Death to the Rah Rah's

I personally think we are missing a trick with internationals. I think we are all agreed that the RFL have very limited resources when it comes to promoting games, so why not allow local authorities to bid to stage and promote the game extensively in that particular area. Criteria would be set based on the level of opposition - ie: England v France, minimum 12,000 capacity stadium, England v New Zealand minimum 28,000 and so on. After the Aussies, the biggest draw would be the State of Origin games, so why not invite Queensland and NSW over for a Tri- Comp against Great Britain with games to take place in 50k+ stadiums Year 1 - Four Nations tournament which also has a minor tournament with France plus 1 other against Tonga, Fiji or PNG Year 2 - State of Origin UK challenge Year 3 - GB Tour Year 4 - New Zealand Test Year 5 - Australia Tour to UK ….then start it all over again

I hope it isn't in Liverpool. I haven't been to Anfield since the new stand was built, but have been previously and the seating was always awful with very little leg room, certainly not comfortable enough to make me want to sit there all weekend ! Also, location. Since the move to Newcastle, the Magic Weekend has become a fantastic social occasion, the location of St James Park is second to none and you are in the city centre bars within 100 metres of the stadium. Anfield is a different matter, the stadium is out of town and surrounded by streets of old terraced housing. Add to that the cost of accommodation which is a lot higher than Newcastle. I priced up a weekend for last September and the cost was double for the same standard of room in Newcastle If Newcastle is unavailable for next year, then surely we can take the weekend to a more inspiring location? Liverpool may be a good night out, but its an out and out football city with no prospect of ever having a professional club, so why waste a good promotional weekend taking it to a city with no marketing potential ? I would rather it went to the Ethiad (if available) as the concourse surrounding the stadium could be taken over with love bands and other entertainment between games. It could also have a Women's magic weekend taking place in the smaller stadium. I know the Grand Final is in Manchester, but at least its a city that does embrace RL, and has the potential to thrive under the right conditions

Not sure if this has been discussed previously, but 3 months ago Anthony Broxton wrote a brilliant analysis of the current game. For those that haven't read it, its well worth a read and very thought provoking https://tidesofhistory.wordpress.com/2018/08/09/seize-the-day-twelve-ways-to-make-rugby-league-great-again

I agree the amateur game should be ran and managed by their someone, …...but BARLA are a spent force. I know they have had a lot of their powers eroded by the RFL, but people outside of Yorkshire see BARLA as a Yorkshire organisation, to look after Yorkshire clubs. For this to work, it needs a new management committee set up from scratch with elected reps from each RL playing area to ensure balanced views. The Chair should be on a rotation basis every couple of years, so each region gets an equal voice

There's rumours abound that Distington and Hensingham have both applied to join the NCL for next season. If they are accepted, then there's a pretty good chance that will more or less kill off the local league in West Cumbria, at a time when more clubs are needed to create a vibrant competition again. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the NCL was originally created by BARLA as an elite competition for the best and most ambitious of the amateur clubs. Since then, the expansion to 4 divisions has created 4 divisions of predominantly Yorkshire clubs with the Regional Leagues suffering as a result. I personally believe we do need a National league structure of some description for the 'elite' clubs to compete in, but does it need to come under the banner of the NCL, or could it be absorbed into the semi-professional structure as League 2 and League 3 and should only be 2 divisions. The remaining sides could go back to their regional leagues, BUT at the end of the season compete in a crossover competition to find the Champion of Champions, bit like the Champions League in Football - this could be limited to the league winners and runners up and played over a 4 week period as a precursor to the start of the following season. Something needs done to help reinvigorate the amateur game …..and quickly

Last night's game was yet another example of the lack of planning and ambition within the corridors of Red Hall. Yes we all know France are not the strongest of opposition at present, but this was still an international fixture and deserves to be played in front of a full house. They have the same one sided games in RU, but that doesn't stop supporters from attending the game as they go for the occasion. For the forthcoming World Cup, councils are invited to apply to host games - why on earth are we not using the same strategy for international RL games. I'm sure the likes of Coventry, London, Cumbria, Newcastle - areas starved of top class RL would love the opportunity to host these games. Build it into the contract that the bid winner has to extensively market the game within their locality, put up the squad in a local hotel for at least 2-3 days in advance of the game so they can visit schools and hold coaching clinics etc - then all of a sudden you have built an 'occasion' worthy for an international fixture. It doesn't really matter if the game is played in an 8,000 capacity stadium or a 20,000 capacity stadium - as long as its a full house. Last night's showing in Leigh was embarrassing - whoever decided to arrange a fixture for a Wednesday night needs hauling over the coals. the New Zealand test series could see crowds at levels not seen since the early 80's

Absolute waste of time. The RFL need boots on the ground, not online questionnaires. each region of the RL World, humberside, West and East Yorkshire, London, Cumbria, Lancashire etc should have a team of local volunteers to go and visit each club on a one to one basis, pre-armed with a set of questions from the RFL to ensure continuity. They should hold an open meeting with the players, officials and junior coaches to get real feedback and suggestions on how to halt the games decline from the people who have experienced the games problems first hand. It wouldn’t be difficult to set up. An appeal for local volunteers, a training day with free lunch thrown in. A set of standard questions to ensure continuity and then an open floor to take concerns/suggestions from the floor. cost to set up would be minimal information gathered - priceless! Despite all the modern technology, sometimes there’s just no substitute for face to face meetings

