tonyvikinggee

For me its a mixed bag, I travel often to watch Widnes but things such as Junior game kick of times can affect my ability to travel to games. Anyone involved with the community game could run into similar problems, a 11:45 kick off on a Sunday in Bolton for Junior rugby would Cause problems with me travelling to games on the far side of Yorkshire, or up in Cumbria. Then you have cost, and you have the potential for Victory, Both Hull clubs are reasonably competitive. But if your a Widnes fan, a trip up to Barrow to watch your team get slammed with the cost's of travel etc then its just not worth it right now. Teams in form get better away support than teams that are struggling. This year i have been to london to watch the vikings, but refused to waste my money on a much shorter trip to Fev. I dont see the point in throwing money and time at a match that i wont enjoy, in a game we were never going to win. I would rather watch some local junior rugby.

Pretty standard in the amateur game. If you have the same ref 5-6 times a season then you get to know their quirks, Some refs are keen on a clean PTB, some on offside, some will give High shots for borderline hits. Other refs will let most things slide. Just good practice to play in a way the ref likes, at the end of the day, they are not robots and every ref controls the game in a slightly different manner. And not conceding penalties is a good way to Win matches.

Its a many layered issue to be honest. Im a Rugby League supporter, im a junior coach ( all ages from u7s to Open Age ) and have refereed many games at junior rugby league just like many coaches at that age and level. My experience as a ref is that you will rarely have a good game, i must have refereed 60 games in my time. and i would say i can recall 3-4 times where both the opposition and my teams parents were happy with my performance. At Amateur level refs are alone, with no support and expected to keep track of 26 players, Control the game and get every call spot on. This while taking Dogs abuse from both touchlines and far too often with coaches questioning everything you do. And your up against it, your watching 26 players, yet all those parents are watching with an eagle eyed focus on one player, their son or Daughter. No one misses a single thing that happens to their kid, and they have no idea how you can miss it if they can see it. Next, The amount of people who follow this sport and don't understand the rules is crazy, and the RFL are partly to blame for this. Just basic concepts like winning the floor and numbers in the tackle bamboozle people, Jumping to catch a bouncing ball is another classic where people don't understand the rules. We make this worse by changing rules too often and then leave the refs to deal with the fallout. Then we have our TV commentary teams who spend a ludicrous amount of time questioning every borderline decision, sitting in their ivory towers with 10 replays from 6 angles and slow motion before they then call out the referees mistakes. Refs are human, they will make mistakes. Players are Human, they will make mistakes. The Best teams are the Best teams because they can perform well and defend theirs and the refs errors when things are going poorly. Teams that can't do the same blame the ref and hide their poor coaching or performances in any way they can.

12,000 capacity. Crowd looks very poor for what should be a good game between two of the championships big name teams. Didnt expect much support from Bradford on a Monday evening But the Leigh turnout looks poor.

Honest Question, How does the RFL ignore Cumbria?

I was Supporting Catalans yesterday, purely as another team winning the GF would be good for the game IMO. Anyone who expected thousands of fans to travel from the south of France is living in a dream world. But to be completely honest Anyone who expects that Featherston would bring thousands of fans if they reached a GF, would also be living in a dream world. Whoever wins today Will deserve to play SL next year. But lets not kid ourselves, neither Toulouse, Catalans or Fev will be bringing 15,000 fans to a GF anytime soon, even if they managed to get to the final. Dont get me wrong, plenty of other teams currently in SL wouldnt get that number either.

Honestly atm, i feel like its the league 1 clubs that look to be the positive side of the game right now. Barrow, Workington and now North Wales all look like they are doing the right things and making the right noises. A strong club in North wales can only be good for the game.

As Stated above by iffleyox, give us a structure and stick to it, from P&R to playoffs to rules in games, lets just settle down and stop making knee jerk reactions and decisions every season. I know people who have watched the game for 40 years who struggle to keep up with the rule changes. Have a Whole game review, from grass roots to pro that is independent, and act on its findings. Stop concentrating on a faster game, and start concentrating on a more skilful and exciting game. All i see at matches now is Complete Sets, attack the ruck, get to the kick, compete for kick. Its Boring, Its tedious and its far from exciting.

