bamfordsbeans

I believe there is a strong possibility of another Leeds v Saints final.If that is the case and you look at how those 2 teams have performed this last year in comparison with the great sides of previous years it will be a sad reflection on this years SL.

Usual result at Fax (Featherstone have won this fixture at the Shay for the last 8 years). To be honest it wasn't a great game and Fax made more mistakes than Fev-hence the final score. I read that in the Challenge Cup between these 2 sides in 1972 there was A 7000+ crowd as there was for a league fixture in the early 90's.Add the the 1986 league game where there was an even better attendance and todays effort of just over 2000 puts it into perspective.

The closeness of positions 3 to about 12 is a good news story over the last decade or so. The main problem with all of these countries(with the exception of PNG and possibly France)is the lack of domestic activity and money.This means the said countries are not getting enough opportunities to test themselves against each other.

Whilst I applaud the Sky initiative,the reduction of development officers has coincided with a dramatic fall in participation numbers. If money is to be found we are now in a situation where it is a difficult decision to use these officers-the heartlands or elsewhere?

When the RFL hand down sweeteners like this,they should keep a small amount back for development officers and other such issues. In an ideal world I would like this to be a large percentage-but one step at a time.

When watching Fax away in the late 70's,the home announcers always had difficulty announcing the name of Dave Cholmondely. Also remember the Barrow team of around that time started with the names of Tickle,Moore,French ,Ball.

The odds on a Saints V Wigan final reduce with each game.

If licensing is to return,I just hope there is enough of the right type of applicants to ensure underperforming clubs like Widnes are not involved.

How can Hemel,Oxford etc be classed as a better option than Manchester?. Even if half the statements are true about Manchester,they look to have a lot more going for them than some of the local heartland teams.

Not only are we not attracting the casual sports fan(like Yorkshire did last night),but a lot of regular attenders during the normal season are notably absent. With the over hyped soccer back on our screens and all the other sports taking place,it was embarrassing for our main game to have a gate of under 3,000. I was a fan of the new system,but on reflection it may be better to go back to a 14 team SL.Going from 30 guaranteed fixtures to 22 is too drastic,and 26 is a better compromise. The quality of the extra 2 teams for SL is another matter.

I doubt we would get any better crowds than we would with Hull and Wigan in the final. Having said that any new ideas to get people to attend are always welcome. Realistically 65-70k seems to be the target these days,and whilst efforts should be made to do something about this,it is not a bad effort. The decline of the amateur game,pubs and working mens clubs has led to a massive decrease in the number of neutrals attending.

I thought the capacity of the new Cas stadium was going to be 12,000. Even so I think this is on the low side.With the location and the style of rugby they are playing at the moment,games against Hull,Leeds,Wakefield etc are going to push that capacity. Any neutrals or part timers are going to find it difficult to get tickets for many of the matches. I am no expert in the difference in cost of a stadium that holds 12,000 to one with say 15,000,but I wonder if the decision was being made now,there would be a different outcome.

Interesting to see crowds broken down into 3/4 year periods. In recent years the decline at Wigan and Wakefield is the most significant. Whilst it is good to see the overall increases in SL,this has got to be off set by the decline in attendances below this level,and the Challenge Cup.

Great performance from Fax. Best defensive record in the league from a patched up team of part timers. To only concede 22 points in their final 3 matches away to Toulouse and Fev,and home to Hull KR is immense. The future of the club was on the line in those 80 minutes and so glad we came through it.

On the evidence of the first 40 and last nights game,Sky won't be in a rush to put us on the main event game. Many complain about the Sky coverage and our treatment by them,but as an elite competition there are many instances when we need to take a long hard look at ourselves.