Rugby League Betfred Championship

[tyke1962]

All gets underway this coming weekend , not entirely sure of any interest in The Dons on here but thought I'd stick a thread up anyway .

I believe Dons have York Knights at home for the opening game so a fairly tough start but not the toughest by any means .

I'm a big Wakefield Trinity fan and we open on Friday night against the Bradford Bulls which I'm looking forward to enormously .

£100 for an ST at Trinity where I stand on the West Terrace , you can't beat that for value .

[Iberian Red]

Tyke,why have Barnsley never had a RL team?
We are all from that heartland and I often wondered why that was.
Sheffield had one,but too far south to be in that heartland,Mansfield too.

[tyke1962]

Tyke,why have Barnsley never had a RL team?
We are all from that heartland and I often wondered why that was.
Sheffield had one,but too far south to be in that heartland,Mansfield too.

Well in my opinion Rugby League territory is to follow the M62 and up in to  Cumbria .

We aren't really a rugby town is to answer your question but those of us who do follow the game over here tend to head to Wakefield , Castleford or Featherstone .

I followed Trinity since 1982 purely and simply because it's the closet club to where I'm from in Barnsley and once you go through those turnstiles that's your club and it never leaves you .

Belle Vue is literally 15 minutes from my house .

[Dougiebulletheader]

I work in Ferrybridge surrounded by Cas, Feath and Wakefield fans and Leeds United...

[tyke1962]

I work in Ferrybridge surrounded by Cas, Feath and Wakefield fans and Leeds United...

Dons visit Belle Vue in round three which without taking anything for granted will probably be everyone's hardest game of the season never mind The Dons .

Huge advantage for Trinity this season over the rest of the league , we've remained full time for starters and new owner Matt Ellis has invested £1.5m in to the squad .

We've probably when everyone is fit got a better squad than last season in Super League .

[BillyStubbsTears]

Superb start from the Dons.

36-20 Vs York

[tyke1962]

Superb start from the Dons.

36-20 Vs York

Superb indeed Billy and a cracking start for the Dons .

York are expected to do pretty well this season so it's a good and confidence boosting victory for newly promoted Doncaster .

The two South Yorkshire club's have started with wins after the Sheffield Eagles beat Toulouse on Friday night , Toulouse were Grand Finalists last season .

[BobG]

In terms of 'excitement per £' as well as absolute cost, rugby league has had football  beaten hollow for decades and decades. With the advent 20 years ago of Rachman style exploitation in football, the value for money gap between it and rugby league has grown exponentially. And it continúes to grow....

Even sodding rule bound rugby union is better VFM than footer now.
 
BobG

PS. Bring back Dave Varey and George  Pflaster!

[BobG]

Anyone know where I can find the attendance at yesterday's Dons v York? Google ain't helping...

BobG

[tyke1962]

In terms of 'excitement per £' as well as absolute cost, rugby league has had football  beaten hollow for decades and decades. With the advent 20 years ago of Rachman style exploitation in football, the value for money gap between it and rugby league has grown exponentially. And it continúes to grow....

Even sodding rule bound rugby union is better VFM than footer now.
 
BobG

PS. Bring back Dave Varey and George  Pflaster!

Well my Friday Night at Belle Vue was just about as good as you can get value for money wise .

Trinity v Bulls kicked off at 8pm but we had a warm up game between both the club's disability teams which coincided with Happy Hour when pints were reduced to £3 and a fireworks display at 7.45 pm .

Where I stand it was £10 on the night and will be all season .

The game itself produced 10 tries between two very committed teams , a couple of sin bins and one or two hand bag moments that are entertaining if probably unnecessary but it is Rugby League after all .

Both fans stood side by side and other than a bit of pyss taking there was no animosity what so ever .

Trinity fan " your not famous anymore "

Bulls fan " at least we were once famous , the last time you won anything it was in black and white "

The game could be marketed better in my opinion and I don't really agree with what's becoming a Super League closed shop , if the Dons are good enough on the field then they should be admitted to Super League end of but even if they win the championship Grand Final this season they won't be and that's not right .

[danumdon]

In terms of 'excitement per £' as well as absolute cost, rugby league has had football  beaten hollow for decades and decades. With the advent 20 years ago of Rachman style exploitation in football, the value for money gap between it and rugby league has grown exponentially. And it continúes to grow....