I'm all for the stadium in principal and multipurpose stadia are the way forward, but how many events will see the stadium full to capacity or even at 50% capacity? The area needs a modern stadium, but I'm questioning the size of the ground not the concept. I read a while ago that lower league football clubs developing new stadiums were told not to have a capacity more than 3 times their average crowd over the previous 10 years if they wanted to maintain an atmosphere in the ground on a matchday. Reds - 500 species in an 8k would be 7% of the capacity, even if Town could get up to 1000 species that would only be 1/8th of the capacity

spectator sports are a declining market, live streaming will see a continued decline in crowds , so I stand by my opinion that an 8k capacity stadium in Workington is more than double what both clubs need

Perfect size !! - Really !! I would much rather have a nice compact 5,000 capacity stadium, which in reality is still too big for both clubs to come anywhere near filling! In the last 20 years, how many of Town's crowds have been over 5k? and in the last 40 years how many of Reds crowds has been over 2k? Even under the successful Peter Walsh years, Towns average attendance was around the 3-3500k mark. Seems a bit over the top to me, I know the World Cup is looming, but is the additional cost of the larger capacity really worth it for 1 or 2 representative games every few years? It would make more financial sense to have a reduced capacity stadium in Workington and play the bigger rep games at Carlisle's Brunton Park which has a 12k capacity for the odd occasion the County will get. Another option would be to alter the design to allow for temporary stands behind the goals for big games such as the World Cup, then after the competition the capacity resorts to a more manageable size. This system has been used countless times before in big tournaments so obviously works

......meanwhile Maryport are set to lose the towns swimming pool for the sake of 100k to repair it ! we all want a nice shiny new stadium, but the country is full of stadia which have become unaffordable and expensive to run, so it has to be affordable and not just one councillors folly; after all, it’ll be the rate payers ultimately paying for it. Councillors such as Mark Jenkinson are right to ask questions, that’s why they get elected in the first place, and remember, the councillors have a duty to the electorate of Allerdale, not just the people of Workington which receives the lions share of all spending and investments already, whilst towns like Maryport, Aspatria etc get ###### all. At present, Town and Reds can barely average 1000 spectators between them, so that’s less than 1% of the Boroughs population using a stadium funded by the other 99% who don’t attend matches of either club. i May have misread Marks comments, but it seems he is only asking for transparency in the decision making process, and has emphasised that he is all for a stadium as long as it’s affordable and ensures the survival of both clubs

The world is changing, more and more games will be beamed onto people's TV's, laptops, phones and tablets, BUT let's not forget the Challenge Cup is still recognised throughout the world as a top class competition, even if for RL diehards it now plays second fiddle to the Grand Final. If the final is to stay in London, then the marketing should be reflected to specifically target the south of the country and try to reach out to new audiences and put on an event with all the glitz and glamour to rival the NFL games. The 'traditional' RL market of floating supporters having their annual weekend in the capital has gradually declined and the younger supporters won't travel to London unless it's their team in the final, so the game needs to reach out to a new audience. Rather than sell on all the 'Club Wembley' seats to supporters, why not use it as a marketing tool to invite representatives of blue chip companies in the capital to experience the sport first hand, or even give each professional club a batch of tickets for them to invite potential sponsors down to try and help them sell the RL experience to their own potential sponsors

No doubt the competition needs a full revamp to one again engage with supporters. in regards to the point about the last 2 years attendances being the lowest, hasn’t their been issues with the trains into Euston for the last 2 years which will put off casual supporters? the final needs to be moved away from the bank holiday weekend for a start and there’s needs to be 12 weeks between the semi finals and the final as a trip to London takes some planning .......and saving for. My wife and I live in Cumbria, and a 2 night stay in the capital including train tickets will cost well in excess of £1000 including meals and a few drinks. or the pair of us could have an all inclusive holiday for 7 days for the same money!!

without getting into the argument as to whether West Wales should be in League 1 or not, it does open the debate about restructuring the professional game to implement a system where the likes of the Welsh clubs, Hemel, and any other new club can develop at their own pace playing in a competition that gives them a chance of winning games. Hemel were a thriving amateur club, lovely ground, junior sides and money in the bank - 5 years later, the decision to join the ranks of the semi-pro game has nearly destroyed them. West Wales for all their on field troubles deserve some credit for soldering on to get to the end of the season, as it must be soul destroying for them being on the end of 100 point defeats. The RFL seriously need to look at a the entire league structure from top to bottom. The regional leagues are fine for clubs which are happy to play social rugby, and the NCL is great for the most progressive sides, but do we really need 4 NCL Divisions, which in my personal opinion has weakened the Regional Leagues. Far better to have a new league structure - Super League, Championship, League 1, League 2 (which would be for development sides but would have criteria to ensure they can produce their own players ie: junior rugby, open age amateur side etc), NCL divisions 1 and 2, the rest of the NCL sides to return to the Regional leagues. Have a Champion of Champions competition for the Regional Leagues to raise the competition profile. The NCL Champions (if they wished) could apply to play in League 2 on semi-professional or amateur basis, any central funding could help them develop their ground (build a small covered standing area for example).

Simple answer is no particular reason. my personal view is that League One rugby is only a fraction more professional that NCL top division, but a lot more expensive to attend, and the games in the NCL are usually quite entertaining and closely fought affairs. i have no interest in watching Town play the likes of West Wales, Coventry, Hemel etc in one sided games on the odd occasion I’ve fancied going to a game, I’ve had something else on my mates have no interest in RL these days other than the annual excursion to the Grand Final or international games I think the game would partially benefit from a new stadium as the facilities at all of Cumbrias stadiums are woefully out of date, but a new stadium doesn’t necessarily mean more supporters ....just ask Doncaster that said, I do want Town to be the county’s top RL side and I would be willing to increase my monthly subscription for Town Flyer etc provided I got something out of it in the form of a few match tickets to attend any home game of my choice throughout the season, or the option to watch live streaming or delayed highlights of home and away games