2018 Series v NZ

[Just Browny]

59 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

Just like the fans last year, but I get your point.

Tell you what, let's have a wager on which ends up the bigger crowd: London last year (with 4-5 months notice), or Hull next year with a full year.

[Northern Eel]

40 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Tell you what, let's have a wager on which ends up the bigger crowd: London last year (with 4-5 months notice), or Hull next year with a full year.

Hmm, I'm not Trigger you know! That's not even possible is it?

Hull will get 20k. I'm not arguing that London should not be used, just pointing out that if it is to be used, there needs to be a lot more persuading of people to go. I don't for one minute think the RFL have the appetite for doing that and thus, I'd prefer to see a game with a near capacity crowd. It's an RFL cop-out on the face of it.

[Dave T]

Positives:

1. First I will give the RFL some real genuine credit for some of the things they have done here on this. For a Northern series it is decent, nice that we have two decent sized grounds and we haven't gone for the safer choices of Hudds and Wigan.

2. The tickets are on sale a year in advance, during the current international series when everybody is talking about England RL - that is genuinely great!

3. The RL Membership thing has finally come in and you get discount by signing up, and the app has been pretty nixe during thie RLWC with the prediction game and live stats getting me logging on.

4. The new ticketing system is great (apart from having to login to see the stadium plan) - pick your seat, great!

So the RFL have finally stepped up their customer experience in this area, which is something they said they would in a recent strategy doc, and the above is all great. It does feel a little like Draper has his hands on some of this stuff.

 

Negatives:

1. Why are we having a Northern series? London have delivered all of the biggest crowds for England and GB - it feels a perverse move, especially when Hull is there.

2. Why are we still only offering limited tickets at each game? This strategy is failed and has been a rather major issue at the rLWC in Oz too. At Elland Rd there are c16k tickets available. Surely we are aiming for more than 16k, so get the targeted number open - give customers choice of where they want to sit. They may  not want to sit in the lower tier, and when you know it will be opened later, it just encourages you to wait. All three grounds have a number of tickets on sale at the moment that will be lower than the actual crowds - there is literally not a jot of logic in that. Not even a touch.

 

So generally more positive than negative for me, and hopefully this is the start of a better approach leading up to 2021 - but then obviously we know we will lose momentum after next year again.

[Northern Eel]

49 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

36,000 ...

In a city of c.8 million. The fact the RFL couldn't market water to a camel does them no favours. 

As an expansionist, I'd love to see the game down South, but Hull isn't a bad option if the RFL don't back themselves to sort out their selling game. 

[Dave T]

Just now, Northern Eel said:

In a city of c.8 million. The fact the RFL couldn't market water to a camel does them no favours. 

As an expansionist, I'd love to see the game down South, but Hull isn't a bad option if the RFL don't back themselves to sort out their selling game. 

But that is the issue and that is what people are saying.

Hull is a bad option because of your second half of that sentence.

[Northern Eel]

5 minutes ago, Dave T said:

But that is the issue and that is what people are saying.

Hull is a bad option because of your second half of that sentence.

I'm not disagreeing. I am pointing out, as I have consistently for some time that, if there is no London strategy, then we have to take the next best thing. I quite like Hull as an international venue, unlike, for example Elland Road.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Northern Eel said:

I'm not disagreeing. I am pointing out, as I have consistently for some time that, if there is no London strategy, then we have to take the next best thing. I quite like Hull as an international venue.

We can as a minimum just stage games in London like we have for most series for the last three decades. There doesn't need to be more to it than that as a bare minimum.

[Northern Eel]

You always know when the RFL are desperate to sell tickets when they rediscover their child concession policy that they ditch for the bigger games.

[Northern Eel]

5 minutes ago, Dave T said:

We can as a minimum just stage games in London like we have for most series for the last three decades. There doesn't need to be more to it than that as a bare minimum.

And I have attended every single one of those games in the last 20 years. I don't think we should necessarily have a London option as a banker every single time though. Having pioneered the rise of Junior RL in Essex,  I am well aware of the excellent promotion of the game to youngsters such events afford.  I wonder if any of the possible locations are actually available during that time? 

[Dave T]

3 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

You always know when the RFL are desperate to sell tickets when they rediscover their child concession policy that they ditch for the bigger games.

this one does seem to have been making a come back over the last three or four years.

[Northern Eel]

3 minutes ago, Dave T said:

this one does seem to have been making a come back over the last three or four years.

It is an issue I have raised and the RFL have dodged on the last 4 occasions they have done a Q&A twitter. They are embarrassed by their own treatment of young families.

[Dave T]

Just now, Northern Eel said:

And I have attended every single one of those games in the last 20 years. I don't think we should necessarily have a London option as a banker every single time though. Having pioneered the rise of Junior RL in Essex,  I am well aware of the excellent promotion of the game such events afford.  I wonder if any of the possible locations are actually available during that time? 

Why shouldn't London, the place that delivers the biggest crowds in pretty much any series get a game automatically? Feels like common sense tbh.

Unless of course we focus solely on ROI and ease of delivery. 

There seems to be quite an obsession with giving Hull internationals at the moment, and I'm not sure of the real benefits the game gets from that.

[Bramstein]

16 minutes ago, Dave T said:

So generally more positive than negative for me, and hopefully this is the start of a better approach leading up to 2021 - but then obviously we know we will lose momentum after next year again.

It would be nice to think that a couple of tests v France can be organised for 2019. One midseason to coincide with the window when we went to play Samoa this year and maybe one before we set off for the tour down under.

[Northern Eel]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Why shouldn't London, the place that delivers the biggest crowds in pretty much any series get a game automatically? Feels like common sense tbh.

