On the way to Salford last Friday I saw the Cas lorry, it was moving quite quickly so I can't be certain but I thought it was McGoldrick.

i regularly drive up and down the motorway networks but i have still not seen any stobart wagons bearing any rl references what so ever?
they must be laughing all the way to the bank with this deal with the rfl

i'll bet that come grand final day that not only will these trailers be spotted by everyone at old trafford,but that theres that many there that we will all be having a secret p155 behind one

Surely it's time for TVOC to trawl through the Stobart threads from the various boards and provide us with some stats. For example, I'd like to know whether the average metres per carry made by the "Fat Robbie Savage" exceeds that of the Ben Westwood truck. And does the James Roby produce any useful bursts or are they all short hauls that only get as far as the burger van just up the road?

I live just off the M1, and as we speak, I have just seen 2 stobart lorries go past. But as is the norm, none have anything to do with rugby league.

I have yet to see one Stobart lorry with rugby league branding whilst sitting in my house, and I usually see at least 6/7 go past a day. I have seen 2 in total, and both of them was on a sunday on my way to a rugby match. Make that of what you will.


I'll foooking sponsor them next time

I drove down to London for the weekend, saw around a dozen of them. Not a single one had any SL branding.

Remind me again, what was the sponsorship deal????

Still not seen one....
Gutted.

FFS there are 100 trucks with Super League branding no more no less, why do people moan because THEY haven't seen one?....the deal is what it is! Surely not a bad thing that people who already follow the game havent seen one?

I haven't seen one yet, and for the record it hasn't upset me either.

I've seen one!

It was parked up inside Odsal Stadium on Saturday preaching to the converted.

Fantastic sponsorship deal.

No, really.

Iwork for a service provider and spend many hours on the motorway, I must see at least 30 stobart trucks a day. So far ive seen Fat robbie savage (twice), Cas, Widnes and Rat boy ( on the way home from the Widnes game).

Whats worth noting is I used to service the Tesco distribution centre at goole that is run by Stobart. At any one time there can be 50 trailers parked up there, Stobart have at least 30 other depots this size all over the country. I make that 1500 trailers.
100 SL trailers is a drop in the ocean just on what is parked up, let alone what is already on the road.


Is it any wonder some people are waiting to break their duck.


Good deal for the RFL though eh.

Short trip down to Thirsk today. Stobarts 4 Super League 0. A66, M6 to south lakes tomorrow so I'm upbeat over my chances of clocking a first.

Living in the south - so far i ve seen two

One on the M40 near Banbury - a Warrington Wolves, followed by the very next lorry advertising the Co Operative Champioship!

Then yesterday at Bicester a Cas one was parked up unloading by the railway station, clearly visible from the train.

I too keep being plagued by the 'big daddy Savage' truck .....fed up of it now

Bingo! I caught a glimpse of a peculiar dentate hairline that could only have belonged to Heath L'Estrange.

Well, either that or someone was trying to attract Batman's attention by projecting onto the side of a passing Stobart truck.

I get the impression it can't be bothered going any further than the M62, bit like the player in question really

I've had a run of success this week.

Saints on M62 at weekend, followed the Wire one round Bradford the other day then saw Big EeOrr doing his regular run on the M62 summit.

Blimey! Be careful what you stand in.

Seth, thanks for your informative reply to my inane post, perhaps I should elaborate.

I'm in Doncaster, a town on the Southern edges of the heartland. A history of rugby league support through adversity and a rapidly shrinking amateur base for the game. It is also a town with very good motorway transport links and I use them frequently, seeing many a Stobart truck along the way. I am told how great this deal was by our friends at the RFL and am still yet to see a lorry flying the flag. This is what causes me annoyance Seth. The trucks seem to make their appearances along the fabled M62 corridor, is this what is really required and if not why are the RFL not questioning the intricacies of the deal?

