How recognisable are SL players in the heartlands?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

Let's say Luke Gayle is doing some shopping in Leeds. Maybe picking up his weekly coal ration or some seed for his pigeons. 

Would he be someone who the public would recognise? 

How about in Wigan with their stars? 

[Marauder]

You forgot his whippet

[del capo]

Local lads are recognised fairly quickly in Wigan

They belong to us and understand that ( even when they get  eventually transported to Australia ).  Always cheerful round the town centre. Representing  the town remains  one of the greatest points of our game. Even the soccer lads now understanding it.

They also have no edge about them and definately rub shoulders withe the fans. Charnley for instance  still brings his dogs down to St Pats even though his mate Tomkins is in the south of France....

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

12 minutes ago, Marauder said:

You forgot his whippet

Yes sorry he may need some tripe for his whippet

So come on.... How recognisable would they be?

I assume in places like Wigan the players are out and about... Do they get recognised much in the same way soccer players do (pretty much anywhere) 

[Tommygilf]

I can speak for Leeds, Wakey and Cas, where rugby players are just normal blokes but do of course do get recognised. Less so in Leeds I suppose but its a bigger place. 

The Wakey players often come into the Italian restaurant where I work, to the point where spaghetti carbonara with extra chicken is now the standard Trinity player order and is how my non English colleagues recognise a rugby player. After I think the Wigan game at Belle Vue last year I remember hearing an Australian bloke come in whilst I was clearing a table and ask for a table for 25, of course they hadn't booked! But we fit them in because a lot of them are regulars with their families. I think the antipodeans must recommend it to each other because any time a new signing arrives they come in some point that week! Its only up close you realise just how big these guys are. Fifita makes a pizza plate look like a side dish and makes me look like a small child.

I say that because there is definitely more flash places to go in town, and less centre of town places, but they come to a reasonably priced normal peoples restaurant and mix perfectly well which I think shows how they are down to earth nice guys.

[Hela Wigmen]

You’re asking people who are Rugby League fans, posting on a Rugby League forum, how recognisable players of the team they support are in that team’s local area? 

[Tommygilf]

14 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

You’re asking people who are Rugby League fans, posting on a Rugby League forum, how recognisable players of the team they support are in that team’s local area? 

Must not have many twitter followers...

[Tommygilf]

Just now, Tommygilf said:

Must not have many twitter followers...

Or friends on Facebook...

[Number 16]

26 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

You’re asking people who are Rugby League fans, posting on a Rugby League forum, how recognisable players of the team they support are in that team’s local area? 

He asked if the general public would recognise the players. The clue is in the question. 

E.g. The population of Leeds is circa 500k and the Rhino's have an average crowd of 15k or so. To what extent are the players recognisable to the rest. 

[Hela Wigmen]

12 minutes ago, Number 16 said:

He asked if the general public would recognise the players. The clue is in the question. 

E.g. The population of Leeds is circa 500k and the Rhino's have an average crowd of 15k or so. To what extent are the players recognisable to the rest. 

Rugby League fans, despite all their oddities, are still in that category of “general public”. 

[Marauder]

6 hours ago, Hela Wigmen said:

Rugby League fans, despite all their oddities, are still in that category of “general public”. 

15k crowds but many more K's follow the game without going through the turnstiles, you often get players at amateur games watching and many also take up a role within an amateur club.

I remember Kevin Ward working on the main street of our village many moons ago, he was swamped by kids and adults talking to him all the time and my village isn't exactly in the heartlands

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

7 hours ago, Number 16 said:

He asked if the general public would recognise the players. The clue is in the question. 

E.g. The population of Leeds is circa 500k and the Rhino's have an average crowd of 15k or so. To what extent are the players recognisable to the rest. 

I was a bit confused that they were confused. Thanks for spelling it out for them! 

[welshmagpie]

Interestingly at training for my community club down south. 98% of our squad is southern by definition, about 60% are brand new to rugby league but watch it on the TV - they all wear NRL gear and spout the usual ‘Latrell is a beast’, ‘Nathan Cleary is class’, ‘Tedsco best full back in the world’.

Not seen one bit of British kit yet. 

Not sure they’d recognise any British player.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 minute ago, welshmagpie said:

Interestingly at training for my community club down south. 98% of our squad is southern by definition, about 60% are brand new to rugby league but watch it on the TV - they all wear NRL gear and spout the usual ‘Latrell is a beast’, ‘Nathan Cleary is class’, ‘Tedsco best full back in the world’.

Not seen one bit of British kit yet. 

Not sure they’d recognise any British player.

Get them down Ealing way when all this nonsense is over. One Dixon intercept and 90m sprint to the line and they'll be hooked

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

7 hours ago, Hela Wigmen said:

You’re asking people who are Rugby League fans, posting on a Rugby League forum, how recognisable players of the team they support are in that team’s local area? 

