England v Tonga series

[The Rocket]

11 hours ago, Damien said:

I think back 20 years to nights like this at Wigan when the atmosphere was electric against the Aussies in a sellout. Yes it maybe against Australia but everything about it as an event seems a world away now. I refuse to believe that we shouldn't be aiming for the same again against Tonga at these sorts of grounds:

 

Does it get any better, just spent an hour and a half being enthralled by that, what a sport. I`ll swear though, the game was a better spectacle when there wasn`t the `working` like we get in the tackle these days, even just those few seconds just seems to open up the game so much more.

[daz39]

32 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Does it get any better, just spent an hour and a half being enthralled by that, what a sport. I`ll swear though, the game was a better spectacle when there wasn`t the `working` like we get in the tackle these days, even just those few seconds just seems to open up the game so much more.

Exactly what i noticed, the whole tackle and play the ball process was much cleaner and could probably have had 2 plays in the time in takes in today's game with all the grabbing, laying, holding, rolling then protesting that goes on nowadays, but then i realised it was 20 years ago! (already).

 

[Chrispmartha]

All seats now sold out for Saturday should be a decent crowd

[fighting irish]

1 minute ago, Chrispmartha said:

All seats now sold out for Saturday should be a decent crowd

Is that a fact Chris?

[Chrispmartha]

Just now, fighting irish said:

Is that a fact Chris?

 

[fighting irish]

Do you know what percentage of the capacity the seats make up? 

[The Rocket]

10 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Exactly what i noticed, the whole tackle and play the ball process was much cleaner and could probably have had 2 plays in the time in takes in today's game with all the grabbing, laying, holding, rolling then protesting that goes on nowadays, but then i realised it was 20 years ago! (already).

 

Yeah like it always was, the whole point was to get the player to the ground then get up and back in the defensive line as quickly as possible. Somewhere along the line (thank you f***ing Craig Bellamy) it was realised if you held the player down longer the remaining players in the defensive line could be back, arranged and ready to spring forward. I honestly think the game is less attractive for it and not as attractive as we like to think and thus less appealing to potential new fans.

10 minutes ago, daz39 said:

but then i realised it was 20 years ago! (already).

I really don`t think it would be hard to get back to that, the skills these days are unsurpassed, we should be seeing a lot more games like that one., games like the one posted are the reason people fell in love with Rugby League.

[daz39]

3 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

Do you know what percentage of the capacity the seats make up? 

40%, seating capacity is 7,886.

[Dunbar]

6 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Somewhere along the line (thank you f***ing Craig Bellamy) it was realised if you held the player down longer the remaining players in the defensive line could be back, arranged and ready to spring forward.

I don't think the key change has been holding players down longer, it is holding players up... keeping them upright and then managing them to the ground.

In the 2003 game, players were hit and went to groud quickly... there was a bit of messing around and holding down, but today, after contact it can take several seconds for a ball carrier to go to ground and some of this is the defence (upright tackling and the 3rd defender around legs) and some is the ball carrier looking for post contact metres.

The days when it was a collision sport are gone.  It is now a collision and wresting sport... in arguably equal measure.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Dunbar

[Chrispmartha]

I tgink well be looking at 15k plus, it’s unusual to have the seating sold out

[daz39]

5 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Yeah like it always was, the whole point was to get the player to the ground then get up and back in the defensive line as quickly as possible. Somewhere along the line (thank you f***ing Craig Bellamy) it was realised if you held the player down longer the remaining players in the defensive line could be back, arranged and ready to spring forward. I honestly think the game is less attractive for it and not as attractive as we like to think and thus less appealing to potential new fans.

I really don`t think it would be hard to get back to that, the skills these days are unsurpassed, we should be seeing a lot more games like that one., games like the one posted are the reason people fell in love with Rugby League.

Agree, the emphasis has gone from an energetic fast paced game to almost a minute at times of wrestling and messing around at every play the ball, oh how i'd love to see it return to how it was.

[Lowdesert]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Does it get any better, just spent an hour and a half being enthralled by that, what a sport. I`ll swear though, the game was a better spectacle when there wasn`t the `working` like we get in the tackle these days, even just those few seconds just seems to open up the game so much more.

And all we have to do is play to the Laws.

Sick of saying the coaches, officials and players have exacerbated the problem too.

[Barley Mow]

30 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

 

I assume when they say the seats are sold out they mean the general sale seats and that the middle section of the north stand that is set aside for hospitality isn't included.

I wonder how well the corporate stuff is selling. Could we see a pretty good attendance but with the middle of the stand facing the tv cameras largely empty?

