Damien

Wigan, Leeds and Brentford would be a pretty good spread and should get decent crowds at each.

To compare to figures just released from Queensland it really illustrates how much we are up against it when we play Australia with 67,701 registered male participants and 10,311 female: Participation across community rugby league and QRL statewide competitions grew by five per cent in 2023. Registration numbers exploded during the early months of the year, and by season’s end, there were 67, 701 registered club players. Female participation increased by 10 per cent, with numbers eclipsing 10,000 for the first time. Junior numbers climbed above 50,000, with the Central and North regions welcoming an influx of new participants. See the full breakdown: Queensland SEQ Central Northern Registered participants 67,701 27,707 23,536 15,528 Percentage growth 5.18% 3.81% 7.01% 5.92% Registered female participants 10,311 3497 3765 2866 Percentage growth 10.30% 11.40% 10.64% 10.57% Registered junior participants 51,917 22,276 17,790 11,921 Percentage year-to-date growth 5.25% 3.45% 6.89% 6.46% Registered senior participants 15,784 5431 5746 3607 Percentage year-to-date growth 4.96% 5.33% 7.36% 4.19% https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/qrl-ceo-ben-ikin-has-penned-a-column-to-provide-an-update-on-the-state-of-rugby-league-in-queensland/news-story/c95618b5cfcca7b4ebb4fb5647f7818f

The most notable change is the date. Obviously there is a strong potential for people just to choose the Grand Final and not bother with the Challenge Cup at all or vice versa and we could be far worse off overall. Also an October Challenge Cup date will come with worse weather and could well be less appealing for people who still see the Challenge Cup as a day trip/weekend away to London. I can't see that working. Bigger clubs joining a round earlier is something I'd be up for but joining too early as in a couple of these proposals just has the potential for farcical mismatches and increases the workload for the bigger clubs. Limiting quota players too seems detrimental, fans want to see the top stars likes Field and French. The rest, in particular all the announcements is all a little meh and will do nothing to get more people going to the final.

Surely seeing a match is better than seeing no match at all?

Either way it was very poorly done.

You said to get competitive. Michael Maguire virtually transformed Wigan both on and off the field in a single pre-season and won the Grand Final in his first. The likes of Bradford, Saints and Leeds didn't take a decade to get to their peaks and win honours. Indeed Bradford went from a 7th place finish to SL Champions in 2 seasons under Matthew Elliot and transformed the club with the whole Bulls rebrand. It is more than possible with the right appointments and investment.

When has a full rebuild in RL took a decade? Various big clubs have done it in a fraction of that time. Obviously the money and backing has to be there, which would be the case if the investment that has been alluded to happens.

And the same applied to the Aussies.

By being part time with far less training and games at a far lower intensity.

Course you can

The Premiership essentially morphed into the Grand Final and play offs, obviously with the Champions tag elevating it. County Cups have had their day and there simply aren't enough quality teams to make them worthwhile. We are struggling enough with the Challenge Cup on that front.

You can have both, it's no different than clubs like Wigan.

I'd say he is in a strong position to make the role right for him with the autonomy that he needs.