The game has turned into a five drives bash up,wrestling then laying on in the tackle, and play acting & arguing with the officials. No wonder crowds are dropping.

For a start I would turn the Magic Weekend into a 9's event, which would encourage open attacking play and less bodies on the pitch...less wrestling hopefully. Award a trophy and medals to the finals, throw in some prize money and the clubs might take it serious!

Would they ?

Or would they send the kids and fringe players as you see in Union ?

I might be part of a large minority but in real time I thought he grounded that for a try, so if I was the ref I'd also have given it. Probably a few trys given every week across all the untelivised games which with the benefit of a slow no zoomed in replay shouldn't have been given.

Here`s a compromise around the video ref debacle.
Why not give each captain 1 or possibly 2 reviews per game similar to test match cricket?
If they think the try should be disallowed they ask for a review by the VR.
If successful they retain the review if unsuccessful they lose their chance to review it again and the onfield decision is final.
Also agree whoever forms the scrum stays in there and there`s a time limit for drop goals.
Only stop the game for a head injury so that`s Catalan stuffed!

Main problem with the review idea is that the large screen would need to remain in situ and would show numerous replays as the sky team mull over every decision and errors made by the on field ref would be repeated ad nausea once the appeals were out of the way. Inevitably people would start demanding reviews of all decisions once more. So has to be all or nothing - preferably the latter - IMO.

Well at least Union is getting quicker, with less "fannyinig about"

Aye, nearly as long as it takes players to get up after the fifth tackle!

Weird is that GUBRATS... can't see anywhere in my comment where I state that I want to get rid of the officials but ok, I could have been referring to fines?

I do actually ref five a side football every Sunday, difficult job but I don't "miss" half the stuff even premier league refs miss and I'm not even paid for it.

A tackle should only count towards the 6 if the first contact is below the waist.

Once the tackle is completed or "held" is called, if the tacklers don't release immediately, the ball can be handed back to the acting half(recycled) instead of playing the ball.

To counter the tactic of giving penalties when defending the line so that the attacking side's momentum is thwarted and the defensive line reset. Within the 10 yard line, any infringement is immediate dismissal from the field for 1 minute. He has to report to the 4th official and can then re-enter the field of play from between his opponents' goal posts.

I suggest we stop calling it TGG given the flaws thy this thread has highlighted...... More like The Work in Progress

How do you know ? , are your five a sides televised ?

For me , once held is called or the tackled player touches the ground the talking players cannot change their grip in any way , any further contact is a penalty

I like your second point

They're already doing this! If there was only Eddie with a mike and nobody else throwing in their tuppence, perhaps he would simply do just commentary, rather than try to adjudicate over every tackle and play the ball.

I agree with that, although the problem with the cheating is that it isn't so much simulation but exaggeration, but what he has exaggerated is usually the effect of something that is in fact a penalty. There should be a greater obligation on the attacker to promote the game, not play for a penalty. That's why exaggeration=no penalty might sink in.

The only exception for me would be when the dummy half runs towards someone off-side. In reality, the dummy half is running into territory that should be for him and is tempting the defender to tackle him illegally. I don't have a problem with that.

The game does not need tweaking it needs a massive change to take a Great Leap Forward and in my view needs to re invent itself. The game needs to be quicker so some of the points previously raised about the ruck are important but it then needs to market itself properly. I would like to see more emphasis on skilful players rather than the bigger lumbering forwards

If we speed it up we need to then sell it to TV producers and execs. That means more advertising.

I would suggest that the game be changed from to 40 minute halves to three 25 minute thirds.

Reduce the number of substitutions that could be made to 2 per third so most players are playing the full 75 minutes. More tired players more opportunity for smaller skilful players.. 25 minutes would be th optimum .

Allow each team to pick from 5 subs to cover injuries but also to have a better balance on the bench to allow more tactical decisions around substitutions etc.

It would also be better for player welfare changing the game from bang and crash to skilful fast paced play

TV would prefer this format as it would fit in better with advertising sales.

With the TV renewal coming up where we all expect to lose money this would be a huge potential seller

Based on what, other than your opinion that is?
Union is a ponderous game by comparison but get's more attention and cash.........so "speeding up the game" will mean nowt in the greater scheme of things.

We have a good sport......it is televisually attractive and gets decent figures......what we lack is a management with the skills to get us the deal we deserve.

The Next TV deal will be negotiated by the Superleague Board......and whilst I have my reservations, at least they are 12 men with the business acumen to be able to own clubs........unlike Rimmer who is unqualified to negotiate anything.

Interesting thread this.

With regard to the playing side of things, the game has become a little stale and sanitised to an extent. I am all for player safety but hte ideal that ANY contact with the head is a foul is just plain wrong and is ultimately inconsitantly applied by the officials anyway. Would the ball carrier handing off a defender be penalised for contact to the head? Malicious contact should rightly be harshly penalised, but accidental clashes should not result in a player being yellow carded. This is a following effect from taking shoulder charges out of the game. I feel shoulder charges should be allowed, but of there is contact with the head involved in a shoulder charge, then its a straight red.

The player the ball has been exploited by a feww coaches to the detriment of the entire game. The number of times a tackled player either walks forward a few meters or moves off the mark to the side has become a joke. For me, this should them put any defender who'd been involved in the tackle instantly back onside to nullify the advantage the ball carrier is trying to obtain.

Scrums??? Either get rid of them or do them properly. I am not referring to Union, this is just a breather for Union forwards and becomes a dull pushing contest (which apparently is a skill in Union). A win against the head is rarer in Union than it is in League, so its hardly a truly contested scrum.

