IMG - Thought's, suggestions and comments to move the game forward

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

Who's money ?

Well nothing happens unless funding is found.  But funding has been found for summer Rugby,  licensing,  Super 8s, French teams in SL,  a Canadian SL team and so on. 

[GUBRATS]

9 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Well nothing happens unless funding is found.  But funding has been found for summer Rugby,  licensing,  Super 8s, French teams in SL,  a Canadian SL team and so on. 

This would require extra , quite significant funding , just when would this ' tournio take place ? 

[Dave T]

3 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

This would require extra , quite significant funding , just when would this ' tournio take place ? 

You are asking questions that have simplistic answers,  with a  view to being awkward. 

We are talking about making real changes to the sport here,  20 years ago (or so)  people would have asked the same about T20 etc in cricket. 

Similarly,  30 years ago,  scrapping three of the cups in RL (County,  Regal and Premiership)  would have seemed bizarre.  Or moving to licensing.  Or having French teams in SL. Or a 24 team WCC (bad example!!!!) 

This forum isn't to work through the logistics,  and I'm not saying this idea is what the game needs,  I'm playing along with the thought of a new proposition,  but things are doable.  A relatively modest TV deal or external investment sorts much of this. 

But other sports are doing new things,  we may decide to go down that route too. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by Dave T

[gogledd]

3 hours ago, Cougarmaniac said:

Thanks - looking forward to Sunday. Projections of 3,000 at Cougar Park does hint at the possibility of Cougars becoming a force of some sort in the Championship - though not, obviously, at the level of Leigh or Toulouse. Herein lies the dilemma - do I want us to 'do a Leigh' - or to a lesser extent a 'Featherstone', and adopt a frankly unsustainable business model in the hope of reaching SL? Notwithstanding the 100% backing of the owners, I just don't see it being sustainable long-term, or even frankly attractive enough to take the risk. I'd much rather the SL was an entirely different entity, perhaps with franchise and certainly bigger city clubs, and the 'corridor' teams were left to fight it out in a much more realistic and competitive environment. Because lots of people on here and talking about expansion and revenues etc, and I just don't think the majority of supporters give a toss about stuff like that. My kids have loved going to Cougars this season because - despite what the league table suggests - their wins have been hard-fought and exciting, and the atmosphere's been brilliant. I have no desire to spend season after season sitting in bigger versions of a three-quarters empty Keepmoat Stadium (with all due respect to Doncaster, whose fans and staff were brilliant on Sunday) time after time. Trips to Batley and Bradford are what excite me for next season. The soul of this sport is the most valuable commodity it has.

Fair play...and well answered.

[M j M]

4 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

I remember the British Coal 9s from decades ago but nothing more recent at pro level in the UK.

How soon we forget.

[17 stone giant]

At the start of each season, Wane picks his England squad. Clubs that have lost players to England get compensated somehow. England are then entered into Super League for that season, playing their home games at venues around the country. This solves the expansion problem as more people would have the opportunity to watch live RL, and a team to support on TV the rest of the time. The problem of not enough England matches is also solved, and our team would be playing together regularly, so we'd be better when we come up against the Aussies in proper internationals at the end of the season. I've also had the identical idea, but with GB instead of England.

Edited August 25, 2022 by 17 stone giant

[Archie Gordon]

5 hours ago, M j M said:

How soon we forget.

It does look fairly forgettable.

[Tommygilf]

6 hours ago, M j M said:

How soon we forget.

The Leeds team are literallt wearing the academy shirts. Not a fair comparison 

[gingerjon]

15 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

The Leeds team are literallt wearing the academy shirts. Not a fair comparison 

That'd by why they won the Plate.

[gingerjon]

It's a decade and a bit ago now so, obviously, things change but it was meant to be A Thing.

 

[Sitona]

I thought the players said there are too many games, not sure they would want another competition. 

[gingerjon]

7 minutes ago, Sitona said:

I thought the players said there are too many games, not sure they would want another competition. 

If it were done in a way that would work - and the if is so large it can be seen from space - then it would have to involve the players involved having agreements in place about the number of games total per season they could play.

(There used to be - maybe still is, I really don't know - such an agreement in top tier rugby union).

And, for that to work, you would need proper centralised control and a spread of how many per club that affected.

There are solutions to most problems. It's how palatable they are.

[Archie Gordon]

37 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

It's a decade and a bit ago now so, obviously, things change but it was meant to be A Thing.

 

It looks as if it was a local pro-am but it passed me by and I don't know how it rated on TV.

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Archie Gordon said:

It looks as if it was a local pro-am but it passed me by and I don't know how it rated on TV.

Like a lot of these things, it was, in that RL way, both bigged up and half baked.

I think there were two distinct iterations of it but googling now just brings up a load of reports that don't really say much.

