Am I completely missing something here?

Why on Earth would switching back to a Winter season make the game better and increase attendances? And why would it mean we would see touring teams again?

Because both the NRL and super league both run parallel now that we play in the summer, tours used to start at the end of the aussie season and the beginning of ours and vice versa when GB toured down under, all we have to look forward now is to tri nations which to be fair is rubbish. As for attendances has summer rugby really increased attendances? Answer: No it hasn't. Has the game improved since we reverted to summer rugby? Answer: No it hasn't. Do the same four teams still win everything as per pre 1996? Answer: Yes they do, Have we improved on the international scene since the switch? Answer: No, Australia still win at a canter.
I know we will never revert back to winter rugby but when we all look back and say where everything went wrong i think you will find that 1996 will be high up on the list as one of the biggest mistakes the game as a whole made.

Yeh that's not something I agree with either. Summer rugby as a whole isn't the problem, it's how the league and cup are integrated within the season, and the fact that teams don't need to be consistently competitive to eventually challenge for the title. I do think next season one of the big problems will be addressed, in that you can't drop off and risk dropping out of the top 4. Maybe it hasn't gone far enough to sufficiently reward finishing top, but it is much better than what we have had since the top 8 PO system was introduced.

I do think with the restructuring of the league next season the timing of the challenge cup should have been changed also. At this time of the season fans are expected to shell out for too many games, and fans inevitably pick and choose and hold out for the biggest games so crowds for the regular PO games and the CCSFs suffer. From next season it is also going to mean that the cup final is going to be smack bang in the middle of the "Super 8's" stage, which is ridiculous IMO. Moving the cup final back to the spring would help this.

With regards to our current form, it's difficult to tell whether we are biding our time ready for a big push in the POs or if something has gone wrong behind the scenes with our preparation. Regardless of comparisons with our squad in previous seasons, there is still a hell of a lot of quality in this season's squad and some of the performances can't simply be explained by "the team's not good enough". Around this time last season I categorically stated we wouldn't be anywhere near the GF, and right now I'd be tempted to say the same, but if this group of players can reach full form and fitness they are more than capable of competing with Leeds, Saints, Warrington, Huddersfield and Castleford in the playoffs.

Because "it was better in my day, I tell thee."

They're supporters that have become a little disillusioned about our current form/league structure and are looking for an excuse to justify not getting another season ticket.

The current form has nothing to do with it, its the state of rugby league in general that i'm disillusioned about. I no longer have the desire to watch the game, which is something that i would never ever have thought i would hear myself saying. Sad but true.

Fulltime at Rapid Solicitors Stadium: Wakefield 42 Salford 6

Yeah salford are top notch..... My point was that RL is going backwards, the weak have dragged all back to their level.. Our top players are elsewhere, and RL in this country is in a parlous state...

As for attendances has summer rugby really increased attendances? Answer: yes it has

Has the game improved since we reverted to summer rugby? Answer: yes it has.

Do the same four teams still win everything as per pre 1996? Answer: No they don't. Only 1 team won pre super league. Saints and leeds didn't win.

I know we will never revert back to winter rugby and that's a good thing because the game was dying on it's back then.

That's your problem, not the games.

Right now we are on the verge of one of the most exciting closely contested finishes and playoff series ever contested. There have been more draws then ever this season, with exciting games going down to the last seconds. 1 point seperates 2nd and 6th in the table. Each season we have new teams competing at the top. Last year huddersfield finished top, a decade ago they were relegated. Cas are 2nd and can still finish top, they celler dwellers last season. A good attrition rate of teams at the top is the sign of a vibrant competition.

If you don't like it you know where the door is.

To say we have new teams competing every year is stretching things a bit. Also, no matter how close the scores are, the quality and intensity is lacking. Back in pre SL days Wigan often only won the league by the smallest of margins, by points difference on at least one occasion IIRC. Finally, how do you know at this stage how close and exciting the playoffs will be? You may well be correct but I would contend that the fare we used to be served when our best players stayed at home and the very best Aussies and Kiwis came over here along with RU backs converting to the pro ranks was far more palatable than than this tripe, and the size of the crowds either then or now is irrelevant to that argument. But ,hey ho, someone like Suzy will dismiss this as the ramblings of an old git I suppose.

You need to wake up and look at the bigger picture, the season has been pointless and so has the previous 17, no one cares about winning the league because the Mickey Mouse club call is a poisoned chalice, teams are now playing to finish in the top eight not to win the league. The game is on it's knees and has been for a number of years. We can't attract top sponsors and we can no longer entice star players from either rugby union or Australia. I know where the door is and believe me there is a queue building.

It was "on it's knees" when I started watching in 1990 and has been ever since if you listen to the average miserable RL fan.

So you tell me in your own words what's good about the current game?

