Two Legged Challenge Cup Ties

[Jughead]

47 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

I’ve been an advocate of that idea before. The game’s main sponsor is a bookmaker. They could handicap each match. In theory any team entered into the competition could win it.

Allowing for a bigger tie up with a betting company when betting sponsorship is likely to end soon (I can’t see how it has a place after news this week), there’s absolutely no way Rugby League does this. 

[yipyee]

7 hours ago, wiganermike said:

I can envisage a bunch of poorly attended second legs following a convincing win in leg 1. RL games produce too many points for the sport to lend itself to two-legged ties. When we did have them in the years around World War 2 the points tallies were lower so a deficit would be less to turn around. There is little interest in cup games when your team just needs a 1 point win, even fewer people will bother if their team needs to overturn say a 20 point deficit.

This is obviously a short term fix as the aim is that the SL will expand in a few years as we get more A grade clubs so the fixture shortfall will disappear. This plan has ditched after a year written all over it though.

On the positive side to mr negative, a very close first leg would see a bumper crowd in the second leg, not least if it were the underdog infront.

So for example the saints wigan game last year, the second leg would have deffo sold out!

[Griff]

2 hours ago, Chris22 said:

Just makes upsets almost impossible. An unfancied may beat a bigger opponent as a one off. Beating them on aggregate over 2 matches is very unlikely.

Which is the main reason it won't last more than a season. A giant-killing is part of the charm of the cup, yet it'd likely disappear with two legged ties 

[Gomersall]

7 hours ago, Jughead said:

Allowing for a bigger tie up with a betting company when betting sponsorship is likely to end soon (I can’t see how it has a place after news this week), there’s absolutely no way Rugby League does this. 

Another financial hole to fill then. 

[Rlsouthyorks]

re brand it as the European Challenge Cup invite more French teams in along with other European nation. Have all super league team come in at the last 64 teams . So last 64 would consist of 12 super league teams, 14 championships teams, 11 league one teams. That leaves 27 places open for Foreign teams and our own amateur teams .I am sure that would create more interest and more stories.     

[wiganermike]

9 minutes ago, Rlsouthyorks said:

re brand it as the European Challenge Cup invite more French teams in along with other European nation. Have all super league team come in at the last 64 teams . So last 64 would consist of 12 super league teams, 14 championships teams, 11 league one teams. That leaves 27 places open for Foreign teams and our own amateur teams .I am sure that would create more interest and more stories.     

Unfortunately the only type of stories that would result would be of 100+ point winning margins and community/european club players having periods off work after coming off worse from trying to tackle/be tackled by the likes of Alex Walmsley. The SL clubs do enter the cup at too late a stage IMO but we already have a team in League 1 that ships 100 points against other League 1 teams. It would be unfair and potentially damaging to have SL teams come up against community clubs or european clubs (many of which are of a poorer standard than our community clubs' teams). 

Bringing the SL clubs in at the last 32 stage of the Challenge Cup as it exists now would be workable when likely the weakest teams left in the cup will be the top teams in League 1.

[Rlsouthyorks]

1 minute ago, wiganermike said:

Unfortunately the only type of stories that would result would be of 100+ point winning margins and community/european club players having periods off work after coming off worse from trying to tackle/be tackled by the likes of Alex Walmsley. The SL clubs do enter the cup at too late a stage IMO but we already have a team in League 1 that ships 100 points against other League 1 teams. It would be unfair and potentially damaging to have SL teams come up against community clubs or european clubs (many of which are of a poorer standard than our community clubs' teams). 

Bringing the SL clubs in at the last 32 stage of the Challenge Cup as it exists now would be workable when likely the weakest teams left in the cup will be the top teams in League 1.

True but again smaller teams would have a greater chance of progressing as super league clubs could draw each other in early rounds . If a random draw.

[Jughead]

Just leave it as it is. Ten different finalists in eight finals, sixth consecutive different winners, the problem isn’t the structure of the competition. 

[Damien]

21 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Just leave it as it is. Ten different finalists in eight finals, sixth consecutive different winners, the problem isn’t the structure of the competition. 

I agree. The Challenge Cup is a cup knockout and is a straightforward concept. Complicated group stages or two legend knockouts won't solve anything or enhance it.

I personally think there isn't a great deal we can do with regards the earlier stages. It is what it is and we don't have 32 top quality full time clubs to join at a early stage. That is just a fact. I think some of the early rounds throw up fascinating match ups as it is.

What we can do is improve the semi finals and final experience. I think there is very limited returns achievable with the rest.

[Dave T]

15 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Just leave it as it is. Ten different finalists in eight finals, sixth consecutive different winners, the problem isn’t the structure of the competition. 

Whilst I think SL clubs come in one round too late now, I tend to agree. We need to be careful here. If we are trying to pad it out just so we can remove loop games, we need to maybe ask ourselves is this sensible. We would be removing a loop game that attracts decent enough crowds, for a Cup game that are generally far less attractive. That seems counter-intuitive to me.

The Cup is an excellent tournament, it is unique and I don't think it needs too much mucking about with - this is where I do see a real 're-imagining' of RL could take place in terms of how we present it. I think making the events look different on TV (in the same way that The Hundred looks different to many other forms of cricket) is a way to go, rather than them basically being poorer versions of Super League games.