Even sodding rule bound rugby union is better VFM than footer now.
 
BobG

PS. Bring back Dave Varey and George  Pflaster!

Well my Friday Night at Belle Vue was just about as good as you can get value for money wise .

Trinity v Bulls kicked off at 8pm but we had a warm up game between both the club's disability teams which coincided with Happy Hour when pints were reduced to £3 and a fireworks display at 7.45 pm .

Where I stand it was £10 on the night and will be all season .

The game itself produced 10 tries between two very committed teams , a couple of sin bins and one or two hand bag moments that are entertaining if probably unnecessary but it is Rugby League after all .

Both fans stood side by side and other than a bit of pyss taking there was no animosity what so ever .

Trinity fan " your not famous anymore "

Bulls fan " at least we were once famous , the last time you won anything it was in black and white "

The game could be marketed better in my opinion and I don't really agree with what's becoming a Super League closed shop , if the Dons are good enough on the field then they should be admitted to Super League end of but even if they win the championship Grand Final this season they won't be and that's not right .

Is that right Tyke, i wasn't aware that they would not be allowed to progress to the super league if they won the league.

Is it something to do with money again, i thought their current setup now had everything in place to enable progression.

[CantleyDRFC]

Anyone know where I can find the attendance at yesterday's Dons v York? Google ain't helping...

BobG

The attendance was 1463, I was there superb performance. Next gamer is Sheffield at home on good Friday which should be a belter

[tyke1962]

In terms of 'excitement per £' as well as absolute cost, rugby league has had football  beaten hollow for decades and decades. With the advent 20 years ago of Rachman style exploitation in football, the value for money gap between it and rugby league has grown exponentially. And it continúes to grow....

Even sodding rule bound rugby union is better VFM than footer now.
 
BobG

PS. Bring back Dave Varey and George  Pflaster!

Well my Friday Night at Belle Vue was just about as good as you can get value for money wise .

Trinity v Bulls kicked off at 8pm but we had a warm up game between both the club's disability teams which coincided with Happy Hour when pints were reduced to £3 and a fireworks display at 7.45 pm .

Where I stand it was £10 on the night and will be all season .

The game itself produced 10 tries between two very committed teams , a couple of sin bins and one or two hand bag moments that are entertaining if probably unnecessary but it is Rugby League after all .

Both fans stood side by side and other than a bit of pyss taking there was no animosity what so ever .

Trinity fan " your not famous anymore "

Bulls fan " at least we were once famous , the last time you won anything it was in black and white "

The game could be marketed better in my opinion and I don't really agree with what's becoming a Super League closed shop , if the Dons are good enough on the field then they should be admitted to Super League end of but even if they win the championship Grand Final this season they won't be and that's not right .

Is that right Tyke, i wasn't aware that they would not be allowed to progress to the super league if they won the league.

Is it something to do with money again, i thought their current setup now had everything in place to enable progression.

To qualify for Super League status or Grade A you need to attain 15 points from the following criteria .

Fan base = 5 points

Match attendance , tv viewing figures , social media following .

On Field = 5 points

League position over the last three seasons .


Finance = 4.5 points

Profitability , stability , diverse income streams


Stadium = 3 points
Community Work = 2.5 points

The Dons would really have to grow their fan base considerably and probably finish in the top five in the championship for the next three seasons to attain Grade A status even though the other criteria may well be fine .

[BobG]

Stupid... What's the point in competing?

BobG

[Jemmo]

Highlights from the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoVuAsCDmqw

[idler]

A very good first game. Let’s hope they can get some momentum going.

[tyke1962]

Stupid... What's the point in competing?

BobG

Don't get me wrong Bob I perfectly understand why you would say that and I do agree with you but there are reasons why we are where we are in Rugby League .

Rugby League had an honest conversation with it's lesser achieving club's 30 years ago ( let me put it that way ) in a way football never has .

When they formed Super League and switched to a summer sport it came from the RFL which is the exact opposite of what happened in football and the formation of the Premier League when five club's if the truth be told changed the face of English football for ever for nothing more than huge amounts of cash .

