Thunder thoughts

In May last year I wrote a blog on Magic Weekend having watched it here in Newcastle https://www.philworld.co.uk/post/magic-weekend 

A year on, I thought I’d have a look at where things are now in the north east from a personal point of view. I’ll look at where we are now, the talking point from the fans and how I see the future looking. I like many are desperate to see this club succeeed and write from my point of view because I care.

Magic Weekend lost

You’ll know that Newcastle isn’t hosting Magic Weekend this year and given the excellent ticket sales at the Hill Dickinson Stadium I’m sure the event will be a success. Do I wish it was in Newcastle? Of course I do, St James Park for a location in the city centre is a great location. But I do hope the event goes well in Liverpool.

I don’t think the event was marketed to its maximum up here but a shiny new stadium and being closer to the heartlands helps for day trippers.

Where are Thunder now?

Since writing last year, we’ve entered into a performance pathway with York and Penrith Panthers. 

At this point, it’s very important to remember that beyond a lot of people’s expectations, the club survived. A small group of people spearheaded by Keith Christie and Jordan Robinson and a band of volunteers kept things going off the pitch. On the pitch, a group of lads turned up week in week out and put their bodies on the line for rugby league to survive in the north east. Those couple of years were tough for everyone but it’s credit to everyone involved that the club survived.

Without doubt the performance pathway has created a stir in rugby league circles and as a club it feels like we’ve gone from being everyone’s second favourite team to having a target on our back. That’s probably taking some getting used to! From my point of view, I have a lot of time for anyone involved in the game. If you’re a traditional club formed over 100 years ago or a new club, everyone has the same struggles. 

We have a competitive squad and fans who have watched Thunder a lot longer than me are saying this is the best Thunder side they’ve seen. 

You can’t question the commitment or attitude of this team at all. Yes, I see the comments of York reserves etc. This performance pathway is new and to be honest it makes no difference to me where a team trains or plays. Just like it probably doesn’t to the likes of Midlands, Sheffield and others. It’s a pathway that has breathed new life into rugby league in the region and also brought in new sponsors such as Wylam Brewery.

I see a lot of negativity about the Championship and the structure turning people off. I’m afraid I don’t buy into that at all. Yes, the Championship needs to find its purpose and where it sits in the game. But Thunder have been beaten by Dewsbury who sit 9th, Hunslet who sit 11th and North Wales. Yes, there are some big scores but a lot of the Thunder games I’ve seen have been competitive. It’s a hell of a lot better than League 1 last season where it was so disjointed with big gaps in fixtures it was nigh on impossible to sell as a product. I think the race to the play-offs and who finishes where in the play-offs will make for excitement. Yes, in an ideal world everyone would play everyone home and away but there’s not enough teams to create two leagues.

It’s an exciting time for rugby league in the north east at the moment and feels like the start of a journey.

Super Saturday

Yesterday was a really good day for rugby league in the north east. Newcastle Lightning had a brilliant win over York Barbarians 44-12 in the cup. There’s lads who were involved with Thunder in this squad. As someone said to me yesterday, the best thing about this team is they’re smiling and enjoying playing rugby league. This is a team that plays in the Yorkshire Men's League and will give a pathway to Thunder. There hasn’t been any open age rugby league in the north east competitively for a little while so this team is crucial for the game and also gives the junior clubs in the region a pathway.

Newcastle Thunder Ladies also had a team entered into the Women’s Nines Festival yesterday. This is a team with strong links to Northumbria University that can hopefully grow and start the growth of the women’s game in the region. Yesterday, they won two of three group games and made the play-offs which is brilliant!

Thunder had a big win yesterday 52-8 against Batley Bulldogs to top it off. When they went wide yesterday they were class and caused Batley no end of problems. They’re enjoyable to watch and as of this morning sit second in the Championship although I expect that will change this afternoon. The quality of players and play that we are watching is excellent and it’s there to be enjoyed.

The challenges

I speak to a fair few people and get asked questions. One of the most common questions I get asked is how do we get more people interested and down to Blaydon to watch games? 

That’s the challenge and to be honest at times it gets me frustrated because I know if people came down, they’d enjoy it! From the questions I get, I think that’s the general feeling amongst the existing fanbase. There’s a love for rugby league amongst the committed fanbase but we’d love for more people to come and be a part of this journey!

Newcastle and the north east is a football hot bed and there’s no escaping that. You then throw in the investment from Red Bull into rugby union in Newcastle which I welcome as I would with any sport. We’re not a traditional rugby league area but what we do have is a competitive team and rugby league itself is a fast and exciting sport, coupled with the entertaining brand of rugby that Thunder play and it becomes a good sell.

