Next week is the 3 monthly fans committee meeting. Please send me any questions you would like to ask the hierachy of Club Doncaster and coaching staff regarding the Dons. Please email the questions to bazzer1962@hotmail.com Cheers Baz

Next week is the 3 monthly fans committee meeting. Please send me any questions you would like to ask the hierachy of Club Doncaster and coaching staff regarding the Dons. Please email the questions to bazzer1962@hotmail.com Cheers Baz

Has the meeting taken place ?

It has taken place Paul, but we have to wait until Jackie has typed up the minutes. Here are the minutes.
Fans Panel Meeting
Wednesday 24th August 2016

Attendees: Gary Fox, Barry Brown, Phil Buxton, Dave Stewart, Stewart Thompson,
Carl Hall, John Scarrow, Gary Thornton, Gavin Baldwin, Ray Green.

John Scarrow welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending

Gary Thornton gave a summary of current position.
At beginning of season we stated that we were aiming for a Top 4 finish and this has been achieved.
We have had a torrid time with injuries but with the exception of Barrow, Hunslet was a good team effort, Toulouse was good and Keighley was won in the last 20 minutes.
Our objective is to finish 3rd to have home advantage for the semi-final but 3 games in 8 days is big ask.
The medical staff have been working hard this year with 26 injuries, with some players having more than one injury, so between them 200 games have been missed. We don’t know if these were unlucky or there is a reason behind this and this is what we are looking at – we can’t fault the medical team, Doctor or Physio, they are doing a good job which is very testing.
Zac Braham should be back for Rochdale game and Jordie Hedges and Jordan Howden came through Keighley game OK.
Liam Welham has a torn muscle and will be out for rest of season but Jason Tali does not need surgery.
Mason Tonks will hopefully be back this week but because of having concussion twice he was unable to play until he had seen a Neurologist. We now have his report and he will be available to play against Rochdale.
Mike Kelly and Matt Nicholson will be out for the rest of the season and Brad Foster is awaiting a scan.
Makali Aizue should be OK for Rochdale, and Ryan Wright will be having an operation at the end of the season. Kyle Kesik had a bang to the knee but is OK.
It is very difficult to get 17 players training together.
I am very impressed with the team spirit and that is a good attribute in a squad.
The situation at York has put us at a disadvantage and will impact us playing 3 games in 8 days

Questions:

Stewart Thompson – I thought Fitness was the priority at the beginning of the season?
GT: It is – but we have had a lot of injuries. Tackling techniques and collisions in the game cause knee and shoulder injuries mainly. RL is a very tough sport
The younger players have stepped up to the mark, training every week and some playing out of position because of the injury situation.

Dave Stewart - Is this season’s squad sticking together or is it early days yet?
GT: We built the squad so that hopefully the younger ones will stay here for a couple of years
CH: We are not talking about next year yet as we need to concentrate on the rest of this season and we can’t officially talk to players until September.

Paul Cook – When will Dons stuff be sold in the Keepmoat Club Shop?
CH: We are still contracted to FiTa until the end of the season but will be changing over to FBT for next season so merchandise will be in the shop for 2017 season.

Paul Margrave – Why aren’t attendances for home matches being announced near the end of games, they aren’t on match reports or in the press?
CH: They are on match reports and in the press but at a couple of games the figures were not available until after the game and too late to announce.

Paul Margrave – I am concerned about the apathy towards the club at the moment, people ripping up season tickets, season ticket holders not attending games.
Fan/Club relationship at an all time low. Questions put to the CEO not answered, fan’s questions ridiculed. I appreciate sometimes answers cannot be given to some questions but please say that not just ignore them !?
CH: When the questions get asked ‘In the Dugout’ they are new to me, I am not told in advance of any of the questions and I answer the best I can.
The general consensus at the moment is that the communication is good with things that have been introduced, especially with the appointment of the SLO.

