I wouldn't trust the rfl to grow a pot plant naturally.

Interesting question on the Drivers Jonas survey. Which 3 grounds would you like the magic weekend to be held at? Obviously I put Belle Vue, the Willows and Wheldon Rd.

This Zack Wilson bloke - is he the RFL then?

Asking Barrow to merge with Workington and Whitehaven would be like asking Wakey to merge with FC and KR geographically can't see it ever happening.

Fast track a scottish club into super league. That way the RFL/SKY could throw wakey and cas out together next year.

It does make us paranoic's think that way!!

When will the flat cappers in Wakefield, castleford, huddersfield and the M62 corridor wake up and smell the coffee & realise that unless RL improves its national and geographical profile it will be a DEAD game played by amateurs as top athletes will go and play other sports

OK - what exactly do you mean by "improves its national and geographical profile" and how do you propose that RL actually goes ahead and does it?

How fortunate that the flat cappers in Wakefield, castleford, huddersfield and the M62 corridor pay to keep this great game going.If it was left to the Londoners, Welsh or French, just what do you think you would be watching now? It certainly would'nt be League.I find it quite amazing that our fore fathers, had the foresight to see a motorway being built in the 20 century to keep this Great Game alive. As for smelling the coffee, if those so called "top athletes" were any good at any other sport that payed more money, do you think they would really be playing RL? I doubt it very much.

As for being a flatcapper.I find it offensive that every time anyone says anything against expansion or the beloved"SL" they are a "FLATCAPPER". I've been watching the game nearly 60 years and have seen it being diluted to the game we have now. First the 1980s with too many over rated "Aussies" comming to feather their nests back home, to the SL era ie no P&R and franchising.

As for National or Geographical, in 30 odd years of the capital haveing a team maybe "ONE" perhaps no more have made the National team. The same goes for the Welsh.

As for dying, as I see it, the only thing that is going to kill this Great Game off is the "NOT" treating "ALL" the Rugby fraternity the same, as the usurpers are.

Seem to remember your club helping to improve the sport expand by swallowing up Sheffield Eagles,yeah, a big thank you for your expansionist policy!!!!

Zing!

Yes unfortunatly the Cof E at Sheffield who helped to steer his team into oblivion was no other than Ralph Rimmer who has just been taken on by Abbot and Costello to oversee the expantionist programme . Talk about lunatecs runing the assylum, I think if the rules of geting into Super League was the same for everone no one would bother. It`s the moving of goalposts to ensure certain teams fit the criteria that gets other fans riled.

is it time for the fans to join together and stand up for the credibility of our game ?

That is all.

Why dont you all answer the questtions.

The game in this counytry at any reasonable level depend on SKY money.

No Sky the game in this country would only be semi professional at best with only three possible teams competing Hull, Leeds, Wigan. No One else would have a look in. They are the only three teams who have the basics of being run profitably or at break even costs.

No sky money menas there would be NO top players left in this country. No McGuire, Tomkins, Eastmond, Richards etc. Not only that but any decent player coming through the ranks would be playing RU by the age of 21.


Sky sell their little boxes all over the countyry, sky's viewing figures show more people watch RL on there little boxes in the south East than Yorkshire.


SKY have said NO Harlequins no sky money ( they are probably the weakest of the three Expansionist teams Celtic and Catalans).

Get rid of expansion teams and get rid of RL as a profesional sport.

That is why i call you all flat cappers. If you were Turkeys you would be looking forward to Christmas.

And before any of you raise the Ken Davy card. I posted 3 years ago that if Huddersfield did not get a franchise but RL was stronger then so be it.


I love RL more than my own team.

started the Christmas cheer early

Durhamgiant - Why don't you answer the question?

This been the backbone of your argument, could you show me a link to where Sky have ever said that?

Catalans expansionist???
The game of league has been played in the South of France for years,nearly all the elite teams are from the South.Allowing Catalans in to Super League had nothing to do with expansion.

