Ideas thread

[LaneCoveTiger]

Just thought I would start a thread where we can share our ideas on how to get people watching and playing our great game. This is not a thread for moaning about what is currently happening but to create a pool of ideas that we could send to the powers that be and might inspire them to try something new.

Playing numbers:

My junior club are launching a girls tag rugby comp next season. The teams will be training on the same night as the league teams and will also be playing there matches on the same day and ground. All teams will have the same uniforms apart from the tag shorts. The idea is it will get more people involved with the club and in turn also help attract more players into the full contact version.

Crowds:

Each club should have to play at least four home games a year on Sunday afternoons. Make them free entry for kids with a paying adult. We need to get the next generation involved. These four games should be promoted with fans allowed on the field at full time to kick a ball. Meet the players stations, pass the ball comps, rugby league live PlayStation comps, soft serve ice creams and even a few festival rides brought in.

Out of Town teams:

Why not tee up with local businesses and make a Catalans match a French food, beer and wine festival. Have French entertainers, music etc on before and after a match. SuperLeague management could be involved and organise it as a Saturday night event that tours around for all Catalan games in the UK.

It can be hard to make every game an event but let’s target the smaller drawing games and make it a day to remember.

[Sports Prophet]

On 10/13/2018 at 11:06 AM, LaneCoveTiger said:

Out of Town teams:

Why not tee up with local businesses and make a Catalans match a French food, beer and wine festival. Have French entertainers, music etc on before and after a match. SuperLeague management could be involved and organise it as a Saturday night event that tours around for all Catalan games in the UK.

It would work well up north, but, I’m not sure Catalans fans would be happy to be chomping on chips and gravy every second weekend...

[Manx RL]

12 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

It would work well up north, but, I’m not sure Catalans fans would be happy to be chomping on chips and gravy every second weekend...

Jellied eels when London hit town.

[M j M]

You can't force clubs to play on Sundays when it doesn't work for the club. The traditions of some clubs to play on Sunday afternoons aren't necessarily the traditions of others.

My club has been playing almost exclusively Friday nights for more than two decades and would probably take a crowd hit and definitely a revenue hit from unnecessarily moving the gameday.

All clubs should be searching to grow their crowds but each one is individual with specific local characteristics. A centralised approach to this isn't going to work. Clubs are responsible for their own success as much as anything which is why I find much of the criticism of the RFL by proven non-deliverers in club management hypocritical and frustrating.

[deluded pom?]

14 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

It would work well up north, but, I’m not sure Catalans fans would be happy to be chomping on chips and gravy every second weekend...

Pattie and chips when the Hull teams are in town.

[Lapsed Leeds Fan]

16 minutes ago, M j M said:

You can't force clubs to play on Sundays when it doesn't work for the club. The traditions of some clubs to play on Sunday afternoons aren't necessarily the traditions of others.

My club has been playing almost exclusively Friday nights for more than two decades and would probably take a crowd hit and definitely a revenue hit from unnecessarily moving the gameday.

Fair points but one of the reasons I no longer go to watch Leeds regularly is because of Friday nights. My 10 year old son is only just coming to the age where I would consider taking him to a Friday night game with a bedtime not much before 11.00pm. He’s now into football and this is in no small part to the fact that he can go to many games at 3.00pm on a Saturday. 

I remember a few years ago Leeds played Hull on a Sunday afternoon and the crowd was no lower than a Friday fixture. Surely a handful of fixtures on a Sunday would be worth a try?
 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

Marketing and Experience are the two key points for me. 

Games need to be marketed. We can’t just expect people to know about Super League, it’s teams or it’s fixtures. 

Also, we need to make games an experience. It should be about more than 80 minutes of Rugby. Food, drink, pre and post match entertainment to suit kids and adults should be as much a part of the day as watching a game. 

[Lapsed Leeds Fan]

16 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Games need to be marketed. We can’t just expect people to know about Super League, it’s teams or it’s fixtures. 

A perfect example being the Leeds Facebook promo video for the Women's Grand Final. It told you everything you needed to know except where and when the match was taking place. People had to ask amongst themselves in the comments section to find out.
 

[LaneCoveTiger]

You can’t force clubs to to play Sunday games, however any club that sticks to a single time slot is going to alienate a certain group of supporters. When I was younger I loved hitting the pub with mates before and after games on a Friday night. Now as a dad of three I scan the draw for the Sunday arvo games that I can take the kids to. A mixture of both is best, that way clubs can cater for all. Even sell partial season tickets that fans who can only attend certain games could buy. These could be four Sunday games in an u reserved seating area.

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, deluded pom? said:

Pattie and chips when the Hull teams are in town.

Lovely ...Michelin star stuff round here 

[Manx RL]

Just now, DavidM said:

Lovely ...Michelin star stuff round here 

Rubbery

[Chrispmartha]

1 hour ago, Lapsed Leeds Fan said:

A perfect example being the Leeds Facebook promo video for the Women's Grand Final. It told you everything you needed to know except where and when the match was taking place. People had to ask amongst themselves in the comments section to find out.
 

Probably;y why they are advertising this

 

https://www.therhinos.co.uk/the-club/job-vacancies/

 

 

 

[Mark S]

We need to get players and recently ex-players on shows like Celeb Master Chef, I’m A celebrity and Strictly. Jon Wilkin would be ideal, good looking bloke who can hold a decent conversation.