The RFL in the mid 90's realised they needed to change the structure of the  game in order to survive in the modern age ,  the Premier League even then was turning in to a huge success and it was fairly obvious that Rugby Union would go fully professional at that time and sooner rather than later .

The original plan was the amalgamation of the majority of the club's , Doncaster and Sheffield were to become South Yorkshire , Wakefield , Castleford and Featherstone were Calder ( god forbid ) , Salford and Oldham were Manchester , Workington , Barrow , Whitehaven were Cumbria , Hull and KR were Humberside and Widnes and Warrington were Merseyside , Bradford and Halifax were West Yorkshire with only Wigan , Saints and Leeds remaining as they were but also with the addition of four newly created club's , two in France , one in London and the other in Wales .

It obviously received condemnation from every RL club and fans , the majority of the club's histories and rivalries wiped out , it didn't happen but much of what we've seen in the game since has gone to creating a Super League full of clubs who can attract enough tv revenue in order for the game to survive , grow and prosper .

You could argue that the RFL were right , all the Super League players are full time professionals which they never were when I first started watching Wakefield Trinity , most of them worked down the pit and of course as a result the standard of the game has risen substantially .

Super League is watched by more fans both on tv and in the grounds than at any time in the history of Rugby League .

The less achieving club's have survived give or take in the two lower two divisions .

Whilst I appreciate it's easy for me to say this because Wakefield Trinity despite our Championship status this season do qualify for Super League the door is not entirely shut for the Dons either .

If there's enough interest in the city at the turnstiles and the team can be successful in the championship it's got a chance to enter Super League whilst club's such as Dewsbury , Batley , Sheffield Eagles and many more won't ever see it , the stadiums simply don't stack up for one .

[BobG]

Thank you Tyke. Aeons ago I had seen this but, shamefully, I neither concentrated nor understood. Now that I do, it's bloody sad.

BobG

[BobG]

Thank you Tyke. Aeons ago I had seen this but, shamefully, I neither concentrated nor understood. Now that I do, it's bloody sad.

BobG

[tyke1962]

Thank you Tyke. Aeons ago I had seen this but, shamefully, I neither concentrated nor understood. Now that I do, it's bloody sad.

BobG

The Dons would have to be averaging around 3.5k as a minimum to gain any kind of IMG points Bob , obviously anything above that would contribute towards the awardment of the full five points available .

I know the Dons reached the top flight before  Super League but obviously I don't know the gates they pulled at Tattersfield .

Would an average attendance close to what Rovers currently achieve be achievable ?

[danumdon]

Believe it or not but the Dons were actually attracting bigger gates than the Rovers when they had their moment in the sun.

After they left Tattersfield they played games at Old Belle Vue and had the bigger crowds. Of course they could not live with the pace things were changeling to and went kaput only to return as Doncaster Dragons at Stainy dog track.

Finally they look they are on some sort of a even keel with the Club Doncaster backing. I for one hope they can recapture some of that glory they had for a fleeting time and Carl Hall more than anyone deserves it after the effort he's put in with them.

[scawsby steve]

Thank you Tyke. Aeons ago I had seen this but, shamefully, I neither concentrated nor understood. Now that I do, it's bloody sad.

BobG

The Dons would have to be averaging around 3.5k as a minimum to gain any kind of IMG points Bob , obviously anything above that would contribute towards the awardment of the full five points available .

I know the Dons reached the top flight before  Super League but obviously I don't know the gates they pulled at Tattersfield .

Would an average attendance close to what Rovers currently achieve be achievable ?

The biggest gate at Tattersfield that season was just over 6000 for the visit of Leeds, Tyke. That was when we were doing well at the beginning of the season, including the sensational win at St Helens.

After that, it averaged around 4000 to 5000, until it tailed away with poor form in the second half of the season.

I don't believe the Dons could now achieve anything like the Rovers average attendance. The interest just isn't there anymore.

[tyke1962]

Believe it or not but the Dons were actually attracting bigger gates than the Rovers when they had their moment in the sun.

After they left Tattersfield they played games at Old Belle Vue and had the bigger crowds. Of course they could not live with the pace things were changeling to and went kaput only to return as Doncaster Dragons at Stainy dog track.