Gary Fox – Talking about Season Tickets, it is hard to decide to buy a ticket when the dates of fixtures are not known, especially with 8’s, so people are missing games due to holidays etc. I know this is not a fault of the Club
JS: This is problem with all league 1 Clubs with supporters missing 1 or 2 games a season.
GT: A majority of the Coaches, me included, would prefer to play teams home and away.

Chris Scorah – Can we ask if the Club has started at looking at signing on or new signings for next season. Keeping the information going to the fans would hopefully start getting fans interested?
CH: As stated earlier, we need to concentrate on the play off games, not contracts and the RL rule is that players cannot be approached until September.

Mike Lindley – What changes to the League structure would John like to see made and why?
JS: It is my view that a review of the league structure should take place. We could loose York and Sheffield whilst introducing Toulouse and Toronto who would get promotion in their first season. There are too many developing clubs being introduced whilst no funding of the grass root clubs. A lot of clubs that are in trouble are spending beyond their means but to play every club home and away would make a 28/30 week season which is too long.

Stewart Thompson – Dons4Life – is this still paying for players?
CH: This started with the signing of Paul Cooke and has continued with the supporting of signing players. It pays for nothing else but players.

Harry Barton – Match day – please can players tickets etc be collected at main reception rather than players end?
CH: This will be changed for 2017

Phil Buxton: Dons Draw Members – can the 2 complimentary tickets we receive for the Rovers be tickets for the Dons as alternatives?
This to be looked at.

Stewart Thompson – Re the number of penalties being given away?
GT: I agree about the ill discipline at the Hunslet game but Rugby League is a physical and aggressive game. Technical penalties are indiscipline but a lot is how the referee interprets it. A lot of the penalties come on the back of sustained pressure and players are human.

Heritage Site – meeting to be arranged – Ray Green

The supporters who travelled to Toulouse were part of the biggest attendance that Toulouse have had all season at home and were a credit to the Club. The hotel stated we were the only Club that had the fans and players together.





Thank you to everyone who attended.

The next meeting will be organised for a couple of month’s time.

With regard to questions not answered in the dugout , I appreciate and applaud the work done by the SLO.

Thank you for addressing my other question .
Paul Margrave

Thanks for asking the questions, Baz - much appreciated.

My question was to John Scarrow with regards to the league structure. If the RFL don't sort this, the game at Championship 1 level will die. That is how serious I believe this situation is.

They ( the RFL) may have to restructure if Sheffield & York go under.

Thanks Guys, i do try and ask all questions that are sent to me.

It'd be interesting to see if the RFL tried to fast-track Toronto into the Championship should Sheffield drop out.

Personally, I'd be 100% against this as all teams must start in the lowest league and earn promotion through on-field performances, not through the size of their owners' pockets.

Let's hope the Eagles sort things out.

If Sheffield go under maybe three could be promoted ? That would compensate for Toulouse's 'dream ticket' ?

Or maybe only one would relegated!

I'm trying to be positive for Donny DM !!
I'd much rather see the Eagles survive and live happily ever after.

I know.



It's no good at all for the game if any club goes under. When a side relies on one backer, if that backer pulls out, they're at risk. That seems like the situation at both York and Sheffield.

I have concerns as to where Salford will be if Marwan Koukash leaves them.

I have to say (and i'm not being patronising) that the so-called lesser clubs like Hemel, Oxford, Coventry etc who have come to Toulouse have been great this season, much better than I had imagined. There's some great coaching going on at this level which has to be good for the future.

I'm all for developing the game in newer areas. I think the people who have grasped the nettle and set up clubs in these areas need to be applauded. The issue as I see it is that there is very little support for the game in these development areas but this is probably due to a chicken and egg situation. All supporters want to watch a winning side. Even with a winning side, it's very difficult to attract supporters but when you're getting beaten by large margins, it makes it almost impossible to build a fan base. The newer clubs have a huge obstacles to overcome.

