IMG Gradings

[5menofsteel]

It’s ironic that we think Sunday afternoon would boost the attendance and on the last poll of fans they said they prefer Sunday afternoons. Despite that the club insist on playing virtually all home matches on Friday nights, which IMO is not great for families with young kids who are the next generation of supporters, not to mention working fans who have a distance to travel.Sky was the excuse but it is just that, an excuse because all the games are on Sky now, whenever they are played.
At the very least the club could be a bit more flexible next year and find out what really suits the fans rather than club staff.

Agree TT , but I think that the problem is with the Sky Thursday games (like ours this week) . If a club plays home games on a Sunday then there is only a 4 day turnaround if playing the Thursday game .

We wouldn't be on every Thursday to be fair , but I would also imagine that most clubs want to play every Sunday afternoon as well , so Sky scheduling has to take priority unfortunately . There is further eveidence of this when considering Championship games , which are normally Sunday afternoon as they don't have the Sky restrictions imposed upon them .

I think that the club have taken all of this into account and chosen Friday night as this means there is a guaranteed minimum 5 day turnaround and , in the club's defence , it also means that supporters have some sort of consistency with home games which has been an issue in the past .

[Tamworth Tiger]

I understand some of what you’re saying but as our aging spectator base gradually moves to watching their rugby on TV, we’re potentially losing their replacements as there’s nothing like the number of kids around on match days as there used to be on Sunday afternoons.

[JIN. JER]

It’s odd, our attendances (off the top of my head)
Bradford 7,300-Friday evening
Toulouse 7,000 Saturday evening
Swinton 5,200 Sunday
Dewsbury 5,850 Friday
Our lowest gate so far has been on a Sunday, are people getting bored of Sunday games?

[Tamworth Tiger]

Maybe the kids don’t want to go any more. Worrying

[5menofsteel]

It’s odd, our attendances (off the top of my head)
Bradford 7,300-Friday evening
Toulouse 7,000 Saturday evening
Swinton 5,200 Sunday
Dewsbury 5,850 Friday
Our lowest gate so far has been on a Sunday, are people getting bored of Sunday games?

Hi Jin Jer , I think you have to look at your opponents on that day . Hd you played them on a Friday night you may have had less than 5.2k . If you'd played Bradford and Toulouse on a Sunday I am sure the crowds would have been similar to those seen on the Friday and Saturday respectively.

[5menofsteel]

I understand some of what you’re saying but as our aging spectator base gradually moves to watching their rugby on TV, we’re potentially losing their replacements as there’s nothing like the number of kids around on match days as there used to be on Sunday afternoons.

Agree , just one of the things we have to take on the chin with Sky I'm afraid . The positives that Sky bring (ie over £1M per annum) far outweigh the revenue generated from the extra support we would see if no Sky and Sunday afternoon games . We would need somewhere in the region of an extra 3k attendance per game to claw back that sort of money and with a capacity of under 10k , this wouldn't be possible , even if we could fill WR every week .

In an ideal world , we could play all our home games on a Sunday with no Sky coverage , but still have all our away games shown live , and get the Sky money as well

[jackknife]

It’s ironic that we think Sunday afternoon would boost the attendance and on the last poll of fans they said they prefer Sunday afternoons. Despite that the club insist on playing virtually all home matches on Friday nights, which IMO is not great for families with young kids who are the next generation of supporters, not to mention working fans who have a distance to travel.Sky was the excuse but it is just that, an excuse because all the games are on Sky now, whenever they are played.
At the very least the club could be a bit more flexible next year and find out what really suits the fans rather than club staff.

I didn't think the club had a choice when they play, dont sky just tell them when they're playing?

[gateman]

It’s odd, our attendances (off the top of my head)
Bradford 7,300-Friday evening
Toulouse 7,000 Saturday evening
Swinton 5,200 Sunday
Dewsbury 5,850 Friday
Our lowest gate so far has been on a Sunday, are people getting bored of Sunday games?
[/ have to pay]

mate you have got to keep those free tickets going next year, if people have to pay they might not be as eager to turn up

[Tamworth Tiger]

It’s ironic that we think Sunday afternoon would boost the attendance and on the last poll of fans they said they prefer Sunday afternoons. Despite that the club insist on playing virtually all home matches on Friday nights, which IMO is not great for families with young kids who are the next generation of supporters, not to mention working fans who have a distance to travel.Sky was the excuse but it is just that, an excuse because all the games are on Sky now, whenever they are played.
At the very least the club could be a bit more flexible next year and find out what really suits the fans rather than club staff.

I didn't think the club had a choice when they play, dont sky just tell them when they're playing?

You might be right but I’ve never heard that before

[Sharlotiger]

Thought it was a conscious decision by Cas to move to Friday night games to give the players longer turn round times with most other sides preferring Friday evenings.
The only games Sky control are their Thursday evening and Friday round picks.

[5menofsteel]

Just 2 weeks to go now . I think we will be ok , but will we get a Category A ?

[Martiger]

Just 2 weeks to go now . I think we will be ok , but will we get a Category A ?

NO! We will get a High grade B and be outscored by other clubs who were at risk.

[Tamworth Tiger]

I suppose for me is the question at this stage is can we finish lower than 12th? To do so , with London being down already, are there really two Championship Clubs that can overtake us? I have no more info than anyone else, but can’t see it.

[5menofsteel]

I suppose for me is the question at this stage is can we finish lower than 12th? To do so , with London being down already, are there really two Championship Clubs that can overtake us? I have no more info than anyone else, but can’t see it.

Agree TT. Wakey may be above us if they win GF , but that means that they will have taken all 0.35 bonus points available for winning GF and 1895 Cup , so would be difficult for another Championship team to reach required points . I do think we can still make Cat A though , which would be a fantastic effort from all involved at the club . Making 2025 SL would justify focusing on off field issues rather than on field performance for this season .

[covid tiger]

Could do with Toulouse losing at the weekend and not getting to the championship grand final

[5menofsteel]

Could do with Toulouse losing at the weekend and not getting to the championship grand final

agree , wouldn't be a bad result as I can't see Bradford scoring enough to make top 12

York beating Wakey would help as well , although I think it benefits us more to have Wakey in SL than Toulouse

[noxandrattles]

Could do with Toulouse losing at the weekend and not getting to the championship grand final

agree , wouldn't be a bad result as I can't see Bradford scoring enough to make top 12

York beating Wakey would help as well , although I think it benefits us more to have Wakey in SL than Toulouse

I prefer a weekend in toulouse to a couple of hours in wakefield

[Tamworth Tiger]

Could do with Toulouse losing at the weekend and not getting to the championship grand final

agree , wouldn't be a bad result as I can't see Bradford scoring enough to make top 12

York beating Wakey would help as well , although I think it benefits us more to have Wakey in SL than Toulouse

I prefer a weekend in toulouse to a couple of hours in wakefield

Hard to argue with that!

[Fumper27]

Could do with Toulouse losing at the weekend and not getting to the championship grand final

If we need Toulouse to get beat to help secure our place in SL then we have much bigger problems to worry about.