The just scrap it altogether, as I said earlier it’s run it’s course in its current format. It doesn’t interest me one bit and looking at recent attendances I’m not alone in saying that.
So all six teams have to get changed and warmed up at the same time ready to play, then four of them find out they're not playing yet? Besides the fact there are few stadiums with the facilities to allow six teams to all get changed and warmed up at the same time, it would just be messing players and coaching staff about needlessly. There would be heavy criticism of the RFL from the teams for being amateurish and rightly so.
I think it would be pretty poor from a fan's perspective too. You're asking people to buy travel, accommodation and tickets for what could well be three mismatches. I know from our group I can get six-eight of us to pay up for Wigan v Saints/Warrington/Leeds with a bit of arm twisting. For random opposition if would be a harder sell, most likely just two of us. I'll watch any rugby but it's asking a lot of time and money from casual fans to potentially watch Wigan v Hull KR.
We need these to either be evenly matched on paper, or derbies. Of course the problem with derbies is that if would mean the same games every year. 1 v 2, 3 v 4 etc from last season's table works, or alternatively from a set point during the current season (e.g when everyone has played each other once).
I never said anything about them all having to get changed and warming up. I said have the draw an hour before the first game is scheduled. Only the two teams in the first draw would need to change. The whole event is becoming monotonous,Maybe turn it into a nines event?
Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.
The_Enforcer wrote:
Most idiotic post ever goes to Grimmy..... The way to restart should be an arm wrestle between a designated player from each side.
I never said anything about them all having to get changed and warming up. I said have the draw an hour before the first game is scheduled. Only the two teams in the first draw would need to change. The whole event is becoming monotonous,Maybe turn it into a nines event?
Yeah so if the draw is an hour before the first game then all 6 teams will need to have got changed and have begun their warm up when the draw is taking place, because they will have to prepare assuming that they will be the first team on until told otherwise.
It's not Men's League where they just turn up, do a couple of laps to shift their hangovers and kick off. These are professional athletes playing an extremely physical game, their pre-match routines are planned ahead and start hours before kick off with what they eat, meetings, stretching etc. I can just imagine Daryl Powell's face as he gets the team over to the stadium for 10:00, then finds out they aren't playing for another eight hours. It would be a fun interview at least!
It's just putting loads of strain on the whole pre-match process (which isn't as simple as you seem to think it is) with no real benefit. Clubs and fans alike benefit from knowing in advance what games are happening and when they are happening. It would give plenty ammunition to the people who already think the RFL are incompetent and make complicated changes every year for the sake of it.
Nines - maybe. It depends whether you would get the buy-in from the clubs to be honest if there are no competition points at stake. If teams went full strength to win it then it could be great, but the cynic in me says they wouldn't risk any first teamers getting injured and damaging their chances in the SL/CC, so it would become a reserves competition. I wouldn't be against Magic Weekend being used for a CC round of they did change it. That way you're not creating an uneven fixture list or having the same games every year. You do run the risk of having a lot of mismatches though if the draw isn't kind.
To be fair to SL/RFL, they did say that the teams will play on the same day in 2021 as they were scheduled in 2020, so those fans with tickets for 2020 could still use them this year
It got boring circa 3/4 years ago. Should be binned off, no question
I don't think it needs binning off, just revamping a bit. It's got repetitive. As much as i love the Wigan v Saints derbies and loved the Sam Tomkins solo try etc at magic, those derbies are special and should be limited to 2 games a season, 1 at home and 1 away unless we draw them in the cup. This can be said with Warrington too, with the loop fixtures, magic weekend and the guarantee we draw them in the challenge cup those games don't get me excited anymore. The Leeds games were always crackers at Magic. Sky are overdoing the big games thinking they are what everyone wants to see but me personally thinks its been way over diluted. I don't want to be playing St Helens and Warrington every couple of months. I want months in advance to look forward to it. It builds the occasion more and is less meaningless than losing 2 out of 5 games per season against the same team. Why oh why can't the authorities not see the game needs injecting with new ideas.A small group of men bereft of ideas killing it for tens of thousands of us.
Some of these ideas are far too complex. The phrase, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” springs to mind here.
None of this decide a week before who’s playing who, or an hour before in The Enforcer esque type suggestions. A ‘Lancashire v Yorkshire’ theme is a tired old idea. We’re as well going the whole hog and having Brexit v Remain. Magic Weekend works as a concept because it’s simple. Our games v Warrington are always exciting games so I can see why we’re playing each other. Having said that in the absence of Good Friday v Saints this year I’d have liked to have seen us play Saints.
For me simple is better, so with that in mind fixtures should quite simply go off the season end table;
Grand Final replay 3 v 4 5 v 6 7 v 8 9 v 10 11 v newly promoted
Obviously there’ll be some changing about should the Grand Finalists not be 1&2 but that’s evenly matched and simple. It’s not hard to follow.
The trouble with RL half the time is that we go for these hugely complex ideas which sound good but in reality are just confusing to explain and therefore turns people off. Just keep things simple.
Some of these ideas are far too complex. The phrase, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” springs to mind here.
None of this decide a week before who’s playing who, or an hour before in The Enforcer esque type suggestions. A ‘Lancashire v Yorkshire’ theme is a tired old idea. We’re as well going the whole hog and having Brexit v Remain. Magic Weekend works as a concept because it’s simple. Our games v Warrington are always exciting games so I can see why we’re playing each other. Having said that in the absence of Good Friday v Saints this year I’d have liked to have seen us play Saints.
For me simple is better, so with that in mind fixtures should quite simply go off the season end table;
Grand Final replay 3 v 4 5 v 6 7 v 8 9 v 10 11 v newly promoted
Obviously there’ll be some changing about should the Grand Finalists not be 1&2 but that’s evenly matched and simple. It’s not hard to follow.
The trouble with RL half the time is that we go for these hugely complex ideas which sound good but in reality are just confusing to explain and therefore turns people off. Just keep things simple.
I'm a big fan of the KISS method (Keep it Simple Stupid)