It was meant to be a way of replicating an RU 7s style fun evening with some family entertainment, a few drinks, and some rugby played by a mix of teams you know and intriguing ones you don't (I think the Army turned up to one version).

Never caught hold though.

[Archie Gordon]

1 minute ago, gingerjon said:

Like a lot of these things, it was, in that RL way, both bigged up and half baked.

I think there were two distinct iterations of it but googling now just brings up a load of reports that don't really say much.

It was meant to be a way of replicating an RU 7s style fun evening with some family entertainment, a few drinks, and some rugby played by a mix of teams you know and intriguing ones you don't (I think the Army turned up to one version).

Never caught hold though.

Sure. It looks like it was a fun Wednesday night thing down at Headingley at the end of August for a couple of years. Some local quality on show, some kids, some guest teams. It didn't grow into anything else unsurprisingly. If IMG want to suggest the last Wednesday in August for a pro-am 9s comp, I'll be the first to blast them.

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Like a lot of these things, it was, in that RL way, both bigged up and half baked.

I think there were two distinct iterations of it but googling now just brings up a load of reports that don't really say much.

It was meant to be a way of replicating an RU 7s style fun evening with some family entertainment, a few drinks, and some rugby played by a mix of teams you know and intriguing ones you don't (I think the Army turned up to one version).

Never caught hold though.

I'm not sure why anyone would think what we would get would be anything else.

RU long ago ditched trying to combine 7s with the RU club scene and top flight players. Clubs wouldnt release players and players werent interested anyway. The middlssex 7s was dying a death in the mid 90s when Wigan won it, that's why they were invited. That is the road some now magically want to happen in RL and think is the golden goose in RL. It would be so typical of RL to completely ignore lessons from other sports.

It won't work for all the reasons outlined in this thread, reasons why it hasn't before in RL and why it didn't in RU. RU created an entirely separate 7s circuit, with let's face it players that couldn't make the grade in proper RU, to get around these issues and to properly propel and grow the 7s game. No stars, no big names, no issues with clubs. Trying to create a nines tournament in the manner that some want on here is flawed from the off. And pretty pointless.

[redjonn]

I can see why in cricket you have different formats given the nature of the original format. Its a sport were you need to commit a full day to watch even on the original short form. The 100 is and was a new form so it can be played and a result when in an evening when your not at work...

Don't see the comparison of cricket short forms in rl which is already a short form of game. Yes we could do with a refreshed marketing approach.

I

[Man of Kent]

Some people who like to see themselves as anti-flatcap progressives can seem awfully conservative.  

I find the concept of an IPL/The Hundred draft-based city format - perhaps with rule changes to encourage champagne rugby (eg two-man limit in the tackle, some limit on kicking) - quite appealing. 

It's a bit gimmicky but it could also be great fun. Not a golden goose, not a silver bullet. A bit of fun to appeal to a younger crowd as cricket has done. If sponsors could be found, why not give it a lash?

[Gerrumonside ref]

Where exactly will these made up teams play?

[gingerjon]

Just now, Gerrumonside ref said:

Where exactly will these made up teams play?

It's a concept.

It's really not worth going: well, good luck getting a hire for the Amex during the football season.

[Gerrumonside ref]

25 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Some people who like to see themselves as anti-flatcap progressives can seem awfully conservative.  

I find the concept of an IPL/The Hundred draft-based city format - perhaps with rule changes to encourage champagne rugby (eg two-man limit in the tackle, some limit on kicking) - quite appealing. 

It's a bit gimmicky but it could also be great fun. Not a golden goose, not a silver bullet. A bit of fun to appeal to a younger crowd as cricket has done. If sponsors could be found, why not give it a lash?

It has cost and is costing the ECB lots of cash and is a loss leader.

Has RL got similar reserves to count upon?

Must admit I didn’t think so.

[Gerrumonside ref]

1 minute ago, gingerjon said:

It's a concept.

It's really not worth going: well, good luck getting a hire for the Amex during the football season.

I’m just trying to flesh it out is all.

[gingerjon]

5 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I’m just trying to flesh it out is all.

A suggestion made earlier was a variation on: Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Wales, London, Other South. You could add a couple or move a few around - say only one South and make the other North East.

[gingerjon]

9 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

It has cost and is costing the ECB lots of cash and is a loss leader.

Has RL got similar reserves to count upon?

Must admit I didn’t think so.

As I replied before, specifically on The Hundred.

It has cost north of £40m, meaning the ECB no longer has any reserves to speak of. It has yet to make a profit. It's spectator numbers are down this year and its TV audience has halved.

It has also taken cricket from a sport playing its most promoted domestic competition in over 40 towns and cities around the country to one that plays its most promoted domestic competition in 7.

It is many things but successful expansion it is not.

[Man of Kent]

1 minute ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Where exactly will these made up teams play?

These would be short matches so, as I see it, it would be a single venue (as with Magic). Take your pick as to where, it could be taken anywhere.