Should we start to use the rivalries that are naturally built up more to try to draw more press attention? The same way boxing does. Toto Wolff from Mercedes F1 has said this week "When you look at the big boxing matches the fighters create animosity and controversy before the event because that makes people turn on the TV. So we will let these two fight it out on the track."

The rivalries that naturally build up through the aggression in the sport and the amount of history we have should be easy to market to drum up more press.

It's been done in the past but when we have teams playing each other up to five times in a single season it's almost impossible to maintain.

Now that's a very good point.

We need to generate some faux outrage. People love to get annoyed at slightly controversial things.

Boxing does it brilliantly. I know a fighter quite well who was involved in one of these grudge fights and when I saw him asked what the other fighter was like and he just said 'yeah, he's sound'. In the press they were going to rip each other to bits.

Maybe the RFL can use the recent spate of wife diddling to generate some rivalry? That would be 4 clubs covered already.

Ha ha!

Maybe the RFL will dig out the Chris Sandow "smash some pies" advert from last year. Their performance was a bit of a damp squib last season.

Wakefield tried the hype a few seasons ago versus Cas ing who "owned" the City, North Stand or summat like that. Unfortunatley a few fans of both clubs couldn't handle the excitement, or their ale, and spoiled it for everyone.

I've just had the RFL ring me to ask if I was going to the easter Derby at KC Lightstream stadium. Anyone else had any calls?

Hyping the product to who? We get limited coverage in the English media. Will a war of words spark interest nationally, i doubt it. We should focus on creating a product that is the best it can be and that comes from the RFL and the clubs. We have tried expansion and our product is not ready for that, so we need to focus on what we do well and ensure our current fans feel more valued.
And don't get me started on the international game.

In some rare cases like the Flower grand final incident. I reakon a few more fans would of tuned in on his return against the Saints otherwise RL just isn't big enough.

Yep and with boxing you get 3/4 month builds (and often several months beforehand of will they/won't they even face each other) in what could be their only meeting. Tricky to try replicate that when you're playing weekly games and you could face teams 4/5 times a season.

I don't think hyping it up in the same way as boxing will work. Firstly the coaches don't want it as it gives the opposition a leg up (there's a reason other than good decorum as to why coaches generally don't slag off another team) and club's management don't want it because you look daft when you lose.

What I think could be done is the introduction of "heritage" rounds. Each week for the first 12 rounds of SL, a different team would have their "heritage" (or whatever you wanted to call it) round.
Each club would produce a heritage kit which would obviously be worn in any heritage games they played in.
Maybe designate a heritage decade each year so that all clubs are roughly similar?
Each club, when the fixtures are being organised, could pick their opposition for their heritage game.

So if it was taking place this year,
Say we designated the 60's for this year. So all clubs would produce a heritage shirt from the 60's and, ideally, pick an opposition who they had a big/important/memorable game against in the 60's.
So for instance Leeds could pick Wakefield with the Watersplash Final.

It gives clubs some extra basis from which to market that game and we'd have the RFL additionally marketing each clubs heritage round. So the entire focus of the sport for that week is on the club whose heritage round it is. Obviously get the game on Sky with some decent videos for them to market the game in the week too.

Good idea, just so long as they don't flood the pitch too.

Heritage round - trouble is you'd have to get Sky TV to recognise that there was RL prior to 1996.

Maybe Sky could use the 'infidelity factor.' Im sure you would of increased the audience if Massey v Carney was publicised.

I thought those adverts were asking for problems back in 2012. Was a Good Friday 8PM kick off I think and it was a bit naughty in the ground.

RL doesn't like to play on animosity too much but publicising the rivalries could generate more interest from new fans.

Can't believe it was as far back in 2003 when Wires got themselves in bother over the three eyed fish poster when hyping up the local derby with Widnes. www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/a ... warrington

Can't believe it was as far back in 2003 when Wires got themselves in bother over the three eyed fish poster when hyping up the local derby with Widnes. www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/a ... warrington

Quote ="shinymcshine"Can't believe it was as far back in 2003 when Wires got themselves in bother over the three eyed fish poster when hyping up the local derby with Widnes. www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/a ... warrington'" Of course this was the idea of Sean Mellor, who is Joe's dad.

Quote ="shinymcshine"Can't believe it was as far back in 2003 when Wires got themselves in bother over the three eyed fish poster when hyping up the local derby with Widnes. www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/a ... warrington'" Of course this was the idea of Sean Mellor, who is Joe's dad.

That never dampened the Auld Firm rivalry in Glasgow. They used to play four league games and then face each other in the two cups as well, almost every season.

WE should do anything (within reason) to generate interest in the games, I think it's called Marketing.
Most SL clubs pay people to do this and some are better than others.

The problem that the game has is that we have very, very little national exposure, due to the game (at the top level) being played in small parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire (I'm including Cheshire in with Lancashire

).