Re: stay away fans ? : Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:18 am  

Only on a personal note here ,but when games are played away on a weeknight I and the regular 6 of my family that normally attend have zero chance of getting over the Pennines and back after the game without it being some ungodly hr for our grandkids. Surely we are shooting ourselves in the foot by denying lots of parents and in our case grandparents from attending these games .We are doing our bit to steer our grandchildren away from going down the football route as 2 out of 3 play football and RL on a regular basis and the other too young for either . They love the big hits and the length of field tries and of course big dave and kelepi .IMHO we as a sport are being very short sighted by not allowing the lifeblood of this game a chance to watch ,and in the grandkids case grow to love the sport on a more regular basis ,something which we have done for around 50years .However we look at things going forwards as a sport ,it’s the kids of today that will hopefully be the supporters of the future ,if we can make it more accessible than it is at present .

Re: stay away fans ? : Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:56 am  

Kettykat wrote:

Stripping the ball needs sacking off ASAP as very hard to police ,6 again not fussed as we get our fair share but I’m really not bothered if scrums in their last format we’re resigned to the history books as they have become a laughing stock .Get it back to a contested scrum ,one where the ball get fed in straight and not into the second row .We seemed to have coped well without the scrums as in fitness ,and has certainly speeded the game up .IMO COVID has played a huge role in hammering the game both on the fans and players front ,games called off ,sky putting games on when and where they want ,fear of contracting COVID all have and will have for quite some time have a huge effect on our game and attendances. But after watching a footy game ( under duress may I add) I still say we have by far the best sporting product on the field ,we just need to get the people who run our great game to step up to the plate and sell it to the public any way they can ,because get a newbie to a game like our last one and they’ll be hooked .Lions led by donkeys springs to mind ,and if the powers that be can’t get the game back on its feet ,they need to step aside and let someone else have a go . It’s very hard to sell a crap product ,but we have one of the very best ,so why are we struggling in the game as a whole to attract investors and fans ,IMO they should be knocking the door down to get a piece of the action.

Agree with all this!
Contested scrums were an integral part of the game of RL, with specialist forwards' ie open side/field side props, ball playing loose forwards and genuine hookers, Many attacking chances were created from a quick ball out of the scrum to loose forwards who had the knack of releasing players onto shrewd passed. Unfortunately , they became messy because, at the time we were playing in winter and often in heavy wet conditions. scrums collapsed and seemed to take ages to reform and then there were , of course pedantic referees who blew their whistle at anything and the whole scrum issue became a problem.
I'm convinced that with summer pitches and fitter players they could be brought back, but it's all hypothetical because they won't be.

[PopTart]

Re: stay away fans ? : Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:35 am  

Redscat wrote:

[b]As you have said previously, you have no first hand knowledge of the bygone days and are basing your image of the game of the past on what is accepted today. Yes, the forwards were built like tanks and were not as mobile as the modern day equivalent, but that is what was expected of them in the game as it was. It didn't make it less entertaining. Our experience of speed within the game generally came from the wingers. All positions had a specific role to play whereas today so many positions are interchangeable. I don't think I've put myself across very well, but I hope you get the idea of what I'm trying to say.

I wasn't disagreeing with you. Just explaining why I think it's changed.
I go back to the mid 70s and loved watching the game. It certainly wasn't boring.

Re: stay away fans ? : Fri Sep 03, 2021 6:35 am  

Speeding up the game is fine but only if you can speed up the players.

There is always a lag between implementation and players response and frankly there are too many changes far too often for players to catch up.

It’s like they solve one problem just to create another, needs to stop.