I am no fan of soccer but if I came across Raheem Sterling in the street I'd recognise him

The question was about the general recognisability of RL players in a similar context in heartland areas

I know that no one would look twice if Hardaker walked past them in Watford high street but what would the response be in Wigan? 

[Treize Hombres]

I don't follow football at all and can honestly say that I wouldn't recognize any current Premier League player if I tripped over him. It's of zero interest to me. There was a photo of Sonny Bill Williams and a Manchester United star player on here a few months back and I had to Google who the latter was.

I would recognize the majority of SL players if they walked past me as RL is my sport. Practically nobody else in the town where I live would as there's little interest in RL, despite being a few miles up the road from Wigan.

Sad to say but current RL players are only recognisable to RL fans and not the majority of the public whether you be in Watford, Wigan or anywhere else in the country.

 

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

21 minutes ago, Treize Hombres said:

I don't follow football at all and can honestly say that I wouldn't recognize any current Premier League player if I tripped over him. It's of zero interest to me. There was a photo of Sonny Bill Williams and a Manchester United star player on here a few months back and I had to Google who the latter was.

I would recognize the majority of SL players if they walked past me as RL is my sport. Practically nobody else in the town where I live would as there's little interest in RL, despite being a few miles up the road from Wigan.

Sad to say but current RL players are only recognisable to RL fans and not the majority of the public whether you be in Watford, Wigan or anywhere else in the country.

 

 

This is pretty much same as me. There are maybe a handful of football players I would half recognise in that if they walked past I would say to myself, "that bloke looks a bit like that football player from the news" but I wouldn't actually think it was them, wouldn't be able to come up with a name and wouldn't know the team they played for and I'd only have recognised them cos I'd seen then on TV literally that morning or something. 

I would recognise most RL players and you do see quite a few round Hull. My proudest moment was when I was out with a mate who doesn't follow rugby league and Gareth Ellis walked past and I just casually went, "you alright Gaz?" and I got a, "alright mate?" in reply. Then I got to explain to my mate that this Gaz fella was a big famous sports star who I knew personally. Literally met him about 3 times in my life but my mate didn't need to know that!

That does highlight that a lot of people probably wouldn't recognise players if they didn't follow the sport. My mate has lived in Hull most of his life but cos he doesn't follow RL he didn't recognise one of the city's most famous players. 

[GUBRATS]

11 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Let's say Luke Gayle is doing some shopping in Leeds. Maybe picking up his weekly coal ration or some seed for his pigeons. 

Would he be someone who the public would recognise? 

How about in Wigan with their stars? 

Not since his hair job , no

[kiwis 13 6]

Sounds like RFL or Robert Elstone or the club chairmen that are influential... somebody needs to get a least half a dozen of the more charismatic Super League Player on TV/Internet adverts for the game and other products, as well as sponsorship deals on billboards and appearances on various TV shows to Promote the game.

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I know that no one would look twice if Hardaker walked past them in Watford high street but what would the response be in Wigan? 

I know in Wigan few would bat an eyelid, those that get all excited are generally children. Seeing RL players, and some of the biggest names ever to play the sport, has been second nature for as long as I can remember.

[bar red]

2 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I am no fan of soccer but if I came across Raheem Sterling in the street I'd recognise him

The question was about the general recognisability of RL players in a similar context in heartland areas

I know that no one would look twice if Hardaker walked past them in Watford high street but what would the response be in Wigan? 

Are you encouraging RL players to have Mk47s tattooed on their legs.?

[Number 16]

10 hours ago, Hela Wigmen said:

Rugby League fans, despite all their oddities, are still in that category of “general public”. 

Or to put it another way... If some SL players visited your school how many of your classmates would recognise them? 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

4 hours ago, Marauder said:

15k crowds but many more K's follow the game without going through the turnstiles, you often get players at amateur games watching and many also take up a role within an amateur club.

This. I've been to quite a lot of NCL games where there have been some Superleague players watching, and not necessarily at the club where they started. I think it's a credit to our game that players at the top level still watch the lower levels and mix with the crowd. For the most part other spectators are generally friendly and polite with the players, speaking but not invading their space, this is reciprocated by the players. I think a lot of this is to do with players still being friends with the lads they started playing the game with as kids

[Hela Wigmen]

7 minutes ago, Number 16 said:

Or to put it another way... If some SL players visited your school how many of your classmates would recognise them? 

Most of them did when I was in school. Saints come in to schools semi-regular back then.

[Hullfan]

13 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Yes sorry he may need some tripe for his whippet

So come on.... How recognisable would they be?

I assume in places like Wigan the players are out and about... Do they get recognised much in the same way soccer players do (pretty much anywhere) 

No there don't and this is what makes them normal lads. Unlike footballers who are worshiped and idolised it makes them into ########