jarol wrote:Fortunately I’m a Rhinos fan so been to plenty of finals. First one Wembley 71/72. Only missed the Wembley 2020 final and not missed a Premiership or Grand final involving Leeds. Anyway I may have not have put my point across very well. While I congratulate Toulouse and hope they bring a much needed injection of interest to rugby league both in France and here. Rugby league is a spectator sport! Simple economics is no spectators no professional rugby.
Just playing devils advocate here but, if Toulouse can generate decent crowds at home (as Catalan do) then, they are doing their job.
I fully accept that games with no (or very few) away fans lack some atmosphere, the "home" side should be responsible for their attendances.
As for "simple economics", imagine if the Rhinos had had to play all of their fixtures away from home for all of the regular season.
Toulouse's pockets must be pretty damn deep and whatever the arguments are regarding the inclusion of French sides in SL, they should be applauded for their efforts on the field of play this season.
To go unbeaten, with all games away from home is one hell of an achievement.
With regard to the "bigger picture", it's just a pity that SL is so far down the shaft with the broadcasters and that "we" cant get a decent TV deal, which allows for a 12/14 club top flight is mickey poor.
There will be huge issues in the near future for the whole game, with a reduced player pool and the impact of any fall out form the head injury issue which seem to be growing by the day, which will further impact the numbers coming into the sport.
And, back on the TV deal, just how much damage have the endless postponed fixtures had on our ability to "sell" the sport, it certainly hasn't helped the cause.