What was the Best/most optimistic year in your time of being a RL fan?

[warriors 95]

For me it was 1995 as we had just had a hugely successful RLWC and we were all gearing up as a sport for the groundbreaking switch from winter to summer RL in the advent of super league.

there was also an expansion competition in France drawing big crowds.

all very exciting stuff for a 14 year old school boy.

Edited December 8, 2024 by warriors 95

[warriors 95]

Also the expansion of the winfield cup with the addition of 4 new teams including the club I support Auckland warriors.

[sam4731]

2022. I really thought we had a good shout at winning the WC and I thought we would've given Australia a good game at OT if we'd had beaten Samoa. When that DG went over my heart sunk more than any other sporting moment I'd ever watched.

[warriors 95]

7 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

2022. I really thought we had a good shout at winning the WC and I thought we would've given Australia a good game at OT if we'd had beaten Samoa. When that DG went over my heart sunk more than any other sporting moment I'd ever watched.

Another missed opportunity.

I’ve seen plenty of those both on and off the field in my time as a fan.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Best was watching the Widnes team of the late eighties.

[DoubleD]

1895. The game has been dying ever since

[creditwhereitsdews]

1994-95 – The game seemed to be burgeoning on a domestic and international level and there were a fair few players who were household names. Offiah, Hanley, Davies, Edwards etc. For me a decline began when Super League appeared and disputes over promotion/relegation divided fans and the tacky nicknames and Sky razzmatazz seemed to take the focus off the action on the field. Union going professional didn't help either.

Edited December 8, 2024 by creditwhereitsdews

[warriors 95]

23 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Best was watching the Widnes team of the late eighties.

Incredible team and era for Widnes.

[warriors 95]

4 minutes ago, creditwhereitsdews said:

1994-95 – The game was seemed to be burgeoning on a domestic and international level and there were a fair few players who were household names. Offiah, Hanley, Davies, Edwards etc. For me a decline began when Super League appeared and disputes over promotion/relegation divided fans and the tacky nicknames and Sky razzmatazz seemed to take the focus off the action on the field. Union going professional didn't help either.

Union going professional was a seismic game changer.

[warriors 95]

17 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

1895. The game has been dying ever since

Started with a bang and went downhill.

[north yorks trinity]

For me it's 1992, when we were competing with the Aussies in an away ashes series including that famous thrashing we gave them in Melbourne and but for a late missed tackle, we would have won the world cup in front of a huge Wembley crowd. 

With my Wakefield hat on however the time is now. For the first time in my living memory I can realistically dare to dream they could be genuine trophy contenders soon.

[warriors 95]

2 minutes ago, north yorks trinity said:

For me it's 1992, when we were competing with the Aussies in an away ashes series including that famous thrashing we gave them in Melbourne and but for a late missed tackle, we would have won the world cup in front of a huge Wembley crowd. 

With my Wakefield hat on however the time is now. For the first time in my living memory I can realistically dare to dream they could be genuine trophy contenders soon.

That was the Jonathan Davies try game. Right?

[north yorks trinity]

15 minutes ago, warriors 95 said:

That was the Jonathan Davies try game. Right?

No. That was the highlight of the 1994 series which also got good crowds but finished with another anti climax.

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

The week before The Watersplash Final.

[warriors 95]

14 minutes ago, north yorks trinity said:

No. That was the highlight of the 1994 series which also got good crowds but finished with another anti climax.

My memory is failing me but I think I’m right now in saying it was a low scoring game with Steve renouf scoring from a missed John deveraux tackle?

[Damien]

I do think 1994/1995 the game felt on the cusp of a big breakthrough. Then SL happened and promised a big huge new dawn. Those 2/3 years it seemed like the game was really going places.

[Chris22]

In my era of watching the sport, it was post-2013 World Cup. We posted big crowds in the heartlands for matches that we didn't expect. Good crowds in Bristol and for the semi final at Wembley and an international record crowd for the World Cup final at Old Trafford despite England not being there.

The tournament was thrilling too and it felt to me like we could have kicked on from then. Naturally, England didn't play another home international for two years and that opportunity was lost.

[warriors 95]

30 minutes ago, Damien said:

I do think 1994/1995 the game felt on the cusp of a big breakthrough. Then SL happened and promised a big huge new dawn. Those 2/3 years it seemed like the game was really going places.

I agree. At the time it felt like the game was finally going to that next level both domestically and internationally.

[north yorks trinity]

22 minutes ago, Damien said:

I do think 1994/1995 the game felt on the cusp of a big breakthrough. Then SL happened and promised a big huge new dawn. Those 2/3 years it seemed like the game was really going places.