Looking at the RFL website there remains a rugby league presence in Catterick, Yarm, Chester-le-Street, Cramlington, Consett, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside and South Tyneside. Plus a strong university presence, especially at Northumbria University. The challenge is as things stand is understanding the pathway and getting those involved with clubs engaged with Thunder. That’s a two way thing and we have seen an improved relationship with Northumbria University. 

The problem not just in the north east but across the game is the demographic of supporter, clubs need to find ways of getting the next generation involved in the game. I’d love to know where that 8-10,000 figure of north east ticket sales for Magic Weekend last year are. As even a fraction of that coming down to a game would make a huge difference!

The feeling was always that a winning team will bring people lost to the game back. As yet we haven’t seen that bounceback. We have a set up at Blaydon that has its challenges without doubt. But through the hard work of people on a matchday it turns into a nice little set up to watch rugby league, there’s plenty of space around the pitch for people to watch. Does the location put people off? Does the lack of facilities put people off? I’m really keen to find out what is stopping people, as I know for sure if you do come you’ll be guaranteed a warm welcome and a family atmosphere. 

The positives

The club has a blank canvas to go off. There’s an armed forces day planned for June and no doubt other events planned on match days. 

There are good people still involved with the club who care and want to get things right and grow the game in the north east to give players that pathway to Super League. We have a small group of volunteers who work tirelessly on match days to set up Blaydon and provide that warm welcome. There’s been a lot of positivity and strengthened bonds between Thunder and York supporters and that will continue to grow.

I genuinely believe that the game can grow here in the north east and with that interest in Thunder grows to. It’s small things like on Look North we’ve seen Thunder highlights on a Monday night, that gets more eyes on us.

As fans we’ve started a monthly meet up at The Town Wall pub that supports one of our sponsors Wylam Brewery, the next meet up is listed further down.

On the engagement side, we’ve also started a Newcastle Thunder supporters group WhatsApp channel to engage with supporters. To be honest, the take up has been slow but I’m happy to try new things to try and engage new and current supporters. To join the channel follow the link: Newcastle Thunder Supporters Group

Thunder Storm continues to support rugby league in the north east. Headed up by Peter Bowen and Ken Scott, they’re supporting Newcastle Lightning with travel this season. Thunder Storm have done a lot for the club over the years, Peter is at matches and contactable through the Thunder Storm facebook group. 

How I see the future

I look at the rise in popularity of non-league football and that gives me hope and a blueprint for how I’d like things to look.

At Thunder we’ve got the good foundations of making an event. Under 16s get in for free which helps as families battle with the cost of living. It might seem daft but the rise of ultras in football creates atmosphere and a buzz. I’m not saying people rocking up in masks, balaclavas etc but I’d love to see Thunder ultras led by the fans who’ve been there a while leading kids etc with songs, flags, drums and creating a real buzz around Blaydon and building that atmosphere. The atmosphere when on form at St James Park is known for being tribal, I’d love to see that replicated on a match day at Blaydon admittedly on a smaller scale!

Next season, I’d like to see us replicate the iconic Newcastle United 1996 away shirt for the Thunder away shirt, the Thunder entertainers wearing navy and burgundy would be class.

Do we need to look to form a group of fans as a fan engagement group? This could be a group tasked with growing the fanbase by engaging with people to attend but having a plan behind it. We have supporters who care but probably need to link these people up to coordinate.

Next game and events

Well, I’ve used this as a bit of a rant and rallying call. What I’d like to see is fellow supporters share their views and thoughts on how we can grow things. You can share Thunder posts on social media with your followers and bring friends down to Blaydon. 

On Wednesday 20th May there’s a fan meet up organised at The Town Wall pub near Central Station at 19:00, this is a monthly event we’ve created for fans to get together and chat about rugby league and Thunder. 

On Friday 22nd May at 19:30 is Thunder’s next home game as we take on Goole Vikings. It’s the start of a Bank Holiday weekend, there’s no football or rugby union on so it’s a great opportunity to come down and experience rugby league and kick off your Bank Holiday weekend. You’ll be made to feel more than welcome. Bring people down and let’s show this team the support that they deserve! 

Ideas

If you’ve read this, thanks for taking the time to read this far! 

I’m really keen to engage with people and will always listen. From speaking to supporters we all want to see this club grow and there’s a real passion to do this. If you have links to the local clubs then please share with them.

I know people at the club are always happy to chat and take time for people to.

Everyone has a part to play, sharing and liking social media and encouraging people to be involved all helps. We’re all ambassadors for rugby league in the region and I do genuinely feel we are in a good place and can move forward positively.