i am a season ticket holder at salford but my lad plays ru at under 1s level and in training sessions we teach them all aspects of rugby league to incoparate into ru.bu you have to remember in ru if you have the ball the opposition cant score.with regards to the drop goal not being used i think proffesional teams are urged to score trys unless losing with a couple of points with a few minutes to go.both codes can learn off each imo.

Start 'em young.

under 13s i am a fool

I fear for RL to a certain extent.

RU has the POTENTIAL to be a better sport. The players are not up to league standard in terms of fitness, but they're getting fitter all the time. Tweak the rules a little, and you have a sport that resembles 'old' rugby league, which to my mind was far more interesting to watch than the British Bulldog-eque game we have today.

All you have to do is look at RU in the Southern Hemisphere. The ruck has quickened up so much that in many cases it's like the play-the-ball anyway with rarely more than 2 or 3 forwards piling in. The rules have been tweaked so as to encourage more attacking play, which has had the desired result, as more tries are now scored. They are even toying with the idea of making the defence stand five metres back from the gain line, whereas at the moment, they are allowed to stand on it. Clearly, this will encourage deep-set attacking play, just like League used to do.

Then all you have to do is look at Shaun Edwards' side, Wasps. OK, they've been less than successful this year due to many personnel changes, but also due to the fact that clubs have cottonned onto his style. He pioneered the 'move forward in a line' (rush) defence technique already common in League. All the other sides have copied it. Union never used to use dummy runners, but they do now.

I used to hate union in the amateur days. We all know what it was like. The ball used to be in the stands more than it was on the pitch. League people still call union for that - well, all I can say is that they've not watched a game of it for a few years. And if that's the case, that makes us no better than the general UK public, encouraged by the union faithful, who like to portray RL as a beer swilling, northern, mudbath.

RL needs to get its finger out. We may have the superior game, but for how long?

I agree Robinson.

Sadly I too fear for the game, and one of the reasons, perhaps predictably is our old friend the Communist Cap.

RU is currently "suffering" from losing players to the French league (where there is no CC in force).

How long before they say "enough" and scrap their cap? More immediately is the likelihood of them turning to RL to fill their vacancies.

RL on the other hand is happier cowering to the likes of Cas and Wakey and dumbing down to their levels.

Still with a chairman like ours who appears to be as tight as a fishes tight bits, then it looks like Wigan RL have no ambition in the "signing stars" department in any case.

If the cap was scrapped we would probably fill our squad with St Pats players.........

I wouldnt blame the cap as such, I mean several clubs were very nearly bankrupted, including ours.

In fact I would say that at the moment, a cap is necessary to stop things spiralling out of control.

That's not to say that I actually agree with the cap though. I would love it to be scrapped, but you can only do that if there is enough money in the sport, and you won't get that without sponsorship. you won't get sponsorship without promotion. And without promotion, you won't get fans, which means no sponsorship.

The buck has to stop with the RFL. They need to COMPEL the clubs, IMMEDIATELY to promote themselves by basically, bombarding the media with news. The RFL need to back the clubs by doing the same.

Then, and only then, will be we able to grow our sport to the potential we know it has.

I agree there has to be some kind of regulation.

However, a simple Turnover cap (based on the PRECEEDING seasons Turnover) would help to ensure the survival of clubs. Frankly you can never 100% ensure their survival, but that's a seperate debate.

i am going to upset the apple cart here the problem with regards to 2 games is when you see internationals they are sell outs,because they try and bring through youngsters and no just go for a quick fix ie overrated aussies and kiwis.i am a lover of both games because i am a season ticket holder at salford and my lad plays for orrell rufc.with regards to ru being behind i think you need take a look again they are miles in front with regards to everything media ie

that idea is far too straght forward for the RFL,

Some very interesting points throughout.

But what are our thoughts on improving RL?

-Marketing?
-The on field game?
-Salary Cap?
-Development of youth players?
-Development in other parts of the UK?
-Overseas development?

Discuss!

The RFL have at least put some foundations in place to help the game move forward, the main one being the franchises.

This will help develop youth players & eventually allow us to move outside the M62 corridor with a stronger player pool so new teams can have a credible line-up without being bashed for packing their sides with antipodeans but we need to lose our parochialism.

I think a lot of the flat-earthed philosophies come from the fact that people who follow Rugby League either feel that their team or other teams that have been around for many years and previously been successful are now being put to the sword for the sake of expansion and fail to grasp the bigger picture. I do emphathise with anybody who takes that position & I think the RFL need to avoid causing a schism within the game if it continues to expand.

Why spurn potential feeder clubs in the heartlands because they are not desirable? More money should be invested in the National Leagues to allow them to make improvements and bring through more youngsters and ease the pressure on the SL. This will improve the playing pool and potentially offer more quality talent for SL and International RL which in turn leads to a more competitive competition which can be marketed easier and attract a larger audience.

Another incentive is the larger the player pool the less problematic talent leaving the game becomes for RU as there will be adequate numbers to fill those lost positions - but I agree that the Salary Cap needs a massive overhaul for our game to progress in the near future.

Just as an aside, why does Union still operate a Salary Cap in this country if it has enough talent and money to be competitive and financially sound...or am I wrong in that assumption?

Trying not to be negative, most of the development/improvement ideas have actually been tried, but in a half hearted way.

RL doesn't have a lot of money so it's difficult to expand without a long term slow burning plan.

I am also perturbed by RL in London. 28 years and spectator figures have plateaued for years. It's positive there are locals in the Quins squad but that's about it. The profile down here is nil. Like Robinson I meet lots of people who, when they hear I am from Wigan, start talking RL. Some have even heard of Stains! None have heard of Quins RL. There are lots of ex-pat northerners and Aussies here who don't go to watch RL in the capital, and I'm not sure why. I may be guilty of thread drift here but the condition of RL in London is an example of where RL fails.

London have been lucky to survive as they have done for me because they came about when the RFL knew nothing about expansion (Paris anybody?)

It's profile however has been hampered by the fact it has never established itself as one entity for very long. Fulham had about three years at Craven Cottage before turning into the nomads of RL for the next ten years.

Add to that name chages and further ground changes (The Valley, The Stoop, Griffin Park) just added to the problems. Harlequins RL will be unknown for the time being because everybody knows Harlequins as being the RU side - but hopefully a period of stability at the Twickenham Stoop for this side can allow them to find a fanbase that don't need to move around like Alan Whicker to follow them -- London has already done a lot to bring youngsters into the game so it is popular.

interesting to see the governement throw its support behind the rfu's bid to host the union world cup in england in 2015.
not been so forthcoming in their support for the 2013 rugby league bid.
shame we haven't got anyone on the inside! where's andy burnham when you need him? ...oh wait