Re: sundays crowd : Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:28 am  

I can only speak of myself and I am unique as I dont attend any games though I do put money behind the club sponsoring a player etc. I used to watch religeously every Friday SL in a Pub in Munich. I would watch 2 or 3 games of the NRL on my Computer. I used to be fanatical.
Right now I dont really care except for watching my other team Melbourne Storm who I have followed for many years. Keep a look out for Fax updates, but not determined to listen to updates via Twitter or Radio Leeds like before. When I see how both Championship clubs and the amateur game is treated then I feel why bother anymore as I cant see a future for our game. I admire the efforts of the Board and others like Linda Kitson, Chris Smith. And I do try and support them in my little way. But my interest in the Championship is not there anymore. Is it an A league or a comp for clubs that simply are dieing off slowly and look for anyway to stay competitive? What is Hunslet? For me its just a Leeds A team that has no pride. Swinton are no better. The Championship used to be a tough comp- now its just a lottery with the RFL not caring. I have had enough of the game to be honest thanks to the RFL as well as its associate the RLEF who I have sadly had dealings with. These people only care what they want not what is best for the game. I am not sure there is much the club can do as my problems are more with the pillocks at the RFL who are killing mine andf others intrest in the game off with their disgraceful acts and decisions

Re: sundays crowd : Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:10 pm  

2012 average league crowds, looks to me as everyone is struggling this year

Super League

Bulls 11,761
Cas 6,633
Cats 9,383
Huddersfield 7,709
Hull 11,885
Hull KR 7,786
Leeds 14,948
London 2,808
Salford 5,492
Saints 14,088
Wakefield 8,172
Warrington 11,430
Widnes 5,942
Wigan 16,043

Championship

Fev 2283
Fax 2222
Leigh 1772
Sheff 1178
Dewsbury 1134
Keighley 1064
Batley 1013
York 812
Swinton 760
Hunslet 536


Championship 1

Barrow 1396
Workington 897
Crusaders 893
Whitehaven 846
Doncaster 731
Oldham 606
Skolars 547
Rochdale 502
Scorpions 363
Gateshead 287

Re: sundays crowd : Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:42 pm  

Awful weather, mothers day, plenty on tv, Premier League, FA Cup, stagnant leagues and £15 to watch Semi Pro sport, its not quite a shocker that crowds aren't booming for us or anyone.

Apart from the £15 im not sure Halifax can do much about the endemic issues surrounding the sport. And i dont think a reduction to £10 would do much more than bring a few extra people in and reduce the overall income so I guess its cutting cloth time for RL.

Re: sundays crowd : Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:58 pm  

I cannot believe we're even asking ourselves "why are the crowds so low?"
I've followed Fax for 35 years (surprised me too when I thought about it) so I've seen just about everything there is to see.
We are in a horrendous recession, the game is being run by clowns, there is no prospect of promotion, the opposition teams (with just a few exceptions) fail to excite me and unfortunately our brand of rugby (whilst I agree is succesful) just doesn't have us on the edge of our seats anymore. At best we've one "gamechanger" in our squad, the rest of the team being made up of big hearted, hard working, slightly above average (given the current league position) blokes. I admire Rhino and what he's done for us. But for him to develop as a coach he's got to bring in another dimension to show he's not just a one-trick pony. Exciting rugby brings people to the terraces.
Brian Barwick has drawn his salary long enough now to have seen where the issues are. He needs to grow some, fire the guys at the top and bring in Barry Hearn. If he can turn around a game of fat blokes throwing spears at a cardboard circle and drag in massive crowds, (not to mention what he's done to snooker and -to a certain extent- boxing)what could he do for Professional Rugby League? Instead we have the likes of Wood who's only success is clearing his plate after every meal.
I'm going to keep coming to the Shay and the odd away game as finances allow, but I'm finding it really hard to convince my Wendyball watching pals that Rugby league has something extra to offer. If I'd taken a "first-timer" to Sunday's game I'd have died of embarassement given that it was such a dour affair.

Re: sundays crowd : Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:29 pm  

gee, its turned into a right conflab about the crowds. i only asked in first place due to the photo used on story which harks back to SL days.

Re: sundays crowd : Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:10 pm  

LOL
The issue is that the press can't be bothered to get a relevant photo either. For some reason I enjoyed Sunday's game more than the Sheffield game even though we bombed a number of tries at least we tried to move the ball.
Fax must entertain if there is no P&R, winning is not enough in this league, though I don't want us to lose every week either.
We need to win and entertain and then maybe the crowds will grow.

Re: sundays crowd : Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:34 pm  

Norman Bates wrote:

LOL
The issue is that the press can't be bothered to get a relevant photo either. For some reason I enjoyed Sunday's game more than the Sheffield game even though we bombed a number of tries at least we tried to move the ball.
Fax must entertain if there is no P&R, winning is not enough in this league, though I don't want us to lose every week either.
We need to win and entertain and then maybe the crowds will grow.

The crowds won't grow until the games and the club are marketed much much better.

Re: sundays crowd : Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:34 pm  

Sat watching Spurs v Liverpool at dinner time, Man Utd v Chelsea in the afternoon & England v Italy at tea time in front of the fire at home or pay £15 to watch Halifax play Swinton Lions on a cold Sunday afternoon.. after seeing Halifax give the game away against Batley away the week previous, was enough for me.

I agree with the comment about people falling out with RL in general, I have noticed especially in amateur Rugby, nobody cares about it like they did several years ago & from what I understand in generations previous to my own. lads now play / watch if there is nothing else to do.

What do Halifax RLFC do to encourage me to come watch a game?

Promoting the signing of Luke Adamson before the game would of helped that, building it up to be something existing.. I did not hear about this until after the game. I have not attended one game this season, but I have also not sat down and watched one game on Super League either, but have I missed a game of live NRL in the same space of time? ..... Have I Heck!

Re: sundays crowd : Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:50 pm  

a.n Other wrote:

You may be right. But, Fev have increased there crowds in the past few years. There seems to
be a "buzz" about there club. What have they done that Fax hasn't?

It's what they haven't done; I don't know about whether it still resonates in Halifax in the same way that it does in Leigh, but our bad experience in Super League means that people seemingly aren't too keen on going back there for a repeat season, especially after years trying to get to the 'promised land' and find out it isn't all that it was cracked to be. I liken Fev's current position to that at Leigh 2000-2004 where crowds and enthusiasm were very much on the up as we pushed for Super League, and even that was under the old P&R without having franchising to contend with.

Re: sundays crowd : Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:01 pm  

I was doing some work a couple of weeks back up the top of Ovenden way.
In the house there were a number of framed pictures mounted on the wall of Thrum Hall and of the Halifax teams.
I just assumed that they still went to the games and asked if they had been on Sunday.
"Na mate" was the answer we used to go home and away and to the A team games on a Friday night but since Fax went down the Shay and they way the game is being run these days has killed of our interest and that was it.
I can think of dozens who used to go to the games but have stopped for a number of reason and no doubt we all can.
The biggest factor that they all say to me is that they have lost faith in the whole system and those that run the game, it's not a level playing field and things get changed to suit the chosen few by those in charge.