headtackle

Agree, the game v France last year illustrated the lack of appetite for a game v them. The options I can see for a game would be - England v France and or Wales - 5 Nations but England Lions, France, Wales, Scotland & Ireland - Lancashire v Yorkshire origin game - England v All Stars - North v South The more I type the less appeal any of these games have. I would watch them on TV and go if it was handy but not get overly excited One other option could be to use what they used to do in Union and have England trial games - a mid season 1 off game although ideally building to a 3 match series Probables v Possibles (or some other catchy names). England coach gets first pick for squad of probables. After that a guest coach selects from what is left to come up with the Possibles. With end of year test places available it should guarantee some fierce competition and should be far more intensive than any of the above. Probables wouldnt be able to cry off or ease up and the Possibles would have nothing to lose. Could generate a lot of interest, argument and discussion before during and in the lead up to year end games.

Other than LMS (now retired) I honestly do not know how many players we have in the game who are from outside of the M62 corridor To get it started you may have to stretch things a bit but we have already done that with some of our international teams. Where we draw the line North/South might have to be flexible as well However as we know we need to promote the game to a wider audience. A game like this would be marketable and would catch the attention of the media. Interestingly my youtube feed has just thrown up the Cross Code challenge games Wigan/Bath. I am not saying that we go back down that route but I do remember at the time the interest generated and some of the media excitement when they speculated whether a Southern team could beat Wigan. If we are having regional teams/rep fixtures I honestly believe that only this would work. Games like Lancashire/Yorkshire/Cumbria/Other Nationalities have lost their spark and the War of the Roses doesn't really work for any sport now

A rep game would be good to try and bridge the gap between club and international rugby and give us a landmark fixtures I don't think that Lancashire v Yorkshire would have the same pull as years gone by The one that would catch media attention would be North v South. If we looked around SL and stretched the grandparent rule like Jack Charlton did all those years ago there must be quite a few players from outside the heartlands. The media would love it especially the thought of the South getting one over on the North.

Well done Wire - you deserved that today Saints have a lot of questions to answer as looking very ordinary at the moment, nothing much in attack and a few players starting to look a bit past it.

Once we go to what will effectively be an IMG closed shop we have "franchises" by default In that case seeing we have a lot of clubs in very close proximity to each other would we ever see the situation they have in America where a franchise can move town/city Not been seen yet in this country other than MK Dons in football - tough but eventually worked out. Will we see someone buying the license for say Hull, Cas, Wakefield (if they come back) and upping sticks As a lot of our club's finances are tight wouldn't cost that much so wonder if that forms any of IMG thinking.

Went to the Stoop one early evening back in the day Has changed a lot since then I think. I seem to remember a lot of temporary stands and a big jazz marquee for pre match. After that Richmond down the road is not the worst place in London to spend an evening I think London is important to the game as a team in the Capital helps the game escape the M62 tag. Don't want to ignite that debate but if they are in they need a competitive team and to be playing in a decent stadium (long term). If it is affordable somewhere like the stoop is ideal. Well connected, easy to get to and plenty of parking etc etc. Would like to see them back there.

Ok I see where you are coming from now. Other than the sponsor being Bet Fred I dont particularly think that Superleague has a "gambling image". It is not as if there are betting terminals inside grounds like there are at football and/or when games are on TV, shirts are not plastered with the internet gambling companies logos and we do not get regular doses of Ray Winston telling us to bet now on the second half etc. Can see why some would be put off by Bet Fred but personally I have more of an issue with Totally Wicked and vaping than gambling - each to their own I suppose and as a sport we have not reached a position where we can pick and choose our sponsors - hopefully IMG can sort that ! Re Drinking I take 2 young lads and do my best to avoid drunken idiots. I usually drive to games so do not drink at matches but as said above I would prefer to sit in an alcohol free zone where possible. You can see at a Grand Final what alcohol can do to some of the fans particularly when your team starts losing. The most annoying person is the one that spends more time getting up to go to the bar or toilet than sit in their seat watching the game. Saying that again beggars can't be choosers and beer sales on matchdays must bring in a lot of revenue for clubs.

Not sure why you have referred to racism in cricket as don't see that as relevant. Racism unfortunately exists in a lot of sports and areas of society and as you say not just in Yorkshire. Frim what I see in our local leagues there is not a racism problem but am not daft and know there are issues in some leagues If you read my post I am not saying that clubs should not target the muslim market at all. I am simply saying that in some areas there are not that many muslims so there is likely to be very little upside . I am also saying that in places like Bradford and Huddersfield, there are a lot more muslims so it may be well worth having a go at that market as there could be a big upside. At the end of the day from a business point of view you want a return on your investment Re the current demographic, I am not sure what that is these days - imagine IMG have all that data. I watch Saints and we seem to have a healthy mix of all age groups - attendances are fairly steady so my assumption is that as older generations pass on they are being replaced by the young uns. Not sure what it is like at some of the smaller clubs and perhaps the die hards are starting to die out.