None on the M27

I saw one in a layby on the A34 this morning just south of Oxford. It was the Hull one. I asked my wife what she thought it was advertising - she hadn't a clue. My wife whilst not a fan of RL is not exactly ignorant of the game - how could she be? When I explained the signifcance, she couldn't believe the RFL had been so daft. God knows what the people of Oxfordshire (or anywhere else outside the heartlands) think about them if they think anything at all.
I do quite a lot of driving, and have seen precisely three since the start of the SL season. IMO the whole thing would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.

If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.

Probably a poor deal but nonetheless spotting the odd SL truck has improved many a boring drive. Apart from being baulked for 20-odd miles behind the Wakey one on the Fosse Way a few weeks back, that is.

Quote ="tvoc"If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.'" [size=200IF[/size you believe the RFL this could be a very clever deal or a very clever gamble. IIRC there weren't many offers on the table when the Stobart deal was done. Wasn't the next best deal worth about £80k per club? Hardly enough to keep the Bulls solvent for a working week. So, the RFL is patient, does a deal that, allegedly, has significantly increased their viewing figures (45%) and go back to market looking for a better naming rights deal with a product far more attractive to sponsors and lucrative to the RFL. I guess the proof will be in the pudding when we see what we get next year.

Quote ="tvoc"If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.'" [size=200IF[/size you believe the RFL this could be a very clever deal or a very clever gamble. IIRC there weren't many offers on the table when the Stobart deal was done. Wasn't the next best deal worth about £80k per club? Hardly enough to keep the Bulls solvent for a working week. So, the RFL is patient, does a deal that, allegedly, has significantly increased their viewing figures (45%) and go back to market looking for a better naming rights deal with a product far more attractive to sponsors and lucrative to the RFL. I guess the proof will be in the pudding when we see what we get next year.

Quote ="G1" Quote ="tvoc"If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.'" [size=200IF[/size you believe the RFL this could be a very clever deal or a very clever gamble. IIRC there weren't many offers on the table when the Stobart deal was done. Wasn't the next best deal worth about £80k per club? Hardly enough to keep the Bulls solvent for a working week. So, the RFL is patient, does a deal that, allegedly, has significantly increased their viewing figures (45%) and go back to market looking for a better naming rights deal with a product far more attractive to sponsors and lucrative to the RFL. I guess the proof will be in the pudding when we see what we get next year.'" If there was nothing (or next to nothing) on the table, then get some value from elsewhere. If the viewing figures have improved this year (and in part thats been due to trucks I guess??) then the plan may have worked, and in theory there should be more people wanting to put the brand behind the game

Quote ="G1" Quote ="tvoc"If you haven't seen one yet (I have - it was one featuring Les Catalans just below RAF Scampton on the A15 heading North as I headed South) then time could be running out after the RFL and Stobart have agreed to end the 'deal' after 12 months. www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... or-stobart When you make a mistake it's a sign of strength to perform a U turn - and that's not always easy in a bloody great lorry.'" [size=200IF[/size you believe the RFL this could be a very clever deal or a very clever gamble. IIRC there weren't many offers on the table when the Stobart deal was done. Wasn't the next best deal worth about £80k per club? Hardly enough to keep the Bulls solvent for a working week. So, the RFL is patient, does a deal that, allegedly, has significantly increased their viewing figures (45%) and go back to market looking for a better naming rights deal with a product far more attractive to sponsors and lucrative to the RFL. I guess the proof will be in the pudding when we see what we get next year.'" If there was nothing (or next to nothing) on the table, then get some value from elsewhere. If the viewing figures have improved this year (and in part thats been due to trucks I guess??) then the plan may have worked, and in theory there should be more people wanting to put the brand behind the game

Also, you can bet that Stobarts will be tardy in repainting their trucks (they won't pull them off the road to get rid of the branding the day the deal ends) so the RFL will get the benefit of the tail end of the sponsorship whilst also getting, hopefully, some cash through the door.

However as you suggest, in the overall scheme of things, even a "lucrative" deal of say £1m is not really going to make that much difference once split 14 ways. If Betfair were offering £750k then it really was barely worth it for the SL clubs when they were faced with that decision, especially with the other inherent problems of going with that deal.