For the last 10 years I've gone to 75-80% of cash games, this time around in the super 8s I've attended 1 game of the 7 due to the lop sided Thursday night TV games. And I think the crowds pretty much reflect that it isn't ideal. I wouldn't say either the super 8s or middle 8s have been extra exciting, in fact, a bit of a damp squid. That's not to say the semis and million pound game won't be

Agreed
It's a pity that Billy Eve isn't posting attendance figures, as they appear well down on last season, offset slightly by slightly improved attendances from the top 4 Championship clubs.
Although, in past seasons, the play offs in SL haven't always been well attended, it would be interesting to see the total numbers of species through the turnstiles compared to previous seasons.

The main "winners" in the new format are Sky TV and although the possibility of someone getting promoted has been a positive, the new concept hasn't helped supporter numbers, unless we start counting armchair viewers.

Hull kr's crowds during middle 8's have stayed consistent with sl crowds on the whole.

Is there a single sport that has managed to solve the apparent problem of "dead rubber" games?

Whilst such games are never ideal, we seem to be quibbling over what seems to be an inevitable part of any league-based sporting competition.

This isn't an issue of structure, this is an issue of how competitive clubs are, or are allowed, to be.

One thing that i'm surprised the clubs haven't made a fuss about is the growing number of SKY Sports Xtra games being streamed online. This started as an experiment mid-season, but seems to have grown and grown as the season has gone on, and it only takes a few hundred to stay at home and stream and the clubs have lost a lot of income.

Streaming is undoubtedly the future of broadcasting, but i'd be interested to see if these games were even worked in to the new TV deal, if the clubs are getting compensated etc or is just a thing that SKY/The RFL are forcing on the clubs.

The RFL/SL let the genie out of the bottle. There is no chance of getting it back in. He who pays the piper calls the tune, even if it's out of sync, timing and tone.
It's what the few wanted and the rest have to lump it.
It's unlikely to change anytime soon, if ever.
I await the next "framing the future" type debacle with increased lack of interest.

While i agree with you I do hope that sky keep the streaming has people like me and hundreds more who can not get to many games get to see more so sky please lets have more

I really like it and want to see it remain for many years and improve as teams get used to the concept and how to approach the season.

As long as your ok !

It's an interesting conundrum for the game when the games main sponsor is happy with falling crowds, just as long as their viewer numbers increase ??

This is when the game requires strong management at the top who have a plan for the future wellbeing of the game and that can take the game forward which, despite the fanfare at the start of the season, we appear to be going backwards.

There is no problem with the extra games being shown. In fact we should get as many as we can shown through whatever mediums we can.

However set against a background of falling attendances and struggling clubs and a structure that has fundamental issues already and hasnt provided the promised benefits it's smacks of a game which doesn't know where it is going.

It seems many in our game saw the new TV deal and return of p+r as a panacea, and reality is slowly dawning that the huge problems we are trying to ignore just aren't going away.

i remember at a giants supporters association meeting where Blake Solly was the guest, he alluded to the Xtra steaming games and said then that it was something that was being looked at, in fact it seems to me they are only going to show one live game a week (on a thursday) and the rest of the games will be available to stream online, i believe SKY have the rights to show premier league games on fridays now?

i honestly believe that SKY don't give a damn how many people are at the games as long as they get people watching online?

That seems a strange thing to say when at the moment some weeks you can watch 6 games and only 2 are on line, but saying that my wife who is now no longer in to watch since we moved down south would be pleased and i would have to watch on my laptop but how would i tape them if i was going out or away

I consider the Middle 8s to have largely been made up of dead rubbers. For me, what you have now is an 'exciting' battle between Bradford, Leigh, Halifax and Sheffield of which championship side gets to go lose at Wakefield.

It is a faux promotion system, but it wouldn't surprise me if Salford's implosion at Bradford was to be used extensively as 'proof' that it works.

I can see that and Sheffeild running them close, would also see the Fax win at Leigh as further proof for the RFL to trott out and show how good an idea it is, thought it wasa good idea on paper but its by no means level and that makes it seem stupid that is the best viable option, a 2 year P&R would have worked better imo

I agree with your post apart from the obvious fact that, if we show games live on TV, especially Thursday night, there will be a negative effect on crowd numbers.

I don't necessarily agree on the structure but I absolutely do on the other points.

We are a sport that has no leadership whatsoever. That doesn't mean we have to have 1 single figure who dictates what the game should do, the clubs are always going to have a big say in what happens, but there's no RFL executive shaping the direction for the sport to head in.
I applaud the new entrants into League 1 and the Embed the Pathway scheme but that's pretty much it in terms of trying to shape the future of RL in this country, and that is nowhere near enough.

The short-sightedness of many of the clubs needs to be over-ridden or at least tempered by the RFL, and it's not.

Damn these super 8s are dull.

Just wish they would stop interrupting play with split screens. Show the score but leave the tries till half time or full time.

Four teams going for top spot with one game to go, every minute matters

Saints can't get there with us and Leeds playing each other. Still an exciting end to the great season.

Leeds & Hudds draw, Wigan lose, Saints win by about 150. If that all happened, then fair play to them for getting 1st.

Pretty unlikely I agree, but not completely impossible. 62 points difference at the moment, so if we rout Wire on Thursday And HUdds win by a couple of points then Saints will be top. Obviously assuming Wigan lose too

Yes. Ridiculous decision by Sky. Especially the one at the end where they went split screen to show us the Hull/Huddersfield players shaking hands.

Still mathematically possible for Saints to finish top, in much the same way as it's still possible for Wigan to finish 1st even if Leeds win v Huddersfield.

Both situations very unlikely though.

Yeh. It requires a close win for Huddersfield and us to kill Warrington.

Personally I can't see it.

I don't know why the scenario that in each division the team that finishes top is the champions.

I suppose it's a difficult concept to grasp.

Look at the crazy NL1 scenario. The top 2 teams have to play off for promotion

. Whats wrong with the top team getting automatic promtion, but then this is RL where crazy is the norm.

The complaint is that players have too many games

, but then introduce systems that ensure it happens.

Why not have a single knockout competion that is open to all and a league system that rewards success for the season.

Yes I realise this is radical but I believe it has potential