4 nations game 7 - 4 nations final - ENG V AUS

[Brutus]

I listened to much of this game via Yorkshire Radio and I can tell you there is plenty of love for rugby league in Eng going by the coverage, analysis and feedback.

 

[gypsy]

I listened to much of this game via Yorkshire Radio and I can tell you there is plenty of love for rugby league in Eng going by the coverage, analysis and feedback.

Well I live one hour from Leeds, and over the last month at work, not one person has mentioned the four nations. Half of them wouldn't even know there were 2 rugby codes. It's never on TV, never advertised, out of sight apart from a small demographic in a few cities.
But what would I know....
It's big in a few cities, but that's all.

 

[user_nat]

Well I live one hour from Leeds, and over the last month at work, not one person has mentioned the four nations. Half of them wouldn't even know there were 2 rugby codes. It's never on TV, never advertised, out of sight apart from a small demographic in a few cities.
But what would I know....
It's big in a few cities, but that's all.

Could say the same for Australia really.

 

[gypsy]

Could say the same for Australia really.

You should spend some time over here, you'd see what I mean.
Pointless trying to explain.

 

[Leagueaddict]

Well done on a great career Lockyer. He was no Jamie Soward,

For F**KS SAKE?.... we hope not!:crazy:

 

[gypsy]

Well done on a great career Lockyer. He was no Jamie Soward,

For F**KS SAKE?.... we hope not!:crazy:

haha bit of Dragons love there

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

Just need to get more youngsters playing League in Europe, as has been said.

 

[gypsy]

Look at England's rugby union side, they aren't all that far off the wallabies....yet Rugby isn't really played in many counties either. My point - there would be so much untapped rugby league talent around, the RFL are happy doing nothing about it though.

 

[biggestbroncosfan]

A lot of the answers are here. The RFL need to do more to promote the game outside of the same few cities. They have made a token effort at London and other centres, but seeing the Harlequins (now broncos) or Crusaders (now extinct) dwindling at the bottom of the table does nothing to drum up interest in those areas.
They need to grow the game here, get more people interested. Rugby League players over here are known as failed footballers (soccer). The first step is to get kids at school playing Rugby League.
The RFL and Sky fail majorly at this. Showing 2 x games a week on TV, free and pay, is absolute rubbish. No advertising, dated coverage with dinosaur commentators with 1970's opinions. The RFL need to grab young peoples attention, as long as they do nothing, kids will continue to play football instead.
The talent is there, there are some wonderfully talented athletes in this country, but RL is almost a catchment for failed footballers IMO.

A lot of these will be changing. London have recruited well and imo could definitely win the Grand Final but how many people care about RL in London? seeing them with a stronger team next year might help in this case. Cru and SW playing in C1 will see developments in Wales plus the link with Wigan. RL is already growing in Wales and we will see more of that in the future plus we have expansion teams joining the C1 in 2013, RL is already starting to push into schools throughout England, Scotland and Wales, only issue is getting the game promoted on tv more and highlighting the growth of the game.

sending a bunch of players to Australia doesn't address the problem, it's a temporary fix....and isn't sustainable. The game has to improve here, for the long term health of the sport in this country, and the only way for it to improve, is to get more people interested. Simple.

Yes, it's a quick fix but that's what they need to keep the interest, improving the performances of the national team. RL is already growing throughout the country but seeing the national team lose every year discourages supporters, sponsors etc.. sending over there young up and coming players will help them build towards the future and I'm not saying lets send all there players on planes to Australia, I'm saying they need to identify players who could make it in the NRL and not developed players like Graham and Ellis but guys like Myler, Westerman, Tomkins, Ben Jones-Bishop and co. to help them develop their game more, stop bring over reject Australians over to SL start pushing through young players and build a bigger player pool. That way seeing England able to compete regularly with Australia will help build the game's profile.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Well done on a great career Lockyer. He was no Jamie Soward, but thanks for the memories.

