You've not mentioned anything about marketing & TV games which hits new audiences and would attract new supporters in all areas and particularly new growth areas
Also growing grass roots rugby to hook kids and families into the game- in new areas

Moving 'stuff around' is no different to introducing a shot clock. Its gets noticed by the regulars

The Magic Weekend is like a mickey up because that's what it is designed to be. It's designed to be an event that the RFL can sell to cities and venues. Any notion of it being an "expansion" exercise is either secondary, or manufactured by people who want to point out that it doesn't work.

RL may not have sensible forward thinking, but that's not just an RFL issue. Where is the forward thinking at the vast majority of our clubs to improve the matchday experience, to generate bigger crowds, to reach new audiences that don't currently buy into the sport, to attract new commercial partners and to make the TV product more attractive? There's very little evidence of any of it and these are all within the capabilities of the clubs.

The reason why North America has even made it onto the agenda is because the clubs here aren't doing these things. Whether that is through inability or inaction, our clubs have generally decided that instead of doing things that will grow the sport, the best way to stop the rot is to keep offering cheap tickets, insist that the need more loop fixtures to get more money from a declining supporter base and to make the playing talent take real-terms pay cuts for 20 years. You cannot blame the RFL for any of that - its the clubs that are voting for loop fixtures, the clubs that are under-selling the sport with cheap tickets, the clubs that are offering stadium sponsorships as raffle prizes and the clubs who aren't attracting new audiences. If they were doing these things, the appeal of having a team in Canada or New York is massively reduced.

You're right in that RL may well be a proud tradition in Wakefield, as it is in many other towns and small cities. But even if you take Canada and the US out of the equation, if this sport and the clubs continue with this path, how much of a tradition do you think it will be for the next generation and the generation after that?

Sorry Bramley but, you are utterly wrong about magic weekend.

It was "sold" as "taking the sport to new areas" and the only reason for it retreating to Manchester was falling attendances and I believe that it is you that is changing it's remit to suit YOUR agenda.

As for yet another swipe at Trinity regarding selling "raffle" tickets for it's stadium naming rights, I think this has been pretty successful.
It generates the same level of "sponsorship", if not more, than just "selling" the rights, whilst engaging with a greater number of local companies



As for the cheap tickets, you are correct. However, the catalyst to this was the threat of expulsion for clubs not reaching the RFL target of 10,000 attendances and the effects of this are still being felt at clubs like Huddersfield that can no longer sell their tickets at full price.
Cheap tickets are utterly counter productive and they cheapen the product.

My Irony meter has just exploded......after 2 decades of "London don't deserve a spot.....poor Keighley", the one time we do earn the spot and we shouldn't be there?
That Round 1 defeat still hurting?

Magic Weekend came about because the Welsh Tourism industry, which had got hooked on sports fans staying in Cardiff whilst Wembley was under construction, threw £1m at the RFL to host an event that would fill hotel beds in Cardiff. Expansion was not the agenda. It's move back to Manchester was influenced by a similar deal with the North West Tourism / Development agency and an arrangement with Manchester City, who were influenced by the profit from bar sales. The events in Newcastle also had similar economics behind them.

The idea of expansion may have been mentioned in various sales pitches, but I'm sure you understand that what influences decisions and what actually gets "sold" to the public are two very different things. Magic Weekend is about profit - nothing else matters.



Its not just a swipe at Trinity, but at any club that resorts to such a tactic. It shows poor commercial acumen that a club can't establish a value for one of its most important properties that someone is willing to pay for. Much like cheap tickets, the raffling off of sponsorship cheapens the value of the asset. Why would a sponsor pay a market rate for something when they "can take a punt" for a fraction of it? Are you saying that it's a "sign of success" that a club's stadium naming rights are seen as a "bonus", rather than something valuable? You can't convince me that raffle tickets was Wakefield's 'Plan A' - it was almost certainly a panic tactic when they couldn't get the true value of the sponsorship. I think the

is more apt here.



So we agree that the clubs are the issue, taking the easy way out to cheapen the sport because actually going out and marketing themselves sounds too much like hard work?

No Cas ! & currently pulling an average of 8k + !!!