+1

We (Saints) have only lost 6 games, and really have only had 4 poor performances....Good Friday, Magic Weekend, Catalan and Hull KR away. We have beaten the rest of the top 6 away from home (Hudds excluding as we haven't played them yet), hammered Castleford at home, done the double on Leeds, etc....

On Friday we were hardly "completely dominated for most of the game", we made a lot of mistakes in the first half, but the 2nd half was a pretty strong example of keeping it simple and grinding them down for the win. Not a classic performance, but without any half backs we can hardly expect much attacking zing, and is pretty much how we are going to have to play the rest of the year.

I agree all the way, whatever the ills of SL IMO they wouldn’t be put right by going back to the winter season, I believe this would make a bad situation worse. There are many reasons why the game is in difficulties at the minute, and there has been a lot of very interesting discussions about them on these boards, from my own experience with friends and family the number one reason is simple, money, the lack of it. I’m not saying it’s by any means the only reason, I just think if people had the spare cash they once had they wouldn’t be quite as critical about the game as a whole and would still be going through the turnstiles much as they once did. The good old days are like the last holiday you had, it’s always a lot better when looking back than the accrual reality of the time you were there.

Moving back to winter would also mean the whole season would run alongside both football and RU. Not only could this hurt crowds, it could cause a logistical nightmare now so many teams share grounds with either football or RU teams.

It worked for over 100yrs, infact rugby league used to play along side football on Saturdays, switching to summer was said that it would increase attendances as we wouldn't be in competition with RU and football however it's had the adverse affect, people can't afford to watch sport all tear round so now they pick between football and RL unfortunately they seem to pick football. The stadia sharing is the major issue of that I agree.

The stats say otherwise. Attendances across the board have increased since the switch to summer.

The biggest problem with the competition IMO is the top 8 play off. It's simply too easy to get into allowing the better teams to canter along. The change of format next year will hopefully address that problem. It will make it necessary to finish in the top 4. With Wigan, Leeds, St Helens, Warrington, Huddersfield, Castleford, Salford and if they ever get it together Hull looking strong for next year I hope it will add to the intensity of the weekly rounds and produce a better competition. Time will tell but I am optimistic.

The other big issue is money. RU because of the international game has more than we do. Australia has mega bucks because of their new TV deal aided by a favourable exchange rate which we benefited from for quite a while. We can't do anything about what others have, just look to grow the game gradually here. It will take time and competent management. We have one of those...........

I think the quality of coaching has improved so that decent players playing to a structured system can get good results. We had far more 'off the cuff' players back then I think. There are possibly less supposed superstars in the game, but then again, there are also less overpriced ageing Aussies here for their pension.

I'd like to bet that a fair proportion of those moaning about the state of the game now are the same ones moaning about those Aussies coming over for one last easy pay check.

As we've seen, the SL comp is capable of producing top flight NRl players so i don't think standards are that different, just that some of the names don't look quite so exciting 'on paper'.

As mentioned above, the big issue is the top 8 system. Imagine this season having to get into the top 4 to qualify, the quality and intensity of the last months games would be far far higher. This is the biggest cause of supporters complaints, that regular games don't mean much.

Hopefully next seasons changes will improve this.

The star players we produce should be playing in the super league not the NRL though. The issue for me is the state of rugby league in general, the game has become robotic natural flair has been discarded, even sky sports opening credits for rugby league games shows players as robots and I'm afraid that's what the game is turning into, like the game battleships but for rugby league players.

Or maybe youre just more expectant having seen the "flair" of previous generations. A 30m pass was a big deal in 2005 (Paul Cooke made a career out of it), but its standard today. Defensive structures mean every try (generally speaking) comes from what would be considered a "great" try "back in the day", but because a) its common now and b) were not wearing nostalgia glasses we dont celebrate it for what it is anymore. Weve become an expectant culture as opposed to an appreciative one (thats not just in RL mind).

I had the misfortune of watching Saints vs Bradford at VP when we put 50 past them recently. London would of been embarassed by some of the defence on show, and Saints attack didnt need to get past run at the gap. Not everything was better.

Leeds were without 2 halfbacks and were a man down for the majority of the game. Credit to saints for winning, but it's hardly a win you can be cock of the north about, scraping home with a man advantage after 2 weeks prep against a team with 3 days prep.

But missing your two halves allowed that young sinfield lad to get a game in the halves and he went OK I reckon, big future ahead of him.

You are looking through rose tinted glasses if you can't see that Leeds dominated for most of the game. It was only when Leeds started to tire due to being down to 12 men that Saints got back into the game. In that game you had two half backs just as Leeds did. They had Burrow and McGuire sat in the stand. I have several friends who are Saints supporters and they all have the same view as me.

True, the combined ages of the Leeds halfbacks was 52, the combined ages of the Saints halfbacks was 65!!