Kicks at goal!!! Reduce the amount of time which is allowed to run down before the ref calls time off. The one minute allowed was for the kicker to set the ball and attempted the kick. Now all that happens is that the kicker has a drink, quick chat with the ref / physio, lets the minute run down for the ref to call time off to than actually start the process of setting the ball. Its time wasting and cheating the fans out of what they have paid for.

Move the challenge cup final to middle of June and even move it away from Wembley. Gone are the days of coach loads / special trains from pubs and clubs around the north making up over half of the gate. Its an expensive day out. Granted, you are going to do it if its your team, but there is little to attract the neutral. Also, the semi finals are way too close to the final at the moment (especially whe you consider the near 2 month gap between the quarters and the semi).


MARKETING - CAN WE HAVE SOME PLEASE!!!!!!


NATIONAL TV COVERAGE - please see above


Pundits on TV - please stop bemoaning the negatives of the game / play. It breeds a poor opinion of the game to those who are new to it. Check out the coverage of Union (especially on Sky) even when play breaks down the pundits showcase the good play involved.


Get rid of Magic weekend - find enough teams to have a 14 club elite competition, play each other home and away and have a tope 6 play off system. This may involve franchising again, but the current fixture structure is lop sided and has been tried and not worked.

I agree about the kicks, MMJ. It should be a minute to take it. If he needs more than a minute, because of the difficulty of the kick, run the thing.

I blame the coaches more than the players. The delaying tactics are undoubtedly coached into them. Instinctively, the players want to attack, I would hope.

The shoulder charge is a tricky one. They could tweak it so that if there is contact with the head from a shoulder charge, it is deemed to be reckless and dangerous. It's the farce of accidental headshots that is ludicrous, like when the attacking player is slipping. The game cannot be sued for accidents. There is something called volenti non fit injuria in civil law, which basically means that you cannot recover for an outcome where you have voluntarily assumed a risk. You offer no protection for players for accidental contact, because no one means to do it. It is part and parcel of the game.

The game has become too much about how the game is refereed than about how the game is played, and it is not the spectacle it was. It hasn't slipped by much, but attendances are down at all games. Club games. Internationals. Grand Final. That has got to sink in.

12 Fag box leaned up against the upright for when a conversion is being taken.

On reflection I see the biggest single change we need is to have 1 game a week on FTA TV.

All of the rule changes suggested here are for the benefit of the existing fan base and will do little to attract new fans, either on TV or in Stadiums. Yes the PTB is a mess at times and the video referee taking as long as an episode of Quincy ME to make a decision, but in general the game as a spectator sport is pretty good.
Recent games, like the 2013 World Cup Semi-final Loss or the close semi and Final 2017 show that our game is capable of delivering the drama, but we fail to regularly follow up on these events.
A FTA game on BBC on a Saturday Evening would be a massive fillip to both the game and to the main broadcast partner SKY, as it would possibly get more people interested and therefore maybe see them get an upturn in subscriptions. (fanciful I now, but still a possibility)

If the SL chairmen are adamant that they want the game to grow and get more of a share of the sports revenue out there (Compete with Union I believe is how Adam Pearson described it) then they need to insist on 1 FTA game every week.....even if the OB costs are met by SL itself. It is proven that exposure to larger audiences attracts bigger crowds (see the NFL in C4 and the attendances now being seen in London as well as the early promise of the Monarchs back in the 90's) and even if it meas the SL clubs income from TV takes a hit, they will have an opportunity to recoup that money on the gate.

=#FF0000No need. Karen

I agree with Call Me God. We have moments of drama/interest/excitement in the year but most people only see this sporadically, maybe even only once a year. The Cup Final, Grand Final and recent Test match are great games for people to watch but then there’s nothing in between. We may well build some interest in November with the Test Matches being on BBC but then there’s nothing at all until February and nothing of note on FTA until July/August.

On a related point we build interest in a local area like Liverpool with the Test Match or Newcastle with the Magic Weekend but then never follow up on it.

A game on FTA every week would be huge for the game in my opinion.

A good post and plenty to agree with.

However, with some of the stuff going on regarding brain damage caused by contact with the head, it is more likely that we will see further attempts to reduce contact in this area, together with additional/stronger penalties.
I do agree that accidental contact should not be penalised but, could still allow head tests etc

Also, I massively agree with your comments regarding coverage of the game and how negative it has become.
We should be banging the drum about the athleticism of the players and the skills involved in executing certain plays both in attack and defence and offering some explanation as to how sides have read the play or opened up the opposition - I think that John Wells is pretty good as this.

I tend to agree - the coverage is stale and old, and tends to over-focus on negatives, errors or referee calls that are questionable, at least in the eyes of the commentators. It would be much more of a sell for the game if there was more notice paid to the strength, power, toughness, skill and athleticism on show - of which, regardless of your view of the quality of the game right now, there is plenty, every week, in every game. To a fan it's just annoying, eye-rolling stuff; to a new viewer, it's probably off-putting.

I also note that RL players are mostly absent from other media - there was a brief period when Tomkins and Sinfield were on QoS and such, and Keegan Hirst was a minor celeb for a while due to his personal story - but we don't have any 'personality' players who have transcended the sport and become celebrities in their own right; which seems odd, because the physicality and extreme challenge of RL would, you would imagine, be an interesting hook to find out more about the guys who play. That's perhaps an area in which the Hearn's would be an interesting proposition; they've made international celebrities out of some fairly ordinary guys who happen to be talented boxers. There would be a tonne of ways to market a RL player's personal brand, not least in the area of health, diet and wellbeing - with the added spice of ordinary, working class backgrounds, which is always a handy backstory.

It's not my area of expertise, but I would bet that a decent, centrally funded agency could do wonders with 3 or 4 RL players as clients.