Can Rugby League afford another Leeds v Saints Grand Final?

[JohnM]

Basingstoke getting to you? :D

[thirteenthman]

I'm not quite sure what the OP was inferring when he said RL will be the loser. If Leeds and St Helens prove to be the 2 strongest sides so be it. Surely it's up to the other clubs to get to that level. That is of course if they win this weekend. And surely real RL fans will watch the GF whoever is there.

To simply dismiss Huddersfield, as so many on here are doing, is grossly unfair. I also think Wigan will have learnt plenty from their defeat by Leeds, and if nothing else, they won't be playing at the DW. I don't think anyone can confidently predict the winners this week - unpredictability is something the play-offs have always been lacking.

[Kenilworth Tiger]

Basingstoke getting to you? :D

it's my keyboard!

[Odsal Outlaw]

Somebody show me where one team winning trophies on a regular basis has been bad for a sport

Not quite one team but I'd say Rangers / Celtic in Scotland is a good example. What a ###### league that is!!!

I too hope its not Saints-Leeds. I reckon Wigan-Saints or Wigan-Hudds would be good. I think Leeds may just be starting to run out of steam thru injuries etc. anyway, but if they do make then you have to day they have probably earnt it (I say probably due to McGuires cheating vs. Wigan!). Either way it will be a great occassion.

[RP London]

It's boring - people like a change.

i disagree... it would be broing IMO if Leeds were just winning it year in year out but the fact that saints and leeds have this rivalry building of leeds beating saints every year in the grand final makes it interesting againl.. i would quite enjoy watching a leeds v saints grandfinal to see if saints can at last break the whoo do or if leeds can win again for 4 in a row which would be quite an amazing feet..

i can see why people would like something different and i would be more than happy for it to be different but i would not find a re run of hte last 3 boring.. unless the game actually was.. the idea certianly isnt it could be a right humdinger.. saints team at the end of their days and have lost the last 3 get a chance agains tthe team that beat them in all 3.. leeds have had a rubbish season if you include being humped in the cup final (getting there was great but the manner of defeat was shocking).. and will want to prove a point..

[clement]

Personally I think we are gonna get a 4th Grand Final on the bounce between Saints and Leeds.

Saints will just have too much class for Hudds and Wigan will probably bottle it again against Leeds I think.

If this happens I think RL will be the loser, we desperately need a fresh team in the final to help keep the event interesting.

It pains me to say it but I will be rooting for the Pie Eaters on Saturday to beat Leeds. A Saints v Wigan final would be a great final, the two derby rivals and we would fill OT to the rafters.

Another re-run of Saints and Leeds doesn't interest me.

put your keyboard away for another season wendall.

[carlos]

hes simply asking the question as to whehter another saints leeds final is good for the game, it a vaild point.

The fact is it does become stale watching the same sides year after year unless you support those sides. Why was the crowd 8/9000 down last year. I go every year and I really hope wigan get there against saints just because im a neutral (bradford aitn gonna get there for a long while again!)and the atmosphere will be fantastic.

Some people , quite rightly will go every year but its a fact that some will stay away if its the same two teams.

[West Country Eagle]

I reckon it will be Wigan v Hudds. Both want it more.

Good job Wigan have got plenty of fans, because Hudds wont take many.

Sacrilege!

I'll have you know Huddersfield Giants have no flaws whatsoever, and any talk about their fans or lack of interest in the town is just bitterness from fans of other similarly poorly supported clubs.

I know that, because RFL big cheese Ralph 'Huddersfield-Sheffield' Rimmer told me.

Seriously, though, good luck to Hudds - I'll be cheering them on at the weekend. And that's a first!

[Old Frightful]

I'm with Wendall on this. Reinstate Wire. We don't need another boring final. Incidentally, I thought Wire were a bit boring themselves in the first half on Saturday. They spent too much time talking to each other under the posts for me.

[ShotgunGold]

I was going to start a similar thread.

I really want a Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors final!

Saints v Leeds would just be -_-

[no13benny]

As someone said previously, Leeds possibly making it 4 (which would probably never be beaten) or Saints ending their hoodoo would be incredibly interesting.

Plus Leeds would be trying to be the first side to win it from 4th as well, after a tough year for them, and after losing in the Cup final.

As for the other two, you're either good enough to be there, or you're not, I don't think there's a bad scenario this Grand Final.

Last years wasn't as spicy as the top two had been the top two all season, and for the 2 years previous.

This year it's different.

And yes of course RL would survive, it's survived pretty much everything Union and the media can throw at it/ignore it.

[davo99]

Just to make it fair why don't we kick out this year's winners to give someone else a chance.

Wire have won the CC 2 years on the trot, they're barred from that for a few years

Wigan did rather well for quite a few years, let's ban them for 5 yrs

[RP London]

Just to make it fair why don't we kick out this year's winners to give someone else a chance.

Wire have won the CC 2 years on the trot, they're barred from that for a few years

Wigan did rather well for quite a few years, let's ban them for 5 yrs

and quins still wouldnt get in the 8.... but i like your thinking.