Utter poppycock !!!
Catalans were invited 'direct entry' to SL *at least TW had to work their way through the league's*.
Catalans were given a 3 year dispensation *against relegation* on inception to SL when promotion/relegation was still in force *that is protectionism*
Catalans were 'guaranteed' a SL Licence when 'Licensing' was announced approaching the end of Catalans 3 Year Exemption from relegation *IIRC Catalans were in a very low league position at that time* ? Moving the goal posts to protect Catalans ?

London in all their various guises & business names have been helped by the RFL & they have failed as a business more often than a corner shop !

TW have exemptions afforded left right & centre !

Wales had exemptions & carried antipodeans who didn't even have working visas !!! They had exemptions on numbers of overseas players !

The RFL bought Bradfords Odsal Stadium to stop them going bankrupt & lease it back at peppercorn rates !

The RFL deducted only 6 points from Wigan for breaking the Salary Cap by over £225k during Stuart Fielden Gate ! Thereby saving them from relegation !!!

The RFL gave Wigan their 2 points back after they broke the Salary Cap for the 3rd time in the SL era !!!

So, Wigan & Bradford are not expansion Clubs but Catalan, TW & London are !!!

Now tell me again how the RFL do not bend over backwards to afford expansion clubs more assistance than any heartland club ?
The RFL are not fit for purpose at best, downright corrupt in reality !

& don't get me onto the current SL hierarchy who are Hell bent on taking more & more cash back from lower divisions to feed & sustain SL which is failing !

I'd say there are finally signs that some SL clubs have realised that they need to try to reverse the decline in the game.

IMO Leeds have been one of the worst offenders, content to let the cap fall in real terms because we were still winning. They finally started making changes with marquee signings and revamping the youth setup, but it will take years to turn around on the field.

If the bigger clubs can start pulling their weight it will help everyone. Personally I find it a bit crazy to blame smaller clubs for the state of the game as a whole.

Not at all (well maybe a little)

The point is that both Toronto and Toulouse were invited into the comp knowing that they needed to be in SL to make it worth their while.
Certainly in Toronto's case, it's so far from being a viable option in league 1, they simply had to gain promotion to The Championship and beyond and whilst the situation financially may not be quite so bad for Toulouse, they too, rejoined the comp to be playing SL rugby and as we "had" to have a restructure and in view of the "endless additional commercial opportunities" of having these sides in SL, why the hell weren't they included in a revised 14 club top flight ?? a truly baffling decision.

As stated, I still dont believe that N. American clubs should be playing in "our" competition but, there is little point in them "languishing" in the lower leagues.

As for Toulouse, again, they didn't make a comeback to be playing lower league rugby and maybe we could have seen whether their inclusion would both, add something to the comp and improve the strength of the French national side, although I believe that they have fallen so far behind Australia, New Zealand and England that they are never likely to get anywhere near close - at least not in the next 20/30 years.

There's been a lot of B.S. about TV deals etc for these expansion clubs and what "they will bring to the game" but, surely "we" had a great chance to prove it, one way or another.

As for London, great, they are having an excellent season but, when folk talk about expanding the game, perhaps they should look at London's plight and just how long it took for them to produce any of their own players.



FWIW I still expect London to get dragged into the relegation battle but, good luck with the season.

We were sat a couple of seats away from Mr Hughes and hid lad when London played Toulouse in France, when a howler by the ref cost Toulouse a point, with the game ending in a draw.

“Our competetion”? Since when was SL, Wakefield’s competetion? You are here by default. Or were you being xenophobic?

