bamfordsbeans

The way things are going we are not far away from a two and a half hour game.Yesterdays final took two and a quarter hours and that was without any major injuries or too many video calls. We pride ourselves as a game on non stop action but the stoppages at times is farcical.The time taken for scrums yesterday was far too long and Hicks did nothing about it. At times the drink carriers were coming on that often I thought we were going to need a drinks break for them. As well as becoming less of a spectators attraction,it also has a knock on effect as players get more time to recover.One of the features of the game in the past was which team was the fittest.

Its becoming more common for the Grand Final winners to be the team that sets themselves up for the different style of play of knockout rugby in the latter stages of the season.Leeds and Wigan have been excellent at this over the last few years. Saints this year and Cas last year were streets ahead of the competition over the regular season but both came up short when it mattered. Whilst Leeds and Wigan deserved their success in the last 2 years ,as a neutral it does leave a slight sense of injustice. Hopefully the new format will help,but for those who would wish for the season to end with the league champion being crowned the best team is not the right way. The media coverage and prestige of the Grand Final at Old Trafford is not one that we could even begin to contemplate to end.

What would Halifax,Salford and Oldham give to get those gates today?. The biggest difference in the last 30 years seems to be that in former years crowds were more spread out between the clubs,whereas now it is only the top 6 or so that can consistently get sustainable attendances.

Three or four Scottish clubs mentioned. Is there any activity in Scotland atm?

With the extra thousands flooding to clubs like Salford and Huddersfield,there's no need to worry about the rest.

It looks as the number of neutrals attending has dropped from approx. 50k to 25k in recent years.When we get a final like last years that figure will get the mid sixties and that is about our maximum. To me the decline in neutrals mirrors the general drop in interest of the wider game in the last 20 years.OK the top 6or 7 SL teams are doing well,but the bottom half of SL and the rest of the semi pro game is having to get used to less people coming through the gate for league games.If those that stop away due to a variety of reasons they are less inclined to attend the showpiece games such as Wembley. In addition to the above the amateur game is going through a bad patch.If less teams are playing there are less teams to fill a coach for a weekend in London. Only when we can start to address the wider issues affecting the game can we start to see the Wembley we all desire.

If its 50k that's about on a par with last seasons final,when we had 2 of the best supported sides.

If winning rugby can't interest the public of Huddersfield,what will?

The difference in salary caps between SL and the NRL/top union leagues mean this is inevitable.

Wigans decline is worrying and I would have expected more at Saints the way they have been playing recently.

Does this not apply to SL clubs? If not there are double standards.

As well as the difference in funding between the top 4 and the rest,Featherstone and Leigh are going to have meaningless fixtures against the other 6 teams.This is bound to have a dramatic affect on attendances.

Thought there had been some activity in African countries such as Cameroon and Ghana?

Losing QLT is a blow for Fax. Batley by 2.

If the destination is in such places as Barcelona,Paris or even London,there is bound to be a knock on effect for the game in other areas.The cost of these cities means the average SL fan will have less money in their pockets to pay for Challenge cup and play off games etc.After years of trying we don,t seem to be able to count on a significant local support.