England v Tonga series

[Guest]

The Chadwick they are only selling about 2/3rds of the rows, and even then every other row).

That or everyone decided to pick the back rows first.

So I might go for 7,500 as a crowd.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Leonard

[Dave T]

8 minutes ago, Leonard said:

The Chadwick they are only selling about 2/3rds of the rows, and even then every other row).

That or everyone decided to pick the back rows first.

So I might go for 7,500 as a crowd.

I think you are being overly pessimistic here tbh. 

We have no idea whether tickets not on sale have previously been on sale or not. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think you are being overly pessimistic here tbh. 

We have no idea whether tickets not on sale have previously been on sale or not. 

I would expect it to be lower than St Helens and looking at the percentages sold have seen nothing to suggest a flurry of sales.

Happy to be proven wrong, but even 10k is pretty ###### poor.

[Dave T]

Just now, Leonard said:

I would expect it to be lower than St Helens and looking at the percentages sold have seen nothing to suggest a flurry of sales.

Happy to be proven wrong, but even 10k is pretty ###### poor.

Huddersfield has a decent record for international crowds tbh, obviously the scheduling of a game in Leeds the week later should reduce it, but I expect it to beat the Saints number. 

If it doesn't, I agree, it's a terrible crowd. 

[Damien]

 

 

[GeordieSaint]

Disappointing about both of them; particularly Knowles who I thought was our 2nd best forward after McMeeken the other day.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

 

 

Not like a st Helens player to be ruled out. 

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Leonard said:

Not like a st Helens player to be ruled out. 

It's fine, he'll just appeal the doctor's advice.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It's fine, he'll just appeal the doctor's advice.

And then get his other hamstring tweaked for a frivolous appeal.

[Just Browny]

8 hours ago, M j M said:

I always look back to the 1998 series vs the Kiwis on this point.

The first test was at Huddersfield, an 18k crowd was ok but not a sell out and things were relativity muted in the build up.

Enter Bill Harrigan. A contentious call just before half time let the Kiwis score followed by a clear penalty try not given to GB in the second half and we lost by 6 points. The coverage of this injustice the week after was insane (by RL standards) - and Frank Endacott coaching the Kiwis then went out in the press and stoked it to the max with some very well judged wind up comments.

The result was the second test at Bolton which for a very long time remained that stadium's record crowd and was the first time I really saw ticket touts getting traction outside an RL game. 

Controversy and protagonists who get people riled are really important factors in generating interest. Unfortunately our sport nowadays has great expertise in the "they're a really good team who are well coached so it will be a tight contest" approach to pre match build up.

Good shout.

Although if any of those opinions were expressed or repeated on here, the person posting it would be screamed at for negativity about the ref and the thread would be locked in a huff.

[UTK]

In some good news the 2nd and 3rd tests will now be broadcast in NZ, despite the unfortunate time difference I saw plenty of backlash on social media about the failure to show the game on the weekend. 

[The Rocket]

9 hours ago, M j M said:

Enter Bill Harrigan. A contentious call just before half time let the Kiwis score followed by a clear penalty try not given to GB in the second half and we lost by 6 points.

The great Warren Ryan always said that Bill when he was refereeing was more interested in providing an exciting contest then worrying about little technicalities like rules. Should be more of it.

[Dave T]

28 minutes ago, UTK said:

In some good news the 2nd and 3rd tests will now be broadcast in NZ, despite the unfortunate time difference I saw plenty of backlash on social media about the failure to show the game on the weekend. 

It's just pathetic that this wasn't being shown already isn't it? Considering the Tongan presence in NZ. 

Better late than never I suppose. 

[frank]

Bit worrying when you can't fill up a moderately sized stadium in a league area, when when a good game was assured.

[RL Sutton Coldfield]

1 hour ago, frank said:

Bit worrying when you can't fill up a moderately sized stadium in a league area, when when a good game was assured.

It's not a league area.  Huddersfield Town average 18,697, it's a football town. 

