EssexRL

On the plus side the season after next (assuming there is still a L1) we should have a London derby to look forward too!

Apparently. Had an email from the club yesterday saying so which also acknowledged the return of Capital Challenge. There are worse teams to be coaches of given the set up and potential - although obviously we are now fishing in the same pool of part time players as Broncos.

The clubs been a bit overwhelmed by the number of applicants so they will.

I remember watching Skolars playing Ironmen at Cardiff Arms Park in 2014 and was impressed by the size of the crowd there. Easy to get there as an away fan.

The growing shadow looming over L1 and many of the clubs currently in it, including my own team, has led me to ask my self this question and I am interested in what other think as there are a fair few L1 fans on this board. Obviously we don't know actually what the future of L1 will be (and its been debated extensively) but assuming the worse (i.e., your club is no more or goes amateur) what would you do? If this happens a bit of me is going to be so hacked off that I would want to walk totally away from the sport and do something else with my time and money, but truth is I like it too much. I would certainly watch a lot fewer games but the question for me is who and where? I don't find the prospect of a part time London Broncos very enticing and have had enough experience of a struggling non heartland club but would probably give it a go for a match or two. Otherwise I am thinking of heading over to France a couple of times a season. Given rail fares and hotel costs here it probably wouldn't cost me much more than travelling up nort and the weather is a lot better than here! I do fear though this will be the start of a terminal decline in my commitment to the game (friends of mine from Kent who used to be regular Bronco fans now only watch live RL at the CC or the ever rarer internationals down here - that could be where I end up).

I think one of the major achievements of Skolars and I am sure Bears, is that they have remained viable and lived within their means. This has required a lot of hard work and innovation (like Capital Challenge). I do wonder with a bit more resource how much more the club could achieve locally given its links with local businesses, MPs, councillors, colleges and schools but we may never find out.....

Medway Dragons.

In my defence I don’t drive and I live in London. I’m going for M62 this time.

I meant M26. I wish there were M25 teams.

The thing is we’ve tried the heartland only model and it doesn’t grow support. The attendance at the french clubs matches or exceeds existing M25 teams. The last time anything exhilarating happened in SL was when Catalan and TWP joined. I’ve nothing against Fev but if we’re basing the future of the sport on a couple of hundred away fans I give up.

Does anyone know when we will actually know what the future structure is? Whatever else all is uncertainty cannot be good for anyone.

Hard to see a way back for Cru. Poor decision on the 40-20. The linesman should have seen that.

There’s only one team in it at the moment. Another try to Doncaster. Lots of unnecessary errors from North Wales.

I think it is positive they have returned to RL. I am interested to see how this works with potential restructuring. I personally don't mind the idea of a game on a Monday night although I would image that overall attendance will suffer (particularly for away fans). As to whether I would subscribe, probably if production values were ok (and better than they were when they last were involved).

Obviously good news but I will echo the response to this over on Twitter - how come the TV deal is less is the sport is attracting more viewers?

Interesting and very much a different vibe to some of our more traditional sponsors. Taking the comments on the press release at face value it is also interesting that the company refers to the sports place in communities and the importance of participation.

I know you're being tongue in cheek but I keep thinking maybe something different and better will emerge from the mess that seems to be unfolding. The idea of throwing away the great work both clubs are doing trying to expand the game (for nearly a quarter of a century in Skolars case) and the potential they represent is crazy but all too likely. The sport essentially did it with Oxford and All Golds.

It would have been nice to get an email or something from the club, but hey it feels like we are entering the End Days so no surprise.... Me and the lad are planning what we will spend our time doing on Sat afternoons instead of watching RL.

We tend to play better when he does get in the pitch.

Wow. Huge loss for us. He’s a great coach and I wish him all the best.

So, this Forum has been full of concerns about the future of the game (including from me). Is this working group the answer to these? My first reactions were: 1. Champ and L1 clubs need to be on this if its truly "holistic" 2. What about the views of fans? 3. There needs to be fresh thinking bought to the table to avoid "group think" - perhaps an outsider who can challenge thinking https://www.totalrl.com/super-league-and-rfl-set-up-joint-working-groups-to-plan-a-way-forward/

I am sure I have seen Skolars saying they travel in excess of 5,000 miles each season.

Really depressing.

I love RL, want it to thrive including in London where I live but honestly: what strategy is there to grow the match attendees to that sort of number? I remember the move to Barnet was meant to lead to a boost in attendance as football fans and local people gave RL a go. They didn't. Why will it be different in Wimbledon? When Skolars moved to Enfield for a season I was hoping some of the footie fans would give the game a go. There were a few at our first game there (against All Golds I recall) but almost none came back (because their loyalty was to the footie team). I would love to see 2000 at PL but cannot see how that will happen.

I think, sadly, you are spot on.