I am certainly no expert in the field of marketing, etc and I absolutely share many of the frustrations that are presented on this board, but I am of the opinion that the question of bums on seats is a long term one, rather than a quick fix.

The quick wins options presented by the likes of Gutterfax and EFH sound great and I would hope realise some increases, and you would like to think the club would capitalise on that additional interest.

Rugby League, despite the presence of a London club in the professional game for many years is still alien to most Southerners. The fact is a significant portion of the hard core fans are exiled Northerners / non Southerners.

This is not Wigan or Hull or Halifax we are talking here ie rugby league communities where rugby league is the main sport and main interest of most of the population, where kids grow up wanting to play for or at the very least support their heroes. This is Twickenham folks. The two scenarios are like chalk and cheese.

Why are we so surprised when we get poor crowds when we pitch ourselves directly against other sports in the capital ? 6 Nations rugby and football are staple diets for many and whilst they may count rugby league / Quins RL as their second sport, then when push comes to shove, their first sport takes precedence. Like it or like it not, that's the fact of the matter.

The argument that professional rugby league has been present in the capital for 25+ years now is a red herring. There is a difference between a side playing at a ground every two weeks and a club developing grassroots interest and establishing the foundations of the club. Frankly, London has been the former for far too long and only moved to the latter in the last 2 years. 23+ years wasted ? Maybe but we are where we are.

We need rugby league to become peoples number 1 sport and number 1 priority. Ok we might convert a few 'other sports' fans along the way, but the key is juniors / youth and as such the important thing here is DEVELOPMENT. I am not sure what many contributors to this board know about the development work going on throughout the region but it is extensive and rugby league is reaching out to 1000s of kids on a daily basis. Quins community staff are involved in this BUT they need to get more involved as a club. There needs to be a REAL link between the Quins RL brand and the juniors and the junior / amateur clubs because I believe that link is not there at present - hence the poor take up of season tickets last year. This development work is a long term strategy and as such will only bear fruit in terms of local players, increased support, improved profile in time. That period of time is far too hard to define but what is required at the top of the Quins RL club is the commitment to make this development work mean something.

I can use the analogy of the amateur club I helped set up over 13 years ago now. For many years we had to cope with the vagaries of the local sporting scene and the lack of awareness of rugby league. Over time this awareness increased and we were seeing more people getting involved but the majority were not rugby league people and only a few became such, and as a realty 'club life' was always a struggle as people were not committed. We had to buy that commitment (not financially I might add) and that meant bringing in all sorts of characters, largely Aussies to ensure we maintained out playing level. At that time we appointed a Development Officer and it was at that point we realised that in time and with the right strategy we would not need to rely on 'others' as we would have a vast pool of juniors / teenagers / open age of rugby league people. This conveyor belt is now reaping the dividends but it has taken time and commitment. We now have sons of original players playing in u12s and they are rugby league kids, first and foremost !!

The way I see it at present the Quins RL have got to sit tight, take advantage of the types of initiatives mentioned on these boards to increase crowds etc, avoid pi$$ing off the majority of their hard core support, improve the profile of the club and the match day experience, improve their communication across the board and be totally committed to long term development. Not too much I know ! And sorry for the ramble ....

What newcomers

naughty....nearly got me going on about marketing.....

Was close

try posting nearer closing time

And for future reference, when is this closing time?