[Maximus Decimus]

Wendell does have a point but it's hardly a make or break situation.

I want anybody except for Saints-Leeds, it's been done to death. I've no problem with Leeds winning it again just not at Saints expense. I'd rather Huddersfield made it.

Super League GF crowds rose year on year but have dropped by nearly 10k after the last Saints-Leeds GF. There's much less interest as a neutral and I'm talking from personal experience.

[Simon Templar]

No mate, that was the time we put 60-odd on you lot at Knowsley Road and you Scousers were creeping out after 35 minutes - you really showed us how the Wigan walk should be done, that night.

If it is Saints v Leeds again, I don't think I'll be alone in giving it the cold shoulder.

We all stayed for the 75-0 though

[Wendall]

Wendell does have a point but it's hardly a make or break situation.

I want anybody except for Saints-Leeds, it's been done to death. I've no problem with Leeds winning it again just not at Saints expense. I'd rather Huddersfield made it.

Super League GF crowds rose year on year but have dropped by nearly 10k after the last Saints-Leeds GF. There's much less interest as a neutral and I'm talking from personal experience.

I wanna see a full house at OT, and I believe another Saints v Leeds clash may struggle to hit 60K. The GF we need is Saints v Wigan in 2010.

[dkw]

I wanna see a full house at OT, and I believe another Saints v Leeds clash may struggle to hit 60K. The GF we need is Saints v Wigan in 2010.

What is your reasoning behind that.

Edited September 20, 2010 by dkw

[Bulletproof]

Better those two teams make the final than wire. If we're being honest things would be absolutely unbearable if they made the final for many.

[Maximus Decimus]

What is your reasoning behind that.

The attendance for the Super League grand final rose year on year from it's inception in 1998 when 43,000 fans turned up to 2006 when it was 72,582. Since then we've had 3 Leeds-Saints games,

2007 Leeds 33- 6 St Helens 71,352

2008 Leeds 24-16 St Helens 68,810

2009 Leeds 18-10 St Helens 63,259.

Everyone can slag Wendall all they like but the facts speak for themselves. I don't think it would be a disaster for RL but it would probably see another lower crowd.

Wigan-Saints would have far more interest and almost guarantee another sellout. Huddersfield would probably see a better attendance than last year too. I honestly think Leeds-Saints puts off many neutrals from attending.

[RP London]

The attendance for the Super League grand final rose year on year from it's inception in 1998 when 43,000 fans turned up to 2006 when it was 72,582. Since then we've had 3 Leeds-Saints games,

2007 Leeds 33- 6 St Helens 71,352

2008 Leeds 24-16 St Helens 68,810

2009 Leeds 18-10 St Helens 63,259.

Everyone can slag Wendall all they like but the facts speak for themselves. I don't think it would be a disaster for RL but it would probably see another lower crowd.

Wigan-Saints would have far more interest and almost guarantee another sellout. Huddersfield would probably see a better attendance than last year too. I honestly think Leeds-Saints puts off many neutrals from attending.

also corrolates to a drop in prosperity in the country.. but yes its not a great trend...

[HappyDave]

IT'S THE GRAND FINAL!

I will continue to attend. It doesn't matter who's playing, I'll be at Old Trafford every year.

Pre-game drinks mate?

[southstand loiner]

now to ensure its someone other than one of the top 3 sides winning the grand final lets hope for huddersfield v leeds 4th v 5th would be ideal.

of course there may be a few empty seats but what price can you put on history been made .

[Allan Marsden]

There is no evidence that teams monopolising a competition is bad for that sport's spectators. Somebody used Scottish football as an example. I daresay ever Scottish club is thankful for the economic benefits Rangers and Celtics bring just as Spanish football clubs are similarly glad for Real and Barca. Australia tour after tour destroyed British clubs / won test series after test series but the fans kept coming and asking for more. When Wigan were enjoying the best example of modern day monopolisation the attendances for games v Wigan were invariably the highest or one of the highest for any other club etc. The Eels and the Bulldogs dominated the NSWRL competition in the 1980's but the game grew etc Boxing fans love nothing better than a trilogy of fights. Repeat fights create huge interest.

So on that basis all we have are illogical rantings of the jealous.

The very same fans that said Salary Cap MUST HAVE IT for the Good of the game without considering that even in those so called dark days of evil clubs like Widnes, Halifax, Featherston, Sheffield and even Warrington won competitions whereas in a salary cap franchise era such events become even rarer. So please remember if you are favour of a salary cap / franchising then predictability is part of the price you accept. Maybe many RL fans should have read the small print before letting jealousy and spite rule their heads.

[Allan Marsden]

Double post

Edited September 21, 2010 by Allan Marsden

[Maximus Decimus]

also corrolates to a drop in prosperity in the country.. but yes its not a great trend...

What about the Challenge Cup?

2007: 84,241

2008: 82,821

2009: 76,560

2010: 85,217

Different line ups every year and not seen anything like the same drop despite 2009 not including 2 of the best supported sides in the league at the time.