SL to me was about schism puncturing the international game, about attempted unwanted mergers and about the forced demotion of my team. Yet in spite of all that, a little bit of me still hoped it might be a good thing due to the previously unheard of sums of money coming into the game. Maybe things would be worse now if it hadn't been for that money but by 'eck we could have used it more wisely.

[Wigan Riversider]

1 hour ago, warriors 95 said:

That was the Jonathan Davies try game. Right?

No,1994.

[Wigan Riversider]

1985 to 1989 when crowds were huge and players were known throughout the country. Only terrestrial TV and clubs paid for top players with no salary cap, international tours and touring teams, 5 competitions to compete in and no all seater stadiums.

[Damien]

37 minutes ago, Wigan Riversider said:

1985 to 1989 when crowds were huge and players were known throughout the country. Only terrestrial TV and clubs paid for top players with no salary cap, international tours and touring teams, 5 competitions to compete in and no all seater stadiums.

While I understand the general point average league crowds were well below what we see now. Not everything was as rosy as we like to remember.

[ghost crayfish]

For me, the answer is probably 'right now'.

The early 90s, up to the Super League war, were a high point for the game in Australia and the optimism around 1994 and early 1995 was incredible. The SL war killed those vibes in Australia, but I can understand why the onset of SL lifted optimism in England at the same time.

To be honest, ever since then, we've had patches of optimism, tempered by long periods of angst over the competition structure / administrative model /club mergers etc, the value of our TV rights compared to AFL and the plundering of our elite playing stocks by AFL and rugby union. For the last decade now though, since the establishment of the independent commission brought about more lucrative TV rights, things have been on the up not just in Australia, but in the whole region.

And now the NRL seems to be doing an incredible job. In many ways, the game around here is stronger than I ever thought possible - and it seems to be getting bigger every year, at all levels (including the Pacific Championships, which was a lot more successful this year).

Now, the main thing to worry about is the state of the game in England - though with rising crowds and a genuinely strong national side, there are positives there too. Here's hoping the influence of IMG, combined with a loooong overdue Ashes series next year, can help to arrest the sliding value of broadcast deals in England. If we can turn that around as a game (and lift the fortunes of surrounding nations in the process), we'll be looking very good.

Edited December 12, 2024 by ghost crayfish

[Anita Bath]

1973-74….the great Frank Myler had turned Rochdale Hornets into a top team that were competing in all competitions for the first time in 50 years. Great players with some selected for GB. Good crowds.

JP cup quarter final beating the great Leeds side with a Bill Holliday drop goal from his own half (well not quite but it was a flippin long way out) all live on Grandstand. Got to the final but beaten by that great Warrington team after Myler switched hookers and Kevin Ashcroft (former Hornet) monopolized possession.

It all looked so good…then Myler went to his old home…Widnes and that was history…for both teams.

Now 50 years later and what have we got….

[Damien]

3 hours ago, ghost crayfish said:

For me, the answer is probably 'right now'.

The early 90s, up to the Super League war, were a high point for the game in Australia and the optimism around 1994 and early 1995 was incredible. The SL war killed those vibes in Australia, but I can understand why the onset of SL lifted optimism in England at the same time.

To be honest, ever since then, we've had patches of optimism, tempered by long periods of angst over the competition structure / administrative model /club mergers etc, the value of our TV rights compared to AFL and the plundering of our elite playing stocks by AFL. For the last decade now though, since the establishment of the independent commission brought about more lucrative TV rights, things have been on the up not just in Australia, but in the whole region.

And now the NRL seems to be doing an incredible job. In many ways, the game around here is stronger than I ever thought possible - and it seems to be getting bigger every year, at all levels (including the Pacific Championships, which was a lot more successful this year).

Now, the main thing to worry about is the state of the game in England - though with rising crowds and a genuinely strong national side, there are positives there too. Here's hoping the influence of IMG, combined with a loooong overdue Ashes series next year, can help to arrest the sliding value of broadcast deals in England. If we can turn that around as a game (and lift the fortunes of surrounding nations in the process), we'll be looking very good.

Obviously this is a UK based forum so most of the focus will be here. However you do raise a great point about the NRL and that time being now. It really is a great time to be a NRL fan.

With record crowds, viewing figures,  huge amounts of money and expansion to 20 teams within the next few years it is really exciting times for the NRL. Also they are certain to get a record new TV deal in the next few years which should boost everything. Exciting times.