Hear ye you've "been had" by those who still want this www.flickr.com/photos/groundhopp ... 163226921/

Hear ye you've "been had" by those who still want this www.flickr.com/photos/groundhopp ... 163226921/

Absolutely spot on. Make up your mind either we're important to Sky or we're not. The example above and the fact that you don't find many existing SL sides making any noises about Quins' right to be in SL should speak volumes. Why would they want to rock the boat? Plenty of them find it hard enough to stay within the salary cap as it is!

Nobody is saying that the loss of Wigan or Leeds or any SL club for that matter wouldn't affect the TV deal as well. But some people seem to think that the loss of a top flight side from the capital city of the country, the business centre of the country and the city where the major bankroller of the sport is located wouldn't have a negative impact on the TV deal.

Bollox.......Murdoch had AFL (well half of it) in his pocket before any of that.....the negotiations were way down the road....but you bang on about the SL wars.....how it killed ARL. Fact is, average crowds before the SL wars were 11 to 13k before the war....the game is better for Murdock taking control, but Aussies are an insular lot and more concerned with the fact that they are still No2 at home after AFL



BTW......If I want an education, I wont be going to google or wiki...but knock yourself out

Murdoch had AFL? are you drunk??

I was with you up until you started this paragraph.

This is scaremongering and conjecture based on zero evidence.

I am still waiting for someone to post the Sky sports viewing figures that show there is a big spike in viewers when Quins are featured. Waiting.........

And why would Sky think that? Maybe because at times crowds of 10,000 plus have turned up to see Fulham, or Crusaders or Broncos play. As many have pointed out, even the overall average in their history, dragged down by more recent years, would compare favourably to Salford or Wakey or Giants - all 'hotbeds' of the game.

And since when did senior media executives go on record in the general press about key contract negotiating points? That's why you'll never see the 'quote' you're after. On the other hand I can tell you that more than one SL club director has told me that the presence of the London team adds value to the TV contract.

yeh and the pixies at the end of the garden told me that the existence of Quins has zero effect on TV viewing figures in the Sth of England.

Splendid. Over here it's more difficult to meet pixies than to meet directors of SL clubs, so we'll have to take your word for it.

Is that the clubs cumulative total since 1980?

Erm, yes that is exactally what happened.

Myth 7: JB Down Under once wrote a comment that was vaguely positive about RL in London (presumably when the imaginary creatures who usually supply him with his tedious bile were on holiday)

Contrary tom what some on her may say, a London based team has more to offer the game than other teams.

In fact in one city there is one senior club too many for a start!

Hmm, well you can't be on about the city of Hull (considering the success that Hull FC and Hull KR have both been in SL overall and the support of both clubs), so which city do you mean?

This has been said time and again, for Rugby League to be seen as a national sport it needs a Super League team in the capital. Like it or not, without the presence of a SL London team, Rugby League would be perceived (even more) as a parochial Northern sport that the Australians do better. It's that perception that the RFL are trying to break down.

Like it or not professional Rugby League IS essentially a 'northern' sport that also happens to be played badly in Wrexham, London and sometimes of a slightly better standard in Perpignan.

There is not investment for the London game to be successful. There is not enough return for any investor. The standard of RL played by Quins isn't good enough. To pull it punters and change minds they need to be top 4 evey season. With the current squad and investment, that's never going to happen.

I don't have a problem with RL in London, at an amateur and jnr level it is growing really well, even at semi pro level the Skolars seem to be keeping their heads above water. My problem is with Quins being considered a SL standard club and making the game a laughing stock with pathetic attendances and the need to be leeching off RU.

Rock bottom and non-competitive are we? Dragging the standard of the league down? I don't think Leeds or Saints fans would agree. I understand if there's a stick to beat us with then plenty on here will do it but all you've actually got is the crowds issue now. We are no longer a team of Aussies. For playing standard we are worth our place - never been bottom, never been relegated. So before you start throwing round accusations of us not being 'a SL standard club' consider what you mean by that. The only standard that really matters is playing standard and while we may not be world beaters NOBODY can seriously argue we aren't worth our place for that criteria.

SL stopped being about this when licenses came in!

"The only standard that really matters is playing standard"

we are about to see a club relegated that has finished above Quins 4 out of the last 5 years and probably won;t finish bottom this year, on field performances count for little these days sadly.

Spoken like someone that has no experience of living in Australia during the SL wars...

I find it very hard to believe that you think the SL wars had no negative impact on the development of the game in Australia (and even further afield)!

Rugby League stagnated in the southern hemisphere for a good 5 years while it sorted out the damage of a war between the two most powerful families in the country.

You only have to look at the progress and spikes in the AFL’s key areas to see how our game fell behind at a very crucial time. Heck even RU managed to get a foothold during this period, the damage to the game at all levels is only starting to recover.

Progress in the sport was put back 10 years due to the divide in the game.

Lets expand up to Newcastle.

They'll need a new team now the Falcons are heading down..... [size=85(hopefully)[/size

Currently then there are 5 teams of a worse standard that Harlequins RL in superleague.....

in which of these seasons did Harlequins RL Finish bottom or in a relegation position?


...hmm....OK. If 3 wins from 9 games has done enough to convince you of that....having beaten catalans when they were awfull, Hull FC who are also 3 from 9 and now Quins RL who would seem to be on a really bad run then so be it......


...change of tune from
"I don't care what passports HKA players have so long as they win something" which you said in either the Mason thread or the overseas player one..

...how's that going BTW





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Well IMO away support should be a criteria that counts, but maybe that's just me....