I could live with the game being semi - pro and based around M62.That was and is one of the good things about it - you could get to most grounds within a 90 minutes drive to go and support your team.The game was semi pro for years,indeed we were much more successful at international level when semi pro.

Quite frankly i dont give a flying to$$ about expansion.The game has wasted far too much money and time in trying to flog a dead horse.

I dont disagree with what you say about Sky calling the tune,but if my own team fell by the wayside in the name of expansion,i would simply stop watching the game.I love my own team more than RL.

That's a straw man - I don't see anyone calling for expansion teams to be got rid of; rather, people seem to want the RFL to stop treating the RL community like mushrooms and start being transparent and honest about their expansion agenda. If expansion clubs are to stay in at all costs for example, then say so, don't just keep changing the rules to compensate for their latest crises, then issuing disengenuous, woolly statements claiming that everything is a-ok. Or, as my old man is fond of saying, don't pi55 up my back and tell me it's raining.

Aside from all that - can anyone take a lecture about expansion from a Giants fan at all seriously, even if it is a lecture that refutes an argument that no-one was making in the first place?

Hardly a convincing argument for expansion!!!!

An area with NO super league club has more people watching RL on Sky than an area with 5 clubs.
What does that tell you?People will watch something on TV if its entertaining,whether they have a team in their area would seem irrelevant -- as your viewing figures show.
Your very own viewing figures proof that with regards Sky,more people tune in when they dont have a super league club in their area,than if they do.

More people live in SE England than in Yorkshire, so what's your point? Are you trying to tell us there are 2 million Quins fans in SE England who are just too bone idle to go to games?

When I went down to London to watch the Sooper Doopers down there I never actually spoke to a supporter from London. The only Southern voices I heard were the ones being paid to be there eg turnstyle operators and such. I am not saying there are non just that all those I spoke too were northerners that were now living down South and Aussie /Kiwi bar tenders / bank workers. I remember thinking they`ve had 30 yrs to build a crowd it ai`nt gonna happen.

=#0000FFJust think of how many people would watch the game if it was on terrestial telly (in the sixties ans seventies there was more than 2 million watching every saturday). Thats most of the towns and cities in the north got known all over the counrty



=#0000BFSeems to that this is a case of the tail wagging the dog. Sky know that RL is a good seller to bring people to sky sports thats why they have to advertise other sports but have very little advertising on sky for the greatest game. Its like having the sweeties by the check out in a supermarket and sky know the big boys in charge will just roll over and have their belly tickled just to keep sky happy. Its really is a case of the people in charge not knowning what a good game we have and how to sell it correctly



=#000080No one on this thread has said get rid of those expansion teams but what they would like is a level playing field (sorry for the pun), which is understandable when there are some clubs in super league which have only survived because of having the pick of another teams players and 1.5 million to tide them over. Clubs should start at the bottom and work their way up the leagues, not get it handed to them on a plate and have advantages so they can survive.



=#000080The reason you call us flat cappers is that you dont quite understand the situation as it really is. Once they have rid of teams like us they will get rid of your team next as they only need bradford and leeds in this area. you may have a nice stadium to play in but once bradford get a new/redevelop one you will be strung out like the rest of us. do you really think they would have kept you superleague if you still played at fartown. i know this is over egging the pudding some what remember what Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote.



=#000080RL will never expand properly until we get more fairness in terms of the media and goverments. the main reason for RU being more popular is due to the lack of coverage by the national press. this is caused by the public school people involved with RU have the clout when it comes to the media. for example recent arguments with the goverment reguarding the future RL and RU world cup comps they get 23 million we get 2 million.
it took a 100 years before RL was allowed to be played in the HM forces
given the chance clubs will form all over the country, have you seen the amount and location of the clubs in the Rugby League Conference these are that should helped with developments not some club who goes bust twice within two season of joining
i also love my team more than RL and would not be willing to change my loyalty to another club because i woud not have any association with it. thats like all the man u supporters living in the south