Re: Merger with Huddersfield? : Wed Sep 18, 2024 10:00 am  

Bullseye wrote:

What's the point?

Exactly. That's why in sport you have the 1st division, the 2nd division (or whatever fancy names you give them) .... and so on and there's promotion and relegation between each division. Otherwise we might as well have completely different competitions because there is no longer a link.

As such I think the Championship should re brand itself as the Premiership (ignoring the existence of Super League, lol), get a TV deal with Channel 4 and a blue chip sponsor. Job done!

[Bullseye]

Re: Merger with Huddersfield? : Wed Sep 18, 2024 11:08 am  

Without P&R fans will lose interest outside the top 6 of SL. Games need to have something hinging on them and hope of promotion and fear or relegation are the biggest motivators. Hudders, Hull, Cas and whoever else is at the lower end of SL will see crowds drop further if there's nothing to play for. This isn't the NRL. We don't have the money or the leadership to compete with that. Meanwhile participation is falling. Soon there won't be enough players for the clubs we have now. Maybe it's time to look at how other sports go about it. Hurling is amateur yet the all Ireland final is absolutely huge - if you haven't seen it watch the highlights https://youtu.be/PoViqHOY-XY?si=Ie-6mUAwEv3SfEvU That may mean in the long term we go back to a handful of pro clubs and the rest being semi pro. It probably means top level international competition versus Australia and New Zealand is finished but we haven't played the Aussies in years anyway.

Without P&R fans will lose interest outside the top 6 of SL. Games need to have something hinging on them and hope of promotion and fear or relegation are the biggest motivators. Hudders, Hull, Cas and whoever else is at the lower end of SL will see crowds drop further if there's nothing to play for. This isn't the NRL. We don't have the money or the leadership to compete with that. Meanwhile participation is falling. Soon there won't be enough players for the clubs we have now. Maybe it's time to look at how other sports go about it. Hurling is amateur yet the all Ireland final is absolutely huge - if you haven't seen it watch the highlights https://youtu.be/PoViqHOY-XY?si=Ie-6mUAwEv3SfEvU That may mean in the long term we go back to a handful of pro clubs and the rest being semi pro. It probably means top level international competition versus Australia and New Zealand is finished but we haven't played the Aussies in years anyway.