There is no-way that if the stoop could hold 80,000 then 80,000 would go. It's the thought of going to Twickers on the cheap thats got all the hooray Henrys going.

Throwing money at the "problem" by pinching marketing specialists from the RFU won't help either. Its exactly the same as saying that if Wakefield took those who do the marketing at Wigan, Wakefield would have some sort of miraculous turnaround. They wouldn't.

People in this country love getting behind a national side and have done over the past few years, one that is successful in Worldwide competitions. The RFL cannot use this platform to build the domestic game, no matter how much marketing you do.

we could give all the amateur clubs free tickets like the RFU do to fill it I suppose.

The problem is the RFL have to rent a ground and so need to sell a lot of tickets to cover costs but with the RFU owning Twickenham they can give away as many tickets as they see fit.

I think it's unfair to blame the RFL, They are fighting a losing battle. RL doesn't have the national exposure that Union does. And that's not their fault, more the attitudes of people high up in the media who wont give RL the time of day. Because they are scared it will affect coverage of their beloved union game? who knows....

The RFL try to do things like this, Millenium Magic being one of them. But a lot of Rugby league fans rather than get behind the concept and turn up in numbers decide to moan about having to travel to Cardiff, or moan that if its in Manchester its to close to bother going to for an occasion. However Some people simply cant afford it which is understandable, But What are they supposed to do? We don't own a massive stadium that we can use rent free and throw away free tickets too. They marketed the balls out of the Wembley Double header and just managed to get it half full which was a great step imo and hopefully something to build on in future years, But its not going to happen over night, and without the fans actually bothering to get behind the sport and turning upto games more regularly then the future of Professional Rugby League looks bleak.

That's quite a bold statement given there is absolutely no evidence with which to support it.

I'd agree there'd be no 'miraculous turnaround', but just to dismiss the effect of professional marketeers is a bit too negative for its own good, IMO, and perhaps a bit naive.

I, for one, would be very happy if Wigan-standard marketing was applied to all the other clubs in SL. And if the RFL were to get involved, and try to sell the game overall better, what harm could it do?

Too right, would dearly love the marketing at Saints to be of the same volume and quality that comes out of Wigan. And Warrington in recent times for that matter.

Hopefully we'll see more spend in that area at LP.

Its an opinion, like most posts on these forums. There is no evidence that I am aware of that suggests that it isn't the case however.



Unfortunately "Wigan-standard" marketing is completley unfeasible in the cases of most SL clubs - maybe Leeds/Warrington apart. There would be no return on investment if you tried it in Castleford or Wakefield for example - it's extremely cost intensive. Selling Rugby League in Wigan is easy - have these same "marketers" try it with Rugby Union in Wigan and they'd fail. Its not a simple solution.

As for the "RFL getting involved", what do you suggest they do in "getting involved"? Throw money at the problem? As Robbo has outlined, there are fundamental issues blocking the short term growth of RL in this country, that the RFL can do nothing about.

If you can't sell RL in Wakefield and Castleford its time to give up!! Many people here are very unhappy with the RFL, and their complaints about the poor job they do in selling RL are completely justified.

What have the RFL got to do with promoting RL in Castleford/Wakefield? Are you aware that the Quins-Saracens match was completely driven by Harlequins themselves? I've never known the FA to promote football either. My point is is that there is no point sticking up massive billboards around Wakefield/Castleford as you won't get the returns. Simple.

When Bradford were the best marketed RL team guess who was heavily involved in that team, and where is he now?

Successful marketing has to be sustained and has long term results rather than just short term gains. Neither happened at Bradford and they are struggling as they were before "Bull Mania".

Perhaps they should call you, as you seem to have all the answers and think everybody else is a complete idiot..

It was you who refered to Wakey/Cas, and mixed the RFL argument with a suggestion that the marketing of some of pur succesfull clubs was far better the the stratergies of the RFL. I doubt that the RFL could sell RL in Wakey and Cas, despite there being no competing sporting clubs in the same town.

Paranoid much.

And...?

Ahhhh So we can have opinions, but you are allowed to say we are wrong, but give no constructive input yourself except to say that posters are wrong..... I think Dave Lister used to say "smeg head", how apt.

What are you rattling on about? Are you actually trying to make a point here?

Not at all, i just think you are arrogant..

Cool bro, you just stick with the merry band of sheep blaming the RFL for everything that is bad in the world, the rest of us will focus on the real issues

Looks like your parents left the sherry out.... And don't patronize.

I totally agree.

I can't understand this argument that the Calder area of Yorkshire is some kind of dead duck.

To start with, it is steeped in the RL tradition. Secondly, what else have they got exactly? Wigan, Leeds and Hull all compete with high-level football clubs on their doorstep, but they still manage to get bums on seats. It's not as if the Calder area is any more deprived than the Wigan area either.

To try and compare the RL interest in the Calder area with RU interest in Wigan is utter nonsense. Even in Orrell's heyday there was no real interest in RU in the Wigan area. But Cas and Wakey have an RL history as long as ours.

It's ridiculous - but very typical of a certain type of British RL fan - to just dismiss what has worked well at one club as if it wouldn't work at another, and yet to offer no logical explanation why.

It may work to an extent, but results would be negligible compared to the costs incurred as the potential market simply isn't there in Castleford, no matter how much you harp on about history/tradition. Any ideas on how much Wigan spend in promoting their "big games", and if they actually get any return on their investment? Castleford is a tiny place, there would be no point spending thousands on putting billboards up to add another 2k to the gate. Is that not logical enough for you?

Oh, and history doesn't sell tickets, that is for sure.

Unfortunately, there is no way you would ever set up a club in a place like Castleford anymore. I'm not sure how long they can sustain supporting a professional RL side if SL were to grow as much as some people hope.

How long can the Broncos survive? Surely your in the last chance saloon?

Absolutely, because of the way the club is being run at the moment. Some stability is what we need and they are determined to do just about everything to change once again