Quote ="Ruune Rebellion"“Our competetion”? Since when was SL, Wakefield’s competetion? You are here by default. Or were you being xenophobic?'" What kind of school playground comment are you trying to make. Where has anyone ever said that this is Wakefield's competition or has your paranoia completely taken over. The Troll Collective have come out with plenty of guff over the last few months but you really do seem in need of help. The company that runs our sport is registered as Super League (Europe) Ltd https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03238540 And I'm more than happy to refer to it as our competition (this includes you as well) I used the inverted commas to show that this was a figure of speech but, you instead choose to try and make yet another pointed comment towards Wakefield. I'm truly flattered that you have me a some official spokesperson for the city or the club but, like everyone else (apart from the troll collective), I merely use the forum to express MY opinion. Jog on back under your stone and if you cant contribute something sensible, you bay be better placed playing Candy Crush, if it's not too taxing for you I

Quote ="Ruune Rebellion"“Our competetion”? Since when was SL, Wakefield’s competetion? You are here by default. Or were you being xenophobic?'" What kind of school playground comment are you trying to make. Where has anyone ever said that this is Wakefield's competition or has your paranoia completely taken over. The Troll Collective have come out with plenty of guff over the last few months but you really do seem in need of help. The company that runs our sport is registered as Super League (Europe) Ltd https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03238540 And I'm more than happy to refer to it as our competition (this includes you as well) I used the inverted commas to show that this was a figure of speech but, you instead choose to try and make yet another pointed comment towards Wakefield. I'm truly flattered that you have me a some official spokesperson for the city or the club but, like everyone else (apart from the troll collective), I merely use the forum to express MY opinion. Jog on back under your stone and if you cant contribute something sensible, you bay be better placed playing Candy Crush, if it's not too taxing for you I

London Broncos / Quins RL haven't had a single insolvency event. Yes, they rely on the benevolence of their owner, but they're hardly unique in that regard.

What "help" have London had from Red Hall? You seem very sure on this, so providing credible evidence to back up your claims shouldn't be too difficult.

And what about the people who turn up to watch Hemel home and away every week?

Even if that’s just 12 fans, the principal is the same as if it were 15000.

I’ve always thought the North American franchise system where you can just pluck a team and place it somewhere else is a disgrace!

RL is trying to conquer the world by planting clubs in new areas.
You would think that they would learn after Paris and Celtic Crusaders but, no. In the all new Super League, anything goes as long as the new owner has deep pockets.
It seems that anyone with a few quid can now buy a club, move it half way around the world and keep rolling



They really ought to test the theory with a buyer for one of the big 4/5 and let's see if the principle still holds firm.

I expect london to get dragged into the mire too...... But we will be in it with a teamm rammed with our Academy grown players who we started to concentrate on during licensing....... Take from that what you will.

If your sole purpose of this forum is to obviously troll, at least spell 'competition' correctly.
You are very quick to sneer at education standards in Wakefield (or Leigh, or any other team you chose to troll) yet you can
barely spell simple words correctly.

Troll.

Re-type that in French, then our Aussie friend can pretend he understands it!

It's commendable that London have gone with much of their promotion winning side, including so many "home grown" players.
Assuming that Toronto do gain promotion this season, it will be interesting to see just how many of the current regulations for SL apply to them.
Certainly, running an academy and/or reserve side, playing transatlantic fixtures every other week is just not viable and with the lack of local players, this would effectively mean paying for two full time squads, including accommodation (assuming that they aren't already living on Canada

) or more likely they would be playing both home and away fixtures in the UK ??
I know that I'm banging on about this beyond the point of boredom but, it does seem that the rules are all discretionary.
Maybe this also fits with the "plan".

Exactly why the RFL will not enforce an academy, Toronto, New York are pipe dreams, but a lot of blazers have enjoyed various junkets.

RFL is dead if we don't sack everyone at Red Hall, and loosen Hetheringtons grip!

Si votre seul but sur ce forum est évidemment de troll, épelez au moins «compétition» correctement.
Vous vous moquez très vite des normes d’éducation de Wakefield (ou de Leigh, ou de toute autre équipe que vous avez choisie), mais vous pouvez
à peine épeler des mots simples correctement.

Troll.

j



I haven't Googled a translation!

Hearing the OttawaRL account on twitter is a fake? Wonder if New York can have their bid fast tracked to the Championship to build the rivalry with Toronto..

Should Sky pull out then we would clearly get funding from the RU as their testing ground for new rules. Having adopted our substitutes and video refs they are now thinking about a game clock for scrums and line-outs.

Also talk about doing away with promotion and relegation, due to one of their major sides at risk of relegation.
Maybe they should speak to the good people of Wigan, I think they could help out in this particular area.