Agree with Gutters. My husband brought his football pal along to see the Manly game and he brought an Aussie friend who has lived in Twickenham for the last 2 years and had no idea we existed! Thought we were an ice hockey team. As I have said before when we last played at the Stoop there were always small posters advertising the match on all the pub doors going down the road, starting with the Cabbage Patch and going on from there. Never seen that once since we moved back.

GF, you make total sense and I think a large number of you share these concerns. I have a worrying feeling that this Thursday could see a crowd perhaps even below 2,000. If that occurred, lets not beat about the bush, it would be a disaster.

I've brought new comers along to three matches this season, and another coming to the Hull KR game. They've all loved the matchday experience and want to come back. Without fail, they have all asked me since then -"How are Quins getting on, I never see anything about them." This sums it all up. If people don't know what we're doing how can we broaden our fan base?

The real worrying thing for me is that despite the fact more and more London based youngsters are playing the game (at a higher level as well), they just are not coming through the turnstiles at The Stoop. Why?

We need to have a Fans Forum. And soon.

I would get their email addresses off them and put them on the clubs list if I were you. Also, email them the link to the club website and this forum so that they can 'get involved'.
In the National media you will only see RL imo if you actively seek it and then its small and tucked away somewhere. This is usually match reports of yesterdays games. Fixtures carry no interest to the National media. You will only really see fixtures for Soccer I think.

Locally I have heard we are represented but again if its not the sport people are looking for they will not notice it.

A few years ago I had a cafe and a guy came in and asked how long I had been here as he hadnt seen the shop before. I told him a year - and the guy told me he walked past the shop to work every day, and back again at night!!! and he was not the only one.
The fact was he wasnt looking for it. It was one of many shops he passed every day and he knew where the shops were that he wanted to go into. He was just in his zone like most people are with their local 'free' newspapers which I only look at when I am seeking something.

OK. My ideas.
1/ If the east stand is the only one being used as asked for by sky then the club make it home fans only.Tell sky that the club will not alienate their fans anymore.
2/ North stand for away supporters. If the away support bring more than that stand holds in advanced ticket sales possibly Hkr/Leeds/saints/cas may do then the overspill is a section of the Lexus properly stewarded and the bar would remain closed.
3/ Club should be utilising the roving beer sales dispensers. the scrum to get at the bar sometimes is ridiculous.
4/ The South stand would become the Family/community stand. Local colleges/schools invited also anybody that wanted to bring a family at a cheap price. I would charge as little as possible but get the money in other ways merchandise/ soft drinks programmes etc. etc If this became very popular then again the overspill would be the Lexus stewarded properly.

Someone will probably shoot holes in this but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Your passion is unquestionable. I have to ask the question though. Why do you presume the club would think everything's rosey?

Because of their lack of action?

Because they often have in the past and if they don't privately, they never admit it! A well-known phrase involving the words "wake up", "smell" and "coffee" don't compute!

I seem to remember that Quins' previous incarnation pulled in a truly grim 1800 at The Valley during the -poor millennial season (the season that convinced Branson to betray...err sell up) although someone posted something here once stating that there was an even-lower attendance and London therefore attracted only the second-lowest SL gate ever recorded.

What can be done? Nowt really without significant imagination and...CASH!!!

Ps hi, Surreyben by the way.

You have pretty much nailed it on the head. I look in the Metro most mornings - nothing; I get the London Paper every night - nothing; I look in the Informer every week - usually something (but not always); look in the Gaurdian - mostly nothing (sometimes something) - where do I live? Kingston - less than 10 minutes away!

I go looking, mostly I find nothing. If I am not looking for QRL, why would anything short of a double page colour spread catch my eye?

Historically the best attended seasons where the early SL years, which mostly had Friday night games - with newspaper advertising in the likes of the Sun and Express, aimed at the after work crowd. It also was in News Ltd's interests to push SL following their massive cash investment - that need has now drained away.

I recent times we have switched tack to the family feel, and standardised on Saturdays. However it appears not to be working - mild understatement.

I would allow all pensioners, under 16's and Students with SU cards in for free.

I would give every none ST adult attending a game a voucher for 1/3rd off the next game as an incentive to return. On the voucher a section to complete their details, some marketing questions and entry in to a draw to win a holiday or weekend break to the GF at Old Trafford.

I would create a family zone in the East Stand at the far south end so as not to clash with L&L / away fans and possibly some choice language (don't please deny it and I am not trying to pick a fight - I also include the north end away fans in this point). Part of the zone could be for family season tickets and the other part for familiy game day walk ups.

Roving drink sales - beer and soft drinks should return, it was one of the great inovations by Barry Maranta but seems to have gone out of fashion at most clubs - maybe in part to drinkers being marginalised by recent Government actions relating to health etc. Eg. promote sport in a healthy way.

BOTTOM LINE IS AS GUTTERFAX IS ALWAYS POINTS OUT - LACK OF EXPOSURE IN THE MEDIA!!! Until this is addressed either by buying space or making deals etc. crowds will go nowhere and more likely to trend downwards.


One small note re last Saturday - Bath v Quins. Any dual Quins fans where likely to have headed down the M4 to Bath. Not that it probably would have made to much difference - may be a couple fo hundred?

Bloody hell, I agree with retirethename

You idiot. My tax pounds have been wasted on your education.

I get as frustrated as the next man regards the lack of bums on seats and general malaise that seems to be part of the Quins RL structure currently. As I see it, we have two main challenges in terms of getting people to the games - the match day experience needs to look after itself and I know there are short comings there - and these can be split

1) The potential walk up fans and those within a small(ish) radius of the ground - they must become more aware of what's going on. I find some of the anecdotes on here quite depressing.

2) The fans and potential fans that travel a long way to the game - London is a big place !