I believe all clubs have to play at a level they can be competitive at. That means a league needs to be comprised of teams of similar ability. At the moment there are too many teams who aren't competitive and that makes Championship One a poor division, coupled with the terrible fixture format we have.

For everyone's sake the league needs to be split in two to make every game competitive. Quite how this split should be done will be dependent on whether all current teams make it into the 2017 season. I love rugby and want to see it thrive but the present format will kill the game, not develop it. You only need to look at the declining attendances to see the evidence.

If C1 is split in 2 , would probably have to play each other 3 times.

I would get rid of the League Cup & play each other twice.

You know it mkes sense , about time the clubs stood upto the RFL .

I agree we need to knock the League Cup on the head. I was looking at the structure of the different leagues the other day. The Super League start in the first week of February with their Grand Final around 10th October. There are 36 weeks between the start and end date.

Super League teams play 23 games in the first part of the season (everyone home and away plus the Magic Weekend). They play 7 more games in the Super 8s bringing the total to 30. They have two more games if they get to the Grand Final, plus the Challenge cup which could be another 4 games. They have an off-season of 16 weeks.

We need to consider the players' welfare at our level as they're not full-time but we also have to play enough home games for fans to stay interested otherwise people find something else to do on a Sunday.

If Championship One was split into two leagues of eight and we played each other home and away twice, it would produce a 28 game season. There could then be a play-off semi-final and a final; that would give 30 games. We could also realistically have two Challenge cup matches, possibly three. That would bring the total to 32 or 33 games. That would be 32 or 33 games in a 36 week season, if we started and finished at the same time as Super League.

Championship sides have a 32 or 33 game season. They play 23 games (including summer bash) plus seven more after the league splits. They have two or possibly three Challenge cup games as well, bringing their total to 32 or 33 games.

Surely we could have a season that involves the same number of games as the Championship. It would mean getting rid of the iPro Cup to accommodate it.

Keep the format simple: Have an 8 team league with everyone playing each other home and away twice; ditch the iPro cup.

Yes, that would make sense DM but I would have P & R of at least one club between the new C1 & C2. I have to admit I was happy to support the present system at the start of this season but now I see the problems it causes. It's true the present system isn't great though could we expect the Canadian side to start in C2 ? I would imagine any such plan would start the season after they gain promotion to the Championship.

I agree there would have to be a promotion and relegation structure between Championship 1 and Championship 2 but the initial problem we're trying to resolve is to create a league season that will provide interest amongst fans and win back the supporters we're presently losing, before the game dies.

I take quite a tough line with new clubs. They all have to start at the bottom and work their way up. Just because they're called Toronto and potentially have a fat bank balance doesn't mean we should do them any favours. All clubs should have to prove they deserve promotion through on-field performances, not by declaring intent.

What would the criteria be for deciding which league a new team would start in? It's a smoke filled room job, with politics ruling the day. I don't like that idea. promotion by merit is the only way.

I hope John Scarrow and the other chairmen are getting to work on this issue. I don't know whether any changes to this crazy league can be made for next season but a proper plan needs to be sorted and put into place as soon as possible.

I would be very surprised to see any changes for next season, keeping the format for next season suits Toronto, as it did Toulouse this one, in minimising travel costs, which if you believe what is said, they are paying for the costs of the other clubs travel etc, personally I don't, I have not a doubt in my mind that it will change the season after, cynical I know, but that is how rugby league has got me.

Why can't it be that at the end of the normal league season in all three leagues that at the very least the team that finishes top of there division are automatically promoted to the higher division & the team that finishes at the bottom of there division are relegated to the division below them.

Don't talk daft man,.the Rfl don't do common sense

There has to be a change soon before supporters are permanently driven away.

As I have commented on other threads, as a result of the crazy fixture set-up which means that potentially more than a third of the matches paid for as part of the season ticket are a lottery, I have already missed two home play off games.

