The decline of the local derby : Sun Feb 18, 2018 3:07 pm
How did you feel about our fixture this week?was it
(a) a game against a side we expect to be in the bottom four, so one of our best chances of picking up points albeit with no guarantees as we have found in the past
(b) the latest in the series of a historic fixture between two local rivals, which has its own importance above and beyond just being for two league points or to progress in a cup
Up until the formation of SL and Widnes being excluded, I would have thought most of us would say (b).
When they got promoted and returned in 2002 after 6 years away, it would have also been (b). Remember the build up, controversy and interest around the derbies in the Cullen years.
Then they got relegated in 2005, and came back in 2012 after another 6 years out. Since then the derby has just been in gradual decline and now, it feels like most people would answer (a) to that question above.
Is there any real difference now between how we feel about a fixture with Widnes compared to say Hull KR?