You're right he was no Soward because Lockyer had heart and wasn't a cat

 

[gypsy]

Some good points for sure. I think sending people to Aus though is a bit like sending a 25 handicapper for golf coaching with Tiger Woods. There's so much that can be done without that. Far and away the biggest issue, like you say, is promotion. The fact there is no Rugby league entertainment show (footy show equivalent) is rubbish. Sure they have boots n all, but it's boring as hell, even for a seasoned fan. There is absolutely no appeal there for people who aren't league fans already. Showing a combined total of 2 games a week on all tv, is complete rubbish. If you want to watch WWE or something equally shit you're covered though. It winds me up hearing Stevo and co rabbit on about the state of the game here year on year, but if you continue to do absolutely nothing, it's to be expected.

 

[gypsy]

You're right he was no Soward because Lockyer had heart and wasn't a cat

Cmon, I'm a fellow LOL@50uff$ stakeholder, no need to take that road.
You're a rooster though, so I can understand you being jaded.

 

[gypsy]

You're right he was no Soward because Lockyer had heart and wasn't a cat

 

[skeepe]

What's the big fuss over James Graham? Such a soft player for a prop. I used to admire him actually, he looked great the last few years but if what we've seen of him over this tournament is any guide, the Bulldogs have got themselves a massive dud.

 

[biggestbroncosfan]

Some good points for sure. I think sending people to Aus though is a bit like sending a 25 handicapper for golf coaching with Tiger Woods. There's so much that can be done without that. Far and away the biggest issue, like you say, is promotion. The fact there is no Rugby league entertainment show (footy show equivalent) is rubbish. Sure they have boots n all, but it's boring as hell, even for a seasoned fan. There is absolutely no appeal there for people who aren't league fans already. Showing a combined total of 2 games a week on all tv, is complete rubbish. If you want to watch WWE or something equally shit you're covered though. It winds me up hearing Stevo and co rabbit on about the state of the game here year on year, but if you continue to do absolutely nothing, it's to be expected.

probably bring back Yorkshire v Lancashire probably add in Cumbria or some kind of a Southern Representative team as well, shorten SL season, long enough as it is. Footy Show is pointless anyway.. hardly worth watching, Boots n All is enough for me the important part is tv coverage, 2 games on Sky is not enough, we need at least one match shown on Friday, Saturday and Sunday plus the Championship on Thursday, BBC should at least get the sunday or friday game with the rest shown on Sky, of course the matches should be advertised otherwise how are we going to expect people to watch when they don't even know the game is on? I've already sent something out to Richard Lewis and co. to touch on all of these things but how do you expect people to pay an interest to RL when the national team can't compete for the full 80 mins?

 

[Fast Eddie]

this time feels so different its untrue....


previous times its all been about how awesome the aussies are......this time its been all about england....the fact that its lockyers last game has been "out media'd" by the england PR team who have pushed the fact that its mozza's 50TH test...we've had jamie peacock proclaiming that "they'll never hammer us again" in the national papers...theres been no negativity whatsoever about england which makes a change.....even garry schofield has kept his gob shut...:lol:

theres a real sense of self belief that i've never seen before....and i'm normally the cornerstone of belief when it comes to england RL :lol:

:lol:

 

[biggestbroncosfan]

What's the big fuss over James Graham? Such a soft player for a prop. I used to admire him actually, he looked great the last few years but if what we've seen of him over this tournament is any guide, the Bulldogs have got themselves a massive dud.

you obviously don't watch Super League do you? :lol:

 

[gypsy]

Boots n All is enough for me

This is what I'm getting at, the state of Rugby League in England is "good enough" for those hardened league fans. It simply isn't enough though to attract new fans, and new demographics to our sport. The footy show might be rubbish, but its entertainment. It raises players profiles, shows people another side to them, and gets women/children and anyone who isn't male between 25-45 interested in our sport.
If you're trying to convert someone to Rugby League, the current format isn't going to do it. The lack of coverage, the boring statistics courtesy of Phil Clarke and co. blah...bring the game into the 21st century.

 

[gypsy]

you obviously don't watch Super League do you? :lol:

+1. You have to love people forming judgements on 2 or 3 games.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Good to see England step up in a final once again.