Are you winking at me?

Is that so wrong?

Not at all.





I predict another attendance thread to pop up about 8 o'clock Friday night when someone claims there are only 15 fans at the Crusaders game. The official attendance will be announced as 1,743 and then someone else will claim that is a joke as there are clearly well over 5,000 at the game.

It may well be, but thats how they see it, most of them have said they'll spend the ticket money they save in the club shop and support this club.



I agree the game needs to expand and i would be happy to support it but sadly i don't trust the RFL and the way they operate, thats just how i see it, bitter and twisted well not yet but give it time

Why then, on your own forum, are you expressing your indifference as to how many people turn up to the CC game at BV, since you only care about Cas?

But how do we get that? Bottom up or top down?



Fast tracking expansionism? I for one think that is wrong! And IMO will result in a poorly managed, poorly financed and poorly supported entity (Celtic/Fulham-London Broncos-Quins/PSG/Gateshead). The only example that has proved otherwise is Le Cats. And I think that has a lot more to do with it being marketed in this country as a "rugby league holiday", which is why when teams have to travel twice in one year fans (on the whole) stay home once (more often than not at the start of the year, when theres less chance of belting sun!). You couldn't market this ideal in Wales, London or any other GB location.



The only way to build success is to grow it, so you have healthy home fans and no reliance on travelling fans. Which in my view comes from a healthy and "reactive" junior and amateur following. This has to be built from the bottom up, not top down ala current RFL strategies.

Teams should start off from NL2 (with a healthy amount of RFL assistance) and be grown over generations not 3 year cycles. Generations passing on their love of the game comes from a healthy product; we must ensure the survival of our heart or the organism will die!!

Sorry Fully but why is it fact, I don't agree. This is what the SL apologists say on the VT and I have never got on yet to say what these facts are.



The M62 corridor including Liverpool contains approx 16 million people. That is about the same as NSW and QLD combined. Yet no one thinks RL can't prosper in Oz. The entire population of wales is about a 5th of the M62 corridor and already has a form of Rugby and we pick the least populated part of it. So why so much effort for a bunch of sheep farmers?



Why when it includes two of the five biggest cities in the UK, has two ITV networks and two daily papers can RL not survive as a big fish in the north. Why do we need it, why can't we just be a big regional sport.



I simply don't buy this expansion rubbish. Nobody outside the M62 wants RL, that's the real fact. They have their own teams in their own sports and never asked for a SL team. This is because they don't care and they never will.



Make RL big where it's big, so big that regionally at least it can't be ignored. This alone will ensure our big events get national recognition. Stop pigging dreaming of a RL empire that will never be. Instead of trying to be America be Israel, there not big and flash but no one messes with them and everyone knows who they are.



I'm sick of this expansionist/franchise b*llocks, I just want to go back to supporting my team, just travelling the M62, France every now and then and maybe Wembley - London once in a lifetime - that I reckon is all 90% of fans have ever wanted IMHO.



Not that anyone ever bothered to ask them.

Strangely, Vastman, I agree with everything you've put in that post. I don't care if it's a national sport or not, I don't even care if it's shown live on TV, I too just want to follow my team whether good or bad.

That vastman is your best ever post

Years ago I was all for expansion and preaching RL to the wider audience. Ask me how I feel about it now... I really couldn't give a toss! RL has always been concentrated along the M62 corridor and to be quite honest, I don't care if it stays that way.



I don't give 2 hoots if that London rabble think we're all flat caps and whippets. Let them carry on watching their boring kick and clap and leave us simple folk to enjoy our own game.

I would love to see you face to face with steveo and eddie and put that case across, you make very good points that has never been mentioned before with the tv pundits. There is a case of clubs further a field but will never be the super league team unless someone has loads of money to risk.



To put further points on here look at the local clubs that have been around



stanley 1919

eastmoor 1873

shaw cross 1947

normy 1879

Well said vastman, at last something we agree on!!!

Perfectly sums up the situation.