To be honest if its just The Times that are dropping the use of a dedicated RL reporter then I wouldn't worry too much, there are some weird things going on at that opinion paper, their conviction that people will actually WANT to queue up to PAY for online opinions is probably being severely tested at the moment and will be for some time to come until some fekkwit at the organisation realises that its probably the worst decision that they ever made - shedding reporters like falling autumn leaves is only a result of their marvellous management decision.

Is there a sport that isn't?

That describes football as well, is that a dying sport?

The problem is that the stories that the clubs / the RFL want to generate aren't the stories that print press are interested in.

The national press aren't interested in "xxx signs one year contract" or "Fringe player opens village fete". They are however interested when a player is arrested following a nightclub brawl, caught drink-driving or in some other scandal - something that no club is going to try and promote. That's not a rugby league problem, that's a problem for any sport. Just today, for example, Joe Cole is on the BBC News front page because of a driving offence - it's probably the first and last time that he'll be found anywhere other than the sports pages. Likewise with John Terry / Peter Crouch.

It's very easy to say that the clubs should be producing the PR (and some, undoubtedly, could do more) but the what the clubs want to say and what the press wants to hear are two very different things.

In order to get the coverage that the sport craves, it has to be mass appeal. That means attracting a greater demographic of fan, establishing a strong international scene and getting the sport on the national conscience. When enough people, who don't have access to the YEP, HDM or Wigan Evening Post, want to hear about rugby league, the advertisers and the press will meet that demand. Unfortunately, there is huge fan opposition along the M62 to expanding the game to do just that. The RFL is dammed if it does and dammed if it doesn't.

agreed to all of that - and to a certain extent its no fault of the clubs, who are trying to appeal to their own market with 'XXX signs new contract' and 'YYY opens village fete' type stories.

however, the RFL needs to take a lead in identifying and producing the stories that might have a mass appeal. if they send out well written PR stories that sports editors can just rip off, it wont matter that they dont have specific RL journalists trying to dig things up.

Look at the RFL website latest news - its all either negative (players being banned) or pointless (Eorl Crabtree's testimonial dinner). Not one thing that would be of interest to a national sports editor.

couple of examples of stories that might have a wider appeal off the top of my head - Jonny Lomax battling back from a life threatening injury as a kid to Saints superstar, or Ryan Bailey's redemption from jailbird to Leeds Cup Final hero. i.e. personal stories, heartwarming tales of triumph and battling through adversity.

Force the clubs to make the players available to the media more. Get some players in London every week doing the media rounds.

How much national press does the Steve Prescott story get? The fact that he is guest of honour at the cup final doesn't even warrant a mention on the RFL site. Has anyone from the RFL attempted to highlight his charitable efforts, his fight against cancer, and his OBE. Blitzing the media with that story the week before the Cup Final would be fantastic for the game - and for Steve's charity.

The game cant sit back and do nothign, then complain that the media and sponsors are not battling the way to Red Hall.

SL clubs wanted to "go it alone"

They created their own "business" and sod the hindmost!

The one thing the SL clubs are REALLY good at is marketing and media relations.



You can tell by the column inches they get. The whole x minutes they gate DAILY on SKY ([size=50sports[/size) Mo & Rons Ball Game News channel and the whole daily y minutes they get on the beeb.

Add to that the z minutes on ITV and the non existant acknowledgement the game even exists on Channels 4 & 5 .

So that is ALL the major media in GB covered.

Regarding radio, Radio Mong won't touch it nor will Radio 2. Radio 3 is so far up it's superior air that it couldn't care less and Radio 4 may still cover the colonial game of cricket and mention the establishment sports of Oxbridge.

Radio 5 is Mo & Rons Ball Game orientated and demotes RL to DAB if it can be bothered

As for Talk([size=50sport[/size) Mo & Rons Ball Game it covers nowt else except Mo & Rons Ball Game.

Don't blame the RFL for the inadequacies of the SL clubs.

They made their bed they have to lie on it regarding media promotion etc.

Can't correct you as I don't remember that statement. Today's Mirror had small corner of rugby league news just after the horse racing section. I'd say The People is probably the best national for rugby league nowadays.

the championship 'not long ago'was the fourth most followed league in europe,so i would say that leagues doing ok.

by the way i didnt say RL was a dieing sport.i said two thirds of its member club were dieing on there and 7 or 8 clubs in SL are living from hand to mouth.

