: Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:50 pm
Brunoshayman wrote:
i find it very sad that rugby league 'the greatest game of all' has reduced itself to fans not being bothered if there team wins the league because they have ticked a box on the path to promotion. no longer does the best team get rewarded for their efforts on the field its more important that sponsors and digniteries (who dont care about the game but just want a free meal) can sit comfortably in the stadiums while real fans get shafted by inflated refreshment prices!!!
The nrc was always a mickey mouse cup which essentially replaced the need for pre-season friendlies but now to make some ££'s for the rfl they came up with this brilliant idea to allow the winners the right to apply for super league and by doing so creating this feeling of apathy from the winning teams supporters for the remainder of the season.
Since you can no longer gain promotion to SL by wining a Grand Final, they are both
'Mickey Mouse' cups. The main incentive for winning a GF was to gain promotion. Now it's all about being able to bid for a SL licence. At least you actually have to win the NRC to qualify. All you have to do is appear in a GF to qualify to make a bid.
To say that Widnes fans don't want to win the GF is ridiculous. It's no longer an imperative for us to gain promotion, therefore not as important, nay vital, as it once was. Both tournaments are a means to a distant ends. Nevertheless, it still gives the club who wins it the honour of being league champions. The NRC has probably gained in significance and, by the same token, the GF has decreased in significance. It is still better to win a GF imo, but neither carry anymore significance to the other in terms of gaining promotion. Other off the field issues, once you have won one or more of these competitions, come into play for that.