Like it or not, we are an entertainment industry and we have to compete for disposable income which is a scarce resource. Of course, anyone from any community can like more than one sport. I like and watch regularly rugby league, football, cricket, horse racing etc etc but have to choose carefully where I decide to spend my spectator cash. Re cricket they have got the hundred and the 20:20 plus test and one day internationals. They are a very big draw in the summer months especially weekends I think RL is already pretty inclusive. Granted the majority of any crowd will be white but that is simply reflects the demographic of towns like St Helens, Wigan etc etc. In West Lancashire and Hull, the "Muslim market" is relatively small. Demographically its more of an issue for teams like Huddersfield and Bradford. In terms of marketing spend though I think you would get a better return and more bums on seats from focussing on other groups

Trying to appeal to Muslim communities has been talked about for a long time but IMO we have easier nuts to crack. Muslims with an Asian background will gravitate to one summer sport being cricket. We cannot compete with that

Given the link with Rabbitohs and friendship with Russell Crowe can see why Sam Burgess is touted as a replacement for JD. However, if the culture and discipline at Souths has gone to pot given his previous off field issues, would he be the right man for the job ? He has also yet to fully prove himself at Warrington. Re LM he is clearly not a full back and is wasted there. He was very lucky to just get 3 matches from the previous matches (although must have been watching Saints/Wigan and saw Dupree got away with it over here). Given that the salary cap seems to be more flexible for some clubs than others wonder if he will head over here for a break. Rather than SB going down under wonder if LM will be at Wire any time soon ?

Saints v Wigan - Lancashire Cup Final 1984 Had to toss up for venue as no other grounds big enough Mal Meninga destroyed Wigan in the first half

Congratulations to Warrington for filling a stand that would otherwise have been empty with no travelling support £5 for adults and teens and £1 for kids yesterday As a Saints fan I took my lads to hide under cover and check out our title rivals. Great to see though a load of young kids and adults many of whom had obviously never been to a game before. Beer selling nicely as well yesterday so imagine Warrington will have done well out of it. For those new to the game a great game to watch only decided at the end. I know its not great for Season ticket holders and others who have paid full price but much better being in a full stadium than having empty stands

Only just discovered the Sportsman and loving it. Its good old, old school rugby league and hats off to everyone today. As a Saints fan I hope that Fev get a good home draw and with any luck looking at those conditions lets hope its Wigan after a load more rain. Good luck to the Groundsman and the kit washer - they'll need it

Toronto's timing was bad luck and there was no way they could get through covid. They ended badly but before that got the game a lot of media coverage. With the NRL pushing links with the USA a question for them would be would they let a US franchise into their competition ?

Back to the days of the Australian SL war

Clock Face one was pretty good for £1 Good interview with coach re forthcoming game and season, plenty about the opposition Heworth and a history article about Clock's Wembley winner, Wilf Smith who played for Saints outside Murphy

Salford with all of Manchester on the doorstep should be a sleeping giant Would take a big step to rebrand but in a big city the catchment is there. I know they have stadium issues with the council/Sale RUFC at the moment and read that the Etihad campus was an option. If they go there and become Salford/Manchester Reds who knows Not sure the City owners would be happy with Reds on the doorstep so might need to become Sky Blues

Rugby League should have the equivalent of Football's nations league Mini groups of 3 or 4 teams in tiers so that the cream rises to the top and each team has realistic and competitive fixtures.

Going to regional leagues below SL should not be seen as a backwards step. With a proper structure it is one that could allow for new clubs to be more effectively introduced. Many other sports follow this model ie a National premier league then below a certain point regional leagues. Take our main competitor, rugby union. Premiership, National League 1 then at level to whilst called National is basically 3 regional leagues, North, East & West.

Still think a geographic split is the best option. The Championship is 50% + Yorkshire clubs anyway Split it broadly as East & West (with the obvious outliers accomodated although ideally Toulouse would be in SL) Apologies if I am not up to date with withdrawals but you would then have East: Wakefield, Featherstone, Dewsbury, Hunslet, Doncaster, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax & Keighley - 11 teams West: Oldham, Workington, North Wales, Rochdale, Cornwall, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Midlands, Toulouse - 11 teams IMO The East league would work very well. No massive distances to travel and the bulk of teams from the Championship The West league would not be great given some big distances to travel. I would expand both leagues to 14 teams by including SL reserve teams. Again apologies if I am not up to date with Reserve teams but East could perhaps include Leeds, Hull and Hull KR. The West could have teams from Saints, Wigan and Wire. 14 teams would be a 26 game regular season. Top 4 in each division to go into cross division play offs. Depending who came down from SL the divisions may need to be tweaked to keep an even number. Works in football We need to do something creative though as a reduced League 1 will not survive and we don't want to be losing long established teams from traditional areas.

Its surely a win win. More games to blood up and coming youngsters. Have the 1st team and reserves have alternate weeks at home so stadiums can maximise revenue. Or, play double headers and give the League 1 teams the experience of playing at a SL stadium Saying that I do not see the sense of Workington or Whitehaven having to travel to Cornwall. Its not economically viable. Perhaps below SL needs some regional divisions with end of season play offs across the divisions to determine the champions.

Well done London Hopefully promoting the game in the capital will work a bit better this time and they can attract some decent sponsors and players that will be up to it. The game should help them out with a couple of decent pre season games against the likes of Saints or Wigan to get people in. Shame for Toulouse and Fev but good for the game that the championship is so competitive

I know mate. Used to be called banter in the good old days when that was allowed

As a Saints fan I can fully understand every other fan in league wanting Cats to win. Lets face it I spent 10 years supporting everybody who played against Wigan. All good things come to an end and with the end of some very noteable careers we now be due a period of consolidation. Its been great while it lasted but the signs have been there that it was going to end soon. We'll be back but in the meantime good luck to Cats or KR - make sure you beat the pie eaters !