Unless of course we focus solely on ROI and ease of delivery. 

There seems to be quite an obsession with giving Hull internationals at the moment, and I'm not sure of the real benefits the game gets from that.

The people of Hull support the international game well and the stadium is excellent.  I have taken a number of new fans to Hull for that very reason. I have also taken people elsewhere with less success (Elland Road, Coventry etc)

The fact that it is an easier sell for the RFL rather blows their cover.

It is worth considering however, that a good proportion of the people who attend London games travel from the heartlands whereas I suspect it happens much, much less in the other direction.

[PeterTunks]

3 hours ago, Amber Avenger said:

Think you are fighting a losing battle here - if we start worrying about what the Premier League are doing we'll never bloody kick off I'm afraid.

I'm not "worried", just acknowledging that the PL is a hundred times bigger and better supported than England RL!

The RFL "worry" enough to schedule the third test on a weekend with no PL. Millions of people who otherwise would be at football matches or watching them on TV are potential RL viewers that weekend. No brainer for the RFL that scheduling, but credit to them for not naffing it up anyway

All I'm saying is you could further increase the potential audience by smart scheduling another test for a Friday night, Leeds being the obvious choice (and play the third test at Liverpool on international weekend). England Vs NZ isn't going to turn many Man U, Spurs or Newcastle fans' heads from their Fox Sports and Bein streams, or stop a million people going to watch their club on Sat Nov 3 2018, but playing it on the Friday might get their attention

Just an idea I thought I'd throw out there before anybody starts moaning at me for "moaning"  Plus international RL needs all the help it can get to generate an atmosphere. More noise at a Huddersfield game than England these days

[JonM]

40 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

The people of Hull support the international game well and the stadium is excellent.  I have taken a number of new fans to Hull for that very reason. I have also taken people elsewhere with less success (Elland Road, Coventry etc)

This is a good point. If I had to pick a game to take a newbie to, Hull would be the best bet. You know it's going to be full, an enjoyable atmosphere, the stadium is a far nicer place to visit than Elland Road or Coventry.

Liverpool will be a nice weekend away for my wife. It's a beautiful city - UNESCO world heritage site, highest concentration of grade 1 listed buildings in the country, Albert Dock, Tate museum, Walker Art Gallery etc. But I'm not sure I'd want to organise a bunch of friends to go to a half-empty Anfield.

[Scubby]

6 minutes ago, JonM said:

Liverpool will be a nice weekend away for my wife. It's a beautiful city - UNESCO world heritage site, highest concentration of grade 1 listed buildings in the country, Albert Dock, Tate museum, Walker Art Gallery etc. But I'm not sure I'd want to organise a bunch of friends to go to a half-empty Anfield.

Getting the wife out of the way by sending her to a RL International. It might catch on.

I sent mine to Wellington last week dressed in yellow. Did anyone spot her?

[JonM]

7 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Getting the wife out of the way by sending her to a RL International. It might catch on.

I was going to send her to the art gallery while I watch the RL. Could try the other way round I suppose

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Northern Eel said:

The people of Hull support the international game well ...

Good for them.

Shame there aren't more of them.

Or that rugby league needs to, for once, keep at something once it gets difficult if it's going to have any worthwhile future.

We need to be reaching beyond the M62. Giving up on the city that has delivered England its highest ever attendances because it takes a bit of work is just small-time thinking.

[Scubby]

2 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Good for them.

Shame there aren't more of them.

Or that rugby league needs to, for once, keep at something once it gets difficult if it's going to have any worthwhile future.

We need to be reaching beyond the M62. Giving up on the city that has delivered England its highest ever attendances because it takes a bit of work is just small-time thinking.

The problem is we don't give up on it. We just leave it long enough that any continuity in marketing and databases becomes useless and then we start all over again. It is a sure fire winner. From 2016 to 2020 seems about right on that score. 

[londonrlfan]

At least they've shown a bit of ambition with Anfield and Elland Road, rather than Wigan and Hudds. No London is disappointing, even a poor crowd would be more than Hull. Plus how many Kiwis will travel north for the games? 

Perhaps London could get Magic instead? To not have a presence in the capital is the mark of a minority sport. 

[Luxembourger]

I'm slightly annoyed that the last test is on the Sunday rather than the Saturday. Presumably this is because the union internationals start that weekend and the BBC have already committed to showing 2 on that Saturday. No doubt similar considerations will impact the fixtures in the latter stages of RLWC 2021....

[bobbruce]

5 hours ago, Spidey said:

GB allegedly. Personally hope that falls through and we continue as England (as reigning World Champions)

Could you imagine that only the RFL could finally win the WC after 45 years. Then drop England the following year. 

[foozler]

Plenty of good old fashioned RL moaning going on here. The RFL is damned whatever it does in this regard. Still at least they haven't booked a fixture at the Ricoh. It is great to know 12 months ahead when and where the fixtures are and to be able to plan which games to go to and get a group together.

Sure a match in London would be good, but realistically there are only 2 options for it, Olympic and Wembley. It looks increasingly likely that Spurs could be playing Wembley again in 18/19 as their new stadium is behind schedule, and I imagine this far out that the second season option means nothing can be firmed up. And the Olympic stadium is a horrid stadium for rectangular sports (terrible Aussie expression but it works), having been there for the previous England v NZ match I would certainly not go again. Personally, I think it would have been interesting to take an international to St James' Park, build on the RL exposure from recent Magic events.

The biggest concern anyone on these boards should have is what kind of shower turns up wearing the Kiwi jersey next year. The Kiwis seem to be going backwards at an alarming rate.

 

[londonrlfan]

I'm sure the likes of Taumalolo and Fusitu'a will be switching back to NZ next year