After reading your post on the front page, if you do decide not to bother continuing the site, I just wanted to be the first to say thanks for all your hard work over the past 11 years.

Yeah well, I think its been clear for ages that my heart for it has been waning. Tough year and I'm very disillusioned with the game at the moment. But not saying anything solid on the future yet, just explaining why the site has holes and incompleteness left right and centre.

"I'm very disillusioned with the game at the moment. "

Can i ask why that is?

No worries if you cba.

I have to say I'm with him. For the first time in 12 years, I'm wondering if I should renew...

Oh I'd be all day but Just because really the whole regular season is a joke and I ask myself do I really want to pay for a season ticket on top of going away for 27 weeks when it means jack sh*t in reality. Nothing summed it up more for me that Huddersfield won I think 3 matches in the second half of the year yet not only made the top 8, but comfortably made the top 8. And Leeds have won only 58% of regular season matches under Brian McDermott (Wigan and Warrington for the record 78% last two years) yet could well wrap up back to back titles on Saturday.

Now don't get me wrong it's nothing against Leeds or anyone. I fully understand you've got to win when it matters an all that, and Leeds have done so in brilliant fashion, but the point I'm making is that the regular season doesn't matter. It's clear as day now and again I come back to the point of cost and also that as a writer for 11 years every week, I've increasingly found it difficult to find anything relevant to write about in recent times. The game has got to a point where as now we just fanny about for 27 weeks before anything really matters and that should not be how league titles are decided. I was happy with top 5 or top 6 personally but Top 8 isn't fair in my view and I still think the quality of the league has deterioated since we went to 14 teams.

Maybe I am just bitter but I'll make the point that I've been saying it for quite a long while now and I was glad to do so when we were champions or cup winners.

I suppose i felt the same disappointment last year, finishing top to see it amount to nothing and this year play teams with half a squad knowing it doesn't matter.

I'm with you on the 14 teams too, i think a league of 10 is unfortunately the way to go, with a league that is half way between SL and NL being created.

To prevent the race to the bottom which some clubs are creating i think the criteria for binning the 4 teams should be can you spend to cap, if no drop down.

Wigan
Warrington
Leeds
Saints
Hudds
Hull FC
Widnes
London
Catalan

These are the teams i think are able to spend to cap and then an executive decision on the final team, either Bradford for size of numbers and potential (plus don't know how the new owners will spend) or Cas and Wakey merge to make Calder (can't see it) so i'll go Bradford

Salford
Wakefield
Castleford
Hull KR
Leigh
Featherstone
Halifax
Sheffield
Batley
Keighley

in the next league and enable P&R

I can't remember at this early hour was it a top 5 or top 6 before the top 8? But either way the point I want to make is that weeks rest, I suppose Bilko will be the best person to know how much of an advantage or not is it? In that if anybody has a week off they actually win the GF. This year both teams played every week, Leeds played every week last season we did in 2010 and the other one that I definately know off top of my head is Bradford in 2005.

Also Bilko will you still be on Twitter?

I think we need the playoffs but with the strength and quality of the Super League a top 8 play off is not what we need. The opening games of the play offs lacked intensity. We must revert to a top 5 or 6 play off for me.

Long term a top 8 should be the aim but only when the competition is of a competitive standard to sustain the concept.

Playoffs Key:
W: Win
L: Lose
-: Week off

5 Team playoffs:
SL3: Wigan win from -W-W
SL4: St Helens WLWW
SL5: St Helens WW-W
SL6: Bradford -W-W

50% 2 weeks off
25% 1 week off
25% 0 weeks off

6 Team:
SL7: St Helens -LWW
SL8: Bradford -W-W
SL9: Leeds -LWW
SL10: Bradford WWWW
SL11: St Helens -W-W
SL12: Leeds -LWW
SL13: Leeds -LWW

29% 2 weeks off (top 2 unbeaten)
57% 1 week off (all top 2, lost vs other top 2 finisher then beat them after their opposition had a week off)
14% 0 Weeks off (had to be 3rd or lower)

8 team:
SL14: Leeds W-WW
SL15: Wigan LWWW
SL16: Leeds WWWW
SL17: Leeds WWWW or Warrington LWWW

25% 1 Week off
75% 0 Weeks off

[uTotal (ignoring playoff structure):[/u
27% {2 weeks off (max of 11)}
40% {1 week off (max 15)}
33% {0 weeks off (max 15})

Kinda hard to compare properly because of all the changes.

Bilko has put into words most eloquently what I have been feeling for some time now. However, with crowds for the weekly rounds on the increase don't expect anything to improve any time soon. I was at the MOS dinner last night and it was backslapping all round.

How are attendances for CC and playoffs holding up? It's ironic that the hardest comp to win with growing attendances is the least appreciated.

3 pints of lager, 2 glasses of wine and a jug of water please Garçon.

Sussed!

Ive felt the same for a while now. Ive only been to 1 game in 3 years after being season ticket holders for a number of years. Admittedly, this was due to my daughters arrival and lack of £££'s but I have to be honest and say I haven't really missed it. I still watch Wigan when they are on Sky/SL show etc... but I dont bother watching the other televised games until its play-off time

Sad to say I'm of a similar opinion. I take my lad with me and his interest has tailed off towards the end of the season too. I've been thinking that I may give up my season ticket next year and just go to the non televised games and the odd away one.

I've no doubt that come November time I will have 2 shiny new season tickets in my wallet though. I'm weak.

I cant wait to take Holly to her first game but will be a few years off yet. Once shes got over her habit of telling the players to stop running and walk nicely

It's also difficult being enthusiastic about a sport that is slowly but surely sinking back towards the doldrums of semi-amateurism.