Before they took the stadium plan down from the website the terraces seemed to be selling quite well. Hopefully it will be a good crowd. Ideally we will have people who chose to miss Huddersfield in favour of Leeds who can't get tickets and regret their decision.

[Eddie]

TV viewing figures are in. Saturday’s game on BBC1 averaged 642k which was a 9.6% audience share and had a max of 795k.

As a reminder the first test at Saints averaged 566k which was an 8.5% audience share and had a max of 642k. 
 

Encouraging figures. 

[EggFace]

32 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

I tgink well be looking at 15k plus, it’s unusual to have the seating sold out

That be good as 30 years ago GB v NZ got just over 15,000...3rd ever game of Rugby League I saw and loved.

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, Eddie said:

TV viewing figures are in. Saturday’s game on BBC1 averaged 642k which was a 9.6% audience share and had a max of 795k.

As a reminder the first test at Saints averaged 566k which was an 8.5% audience share and had a max of 642k. 
 

Encouraging figures. 

Your Internet must be slow, they were in for everyone else on the last page  

[The Rocket]

46 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

I don't think the key change has been holding players down longer, it is holding players up... keeping them upright and then managing them to the ground.

In the 2003 game, players were hit and went to groud quickly... there was a bit of messing around and holding down, but today, after contact it can take several seconds for a ball carrier to go to ground and some of this is the defence (upright tackling and the 3rd defender around legs) and some is the ball carrier looking for post contact metres.

The days when it was a collision sport are gone.  It is now a collision and wresting sport... in arguably equal measure.

And it concerns me, most of the people on here formed their love of Rugby League in that era of far more open Rugby League, we`re still fans and just have accepted the incremental change because we are fans, boiling frog situation. You know I`d go as far as saying that if the NRL think they are going to win over fans in the U.S. with the modern game they are kidding themselves, it might work in the Pacific or NZ where people are comparing it to their union but the Yanks aren`t. Take a product like the game that was posted, that might be a different matter.

BTW, I wonder if that`s why the 3x`s Premiers Penrith didn`t get an invite to Las Vegas, their tiresome defence suffocates the life out of every game.

[northamptoncougar]

Has one reporter actually asked the RFL why this series is so obviously been produced on a shoe string budget? I mean how skint are the RFL if they cannot at least do a little bit more?

[Eddie]

18 minutes ago, Damien said:

Your Internet must be slow, they were in for everyone else on the last page  

My most sincere and humble apologies for not reading all the previous posts first. 

[Archie Gordon]

33 minutes ago, Eddie said:

TV viewing figures are in. Saturday’s game on BBC1 averaged 642k which was a 9.6% audience share and had a max of 795k.

As a reminder the first test at Saints averaged 566k which was an 8.5% audience share and had a max of 642k. 
 

Encouraging figures. 

OKish? What should we be comparing it with?

[The Masked Poster]

13 hours ago, Damien said:

I think back 20 years to nights like this at Wigan when the atmosphere was electric against the Aussies in a sellout. Yes it maybe against Australia but everything about it as an event seems a world away now. I refuse to believe that we shouldn't be aiming for the same again against Tonga at these sorts of grounds:

 

Great game and series. I said it at the time and still stand by it, there is no way on god's earth that the Morley red card would have happened to an Aussie player under an Aussie ref. It wasn't a great tackle but way worse has been let go in test matches against Australia. 

I think he felt obliged to be seen to be impartial or hard on GB. 

[Dunbar]

3 hours ago, Damien said:

Improved TV ratings on last week:

The optimist in me says this is what happens when you get an England winning team... and I am sure there is part of that in play.

But how much is down to the Saturday vs. Sunday match day.  Will never know I guess but I will take an increase as good news of course.

[daz39]

9 minutes ago, northamptoncougar said:

Has one reporter actually asked the RFL why this series is so obviously been produced on a shoe string budget? I mean how skint are the RFL if they cannot at least do a little bit more?

I'd love to ask questions like that to the people in charge, unfortunately i never get a response when i ask about availability for my HGSA meetings, although in the past Jon Dutton and last year Simon Johnson both gave me their time and were very open and honest, anyway that's all for another thread topic rather than this.

[Damien]

5 minutes ago, northamptoncougar said:

Has one reporter actually asked the RFL why this series is so obviously been produced on a shoe string budget? I mean how skint are the RFL if they cannot at least do a little bit more?

What, you expect RFL journalists to ask difficult questions of the RFL? Even worse a question that doesn't involve protecting one of their pet heartland club? Pigs may fly.

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, Eddie said:

My most sincere and humble apologies for not reading all the previous posts first. 

Don't be daft, just joking mate.