What to expect from the 20s

[aj1908]

10 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

Naw, you keep on beating that stick over the fans of Rochdale, Swinton, Oldham, oh and HKR & Wakefield did you beat them with it earlier? 

Seems you like to beat that stick over the head of Rugby League in general. Nice one. 

Funny I've been to Rochdale and Oldham to watch rugby league games.

I'm.sure.rugby league can survive some negative posts on an internet forum 

If it couldn't all your clubs would be gone lol 

[Chris22]

I think that this thread has hit the nail on the head regarding our biggest challenge - an aging fanbase. I look around at the matches I go to, and without wanting to sound harsh, a lot of those fans probably won't be there at the end of the decade. I believe Warrington did some research as to the average age of their fanbase, which led to their marketing strategy of 2019 aiming at a younger and more diverse audience.

This is something I've noticed at the top of the game, with clubs with a larger fanbase. Whilst I don't have any evidence, I would suspect that this is more pronounced at lower levels, where younger fans just aren't coming through the gates.

Our society is more connected now and less community based. For example, a person from St Helens may feel less of a connection to the town now and more of a connection towards Liverpool or Manchester. The same may apply to a person from Dewsbury towards Leeds. This means that competition with sports such as football, which with 24 hour news coverage, better players and more money is even more of a threat to sports like ours which thrive on a sense of community.

It's going to be a huge challenge to retain that fanbase. I suspect that it may be the 30's when we really start to notice this effect and then the game's governing body will have to decide what our long term approach is and whether the current model is sustainable.

I think we will see at least three different competition structures in the next decade. Firstly, we will deride this structure as one that could never work and blame it on automatic P & R. We'll go back to 14 and to licensing in 2022, saying that we never game it a chance to succeed the first time around, and then by 2030, will change again.

We'll see a new name on the Super League trophy, probably Warrington, then I'll go into hiding for a year! Maybe we'll see another new name on it, perhaps Toronto if they have the spending power that we are led to believe.

I think we'll have an incredible RLWC 2021 and then do precisely zero to capitalise on it. Attendances and the quality of the sport will remain broadly the same. As always, there will be a couple of unforgettable moments like we've had this decade, but are impossible to predict at this moment.

And finally, we'll keep complaining as much as ever! Bring it on!

[Kayakman]

3 hours ago, Chris22 said:

I think that this thread has hit the nail on the head regarding our biggest challenge - an aging fanbase. I look around at the matches I go to, and without wanting to sound harsh, a lot of those fans probably won't be there at the end of the decade. I believe Warrington did some research as to the average age of their fanbase, which led to their marketing strategy of 2019 aiming at a younger and more diverse audience.

This is something I've noticed at the top of the game, with clubs with a larger fanbase. Whilst I don't have any evidence, I would suspect that this is more pronounced at lower levels, where younger fans just aren't coming through the gates.

Our society is more connected now and less community based. For example, a person from St Helens may feel less of a connection to the town now and more of a connection towards Liverpool or Manchester. The same may apply to a person from Dewsbury towards Leeds. This means that competition with sports such as football, which with 24 hour news coverage, better players and more money is even more of a threat to sports like ours which thrive on a sense of community.

It's going to be a huge challenge to retain that fanbase. I suspect that it may be the 30's when we really start to notice this effect and then the game's governing body will have to decide what our long term approach is and whether the current model is sustainable.

I think we will see at least three different competition structures in the next decade. Firstly, we will deride this structure as one that could never work and blame it on automatic P & R. We'll go back to 14 and to licensing in 2022, saying that we never game it a chance to succeed the first time around, and then by 2030, will change again.

We'll see a new name on the Super League trophy, probably Warrington, then I'll go into hiding for a year! Maybe we'll see another new name on it, perhaps Toronto if they have the spending power that we are led to believe.

I think we'll have an incredible RLWC 2021 and then do precisely zero to capitalise on it. Attendances and the quality of the sport will remain broadly the same. As always, there will be a couple of unforgettable moments like we've had this decade, but are impossible to predict at this moment.

And finally, we'll keep complaining as much as ever! Bring it on!

I foresee a different future...a new dawn!

[EssexRL]

Interesting question. I think it’s really hard to predict details but i would guess the game will either continue to expand internationally or contract. Outside of that I’m really not sure how the game will pan out in London. I suspect the future lies more in what happens with the amateur game than Skolars or Broncos. 

[Kayakman]

23 minutes ago, EssexRL said:

Interesting question. I think it’s really hard to predict details but i would guess the game will either continue to expand internationally or contract. Outside of that I’m really not sure how the game will pan out in London. I suspect the future lies more in what happens with the amateur game than Skolars or Broncos. 

If the game catches on in Toronto and New York and Ottawa this will certainly help London.

[The Lad]

To get older, hopefully on a yearly basis.

[johnmatrix]

More boring rugby. No new ideas

[Mr Plow]

On 31/12/2019 at 12:10, Chris22 said:

I think we'll have an incredible RLWC 2021 and then do precisely zero to capitalise on it. Attendances and the quality of the sport will remain broadly the same. As always, there will be a couple of unforgettable moments like we've had this decade, but are impossible to predict at this moment.

And finally, we'll keep complaining as much as ever! Bring it on!

Internationally post 2021 will be interesting. Where will the 2025 and 29 WC be held? Will Australia dominate? Will Tonga continue to be competitive? Will any European sides improve?

[tiffers]

On 31/12/2019 at 12:10, Chris22 said:

I think that this thread has hit the nail on the head regarding our biggest challenge - an aging fanbase. I look around at the matches I go to, and without wanting to sound harsh, a lot of those fans probably won't be there at the end of the decade. I believe Warrington did some research as to the average age of their fanbase, which led to their marketing strategy of 2019 aiming at a younger and more diverse audience.

This is something I've noticed at the top of the game, with clubs with a larger fanbase. Whilst I don't have any evidence, I would suspect that this is more pronounced at lower levels, where younger fans just aren't coming through the gates.

 

@Chris22 You are absolutely correct here. Society is becoming more and more mobile in two folds.

1) Geographically more mobile. More young people than ever before are going away to university. Increasingly from RL heartlands. This just wasn't happening 15 years ago anywhere near the same level. More young people than ever before are moving locations at the age of 18. This in turn means they are not spending cash in their childhood/family clubs. Both professional and amateur. Pretty much all of my friends moved away from Leeds and no longer go to Headingley. Or if they do it is no more than a handful of times a year as we all are scattered all over the country. We are however watching online/contributing to forums and engaged in a different way. Bringing me to my next point...

2) Digitally more mobile. I.e. People want to consume content online. Gen Z are very, very different to previous generations and I see very little from clubs to address this audience. Warrington have come a long way and clearly leading from the front (with Toronto). But with tiny budgets and lack of recognition of this will lead to a demise in 2030 unless addressed. Despite been exponentially better off (as a working adult), Leeds see a far lower revenue number from me vs. when I was 16. They just don't monetize my way of consuming content very well at all.

Therefore I expect some clubs will wake up to this. They will be forced to become far more digital/content-led and monetize through other channels than the traditional ticket revenue and sky sports money. If they do not do this they will lose that traditional mechanism of revenue by family association.

Clubs will also be required to address those audiences that have moved into their towns at 18 years or older (university towns particularly). This audience is much more difficult to acquire given our existing culture in the game around customer acquisition being centred on family association, clubs will have a tougher job in retaining them as loyal supporters (customers)!