I hope you all had a good christmas, With a month and a half before the start of the season i thought i would check the official website to see if we had any pre season friendlies arranged but nothing listed so far.AFAIK last year we only had one that was cancelled compare this to our rivals who are playing 4-5 preseason friendlies this year. At least we have not got halifax away and have three very winable games to start the season

I was at Owlerton on Boxing Day the pitch was looking in pretty good condition with a reasonable growth of grass however no signs of any seating so it looks like standing only unless you pay extra to gain extra to the Panarama Suite but £26 for a match ticket this seems a bit excessive when there is no guarantee of a seat although the Season Ticket option for an extra £50 with a free meal included is better value for money

I fancied a friendly too but do they really mean much ok we might have been better equipped to deal with fax but then there are often injuries in friendlies and we have enough of those already. I would rather the see the lads putting their life on the line for the real thing (not really their lives). Anyway happy new year can't wait for the action - do we have a good sound system can we play Queen we are the champions throughout the whole game/season - really p'off fev.

I can't get myself into the preseason friendlies. Is there any evidence that playing 38 friendlies actually does any good ? We played none and still won the comp last year.

Anyway, Tubbs is scouting players in Ipswich.

Ipswich ? Hardly the hotbed of Rugby League !!

Is that Ipswich, Suffolk, home of nothing good in football, or Ipswich, Queensland, where Brendon Lindsay and Trevor Exton came from, and Andy Poynter went to?

Peteagle (and Canary)

The latter.

We're playing a friendly in Limoux on the first weekend in February. FWIW I think we should have more friendlies, against Championship/SL oppo. But as Griff says, didn't really do much harm last season, although I do remember thinking we looked thoroughly undercooked in the first game of the season away at Halifax.

Bottom line is Tubbs doesn't like them either. And, for me, the summer season means that they're always played in cold weather, with a risk of being called off, higher risk of injury, nothing at stake, wholesale substitutions breaking up the game - what's to like ?

Income for the clubs involved?

I doubt Dewsbury will get a bigger gate than the one on boxing day all year.

They own their ground. We'd have to pay rent (if we were at home). And get nothing from the bar and burger sales.

It makes me smile to read on these forums that crowds are down because there's no promotion to play for and then thousands turn up to watch a friendly.

Hence the reason Tubbs doesn't like them



And I suspect the reason Sheffield don't get asked is again finance, in that Sheffield are unlikely to bring many fans to buy those burgers.

Hmmm, well, as we've been invited to Limoux again, I don't know that that's the case.

Personally I would like to see some friendlies purely for selfish reasons I just want to watch Sheffield Eagles play, But I understand why we don't with little financial gain and the risk of even more injuries

I understand the financial reasons why we don't host Friendlies however I see Doncaster they are playing crusaders at home in a friendly on 9th February I am sure they would have got a bigger crowd if they invited us they could have brought a trophy and called it the South Yorkshire Shield.

Another thought with no Northern Rail Trophy this season could this have been played as a Pre Season tournment ? 16 Teams 14 Championship Sides and 2 from Championship 1 (they could hold pre qualification matches) L16 L8 Semi Final and the Final to be held mid season Pre Season Friendlies with something to play for

Hard to see that as a financial winner, duggs.

Because you bring to many fans .What was name of the dog in the film ,Lassie ?

I agree with Griff Don't see how anyone can make money out of this. For example you get beat in the L16 and you now have 3 blank weekends when you could have organised 3 friendlies.

Then what happens when you find out it is freezing for 3 weeks in January and can't play the L16, L8 & semis and already have a venue booked for the final?

Don't get me wrong, I quite like the idea of the rail trophy, more cups to be played for potentially gives clubs things to aim for and a second great day out for our league. However this would need to fit into the standard league fixtures, which would be difficult with the current 26 games plus 2, 3 or 4 CC games plus 4 weekends for the playoff series means we already have around 32-34 games to fit in. The only way of doing this with the rail trophy as well would be to start the season a month earlier which leaves you to the issues with the weather and means that the players off season gets curtailed even more.

For me the only way of doing this (including a "rail trophy"icon_wink.gif would be to reduce the league to 12 teams, which I think there is a chance of in 2015. reduce SL to 12 teams, have SL2 with 12 teams (2 relegated SL teams, maybe Tolouse, top 8/9 from CC1 and GF winners from CC2) with the remaining 13/14 clubs forming the 3rd teir.

Which one Pal was the first!

Divisions of 10, 18 league games, four weeks for the Rail Cup, four weeks set aside for the Challenge Cup, four week play-off series, March to September season, job's a good 'un.



Last season, each division had, in effect, it's own Cup competition which its clubs could realistically win whilst - theroetically at least - being able to win the Cups for higher divisions. I liked that structure and I'm disappointed that it's been abandoned for the sake of fourteen team divisions which it looks like we'll be abandoning at the end of 2014 anyway.

Absolute madness !

I wouldn't be upset with that format, but chairmen will never agree to only 9 guaranteed home games, they all want to maximise their revenue. Teams like Leeds must average around £500,000 gross from their home games from say 15,000 x £20 average ticket price, plus say £6-£10 average incidentals (tea, beer, burgers, programmes, lottery, car park, etc.), plus executive boxes and sponsorship. I know this is not all profit, but even with overheads of say £100,000-£150,000 per game it is a lot of income to give up.

Some chairmen will not want to go down to 11 guaranteed home games from 13, which is why teams voted for a 14 team SL in the 1st place. The extra 2 home games is greater value than the extra money from sky when share between 12 clubs compared to 14 clubs.

Anyway thought you poo-poo’d my suggestion of 2 leagues of 10 for SL.

Largely on the grounds that it'll never happen for the reasons you yourself raise.

I think you should count how many weeks there are in the season, take away some for cups and play-offs and the number you're left with is the number of league games you play.

Which - of course - doesn't necessarily mean you'd play everyone home and away.

At SL level they want more games than there is teams

We've coped with that before.

There are probably only about eight teams good enough for $uperleague anyway.