Media coverage used to be even worse. When I came down to London University from Warrington in 1973, the only paper which was guaranteed to print on a monday Sunday's RL results was the socialist rag, the Morning Star! RL coverage has not been too bad in more recent years, although I agree that in the last three or four, it's gone backwards again.

There's no doubt that wendyball is seriously to blame, as even the 'quality' papers are obsessed with it. It's not dissimilar abroad. In Italy they have two daily 'sports' papers which are 85% wendyball with the balance shared between motor racing, basketball, volleyball and athletics. A while ago The Guardian reprinted it's coverage of the 1966 World Cup wendyball final - you know, the one England actually won. The entire thing was about five paragraphs long. Were this to happen today ( thankfully unlikely with the dross that count as pro-wendyballers in this country ) The Guardian would have a 16-page supplement!

I'm sad for Chris Irvine, and the Times can sod off - I can't imagine anyone paying to access their website.

That socialist rag used to cause my normally 40 minute paper round to take an hour or so. Rugby League news and results from Division 1 right down to amateur level.


A rugby league journalist friend was told to 'take the weekend off' following the death of Bobby Robson. In the following days there wasn't enough space for rugby league and a few other sports.

are going nowhere.

its difficult not to throw in insults with people as patronizing as you.

am i harking back to 1995 or just to the inception of SLE?im not sure.

can you bring the rest of that post forward please so that people can judge it in its entirety[then they can slag me off if they choose to.thanks in advance.

While some clubs are growing, working on advertising, marketing, facilities, community, player standard, others just sit on their backsides expecting some kind of helping hand. I think rugby league at club level is being dragged towards the lower end rather than the top.

because once it was a sport now its a box ticking competition.

Go for it!!!!

Which ones, particularly the advertising/marketing part? The crowds ( growing expotentially

) and sponsors are queuing to the rafters for the game arn't they especially the Big brand names and blue chip companies (Barrs anyone?)

Is the same person at the clubs involved in media relations as well?

The player standard one is a good one, anyone got a GB passport? GOOD! sign here lad

i'll keep saying this till im blue in the face..SL/SLE cannot have more than four teams from lancs and yorks if its ever to be taken seriously.
there are far to many clubs in SL whos sole purpose is to survive at all costs reguardless of whats happening to the game as a whole.

Why stop there?

When one of our national sides are in action the press will always devote more space to them. The biggest mistake that was made after Super League was created was to completely neglect the international game and to give the rights to Sky. International games need the biggest exposure and for me that means going back to Saturday afternoons on the BBC for every England home game. If we can get more people attending and watching internationals on TV, even if they have no interest in the club game, sponsors and broadcasters will want to come on board and then the media will take notice.

Exactly, why RL gets less National media exposure:
1. The RFL do not invest enough in their media team
2. SL clubs do not work hard enough to get SL players and action on TV ads through 3rd party sponsorship deals
3. Int RL is not on FTA
4. Our players do not have enough public and media profile
5. We are very bad at actualy telling everyone what a great game we have
6. We don't do the work for the papers, as said unless its girly soccer they aren't going to spend resources covering it so we have to do it for them.
7. The media is run by RU types
8.SL and NRL are not on FTA TV

It's been posted on another thread that not one Football League club made a profit last year. [url=http://soccerlens.com/english-premier-league-football-clubs/13878/This article[/urlshows that in the 07/08 year, only 2 clubs in the PL made a profit.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/7829489.stmThis article[/url from 2009 says "with Gloucester, Leicester and Northampton the only Premiership clubs to make a profit last season".

[url=http://www.cricinfo.com/durham/content/story/465025.htmlThis article[/url suggests that the only cricket clubs that make a profit are those that get Test matches.

So in what way is RL any different to any other sport?

i think the differance between those sports clubs and RL clubs is that there is so much more money slushing around in those sports that they can run at a loss without it affecting them to much.unlike most RL clubs.

They survive for the same reason that RL clubs do, someone is willing to cover the losses. I think that most professional sport is in the same boat, whilst RL may not be run incredibly well, it isn't the complete basket case that some would make out.

Portsmouth? Birmingham RU?

i take it they've gone bust?

For the papers these days its just wall to wall football even the broadsheets have been laying off Cricket reporters. So they can use the cheaper option of a PA reports. Its just how papers are being run these days with a very basic staff.