yipyee

Sounds like NRL clubs are lining up to create UK feeder clubs to produce talent for their main operations whilst sending players out to the UK to gain experience..

Fully get it would be a bitter pill to swallow for existing fans, long term though the crowds would grow if there was only one club in an area/zone. Fair point about soccer in Leeds however soccer has been on a growth path since the early nineties. I once met a family from Sheffield who were season ticket holders at Leeds. They really do have the catchment of a greater area due to the lack of direct competition.

Interesting, so someone who plays rugby or has an interest or watches the ashes as a first time fan and looks for a local team to support wouldn't go to their local top flight side to watch rugby because at some point in the past there was a merger? Do you actually know the history of soccer teams, how do you explain the growth of say Catalan when 3 clubs mergered , Do people in certain parts of Leeds not watch or play rugby anymore because there is only one top club??

Just imagine putting 100k a year into junior development for 10 years and getting a permanent home regardless of size.. Wales is the other area that had huge potential and has been left to fall apart.

Seeing as Huddersfield are trying to relocate to play out of Halifax this would be the perfect opportunity. Presume junior players are just wanting to part of a SL academy so the only hurdle would be the fans. If one club disappeared then the natural drift would be towards the remaining one. This seems to have happened in Leeds. Let's also remember that Huddersfield has already merged once before...

Suppose whilst not an actual merger, Leeds took over the whole of the area with Bramley and Hunslet shadow clubs now and all the best talent and fans going to the super club Leeds. St Helens now attract all the best talent in widnes as well as Wigan and Warrington encroaching on talent but the fans haven't followed. Huddersfield replaced Halifax in that area but this looks like it will flip back again. Oldham was replaced with Salford and again a flip will occur. Honesty think Rochdale and Oldham should merge as should halifax and huddersfield. Otherwise they will be forever fighting over the same talent and fans.

Don't think New Zealand will come and play in Wakefield though....

That's a great point and also it's good to lock fans out of a game, it increases season ticket sales, and helps tickets sell out quickly upon initial release. I know several people who wanted good friday tickets but left it too late. The scramble for tickets is good and increases sales. Also once games ate regularly sold out its feasible to increase ticket prices to grow revenue. I think Warrington made an error here by increasing their capacity when it was 12k.

On a more serious note Oldham would be the more attractive option. Great amateur and junior clubs to feed into oldham in terms of players and fans. And the club currently are building well with what appears a good team on and off the pitch. Great playing back in the soccer stadium too.

So your saying that it's a complete coincidence that IMG have targeted growth in certain areas and added those as scoring metrics towards SL participation and all of a sudden those metrics have increased drastically? Also did clubs even bother with social media prior to IMG. Finally it's not been mentioned that games on terrestial TV will definatly have increased viewership and therefore social media following

Not true there were several promotion offers floating around. School holidays/Easter which is popular with holidays particularly the first week prior to actual Easter and the poor showing in the cup would be the main points to drive down attendance. The women playing at home on the saturday may also be a factor. Not sure on ST holder numbers but I would guess quite a few of those missing too.

Didn't Australia cancel the regular NZ games , didn't NZ win more than they lost? Penrith refusing to play the WCC twice in the last 4 years..

Haha seems to be a pattern that Aus dodge great teams so they can portray the myth that they are perpetually the best

Is the owner getting ready for life after his leadership, is this his exit strategy getting the club ready for a sustainable future, and if that is in the championship with a smaller stadium , following and of course budget then it would leave them in a better place than what is happening at Salford right now.

Suppose if you can't beat them buy them