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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2765088, member: 1899"] There's some really interesting points being raised in this thread. I remember when the Gold Coast Titans were introduced in 2005 and the excitement that generated. Finally, Rugby League was looking to expand again after the Super League War. It felt exciting to be a Rugby League supporter at that time and you just wondered what the game would be like in ten years time. ...it really hasn't grown since. In fact, in a lot of ways it's gone backwards and there's a lot of clubs that are doing it tough right now. I look at a team like the Warriors and just wonder how they haven't won a premiership yet. The NYC was brought in, it should have brought in a few more Rugby Union prospects, it really should have paid off but instead it's the same old story. I almost feel bad because I know how it goes with them. They come out and just about every fresh-faced hopeless optimistic has them in their four, they start off terrible, pick apart a bunch of Origin depleted teams, and either they make a run or they just implode. They're trapped in a cycle and they're killing the game over there. Then you have Melbourne who have been the model of excellence for so long (minus the past cheating, let's not go there) and yet what sort of inroads have they made in Victoria? A bunch of Kiwis who happened to spend a season or two in their local league made the step up and proceeded to do little of note while there. Where is the coverage? Why isn't Channel 9 doing their best to promote the Storm down there and air their games on FTA? Why don't they treat their players like stars? It really is the reverse of the Warriors in a lot of ways. The SKY TV coverage is excellent and for a long time was easily better than what we received in Australia (every game live at a time where we had 4pm delayed). However, they've got a mediocre side that doesn't look like it will ever win a premiership, where as Melbourne is a legendary team that receives little to no exposure. Which brings me to the broadcast. The broadcast in Rugby League is awful. If you look at the games that attract the biggest audience and leave the biggest impression on the general public, it's rarely the best or most relevant games. Take a look at last week. THURSDAY Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos FRIDAY Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs St George Illawarra Dragons SUNDAY Manly Sea Eagles vs Newcastle Knights Who thought Thursday and Sunday were good ideas? Let's have the Roosters play Brisbane infront of 6000 odd people at Allianz Stadium. I'm sure that's going to appeal to the casual viewer. Or, let's show the public the worst team to play in years against a side that was absolutely struggling when these matches were announced? I can at least live with the Bulldogs/Dragons, even though on paper it looks as exciting as watching paint dry. At least there's an argument that you have two massive fanbases and that it could be a Top 8 game. In which case, make that the Sunday game and help draw a huge crowd to help put over the popularity of Rugby League. Is it really that hard? I just can't believe we spend all week talking about the Roosters/Broncos and Bulldogs/Dragons when we could have easily put the Warriors/Panthers on Thursday and had the Cowboys/Storm play a huge Friday night game. There's instances of this through out the year, where the FTA games are dominated by teams like St George, South Sydney and the like and they're boring as bat shit. I don't actually mind the first 20 Rounds being a fixed draw. Lots of sporting competitions around the world have a fixed draw and they just keep getting bigger and bigger. I'd just like to see those games mixed around fairly, and when we get to Round 21-26, that the big games are featured on FTA so the game gets an opportunity to promote it's biggest stars. It feels crazy to me that I had to explain to friends and family who Anthony Milford was before he played for Brisbane in 2015. But I don't blame them, I blame the lack of exposure the Raiders receive. [/QUOTE]

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