It may actually be beyond the RFL's ability to change this, but the constant threat of players going to RU and the NRL is disillusioning me in a big way. Whatever our game does, it can't seem to generate an income sufficient to raise or even moderate the salary cap significantly. Half our so-called elite clubs can't even spend what they're allowed to (some of them are clearly struggling to exist even in this poor man's environment - what a joke the legendary Bradford outfit turned out to be), so that means the genuine go-ahead clubs are pegged back disastrously.

I appreciate that it isn't an exodus of talent, but it doesn't need to be to continually weaken us and prevent us progressing. I said when Joel went to RU that if (when?) Sam goes as well, that will be me done with the game. If we can't protect our most prized possessions, then we don't deserve to have any and we don't deserve to have any fans either.

Add to that the 'British RL disease' - the embedding of little men in big jobs (Nigel Wood, Stuart Cummings, Steve McNamara, Eddie, Stevo etc) - and you feel like giving up straight away. One thing's for sure, we'll all have abandoned RL before parochial, talentless oiks like that lot give up their positions voluntarily.

When you look at individual clubs like Wigan, Warrington, Leeds, Saints and probably Hull, you get the feeling of sleek professionalism. But that's where it ends. Beyond those lies a wasteland; it's no wonder that we barely figure on the Aussies' horizon.

A sea-change is needed: we need to hack the dead wood out of SL and start concentrating the talent at the 10 or so clubs where it will do most good. We need another French club too (the Dragons have been one of our few success stories in recen times, but for how long?) and we need to find mechanisms by which our star players can maximise their earnings. But as long as people like Eddie Hemmings and Nigel Wood can lord it at the Man of Steel and tell the world how wonderful everything is in the RL garden, then expect more of the same next year, and the year after that, and the year after that ...

Sorry for the moan, but I'm with Bilko.

I feel that there is a lot of disillusionment within the sport at the moment (with perhaps the exception of Wire fans I'd imagine).

A lack of quality imports being signed to play in the UK.

The last remaining quality imports heading back to the NRL.

The UK's best players tempted away to NRL/Union, set to continue.

A franchise system which isn't working.

Three SL clubs fallen into administration in two years.

Challenge Cup competition which nobody bothers about until the final (even that fails to sell out these days).

A playoff competition which nobody bothers about until the final.

Poorly supported international games at the end of the year.

For the third year running only two clubs (Wigan & Wire) taking the regular season seriously.

A playoff structure which rewards a club in 8th place the chance to become "Champions" despite losing more than 50% of all league matches.

Match Official standards - where do we start? Possibly the worst seen since the start of SL.

Incorrect video ref decisions.

RFL disciplinary panel inconsistency with players banned one week and not the next for similar offences.

SKY commentary team with their constant nit-picking of incidents/negative play, rather than concentrating on the rest of the game.

Seconded, I'll probably get a season ticket next year out of loyalty to the club. I think the individual clubs (particularly those listed above plus the French team) are trying to make things work despite the RFL. But, if the next season is like this one - a lot of so-so games with little intensity marred by inconsistent refereeing performances that (at the end of the day) don't count for much anyway - I might as well dump the season ticket and pick my games.

Like others on this thread, I have no confidence in the governing body who are plainly unfit to administrate, to develop the game or even sell the game to a sponsor.

All bang on. But what's really annoying is a fan has just been able to compile that list off the top of their head, when there are people who actually get paid to make these decisions. There are plenty of good ideas kicking around these boards (loads of awful ones also

) with respect to improving league structure, playoff format, international games, scheduling of the CC, sponsorship, disciplinary, refereeing etc. Usually I would be against massive changes all at once but a complete overhaul is needed. The RFL needs to stop letting SL be a competition where the tail wags the dog.

I'm with everyone else on this the league is a joke i've spoke to quite a few people and we all agree that for £8 a month the nrl is the only way to get a rugby fix these days

A few things what have made me fall off the game

1- Refs now i know they will get things wrong from time to time but this season has been one big joke and this isn't just about decisions against us i'm taking about every team in the league the same thing can happen in the same game and get 2 different outcomes it stinks we need 2 refs a game and video ref at every game

2- RFL these guys are a joke the whole way they run the league stinks some of the stuff they come up with is like most of them are sniffing glue (early plea) wtf is this all about you do something you get punished, inconsistency if you have a bad record you get punished worse and rightly so but players have got away with murder cause big games are coming up Puliatua (sp) hit a guy with his shoulder in the face gets 2 games he's not a dirty player but gets the max ban

3- coaches putting weak teams out i went to Widnes away this season and find out 10-15 mins before the game a good chunk of the 'team' wasn't playing if players have got niggles fine but coaches are doing this all the time now you should put your best team out week in week out

4- Derbys we dont have one anymore it's getting boring now playing Saints 3,4 or 5 times a season when i was younger we played saints in friendly's and it was like xmas i couldn't wait to go now i have to make an effort to go to one, it feels like Wire is our derby these days

I'm all for top 6 again top 2 play for a gf spot and the loser plays the winner of the other 4 these days all you need to do is hover around the top 8 first half of the season win your cup games and your flying it's a joke

You can do it cheaper than that. Get down to watch the kids play on Sunday mornings at local rugby clubs. Seen some cracking matches over the last few months.

Bloody hell the loss to Leeds has hit you lot hard.

I know you won't, because it doesn't fit with your trolling attempt, but if you care to look back through peoples posts, particularly Jinkin Jimmy, you'll notice this has been an awful lot of disillusionment from about halfway through the season.

I felt like that most of the season to be fair.