The net result of that is that I am unlikely to purchase a season ticket next season through no fault of the Club I support. Reading some of the comments of this forum, I am not alone. Multiply that club by club and what you end up with is less people committed to attending rugby league on a regular basis.

It then becomes a slippery slope for attendances, as the more people do not commit to a season's worth of home games, the bigger the temptation to miss fixtures not already paid for when other choices present themselves especially if the team you follow isn't winning games.

For me, without a return to a set of fixtures that are at least 90% known at the outset, the RFL and the Clubs risk permanently losing supporters to our great game.

I believe the team that finishes top of Super League should be crowned Champions. I don't agree with the Grand Final concept. I believe the teams that have proven themselves best throughout the season should be recognised as the best team. There are a number of reasons why the RFL won't change their present way of thinking though on the various issues. We can split the issues down into three areas:

1) Having a Grand Final in Super League creates commercial interest that keeps fans interested in the competition until the last kick of the last match of the season. Do away with the Grand Final and things would peter out once the league champions have been decided. In a close season, the race could go down to the last couple of games but in a more one-sided season everything could end early. I do not believe the Grand Final concept will not change. It suits Sky TV too.

2) Automatic Super League promotion and relegation. The class gap between the Super League teams and the teams in the Championship grew to huge levels where the promoted team was simply out of their depth. This was mainly due to the full-time versus part-time nature of the game at the two levels. Automatic promotion and relegation didn't work. Until the RFL funding of clubs means that teams at the top of the Championship get almost as much in funding from the RFL as the bottom teams in Super League, this class gap will remain. "The Million Pound Game" says it all. If that is the difference between being in Super League and the Championship, Championship clubs will find it hard to catch up with the Super League teams.

The Middle Eights concept is an interesting one where ability levels of the two leagues can be directly compared. Leigh have been an outstanding team over the last couple of seasons. They may be good enough to bridge that gap but for the most part teams at the top of the Championship are still a long way behind Super League level. Would it be good for the game if Batley or Featherstone had been top of the Championship pile and got automatic promotion? They'd be having cricket scores against them every week.

Bridging the gap between part-time and full-time clubs is huge. Until the RFL can be sure that the best in the Championship will be able to compete with the Super League clubs automatic promotion and relegation won’t return

3) Promotion rules from Championship 1 to the Championship. The issue here is whether the teams that finish first and second in Championship 1 should be promoted automatically or whether there should be a play-off system to decide which teams go up. From a fairness point of view, I believe the teams that finish first and second should go up.
If that were the case, the interest in the season could end early with quite a lot of meaningless end of season games. The current method keeps everyone interested for longer.

How harsh would it be if Toulouse were to hit by an injury crisis at the end of the season and didn’t get promoted because they lost two matches? It would be totally unfair. They fully deserve to go up. I don’t like the way the current system works but I can understand the RFLs reasons for doing it.

I can’t understand why the RFL should want to continue with the ridiculous design of Championship 1 as it will drive more and more people away from the game very quickly. I guess nothing will change for next season as the arrangements for Toronto’s arrival will have been put in place. Something concrete needs to be sorted for the 2018 season or else we might not have any fans left if we don’t get out of this league.

Rugby League can’t afford to lose any fans. The current arrangement of getting short notice for home fixtures is poor. Watching rugby is a habit. A season ticket keeps people in the habit. Once you get out of the habit, other things start to take priority on a Sunday. As we’ve seen on here, quite a lot of people have walked away and don’t miss it. This is one of the reasons why I fear for the game: supporters need to be respected and not taken for granted.

Have an eight team league with everyone playing each other home and away twice. All the fixture dates can be sorted for the full season before a ball is kicked. We’d have a really good competitive competition that more people would want to see; season ticket sales would go up.

Quite agree DM but I don't imagine the RFL will change anything before the Canadians have had a season to get to the Championship. I can imagine this proviso, rightly or wrongly would have been given to the club. I'm sure Jihn and the other chairmen will be in complete agreement to two leagues of eight as you say but it won't happen in time for next season.