Entertainment value from the Play Off games

[gingerjon]

9 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

Where can I find the poll?

Every week in the match day attendances.

[Fevrover]

16 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Entertaining or not you have to understand in the scheme of things you are in the minority with you views.

Looked like yesterday both crowds were in the 1-2k range meaning people aren't climbing over each other to watch the product - unfit and off the cuff and all. 

As Dave said, I just enjoy RL for what it is at whatever level.

SL aren't exactly breaking crowd records.

[Niels]

18 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Entertaining or not you have to understand in the scheme of things you are in the minority with you views.

Looked like yesterday both crowds were in the 1-2k range meaning people aren't climbing over each other to watch the product - unfit and off the cuff and all. 

As Dave said, I just enjoy RL for what it is at whatever level.

The Batley game had to be made all ticket due to Covid.

This had a big impact on the attendance.

[gogledd]

Pitch here for League 1. As a North Wales Crusaders supporter I've seen some excellent games this season, and although we lost our first playoff game to Keighley it was a really exciting game with some excellent rugby played.

Just a shame it doesn't get more exposure and the powers that be don't seem interested in saving a valuable asset

[Scubby]

9 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

SL aren't exactly breaking crowd records.

Crowds in SL are pretty pathetic atm but it has nothing to do with my point.

Fans of L2 football or Division 2 RU are probably saying similar things. They are by default in the minority of what a general sports fan wants when given the choice.

[Scubby]

7 minutes ago, gogledd said:

Pitch here for League 1. As a North Wales Crusaders supporter I've seen some excellent games this season, and although we lost our first playoff game to Keighley it was a really exciting game with some excellent rugby played.

Just a shame it doesn't get more exposure and the powers that be don't seem interested in saving a valuable asset

It's because it is lower league stuff and the interest is relative - no matter what the sport. Lots of fans enjoy watching the Queensland Cup but the majority don't really bother because they like elite level sport. It is just how it is unfortunately.

[Jim Prendle]

This forum doesn’t need an administrator, it needs The Samaritans.

The Wire Hull KR was excellent. Wigan V Leeds was two very limited teams doing what they thought was right to progress to the next phase.

I’ve never seen it printed on a ticket that entertainment of a particular type is guaranteed. I’m betting that many posters on here can’t even remember what a match ticket looks like.

[Fevrover]

23 minutes ago, Niels said:

The Batley game had to be made all ticket due to Covid.

This had a big impact on the attendance.

Yeah but there was 75,000 at Old Trafford lol.

[Chris22]

In terms of entertainment value, I thought that the Championship matches this week were better. I did enjoy the Warrington v Hull KR match, but not sure if that was because of the result or the quality of the match! Equally, next week, the Super League matches may be better than the Championship equivalents. That's just how it goes.

Think we can be guilty of overthinking at times. You often see comments that say a match between Wakefield and Salford in 2021 was poor and how the sport is no where near the quality of, for example, the Australia v GB test match from 1994. That's comparing apples and oranges, when a more relevant comparison would be to a Sheffield v Halifax match from 2000, that few would remember.

[Dave T]

38 minutes ago, Niels said:

The Batley game had to be made all ticket due to Covid.

This had a big impact on the attendance.

Why? There are no restrictions any more are there? 

[The Blues Ox]

46 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Every week in the match day attendances.

All that does is further prove the point Im trying to make. Lets face it people from say Wakefield are not going to go and watch Halifax so lets say each teams catchment area is just the area of that teams name, the biggest drop off in attendances has been at SL level I would imagine which just means that people are voting with their feet.

Rugby league at lower levels has hardly any exposure so its pretty hard for those teams to try and attract new fans but given SL has so much exposure on a national level through Sky you have to ask the question why attendances are falling if the product on the field is so good?

[The Blues Ox]

I said elsewhere it would be interesting to compare viewing figures this weekend, is there any way to do that?

[Dave T]

6 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

I said elsewhere it would be interesting to compare viewing figures this weekend, is there any way to do that?

In a couple of weeks using Barb data. There is a risk of incomplete data as it only shows top 15 per channel, but they should be in that. 

[Harry Stottle]

56 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Entertaining or not you have to understand in the scheme of things you are in the minority with you views.

Looked like yesterday both crowds were in the 1-2k range meaning people aren't climbing over each other to watch the product - unfit and off the cuff and all. 

As Dave said, I just enjoy RL for what it is at whatever level.

Whatever Scubby there is something refreshing in observing players not trying to cheat the opposition or ref faking injuries to halt momentum, NOT ONE alleged crusher tackle in sight, no wrestling on the floor at nearly every tackle just good honest Rugby League like the SL once played before but not for a long time, you are correct on your assesment of numbers watching the relative divisions, but these negative comments that are raising their heads about the quality of SL - and not only on these pages - is gathering pace and in my opinion very justified, the SL coaches need to wake up and realise they are in the entertainment industry or they sport at that level in this country is going to suffer, and if that happens all the game will suffer.