I dont know if im on my own here, but i also think the major shift from Great Britain to the home nations has killed the international game. As Great Britain we had an identity, other than the Olympic squad who had a major Great British Representative team? but we shifted focus, de-valued the Great Britain brand and now what are we left with? If you talked about Great Britain in sport you were Generally just talking Rugby League, Has having a Scottish, Welsh and Irish team improved the game in those countries? has it improved the international game or Calender? As i said i may be on my own here, but playing as England has not improved the international game for me.

Been a Rugby league Supporter for as long as i have memories. Been watching Widnes since i was a kid, moved to Bolton and still travel back for all home games and most away games ( when possible ). I coach Junior Rugby league and my son plays the game, i should be head over heels in love with the game but im not. I barely watch SL anymore, its on the TV but usually in the background, the sport is Boring, the tactics are all the same, there are no players that excite me anymore. Wigan V St Helens, just another game, does not feel special anymore. Hull V KR, a bit more spite but still the same. I used to get excited by watching the big games, the atmosphere, the aggression, Thats all but gone. All seater stadia have rendered the atmosphere at matches stale, It might work in the premier league where the grounds are full, but in Rugby league it killed us. It just does not feel the same. Watching Widnes now is a horrific experience where the only noise the crowd makes are to abuse referees and clap a try ( rarely cheer anymore ). Its all so flat. The only thing keeping me going to Widnes is the chance to Visit my family and spend quality time with my dad. I get far more pleasure and excitement from watching the local Amateur side play on a Saturday, and my 15 year old lad feels the same. Honestly right now, we need to re-think the entire structure of the game, and not to Sky Sports tune. If we need to go back to part time to regain control of our sport then do it. If we lose players to Union, then so be it, we will always have players who would happily play for the love of the game and not to earn a good Wedge. but this watered down, overly structured bore fest that is SL and modern RL has no future. The game is Dying, and its no longer a slow death.

Rugby League is just a frustrating sport to support. From top to the bottom its run by the wrong kind of people, who are generally running their little corner for selfish reasons. The game needs a Root and Branch review, followed by action. There are many ways the sport could go, many ways we could both improve the product and improve the match day experience. But watching SL now is less entertaining and less of a spectacle than it was 10 years ago. There is no drive in the sport, not from the clubs, not from the SL and not from the RFL. The SL is littered with clubs that do nothing for the sport, that are a drain on its finances and make it more difficult to market to sponsors and broadcasters. Close the Shop, Set targets for playing in SL based on Minimum support levels, Full grade 1 academy as a minimum. Good facilities. you dont make the grade, you dont play SL. You are a Champ Club and you have worked to attain the above minimum standards. Welcome to the top table, dont worry about relegation, Work to build your club. Dont panic buy a squad, build on what you have and grow. Take the long term view. This Year Leigh Out, Toulouse IN Warnings For Huddersfield ( crowds ) Wakefield ( crowds, Facilities ) Salford ( Crowds, Facilities, Academy ) If a club in the Championship attained the required level of support, with the right facilities and a commitment to run a grade 1 academy. Goodbye Salford Hello new team. Rinse and repeat until you have 12 clubs that meet the criteria, no matter how long it takes. Stop messing about and worrying about upsetting Bob from a Village in Yorkshire/Lancashire who's grandad used to tell him stories of ( insert team name here ) being good once upon a time. Or do something completely different, But get a strategy and a focus and push it. no constant moving of goalposts and pandering to individual clubs.

I think Its generally the day after but im not 100% certain

I have been involved in the Amateur game for 10 years now as a coach and volunteer, which makes me relatively new. But from my experience the RFL exists to pay good wages to a few people who constantly feel the need to make changes to prove their worth. Regardless of the damage it may do to the game. I would really like to know what the RFL is going to do with the funds this generates, and what return the Amateur leagues will get from this. Because now when we sign new players they will not only need to pay a monthly fee for playing, which can cost in excess of £300 a year at some clubs. But now we will also need to explain they have to set up another payment to the RFL, and we wont know why.

I dont agree with this, regardless of the amount they are asking. The NWC Junior Leagues response to this has not been positive and i imagine it is going to come up against opposition from the strongest of the countries junior leagues.

That Widnes performance was about as poor as i can remember. Dewsbury just ran hard, completed and put in a decent kick. Widnes completed what, 4 sets all match? Given what we have seen of Widnes so far this season then more trips to south Wales may well be in the offing.