed....I understand and agree with a lot of them.

I'm not quite as pessimistic at the moment as others regarding match attendance, I will probably renew my ST, but it's certainly got me thinking.

As Bilko has rightly stated, what a sad state of affairs the RL is now!

I preferred it when the league leaders meant you were champions, rewarded for your hard work and success for over the course of the season.
With this we had the Premiership competition which was something like the current playoffs. We do need to playoffs for financial reasons, but the RFL need to devise a plan to keep a playoffs without killing off the league.
Maybe something along the lines of: League leaders are granted a place in the grand final. the the remaining 4/6 teams go into a play off system to earn the chance to meet the LL in the final.

I posted this on facebook on Saturday after the Saints vs Wire game and I got quite a response:
Can see why people aren't putting money into RL anymore,. The standard of refereeing is abysmal, the quality has dropped since the franchises came in when they were supposed to make it better. Teams are going into administration then they're not being punished properly so there's no incentive to run a club properly. And above all; There's a horrific trend in rewarding mediocrity. Twice in a row fifth place are to be in the grand final. 8th place were in the playoffs when they've lost more games than they've won.

For 5th place to win the league they should have to beat every single team above them but they dont. They should now have to play the loser of today's game before they can reach the final.

I have a feeling Wigan may end up moving to Union not through choice but being forced. Theres no way they can sustain a club of that size if the game becomes part time and teams like Warrington will probably follow suit. Its not going to be soon but if the League carries on how it is at the moment it will happen. A team like Wigan or Warrington will probably be allowed immediately into the highest division as the support we have is much bigger than any other team and I cant see the most loyal fans in the league dropping off if we moved to Union. I dont want it to happen, obviously, but I dont think theres going to be any other way soon. Unless we can get those other 9 teams that can spend to the cap to form a breakaway league.

I know it is an odd response to have, but having most of the complaints laid out so simply makes me feel [iless[/i pessimistic, not more. It isn't an inevitable regress, not by any means. There is still hope, and if the sport is dying a slow death, all the more time for one spark to do something about it.