RayCee

Your thread inspired me to put this together: https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/2023/06/north-american-rl-2023.html I don't know how easy it will be to follow all these conferences. Any input on what I wrote is welcome.

Enjoyable read. My only concern is why anyone would call a team the Dead Pelicans.

Do you do the maths or do the math? I personally do the maths but notice the other way is gaining in popularity in NZ.

I've often heard it but just accepted it without really thinking about it.

Grammar has and will continue to change. It still grates, however, when I hear new grammar gaining greater acceptance which is not what I was brought up on. When I take the trouble to research a word that sounds wrong, there are reasons put out showing why it has a legitimate usage. I was reading today where a vehicle "could be headed Down Under". Then later, the same publication stated about a convention "is headed to the...Exhibition Centre". Apparently, there is a case for the use of headed but to me, it's been 'heading' unless a football player has put a ball into the net (past tense). I'm not a grammar specialist by any means but some things sound right to the ear and others not so. I don't use headed, just heading but I'm hearing and reading the former more often than I used to. Changing times I guess or am I just getting too old? Are there words or terms that you find tend to grate with you?

I did a piece on my blog on the finals series as a whole: https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/2023/05/france-domestic-finals-series-2023.html

That is a poor attendance figure any way you look at it. It's half or less than every round so far this year. Unless there is a venue that will attract something close to regular round attendances, I wonder why it should be persisted with?

Leigh looks like the real deal. I was expecting them to be fighting for SL survival.

From a NH perspective that's true. From a SH point of view, England is increasingly irrelevant. The SH can look after itself with internationals and England is finding itself caught between that reality and the lack of meaningful competition in the NH. NH RL at the international level isn't viable on its own and spending money to prop it up is something the sport can ill afford. It's a nice idea but not a realistic one. Even if some Qatari investment came calling, any financial benefit would go to a handful of clubs and not internationals. While NH RL revolves around some pro clubs plowing all their earnings back into their clubs, NH international RL won't be going anywhere. It is what it is.

Do you think we should try that with RL?

If Qatar put an offical bid in, what would be their objective? A one off event to give the country profile? Would it used to kickstart playing the game there? Does it matter either way as long as it provides some much needed funding to grow the game? As a potential added benefit, would some wealthy Qatari citizens become aware of the game and realise for a relatively small outlay, they could get involved in buying into RL clubs? If Qatar did express a wish to go beyond the tournament and become involved with the game in various ways, it would surely add weight to their bid.

The problem was awarding the tournament to France. The insignificant public interest in RL in France isn't sufficient to support a successful tournament there. It was hoped that it would be a shot in the arm for the game there but more likely a loss making embarrassment. In hindsight, it's the for the best. Now that French RL is in such a feeble state, only UK and Australia/NZ are places where a WC can be held with some certainty of a profitable tournament.

I would have thought it a risk to play it outside the heartlands. The fact is the French RL team isn't a big drawcard anywhere, not even France. The Kangaroos, Kiwis, yes play it away from the heartlands and they would come. Saying that the France game is better moved away from traditional areas is likely to be less supported and possibly a massive flop. The RFL is at least making an effort to put on an international fixture. There is realistically no one else to play. They know France will be a tough sell and have played it safe. I've heard so many whinging on this forum about more focus on internationals but apparently, many RL fans don't really know what they want. Good on John Drake and some others for supporting this game. For those who don't want to go that's a personal choice but the negativity from some of the comments is uncalled for IMO.

I've put up a blog article on NRL attendances to celebrate the amazing they are so far. https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/2023/04/nrl-attendances-2023-rounds-1-8.html

True, but they have been steadily increasing over the last few seasons. Winning over new supporters in a country obsessed with the round ball code can't be easy. I guess much of it is a mate inviting a mate to join him and then his being won over.

I'm sorry I didn't get back sooner but just spotted your comment. I got them from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_RFL_Championship_season_results It's up until round 8. Round 9 wasn't included.

The death of the sport....again.

In an interview on the BBC website, coach Applegarth suggested that a few players have the quality and effort. "At the moment I don't think we've got enough of us in terms of that quality and effort that we have to build the foundation of our game on." Quality is clearly in short supply but effort - or attitude - is something else.

Eight rounds of Championship have transpired and the attendance figures aren't looking too bad. Quite variable. Teams 2023 2022 % 1 Sheffield 1,052 709 48.4% 2 Batley 1,741 1,360 28.0% 3 London 1,284 1,025 25.3% 4 Halifax 2,187 1,797 21.7% 5 Bradford 3,875 3,446 12.4% 6 Widnes 3,130 2,860 9.4% 7 Featherstone 3,123 3,086 1.2% 8 York 1,961 1,984 -1.2% 9 Barrow 2,208 2,266 -2.6% 10 Newcastle 898 1,065 -15.7% 11 Whitehaven 882 1,109 -20.5% - Keighley 2,647 n/a - Swinton 1,108 n/a - Toulouse 2,931 n/a Avg 2,173 1,836 18.4% Keighley 1,652 60.2% Swinton 884 25.3% Toulouse 4,970 -41.0% There's more detail here if required: https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/2023/04/championship-attendances-2023-rounds-1-8.html

Interesting comp.

Sounds like Chelsea FC. Changing coaches can be too easy a solution if an expensive one. (I presume RL coaches get a pay out if let go within their contract period).

Treat her to breakfast in bed and then ask really nicely.

It's an old cliché but often less is more. One game over Easter Weekend is a classic example. A long season with lop fixtures doesn't help attendance figures but it helps bring in the media money.

Albert Henry Baskerville.

I put this chart together to show how the 8 rounds of 2023 compare with the full 2022 season. That's the "Avg (full year)" entry. The straight "Avg" entry is comparing 8 rounds of '22 with '21. The Two Leigh entries are compared with Toulouse (top one) and the lower one comparing their Championship attendance last year. For more detail, just click the link below the post. Some nice increases there. Teams 2023 2022 % 1 Leigh 7,829 4,970 57.5% 2 Hull FC 14,638 10,771 35.9% 3 Warrington 10,892 8,853 23.0% 4 Wigan 14,881 12,279 21.2% 5 Salford 5,029 4,530 11.0% 6 Hull KR 8,619 7,789 10.7% 7 Huddersfield 5,567 5,145 8.2% 8 Castleford 8,102 7,543 7.4% 9 Leeds 13,853 12,941 7.0% 10 Catalans 8,274 8,069 2.5% 11 St Helens 11,934 11,856 0.7% 12 Wakefield 4,312 4,615 -6.6% Avg (full Yr) 9,592 8,347 14.9% Avg 9,592 8,802 9.0% Leigh 7,829 3,018 159.4%