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JAG

Coach
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    The success of Rugby League

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  1. I too think we should keep Wembley. Once we lose a foothold there we will never get it back.
  2. I get what you mean. I don't think it's just a rugby league thing either a football fans say the same thing. I understand that maybe Wembley is too big but we need to keep a foothold in London and maintain RL as a sport worthy of the country's grandest stadium.
  3. A European Cup is not that far-fetched. Win your domestic country's league and gain entry into the challenge cup. We've already have had 7 different European nations compete, why not more?
  4. We all agree the final has to be a major event that transcends sport. But first things first, the competition has got to revive it's appeal to all RL fans. Like I said in an earlier post, for clubs outside of Super League The Challenge Cup is a competition to see who will be the 4 teams that will lose to Super League opposition in round 6. There's no romance. There's no sense it's a competition for all of RL. And we're left with Super League teams potentially playing a fixture that might be repeated 3, 4 or even 5 times that season.
  5. Let's not lose track that this is a thread about the Cup not the League. One of the aspects that is undervaluing the Cup in my opinion is it does't take a great deal of effort for SL teams to reach the final. Both Hull KR and Leigh could reach this year's cup final by beating just 3 teams one of the being a Championship team. More crowds will come to a 6th round (3rd in my proposal) Quarter final or Semi-final games if there was a sense their place was truly earned. Not as a result of late entry and winning 1 game against a championship side they blew away. Leigh's cup run to the final would include beating Wakefield, beating York (probably) and beating just one other team SL team. That's not a massive achievement. Not Leigh's fault at all btw. Hull KR's route will be a 50-0 win at Batley, a win against Salford and one other victory against a SL team. Again an achievement but not enough the stuff of legend. (All cards on the table I'm hoping for a Leigh v Hull KR Final)
  6. What Rugby League has to confront is that there is very real evidence of long term damage to the brain through repetitive concussions and sub concussions from playing Rugby which has resulted in legal action taken by former RL players. How Ice Hockey chooses to address or not address it's concussion issues is not my concern. Ice hockey playing 82 games a season doesn't change reality for RL in this country nor is it a defence for inaction on our part.
  7. Where I think we differ is the gap between the Super League and The Championship/League One. I think the gap between Super League and the lower half of The Championship & League One makes fixtures between those teams should they arise no-contests. I think a handicap makes those games more competitive but won't necessarily give an unreasonable advantage for League One and Championship teams. Overall we're too Super League focussed. The Challenge Cup is for all levels of Rugby League it can't be ringfenced for Super League teams to enter late and proceed to a final after only 3 games playing opposition they either destroy or might play up to 3-4 times in Super League anyway. There's also a player welfare aspect. A team consisting of semi-pro or amateur players shouldn't potentially face a full strength St Helens, Wigan or Warrington. I know you'll say they wouldn't pick a full strength team anyway but if there was a rule that applied to all SL teams to make sure the contest would be more even and therefore more engaging. It might not even change the result but it would make each game and the competition fairer and safer. I don't think any Championship Club would win the cup or even make the final even with my proposal but they would have more of a chance to have some success in the competition. And the SL team that does go on to win it will have to win 6 challenging and competitive games to do it. (The handicap would only apply in rounds 1-3)
  8. I like where you are coming from. The Challenge Cup doesn't have to be the biggest game of the year and you're right it has to offer something different. For me right now it isn't serving anyone. The opening rounds are largely a qualifying competition as to determine who get the honour of losing to Super League teams when they enter. Everyone is playing mostly similar opposition they play during the course of a league season as they enter the competition as the same time. Barring a few exceptions, League One play teams are likely to other League One teams, Championship teams are likely to play other Championship teams and then Super League teams are likely to play Super League teams. It's not very diverse, interesting or random. Any club having a so-so season should be able to appreciate that the cup competition can offer them either a shot at glory or a season high of a cup-run and/or potential big name scalp.
  9. WWE is not sport, it's theatre. Don't get me wrong I loved WWE when I was young and there's lots of lessons to learn from it in terms of marketing, innovation and telling stories through a sporting lens but it's not sport it is predetermined theatre.
  10. Thanks for all the contributions. Very interesting to read. To me there's seems to be some areas of agreement. The final needs a fixed permanent date/weekend in the year Loop fixtures in Super League need to be scrapped (More a general RL issue that just for the C Cup) Super League teams need to enter earlier in the competition It should remain as a straight knock-out competition (largely agree) The competition should remain on the BBC/terrestrial tv channels I believe a rebrand and marketing strategy highlighting it's International aspect is the way to interest new investment and exposure. I also still believe a handicap for SL teams to encourage real jeopardy (for the earlier rounds) will make the competition far more intriguing. It will also lessen the potential embarrassment of blow-out scores which in my opinion de-values a competition. Who wants to watch no-contest game of any sport? Like a TV series, why do you have to watch the first 3 or 4 episodes for it to finally "Get going" or "To get into it". The competition should start with everyone in round 1 with a greater sense of challenge for SL teams and genuine peril being knocked out.
  11. Yeah it wasn't a very salient point. Cricket is a broad spectrum. To me county cricket doesn't interest me. 20/20 Cricket is interesting (But mainly Lancs v York if I'm honest) The Ashes is interesting (So long as it's still in the balance and a contest) My main point is comparing Rugby League to Cricket in the sense of the volume of games you can play a season is wrong.
  12. I like the idea of the last 16 being Magic Weekend. But I'd reverse the weekend being held up north and the final at Wembley. I don't think many people would travel to London for a 6th round Challenge cup fixture. I've thought the same idea of the draw on the day of the match, but it's not feasible. You can't ask coaches and players to do a weeks worth of prep in a few short hours. Also its a bit pantomime/WWE-esqe.
  13. Possibly. Or if the Champ/One team stands to gain a greater share of gate receipts by playing at the SL club's ground maybe they can relinquish home advantage?
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