Mailbox: Thursday night games are a joke

Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Want to be featured? Email the editor: james@loverugbyleague.com

Dear Love Rugby League,

My view is the Sky deal has ruined Rugby League. Thursday games are a joke and only people who can afford Sky and are already interested in it will watch it.

I started watching Rugby League and got hooked when everyone could watch it on the BBC. Attendance is down at matches mainly because of changes to times played. Saturday or Sunday afternoon matches would make it more of a family event. A match on Thursday or Friday night which finishes at 9.30 is too late for young children and children are the future of the game.

Changing formats year after year has not made any improvements and the idea of Grand Final means that teams don’t always have the pressure to win every match, going back to one up one down with the team at the top of the league winning the championship would mean every game counts.

I love Rugby League and I hope it will get back to where it belongs as a sport watched by millions but big changes are needed including moving away from Sky.

Karen Pierce

Editor’s comment: I think Sky cop a lot of unfair flak from rugby league fans. Midweek sport is common place in the national game, football, so why shouldn’t it be in rugby league? That being said, I do think that some sort of common sense approach is required for the Thursday night games. It’s also a shame that due to multiple clubs moving their preferred home game day to Friday nights, mean a lot of fans can’t tune in to the televised game at the same time.