"Block", stupid word to use, be frikin serious.

We need to convert some soccer fans in the north of England into RL fans. That's the only way IMO.

I'm not sure about "conversion" I've taken soccer people to RL games and they really like them. They just like soccer better, and nobody switches. It's maybe at a young age when a choice is made, I feel that some people prefer soccer as it's easier to play but others prefer Rugby league as it's all action unlike pro-soccer which is like a chess game to me?. Certainly Spurs.v.Arsenal yesterday was a bore-fest

Now I would say that the biggest conversion may have come when SKY paid for a professional Superleague. An average 5543 fans a game watched the old top ("first"icon_wink.gif division. Once we professionalised that rose to as much as 9833..........

The first part of your post is utter nonsense or maybe it's a Yorkshire thing? Plenty of people on this side of the Pennines actively follow both sports

It's not. You won't be surprised that plenty of people on this side of the hills actively follow both sports too.

Glad to hear it Wanderer I wasn't criticizing btw just couldn't understand the post and thought that outlying towns might not support say Leeds United (other football brands are available) on the basis that if you are from Wakefield or Cas it might be anything Leeds 'over my dead body'.

I follow both sports 'over here' and have to reign in my football bias as there is my team plus three Premiership rivals in the stands next to me at the HJ (mine is currently under-performing ha ha)

They do over here too.
Traditionally, if Leeds United are flying high, it has a negative effect on Rhinos attendances (apart from the big games) but, many Cas & Wakey fans also support Leeds United and other clubs.
Just like football, some fans just prefer RL and dont really bother with the round ball game.
On the point made about converting more football fans.
It doesn't matter where any new fans come from, although, for those in charge of marketing the game, it would helpful to know where RL has most "pull" and then try and target that audience but, ANY new fans would be gratefully received - assuming that we/they are allowed to attend games.

Mine got beat 6-3 at home on Saturday in League Two. The four consecutive Premier League top eight finishes of the early to mid 00's are now distant memories sadly.

Anyway, IMO we should ban being able to kick in a forwards direction, up 'n' unders don't come across very well on TV, especially on the BBC and SKY, Channel 9 and Fox do a better job of showing them, but still, they're better when showed on slow motion replay, which is not ideal. By doing that we should go to 11-a-side. ban the scrum, give teams the option of a 7 on 7 play after a knock-on.

And get rid of the VR, have in-goal judges instead.

The comment was as a sport has a whole. I didn’t single any club out. But if new boys in town want SL then look at what the product wants and make it so. No point saying let Toulouse/Newcastle/York or any other off the field club who hasn’t experience of SL.

If the Bulls can get their fanbase back then that checks the box for SL. But still ignores what is present in SL. So those who don’t meet the present criteria being asked should also be relegated and replaced.

Well, I think that you just ruined the game completely.

That's your opinion, Ben Ikin said the sport will be 11 a side in a few yrs time, I'm not the only one who thinks that going back 10m is too far, with 11-a-side we can go back just 5m.

I agree with that "generalisation" to a point but do "plenty" actually buy the season tickets for say both Leeds United and Leeds Rhinos? Or Wigan and Wigan Athletic?

Agree again, but who are [u"those who don't meet the present criteria"[/u

It’s a very simple question? SL are asking these days. What can your club bring to SL? Ignoring the real question? Of course which is what does your club bring to SL now? No need to mention names, the answer is obvious.

Too many have had a free ride for far too long. Time for a serious reshuffle. The product is stale and the whole sport is paying for it. Time for some freshening up.

I've really no idea about dual season ticket numbers but that wasn't the point I was directly responding to. Although I did have season tickets for both and the general rule was a 4 game clash put my RL season ticket on a par with pay per game. Additionally your two choices particularly Wigan as examples are interesting as I thought (stands to be corrected) that the rugby and football club's don't mix that well? but that's not the same thing as not following rugby and football

The issue that I had with your post was that you seemed to suggest that there were two types of sports follower, pretty much determined at an early age and that it would be a hard sell to convert one to the other,

I disagree with this proposition as I think that there are large numbers who follow both sports and of that group there are plenty of disillusioned football supporters that our game (yes I've plumped for RL as my primary interest) should target. Not only is it a better game IMO, more action without the histrionics, players haven't lost all sense of 'normal' life or the community they represent.

Our game is accessible in comparison to a trip to Old Trafford or Anfield so perhaps the real issue is getting the football fans out of the pub when a match is on to watch some live sport, although disappointingly the same can be said of RL followers, the amount of times I've been stopped after a game on the pub doorstep "how have the Wire gone on"? is something that I wish we could address and improve upon as I'm sure that this happens elsewhere?

I get the "for £20 I can watch the game in comfort and have X pints" so we as a game we might struggle to convert that cash into club income through a turnstile but it's not a bad place to start or at least shouldn't be overlooked

If we stick to 13-a-side with kicking then i think we would have to stick with a 10m defensive line. I would still get rid of the VR though, IMO referees are given divine powers when they cross that white line, and unless they have fallen for the devil and taken money from criminals to fix a match, they are giving out God's justice, so if they miss a forward pass it's because it's because God wanted them to favour that team at that point in time. And commentators should never criticise a match official.

I would ban drop-goals from RL though, our sport doesn't lend itself to them IMO.

Well that is fair enough

Point entirely taken. In my experience I major on Rugby League and maybe I have been to an average of 20 games a season for the last 45 years 900 games......

I like soccer and get dragged into going a few times by friends, and I like to watch Notts County when I see friends in Nottingham. I may have attended 40 live soccer games.

Rugby Union? A friend of mine is a Worcester fan and qualifies for International tickets so I have seen games like Leeds.v. Worcester and England.v.Australia at Twickenham. I've maybe been to a dozen Rugby Union games.

So I take your point that few stick to one thing and but I maybe suggest though that many stick largely to their own personal preference once that preference becomes established, however they are not as you say averse to going to other events especially when invited?

Doesn’t that contradict the golden point?

As a lad in my youth both codes where prominent in my school. Teachers arguing who should be union and who should be league. I played union on a Saturday for the school but couldn’t play league for the school on the Sunday as I played for my community club on Sunday.

The point I’m making is the community club is the way I went as the focus was cup matches and playing for my home town club.

The game as moved on but lots of things have been left to dwell.

Obviously we'd have a golden try extra-time instead, which we should have had 10 yrs ago.

A golden try... ?...

Yes. Do you want to get rid of the VR?

Across the north Union minded sports teachers have imposed Rugby Union on schools where all the kids were Rugby League fans. I found this distasteful and wrong.

State schools?