THE PETER DEAKIN COLUMN (From Warrington Guardian)

THE PETER DEAKIN COLUMN

AS far as I am aware this Monday sees the first mass-circulated family day promotion in Super League. For Warrington's home game against Sheffield, two adults and two children can watch the match and have an hot dog and soft drink each for the total price of £25.

Everyone in Warrington will have received a form through their door. We've also been handing them out outside McDonald's, Wolfie's been handing them out round town on Saturdays and they have been featured in our match-day programmes.

I am delighted with the response so far. We've more than 130 people coming to date. These are families that have not normally come to games as a family or don't hold a family season ticket. Everyone has until the close of the ground shop tomorrow, Saturday, to take advantage. We will not be able to continue this offer on the match day itself. I would like to give thanks to Warrington Borough Council for really getting behind the scheme.

The important thing is I would like to try and do this promotion again. We're looking now for other partners to do mass mailings with to offer these. And we are looking to do a really special promotion in June, details of which I do not want to give away just yet but watch this space. If it happens, it will be sensational and an absolute first for Rugby League.

I really do want to bring Wilderspool alive with people and personalities - it's all part of getting people to talk up the interest in the club. I bet most Warrington fans don't know that Ross Kemp's future mother-in-law is an absolute fanatical Warrington fan. I've been told he's just left Eastenders, I don't know as I don't watch the programme. But I'm hopeful by the end of the season we might be able to entice him to come up and do a game for us.

The weekend in London gave me an opportunity to have a look, from an outside standpoint, how London Broncos are faring in terms of their future progress. I haven't now, I never had and never will have any doubts that Rugby League can be a major success in London but I'm still not sure that the Broncos, as an entity on their own, are going to make it happen. They desperately need some help, specially from a marketing perspective.

Getting to Wembley in itself doesn't mean anything unless you use it as a platform for the next 10 years. It's going to be tought for the Broncos because the sport itself still has a problem in getting a profile down there. It's tough enough to sell your own club but when you've got to sell the sport as well you've got to have some very special people there doing a special job to make it happen.

I think we need a massive think-tank. We need a 'hit team' put together to work out how we're going to approach marketing the game to the nation's capital. Until we have a presence in the consciousness of the nation's capital then we'll never take off as a truely national sport. If it's not talked about in the pubs, clubs and wine bars of London then people are not going to think it is important. Until we get that, we have no chance! The 2,500 to 3,000 gates and the 10,000 to 12,000 going to Wembley is a good start but we have to enhance it, make it grow. But you can only do this if the sport is working for you rather than against you.

Out of the 2,500 or so at the London game against Warrington on Saturday, I bet there wasn't far short of half from Warrington. They certainly made enough noise. I was delighted with the behaviour of the people there and it was like a home game. This was just one indicator that there are some responsible people out there and they really got behind the team without swearing or singing obscenities. It was an absolute privilege to represent them so it will be great if this stays on track.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.