Double Movement asks about people no longer posting on here.

Speaking personally, my season effectively ended with the Keighley match owing to an upcoming holiday and my decision to not attend away matches.

I have had a season ticket for umpteen years but will not bother renewing next year unless the fixtures are set for the vast majority of the season, the league format changes and some serious recruitment takes place.

I'm not a regular poster but I think the general level of apathy this season has been a major factor in my overall feelings for the club. I'm sorry to say but I'm wondering if I can really be bothered any more.

Perhaps I'm getting old and cynical but the entertainment factor is simply no longer there.

I'll pick and choose my matches next season or possibly go back to watching other more interesting looking matches in the area as a neutral spectator.

I hope the club are reading comments like yours, Gerry. I think it sums up many people’s gut feelings for the game (and the Dons) at the moment.

I’ve got rugby running through my veins. I can’t ever see me giving up on the Dons but the league format is a big turn-off. It’s not a quality issue for me though. I just want to see competitive games where the outcome isn’t known before the kick-off. Blow out scores and one-sided games don’t attract anyone. It certainly helps if we, as fans, believe we have a genuine chance of going up. We’ve probably all lacked that belief this season.

Carl answered my question with regards to the league format in his last In The Dugout saying the clubs will be getting together in October to discuss these and other issues. The attendance at Rochdale last Sunday was 392. The game can’t survive on crowds like this. Surely the clubs must be able to see that change must be made to try to win the fans back over before it’s too late.

I can fully understand why even the most loyal of supporters will prefer to pick and choose which games to attend in future rather than buy a season ticket. Fixtures, fixture dates, quality of opposition, whether the club shows ambition with its signings are all unknowns at the moment.
I enjoy reading everyone’s posts on here as I like to understand why people feel the way they do. The club need to understand everyone’s feelings too.

What do others fans want from the club in order for their interest to be rekindled?

For what it’s worth, here is my 12 point plan to put things right:

1) The Dons must do everything they can to get the awful structure of Championship One changed.
2) Split the league into two divisions – top eight called Championship One, bottom eight called Championship Two.
3) Play each team at home and away twice to make a 28 game season (similar to the number of games played in the Championship now).
4) All fixture dates will be known from before the start of the season.
5) Each club will play 28 competitive games against opposition of similar ability.
6) Scrap the iPro cup as it gets in the way of a proper league season being possible.
7) The Dons need to set a target of promotion, not just aim to reach the play-offs.
Signings need to be of sufficient quality to excite the fans and make everyone believe promotion is a realistic possibility.
9) We need to have a bigger squad to cover for injuries.
10) The DR with Hull should either be scrapped or made to work better for both parties. When we’ve needed help this year it seems to have been missing. We either have to be able to rely on Hull to plug our gaps or make sure we can plug the gaps ourselves with a bigger squad.
11) The squad players who are not getting regular games need to go out on loan to Championship Two sides to help their development and to keep them match fit, or else they will get fed up of not playing and leave.
12) The top team in Championship One should be promoted automatically to the Championship.
13) The second placed team in the league should be at home to the winners of a Three v Four match at the end of the season for the second promotion place.
14) The bottom two should be relegated to Championship Two with two teams being promoted from Championship Two.

1 division home & away , then everyone has to go to Canada.

I can see the merit in this. It would certainly be better than what we’ve got now.

There are a couple of wider issues that I think we need to consider which is why I believe we have to go a stage further.

Imagine you’re a fan of one of the teams in the bottom eight of the current Championship One. Would you be excited about getting thumped every week by the better sides? Does it really help them build a supporter base? It’s much better for them to be competitive in the games they play against teams of similar ability. This needs another division. Give them a chance of winning something, give them a chance of getting promoted. Success is what builds a fan base. Let’s give them a chance.

Similarly, the Dons playing Hemel Stags, Oxford and South Wales Scorpions won’t bring disillusioned Dons fans back. Look how exciting the Keighley game was the other week. We need to be playing more games like that, against teams of our own ability. This needs another division. With this structure we have a chance of getting people back.

The downside to having one division is that from mid-season onwards there will be a lot of mid-table games where nothing matters. Having promotion and relegation from two divisions gives everyone something to play for and something to fear. Games will be exciting for most teams right through to the end of the season.

Cannot see anything happening for he 2017 season , not the way the RFL do

Cannot see anything happening for he 2017 season , not the way the RFL do things .

I like the idea DM, whether the RFL would go for is questionable, something needs to be done.

Thanks hkr. I hope all the clubs are trying to get their heads around the problems that we see as fans. The clubs should also have a vested interest in getting it right as it's their businesses that are at stake.

Rugby League is a great game played by some very brave players. It deserves to succeed and thrive. It will never achieve its full potential if the problems that it faces aren't properly addressed.

Lets hope either or both the Dons & Hull terminate the agreement , we could still have loan agreements .

COYD

A fundamental problem with DR is that it can have a negative effective on squad morale if players are being brought in when a club's own players are being left out. I guess this is why Gary Thornton probably has the views he has but it would be a good question to ask him.

The main issue I have is that Hull should be our crutch if we need extra players due to injuries, and they haven't been. We knew the rules with regards to which DR players would be qualified for the play offs and we've left ourselves short of options.

I can sympathise with the Dons to a degree. We have had a lot of injuries but there seems to have been a lack of foresight in not covering ourselves better with options from Hull.

There are two ways to go: make it work with Hull or take control of matters ourselves by having a bigger squad. We've got stuck somewhere in between and it's not worked.

An interesting article from the Yorkshire Post about RLs lack of concern for the fans with fixture schedulinghttps://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/leeds-rhinos/peter-smith-rfl-and-sky-are-at-risk-of-alienating-games-fans-1-8110376rl

Only concerned about super duper league , not with likes of fans in the lower leagues who have bought a season ticket & then found they cannot attend !