[Bamboozle]

1 hour ago, RL Sutton Coldfield said:

It's not a league area.  Huddersfield Town average 18,697, it's a football town. 

True but surely West Yorkshire is a league area?

[frank]

2 hours ago, RL Sutton Coldfield said:

It's not a league area.  Huddersfield Town average 18,697, it's a football town. 

 I was on about the gate at ST Helens

[Damien]

I'm not sure if the crowds are worrying or not. They are pretty much what many of us feared when these venues were announced so aren't particularly a shock. Undoubtedly we could have done better.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Damien

[gingerjon]

9 hours ago, UTK said:

In some good news the 2nd and 3rd tests will now be broadcast in NZ, despite the unfortunate time difference I saw plenty of backlash on social media about the failure to show the game on the weekend. 

Was the first definitely not broadcast? Love Rugby League here said it was on Sky Sports in NZ and Digicel in Tonga.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

3 hours ago, Bamboozle said:

True but surely West Yorkshire is a league area?

It is but unfortunately there's another game just a week later, only 15 or so miles away as the crow flies, in the same metropolitan area no less. 

[UTK]

7 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Was the first definitely not broadcast? Love Rugby League here said it was on Sky Sports in NZ and Digicel in Tonga.

Nah definitely wasn't shown in NZ.

Unfortunately, since that update it appears the "broadcast" is coming from a niche streaming service named Recast as Sky NZ haven't picked it up. 

Having a quick look at recast they've had involvement in RL before but went into administration last month but have re-commenced trading again, this is the only statement you can see on their website - "Our services are now available in a limited capacity. Watch this space for more." 

You can't use the website other than to view that statement and others pertaining to the administration - no streaming options available.

So perhaps that wasn't great news after all.

[Archie Gordon]

2 hours ago, Damien said:

I'm not sure if the crowds are worrying or not. They are pretty much what many of us feared when these venues were announced so aren't particularly a shock. Undoubtedly we could have done better.

Earlier in this thread, it was said that the RFL/RLC needed 50k minimum across the 3 games. We won't even get to 40k. Add to that the lack of a series sponsor and a poor TV audience and the Samoa series in 2024 must be under threat. 

[StandOffHalf]

I'm glad that the last two games will be shown in NZ. The RFL should have sorted this sort of thing out ages ago, considering the Tongan diaspora there.

EDIT... seems I may have spoken too soon, alas. On the back of RL doing so well with the Warriors in 2023, it seems very remiss (and unfair on a fanatical fan-base) of Sky NZ not to pick up this series.

Edited October 25, 2023 by StandOffHalf

[Damien]

1 minute ago, Archie Gordon said:

Earlier in this thread, it was said that the RFL/RLC needed 50k minimum across the 3 games. We won't even get to 40k. Add to that the lack of a series sponsor and a poor TV audience and the Samoa series in 2024 must be under threat. 

If that's the case then the fault would squarely lie with the RFL.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Archie Gordon said:

Earlier in this thread, it was said that the RFL/RLC needed 50k minimum across the 3 games. We won't even get to 40k. Add to that the lack of a series sponsor and a poor TV audience and the Samoa series in 2024 must be under threat. 

Let's be honest, it's been a really poor performance from the RFL so far. But we should look at the potential here - the reality is that if we don't make these work then it's going to be a very tough time for England RL. 

If we get between 40 and 50k, taht isn't a disaster (it's disappointing, sure), but it's almost your starting point. With things like continuity, better ground selection, better scheduling, better narrative and promotion, work on sponsorship and corporates etc then it feels like there is absolutely opportunity for growth. 

One thing I was thinking here too is that we used to have a model that saw us have games on Sky and then highlights on BBC. I do wonder whether visibility would be affected much tbh and I think going into the more commercial market would guarantee financial security of these games. I say that reluctantly, because I love the BBC showing our games live, but I do wonder whether it's a bit of a vanity thing. 

So whilst this series may end up underwhelming, for me, it shows potential.