[Chrispmartha]

11 minutes ago, Mark S said:

We need to get players and recently ex-players on shows like Celeb Master Chef, I’m A celebrity and Strictly. Jon Wilkin would be ideal, good looking bloke who can hold a decent conversation.

This is definitely a good point, we used to have a few RL 'stars' Offiah, Hanley, Davies etc who were known for being RL players, we need more

[Mr Plow]

6 hours ago, Lapsed Leeds Fan said:

Fair points but one of the reasons I no longer go to watch Leeds regularly is because of Friday nights. My 10 year old son is only just coming to the age where I would consider taking him to a Friday night game with a bedtime not much before 11.00pm. He’s now into football and this is in no small part to the fact that he can go to many games at 3.00pm on a Saturday. 

I remember a few years ago Leeds played Hull on a Sunday afternoon and the crowd was no lower than a Friday fixture. Surely a handful of fixtures on a Sunday would be worth a try?
 

I think earlier this year when Leeds played Cas at Elland Road if it had been in a Sunday it would have broken the SL attendance record

[The 4 of Us]

If you want kids - not on a school night.

if you want corporate support - not on a weekend.

If you want families during summer - families may be doing something else at the weekend.

There’s a number of reasons why Friday works but, if you want away supporters make sure they’ve over the Pennines either way, Friday (or Thursday) is a bit of a killer so there’s no perfect solution.

i think the loop fixtures or other bigger fixtures  should be targeted at new markets and bigger grounds to try and up attendances.

Double headers in Edinburgh, Dublin, etc to name a couple.

 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

I’ve always thought Saints should move their home game with Catalans to a weekend day/early evening kick-off time with the intention of turning it into a Community Day. 

We know Catalans don’t bring many/any away fans and I’m sure clubs budget for such these days but I always think it’s an opportunity to earn some extra income. 

I’d have events on from as early as possible with kids tournaments at various age groups on the pitch, entitling these kids to free admission and their parents in for say £5. 

I’d want a food and drinks stand outside of the ground, with craft beers and spirits stands and local street food vendors being allowed to trade. 

You could have fanzones with ex-players, live music, comedians, injured or non-selected first teamers. 

I’d want the U19’s to be playing as a curtain raiser too. 

I’d slash admission prices for the day to £10 and £1 for adults and concessions and try and aim to fill the “missing” away fans quota you’d get from other clubs. 

[Rupert Prince]

11 hours ago, Manx RL said:

Jellied eels when London hit town.

Boiled beef and carrots...

Having to sew on all those buttons must be a pain as well.

It's ok for visitors to Wigan, they can just suck on all those mint balls.

[Rupert Prince]

7 hours ago, Mark S said:

We need to get players and recently ex-players on shows like Celeb Master Chef, I’m A celebrity and Strictly. Jon Wilkin would be ideal, good looking bloke who can hold a decent conversation.

This is getting absurd. 'celebrities'  ??

Better to have a 'Whose Got The Best Tattoo' contest.

[Smudger06]

1. Get rid of Loop Fixtures. 

2. Allow Betfred to live stream a game of the round for each round of the Championship (except Summer Bash which are on Sky) so 26 Games on Betfred FB page and simulcast on Betfred YouTube Channel + 1 Playoff Game per week, except Final (on Sky) so 3 Playoff Games

3. Keep recently agreed structure (Except loop fixtures for a bare minimum of 8 years; changes after 8 years should be subtle and minimal) 

4. Clubs to market their home games properly; at least 10 x posters placed at heavy traffic junctions with lights in catchment area minimum of 3 days prior to each & every match. Create paid £100 FB Event per match. Season Tickets advertised on local radio + local print newspapers. 

4. SL & Full Time Championship Players to be Coaches at local Clubs U16 & U14 teams. 

5. SL write a Cheque to every club registering 25 players at both U16 & U14 level. 

6. Free to play & Train at Junior Amateur Clubs, subsidised by RFL. 

[graveyard johnny]

7 hours ago, Mark S said:

We need to get players and recently ex-players on shows like Celeb Master Chef, I’m A celebrity and Strictly. Jon Wilkin would be ideal, good looking bloke who can hold a decent conversation.

and ben westwood

[Chris22]

Better organisation from the RFL. As an example, not arranging your community awards night on the same evening as the Grand Final.

[M j M]

7 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

Better organisation from the RFL. As an example, not arranging your community awards night on the same evening as the Grand Final.

Why not? It's an event at Old Trafford before the biggest night of the season, I'd say that makes it pretty prestigious.

[Manx RL]

32 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

This thread is a lot of what Robert Elstone is talking about.

A lot of people inside the tent saying what they want on the assumption that if we do whats traditional we will gain new fans. Fact is its doing what we have always done that has seen them stay outside the tent.

To gain new fans and new engagement we will need to do new things. Things that maybe don't appeal to those already inside the tent.

How big is the tent?

[Manx RL]

5 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

It expands to cover those who are in it.

But we arent going to attract more people by doing what we did this year, or 10 years ago, or 30 years ago.

We are where we are because of what we have done.

More of a Big top than a marquee