And this includes the amateur clubs and their membership who are dotted all over the place. Whilst I agree with the vast majority of comments I do get annoyed when criticism falls on the regions amateur clubs for not supporting the Quins RL. Frankly, as far as I can make out there is a complete lack of engagement between the Quins RL and any development activity going on beyond their own doorstep.

What's does Quins RL mean to kids (and more importantly their parents) in my area, St Albans (30 miles to the Stoop), who are brought up on Arsenal, Tottenham, Watford, Saracens, etc ? Nothing is the answer, they may play rugby league and enjoy playing it but their club is St Albans Centurions and it is unlikely that they will be even aware of Super League / Quins RL unless someone at the club bangs on about it and organises trips etc - but this requires someone who is motivated towards Quins RL and who has the time over their club commitments to do this - not many I can assure you.

So I got thinking about the Broncos days when we had regional forums. I am not sure how successful they were or perceived to be but it certainly formed a focal point for that area - so in my instance it was St Albans / Hemel Hempstead - it gave the fans a chance to get together, meet a club representative, ask questions, etc, etc.

If that logic is rolled out a little further there must be an argument to suggest that it would be advantageous for Quins RL to have a local area representative (likely to be a volunteer) who would actively engage with 'their' locally based fans and 'their' local clubs providing club information, fliers, organising the occasional gathering, maybe organising Stoop trips, player appearances, etc. Database information could be provided by / to the club for mail shots, etc. As an example the Hertfordshire representative would 'look after' St Albans Centurions / Hemel Stags (and associated clubs) and all the registered fans in that county. This approach could equally apply to areas close to Twickers, etc.

Is this workable ? I have no idea, but I do know that the message that Quins RL exist and 'need your support' must be made at ground level. Just because Quins RL are in Super League does not mean that a sporting public brought up on Union and Soccer are aware of professional Rugby League in the Capital. The club needs to actively get the message out there.

Bravo!

maybe if you looked in papers that covered Richmond instead you would find a lot more.

How much does a full-page ad in one of the London freesheets cost, anyone know?

The saddest fact is - all this is a complete duplication of everything that has been said for at least the last 20years.
There will never be a 'rugby league culture' in London (unless we survive 80 more years maybe)so that makes it extremely hard to push the idea. The staff have not grown up into RL - they have been appointed to a job. Which they do to a greater or lesser standard, for a paycheque. They may love RL - or think they do- but they dont have and can't have a yearning to bring the game to as many people as possible. The few passionate staff people are not involved in the bums on seats side, they are cleaning up after the team or in David's case working their socks off in several jobs. It is always going to be Supporters who do the shouting about it.
Does anyone know if the team still go into schools to do assembly and health and fitness tallks? That was very useful a few years ago when we were at Brentford. And the local forum idea did work but it needed good will from the club. Tony Rea was very good at going to see supporters but I doubt Brian Mac sees it as part of his remit, given his previous attitude.

Why would I read the Richmond papers lving in Kingston?

Surely the club should cover Twickenham, Richmond, Teddington, Ham, Kingston, New Malden, Raynes Park, Feltham, Hounslow etc. in its search for supporters and therefore spread of articles in the papers?

Um cuz they cover areas you're interested in?

Otherwise you kinda made my own point.

Why would I read the Richmond papers lving in Kingston?
Why would a Kingston paper cover Richmond?

All Richmond and its local paid for paper carries two QRL sports stories each edition plus all the community stuff
Feltham and Hounslow are both in Hounslow and both the paid for papers (with around 6 pages of sport each) cover Quins, the Hounslow and Brentford Times shares the sports section with the Richmond and Twickenham Times while the Chronicle carries match reports sent in by the club.

And still is the same - no mention of the cup game or Thursday.

then the obvious happens.

Even tougher with us as in the past we would bugger off as soon as we started to put down roots so there is a barrier in our way as people think "why bother"

Yep......and everyone who has said it must have been wrong...because we're doing fine as we are


Darth states that the club get exposure in the Local rags which is great, but I would still think that an exit poll at Twickenham station any evening would show that the majority of residents don't know that we exist. Even worse....the ones that do will be of the belief that we all turn up in flat caps with whippets.
The Unique Selling Point that Harlequins Rugby League have is the "family entertainment" factor. Soccer is either too expensive or too tribal, Union is more niche than we are (£45 for a ticket to Sundays game

), but we continue to accept the general apathy.
We have tried (and failed) to attract the amateur RL players as well as the kids we coach. Free tickets didn't work either.
So, what to do?
I for one would have a long hard look at Huddersfield Giants.
9,402 fans is the average for their 3 games this year at their place. Up from 6,197 for the correspending fixtures in 2008 and up from 5,886 in 2005.
Our figures are 2009: 3,560. 2008: 5,407 & 2005 4,633 so......we are heading in the wrong direction, whilst they are going the other way.
The fact that they have added 3,205 fans ON AVERAGE so far would point to them doing something right.

The fact that they have added 3,205 fans ON AVERAGE so far would point to them doing something right.'"

The London Paper publish a Page for "£18,850" and lite say a page is "£17,640"
Both recently reported a 30% increase in space sales but refused to publish their revenue figures. This points to them being on their @rses as they are having to give space away (IMO).
Let's face it, Metro (£27,989 for London Only))is a paper being read on the way into work and a fair few copies end up on office desk and are re-read at lunchtime...whilst the other 2 are read on the way home and left on the train at the journey's end........
Not sure of the benefit of blowing even half these rate card amounts on tomorrows chip wrappers..........
Interestingly, all of these papers will have pretty empty sports sections between July 4th (end of lions tour) and August 15th (start of wendyball)....I wonder what sports we will see championed during those 6 weeks?