Finally they look they are on some sort of a even keel with the Club Doncaster backing. I for one hope they can recapture some of that glory they had for a fleeting time and Carl Hall more than anyone deserves it after the effort he's put in with them.

Good to hear DD and obviously other than when Trinity meet the Dons I hope they have a good season .

To be fair the championship is a very decent level of RL , whilst I appreciate everyone wants to see their club at the very highest level the championship does contain some huge Rugby League club's who have won more league titles , Grand Finals and Challenge Cup's than you can shake a stick at .

Trinity , Bradford Bulls , Featherstone Rovers , Widnes and Halifax are practically Rugby League royalty .

Dons are in some good company in the championship .

[tyke1962]

Thank you Tyke. Aeons ago I had seen this but, shamefully, I neither concentrated nor understood. Now that I do, it's bloody sad.

BobG

The Dons would have to be averaging around 3.5k as a minimum to gain any kind of IMG points Bob , obviously anything above that would contribute towards the awardment of the full five points available .

I know the Dons reached the top flight before  Super League but obviously I don't know the gates they pulled at Tattersfield .

Would an average attendance close to what Rovers currently achieve be achievable ?

The biggest gate at Tattersfield that season was just over 6000 for the visit of Leeds, Tyke. That was when we were doing well at the beginning of the season, including the sensational win at St Helens.

After that, it averaged around 4000 to 5000, until it tailed away with poor form in the second half of the season.

I don't believe the Dons could now achieve anything like the Rovers average attendance. The interest just isn't there anymore.

Unfortunately Steve your final sentence is the biggest reason why the Dons probably won't make it to Super League .

It's actually a shame because the stadium is perfect .

[scawsby steve]

Believe it or not but the Dons were actually attracting bigger gates than the Rovers when they had their moment in the sun.

After they left Tattersfield they played games at Old Belle Vue and had the bigger crowds. Of course they could not live with the pace things were changeling to and went kaput only to return as Doncaster Dragons at Stainy dog track.

Finally they look they are on some sort of a even keel with the Club Doncaster backing. I for one hope they can recapture some of that glory they had for a fleeting time and Carl Hall more than anyone deserves it after the effort he's put in with them.

Sorry to be pedantic, DD, but you've got the order a bit wrong in that middle paragraph. We actually went kaput as soon as we left Tattersfield, but we were resurrected as Doncaster Dragons by a  businessman called David Prime. He negotiated for us to play at Stainy dog track, but a new pitch had to be laid, so we played the first 4 games at Belle Vue.

We played the rest of the season at Stainy, then moved back to Belle Vue. After 2 or 3 poor seasons, St John Ellis(God bless his soul) took over as coach, and with the backing of a businessman called Wright, signed a load of Kiwis and Aussies. We went unbeaten at home in the league all season, leading to St John Ellis naming Belle Vue as "The House of Pain".

[tyke1962]

The Dons game on April 7th at Wakefield Trinity has now been switched to the Eco Power Stadium due to ongoing problems with the water supply around the Belle Vue area of Wakefield , see link .

"essential"
 https://wakefieldtrinity.com/doncaster-game-switched-statement/#:~:text=supply%20issue%20means-,essential,-work%20needs%20to

[Dougiebulletheader]

Had some fun afternoons at Stainy dog track, noticed the Wakefield game had swapped venues. We picked up a bad injury though and our squad is not the biggest.

[tyke1962]

Had some fun afternoons at Stainy dog track, noticed the Wakefield game had swapped venues. We picked up a bad injury though and our squad is not the biggest.

A tough game against Sheffield Eagles to come on Good Friday before you play ourselves to boot Dougie although we've a tough game against Featherstone too at Post Office Road .

Think I'm going to the Eco Power on April 7th , should be a decent crowd , Trinity fans will probably travel in good numbers .

[tyke1962]

Dons just falling short today against a very good Eagles outfit this season I'm told .

Went over to Featherstone to see Trinity just do enough to beat our local rivals in a real blood and thunder encounter .

Dons v Trinity a week on Sunday , should be a good un .

[tyke1962]

Should be a really good crowd on Sunday , they've opened the South Stand for Trinity fans .

First time in years they've had to do that at the Eco Power apparently .