I'm with you on this, I pick and choose matches now, with warington and saints being the favourites, then leeds and it used to be bradford. But other than that the matches have been pretty wretched, then factor in that the teams from 9th down are generally poor, yes there was the odd freak result us v widnes, Wire at salford, but these are exceptions rather than the norm.

for me the bottom line is the league cant support 14 teams, there isnt enough talent, add to that you can loose half the games over a season and still have a crack at being champions, its just not right, but fair play to leeds they have sussed the format of the season, and really only start playing in August.

maybe a return to P and r is the solution, but add a twist, if eighth up can have a stab at the tittle, 10th down could be relegated, with a relegation playoff, with the winner staying up

(Nigel Wood please note that last bit was a joke)

but as it stands at the moment I am more dissilusioned with the sport than at any time in the last 30 years of watching and playing it.

Do you think anybody in charge at the RFL will be surprised by the depth of feeling being expressed in this thread? What is being expressed is a concern that we have sacrificed the core value of Rugby League for the glitz and glamour of a mass spectator sport. The sad reality is that we haven't achieved either.

What is needed is a competition where the winners at the end of the season are rewarded as such. If we need the playoffs then the winners at the end of the rounds gains automatic qualification. We also need automatic relegation, franchises stifle spirit, for two seasons lower placed clubs are not under pressure to achieve, you can still be a wooden spooner and survive the franchise debacle.

Lastly we need growth at grass roots level across the board and to either decide we are a northern based parochial sport, or we are a national sport that really needs to raise its profile. Only with investment, committed people and the proper marketing according to strategic direction will this sport survive.

Promotion and relegation is needed so that we can return to a sensible playoff format without resulting in half a dozen teams having nothing to play for by Easter. But the fact is the game isn't in a suitable state for P+R to return, it would still result in the promoted team yo-yoing between the leagues, the gap between even the bottom end of a full time professional league and a semi-pro league is still too wide to justify conventional, football league-style P&R. The franchise system should have been a transitional period that sorted this out, leaving the game in a position where all of the SL teams are in a stable position, with 5 or 6 decent candidates in the league below, then P&R could come back. We all know this isn't/hasn't been the case, however.

Errr who knows. I've already dropped facebook.

It's a sad state of affairs when fans get to this point. I'm sure the winter famine will generate a bit of enthusiasm in us but the harsh fact is that I can get virtually all the RL I need from Premier Sports for next to nowt without getting off my backside and with the added bonus of avoiding all of the crap on Sky that winds me up. It's getting to be a no brainer and that scares me TBH.

If I could get premier Sports on Virgin, the decision would be a lot easier for me. Unfortunately at some point I'll have no other option than to watch Salford v Castleford as my weekly game rather than Melbourne v St George.

Quote Pemps="Pemps"If I could get premier Sports on Virgin, the decision would be a lot easier for me. Unfortunately at some point I'll have no other option than to watch Salford v Castleford as my weekly game rather than Melbourne v St George.'" It's not going to be an option anytime soon either www.premiersports.tv/top/channel ... rm-update/

Quote Pemps="Pemps"If I could get premier Sports on Virgin, the decision would be a lot easier for me. Unfortunately at some point I'll have no other option than to watch Salford v Castleford as my weekly game rather than Melbourne v St George.'" It's not going to be an option anytime soon either www.premiersports.tv/top/channel ... rm-update/

wigan rl should've signed bilko up to run their site. legend.

I'm the same as most people on here. Used to be crazy about the sport but now its nothing more than an afterthought.

UK Rugby league is in a dreadful mess and supporters will drift away en masse if it continues.

Quote Pemps="Pemps"It's not going to be an option anytime soon either www.premiersports.tv/top/channel ... rm-update/'" Cant you get that freeview thing anymore where you can get premium channels? Is it not on there?

Quote Pemps="Pemps"It's not going to be an option anytime soon either www.premiersports.tv/top/channel ... rm-update/'" Cant you get that freeview thing anymore where you can get premium channels? Is it not on there?

Quote MadDogg="MadDogg"UK Rugby league is in a dreadful mess and supporters will drift away en masse if it continues.'" Maurice Watkins disagrees with you. menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... o-strength Quote MadDoggExtraordinary – there is no other way to describe 2012, a year which has proved to be very special for me and the sport of rugby league. I have been a non-executive director of the Rugby Football League for some years, and I was honoured to be asked to become the governing body’s interim chairman in April, only a few months before I left the board of United . Rugby league has continued to make progress both on and off the field and is currently riding the crest of a popularity wave'"

Quote MadDogg="MadDogg"UK Rugby league is in a dreadful mess and supporters will drift away en masse if it continues.'" Maurice Watkins disagrees with you. menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... o-strength Quote MadDoggExtraordinary – there is no other way to describe 2012, a year which has proved to be very special for me and the sport of rugby league. I have been a non-executive director of the Rugby Football League for some years, and I was honoured to be asked to become the governing body’s interim chairman in April, only a few months before I left the board of United . Rugby league has continued to make progress both on and off the field and is currently riding the crest of a popularity wave'"

This season in particular had been a bore fest, particularly for us, with most of our games being over before half time. Even Eddie and Stevo havent been banging on about how great our game is, so it cant just be us!! I think the CC QF was a turning point for me, possibly the worst wigan saints derby i have ever seen for intensnity. Yet the game on friday has actually reignited my passion for the game, it had everything and even though we lost i left the game thinking how great rugby league can be.