[Scubby]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Whatever Scubby there is something refreshing in observing players not trying to cheat the opposition or ref faking injuries to halt momentum, NOT ONE alleged crusher tackle in sight, no wrestling on the floor at nearly every tackle just good honest Rugby League like the SL once played before but not for a long time, you are correct on your assesment of numbers watching the relative divisions, but these negative comments that are raising their heads about the quality of SL - and not only on these pages - is gathering pace and in my opinion very justified, the SL coaches need to wake up and realise they are in the entertainment industry or they sport at that level in this country is going to suffer, and if that happens all the game will suffer.

We get obsessed with the quality of entertainment in RL to the point it is paranoid. RL by definition is a very entertaining sport for casual TV viewers.

What this blinds us to is quality of the occasion and experience. I have had wonderful days out at Lords and other sports where it really didn't matter how entertaining the content was. That was a bonus.

We act like a pound shop piling its shelves to the ceiling with cheap entertainment while not realising that to a large number of people Poundland is Poundland. 

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

3 hours ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

I sometimes feel like people slag off SL when the team they expected or wanted to win doesn't put in a performance, and the reason they give is that the standards of the competition are just so poor now (rather than just saying the other team played better).

Whereas when this happens in another competition, there is a completely different spin on it.

This is so true.  There is rarely a Super League game where I don't have a preference for one team over the other.  It usually relates to the effect that the result will have on my own teams position but we all have second favourites or teams we generally dislike. Their playing of the covid card by a couple of teams as added to spice this year too.

It was great watching the Championship games yesterday without the angst. 

[Futtocks]

You get good, bad and okay games in all divisions of all sports. It isn't really a stable foundation for a blanket criticism of some level of the game you might have a grudge against.

By the way, the BBC's highlights yesterday of the awful Wigan v Leeds match managed to make it look passably interesting. Well done, whoever edited that!

[Niels]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Why? There are no restrictions any more are there? 

The official announcement was that the game was all ticket due to concerns over capacity and covid safety.

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, Niels said:

The official announcement was that the game was all ticket due to concerns over capacity and covid safety.

Those concerns seemed a bit ott

[Fevrover]

20 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Those concerns seemed a bit ott

Especially when they must need the money ,strange decision to me.

[Harry Stottle]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

You get good, bad and okay games in all divisions of all sports. It isn't really a stable foundation for a blanket criticism of some level of the game you might have a grudge against.

By the way, the BBC's highlights yesterday of the awful Wigan v Leeds match managed to make it look passably interesting. Well done, whoever edited that!

For gods sake Futtocks you should know they have some geniuses (genuii?) at the BBC, for many many years now they have made Wendyball passable condensing 90 minutes into 5 minutes of highlights, no easy task I know but they manage it

[Cardypaul]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

Whatever Scubby there is something refreshing in observing players not trying to cheat the opposition or ref faking injuries to halt momentum, NOT ONE alleged crusher tackle in sight, no wrestling on the floor at nearly every tackle just good honest Rugby League like the SL once played before but not for a long time, you are correct on your assesment of numbers watching the relative divisions, but these negative comments that are raising their heads about the quality of SL - and not only on these pages - is gathering pace and in my opinion very justified, the SL coaches need to wake up and realise they are in the entertainment industry or they sport at that level in this country is going to suffer, and if that happens all the game will suffer.

The game is so much worse for all the wrestling and messing around at the play the ball although that will return next week when Toulouse play 

[Niels]

3 hours ago, Dave T said:

Those concerns seemed a bit ott

Wouldn't it have been the Council or Government though? 

Kirklees was one of the areas worst hit by the new wave. So maybe that was a factor? 

I'm just waiting for a Toulouse exile fan to start worrying about whether we are all vaccinated now

[DC77]

23 hours ago, Davo5 said:

Certainly a lot less wrestle in the tackle and players not pretending to be hurt or diving to win penalties was refreshing.

This comment is extremely interesting as I read a comment from a RL devotee on another forum which echoed this problem. Basically play is too predictable as the play the ball has become bogged down with too much leeway now given to the defending team who take forever to get off the grounded player (often pouring two or three individuals on him then slowly get off him one by one), allowing the defence to reset, so by the time the attacking player gets up the defence is organised, making attacks (and “runs from dummy half”, the posters words) infinitely harder. He also mentioned players feigning injury (such as holding their necks) to further slow down play. 

Must try and find the full comment as it nailed so much of the issue.

[DC77]

9 hours ago, David Shepherd said:

I agree. Semi pro is much more entertaining to watch. SL and especially NRL, while undoubtedly having superior fitness levels and skills manages to be a bit dull and boring.

Nobody could sincerely call the NRL “dull and boring”.

The Penrith vs Melbourne game was relentless. 

There is an enormous gulf between the NRL and SL, and I’m not talking about quality. SL will never have the quality of the NRL, but it could be as exciting, that is if the issue of the defending team spoiling/slowing down attacking play in the play the ball routine is dealt with. I’ve previously felt the PTB was an issue, but it was only clear what the specific issue with it was when a devoted RL follower made a comment on it.