Widnes to superleague

Firstly congratulations to Widnes for gaining a place in super league.  Like I have mentioned before, I thought it harsh that they didn't make it in last time around, so could not see past them for this license.

They have announced during the last few days that they are to setup the ‘Viking stronghold’ whereby you can sign up for a monthly direct debit of between £14 and £18 (depending on when you sign up) instead of paying out for a season ticket.  You also get some extra perks, such as a 'retro' home top, electronic programme and team sheets via your mobile and other discounts.  Although not maybe as ground breaking as Steve O’Connor announced (Keighley and Saints have similar packages, less evolved), i think this is the model that super league clubs will probably use moving forward.

Steve Oconnor

It makes commercial sense for clubs to do so, but does also increase risk.  It should provide  sustainability, as it will stop them from overspending their early season ticket sales money, meaning that they can make monthly projections more precise.  I also expect it will increase ticket sales,  although maybe not increasing crowd sizes by too much.  Alot of Rugby fans will not have money to make a large one-off purchase like a season ticket, but a small direct debit coming out each month isn't as noticeable.


The downside for the club is that the new deal is non-committal. If the club were to go through a  rough patch on the field direct debits can be cancelled, taking the income out of the club and  potentially pushing them over their monthly projections, although if you do cancel during the off  season you are subject to a rejoining fee at the start of the next. Price freeze season tickets last year  for the Vikings were £156 and are still available, but fans are encouraged to join the new scheme, which at its most expensive would make around £216 per year.
 
I think the system should work, as long as fans stay committed.  The T-shirts, electronic programme and Team sheets by text are also a nice touch that should encourage fans to sign up, and as most  programmes now are jammed full of adverts, it seems a good way for them to market other products to fans.

The difference now is that the packages are now being pushed and promoted on the back of the license decision, and may be able to carry on the media wave that has risen since the franchise  announcement.  This will not only improve Vikings sales through advertising, but gives us another  chance to show that Rugby League is not just about our great sport on the field, but that it has great innovations off it too.

The Exiles and the 30th of March

So, I think by now everyone has twigged that the eerie looking E badge Below is for the Exiles, a team of UK based foreigners coming together to take on the England team early in June.  Others have said it could be the England knights teams badge, but if it is, its not very ... 'Englandy'.

A potential stumbling block for the exiles is the selection criteria squad.  It would be unfair if all of one teams players were used.  One idea is that only one man per SL team could be picked in order to make sure it is fair and even flirted with the idea of letting fans pick.  I think that would be a great idea to get fans involved and could put additional pressure on the exiles.  I hope an international freindly like this that can be done every year.  It will give us a great benchmark to see how we would fair against the full squads of Aussies and New zealanders, but may take some of the edge off the England squad, and the reason why this has been put in place.  Especially if we get badly beaten.  

There had been some rumours (mostly from Championship fans) that this ‘E’ was going to be a new franchise team, coinciding with the super league license review which is due to be announced on the 30^th of the Month.  On this day we will find out which team(s) are going to be coming up, and going down to the championship.  If the RFL were to overlook all of the currently touted Championship teams and start a new franchise elsewhere there would be uproar, so I find this very unlikely.  Besides that, I can think of many place names that start with an E.  

For what it’s worth, I think that Widnes will get the spot, and I have no qualms with that at all.  They have a cracking stadium, good coaches, youth development and infrastructure.  They will still be seething from missing out on the space last time around, and it would be tough for them to take another setback like that.  

 

Unfortunately, I feel the comically named ‘Big Fellas Stadium’ In Featherstone is probably holding Fev back more than the fact that they are in close vicinity to other clubs.  Hopefully they will be able to rectify this and crack on building their new stadium and continue with their great performances in the league and cup over the last few of years.  On the other hand, a team like Barrow may be better for the expansion of RL, which I have spoken about below, and am a strong advocate of.  

Guess we will find out soon enough.