York RLFC Fans' Forum - your questions answered!

sharonshortle
Oct 21
6 min read

Updated: Oct 23

If you were unable to attend our Fans’ Forum on Monday 20th October, here’s what happened!

At the best attended event in recent years, almost 300 people heard from Chairman, Clint Goodchild, General Manager, Neil Gulliver and Head Coach, Mark Applegarth.

The Chairman began by reiterating that the motivation and mindset which has driven the club for the past few years hasn’t changed with promotion to the Betfred Super League. He said the focus is on the goal now to do well in Super League, and the hard work starts today.

Head coach, March Applegarth said they’re well underway with planning as they move from part time to full time, and believe they could be a few months ahead of the other promoted clubs.

As these plans bed in and take shape, including the plans for the development centre at York St.John, he said they will have to be adaptable.

The coaching staff is currently being finalised, with more strength and conditioning staff, a full time video analyst, and Graham Steadman joining in an assistant coaching role and mentor for coaching staff.

Applegarth said there are plans to get the core of a York side based from an academy set up in the next 10 to 15 years.

He also said that next year’s team will be one that will compete every week, and not just make up the numbers, with plans to be able to challenge higher up the competition in the long term. This is just a stepping stone to the next goal, and he said it will be a team to be proud of each week.

Squad update

The squad will continue to be a balance of experience and youth, with three quarters still with their best rugby league ahead of them that the club can develop over a period of time. There won’t be many comings and goings, other than those announced already. A decision was made to recruit early, before the IMG decision, to get a better quality of player. There are a few more names still to be announced in the coming weeks.

Season Tickets

Season Tickets will go on priority sale on 3rd November for those who paid a deposit as part of the deal with tickets for the game against Batley.

They will go on general sale on 10th November. More details will follow shortly.

All stands can be opened on match days, and there are plans for a fan zone in the main concourse in the West Stand.

Questions from the floor

Q. Are there any aspirations to buy the stadium?

A. (CG) It’s not on the radar. We’ve got all we need to go to the next level, and this is a good opportunity to get a full time rugby league club sorted. There are aspects that are frustrating at times, but the good outweigh the bad and not owning the stadium allows us to keep the main focus as the main focus.

Q. Will there be an opportunity to buy any of the units outside the ground for hospitality purposes?

A. (CG) No. It’s believed there is potential to rent, and some of the units are for the NHS on a long term lease. But never say never.

Q. Are there plans for a reserve grade?

A. (CG) It’s not believed a reserve grade provides a good development opportunity. There are numerous players in the sport who have come through an academy elsewhere and been released who could benefit more from our link up with Penrith Panthers and Newcastle Thunder. Those kinds of players can train with York under Mark Applegarth, and play each week in the second tier at Newcastle as part of their further development.

(MA) Having been head of youth elsewhere and seeing the lack of playing opportunities at reserve grade, it’s not good for young player development. There will be a 21 man squad named for Super League each week, and the rest will be available for Newcastle. That will increase competition and development because of the regular game time.

Q. Will there be a reciprocal discount with York City Football Club for season ticket holders?

A. (CG) No. We’ve worked to get the season tickets priced right, and there won’t be any discounted arrangements.

Q. How will season tickets and stands be organised?

A. (CG) Things will have to change because of the increases in attendances. The East Stand will still have allocated and unallocated seating for home fans, and the West Stand will also be open for unallocated seating primarily for home fans.

Q. How can we be sure of maintaining our IMG Score, especially if London are looking at being ranked in the top 14 and being allowed into Super League in 2027?

A. (CG) Our score will increase organically in a number of areas because we will be in Super League. Attendance and turnover scores will be higher than what we could achieve in the Championship.

Q. With bigger home attendances, are there plans to have more busses to the stadium on match days from town?

A. (CG) We will work with the bus companies (First Bus) and look at travel packages. We’ll work with the council and city leaders and learn lessons from other events that have been held at the stadium.

Q. Can we still buy tickets on match days?

A. (CG) Yes.

Q. Will away fans be allocated an area of the ground?

A. (CG) Yes - they’ll be initially in the South Stand.

Q. What plans are there for travel to away games for York fans?

A. (CG) We’ll be speaking to the travel companies about away travel.

Q. Are there plans for travel packages to the games in France?

A. (CG) We’re meeting with Wigan next week, who we have a good relationship with, to see how they do it.

Q. Will we get any players from Penrith as part of our partnership?

A. (CG) There is an advantage of pre-existing relationships in Australia. There are plans for a representative side to come over. There will also be a young player coming over to join us that will be announced in the next few weeks.

Q. How much will season tickets be?

A. (CG) This will be announced shortly. We’ve looked at other clubs pricing, and at our own costs. We’ll be at the lower end of the prices.

Q. When are fixtures due out?

A. (CG) We don’t know yet. (It is usually late November/early December)

Q. Will under 16s still get free admission?

A. (NG) We’ve looked at what other clubs are doing in Super League. Under 12s will be free, and there will be a small increase for 12-16 year olds. We will still be cheaper than most other clubs.

Q. Can we still use the Park & Ride car park on match days?

A. (NG) There will be a charge to park there, either on a match by match basis or for a season. It’s part of the travel plan at the stadium.

Q. Will there still be double header game days with York Valkyrie?

A. (CG) We hope so. Now we are in the top tier along with the likes of Wigan, St.Helens and Leeds, it would be a special to do it if we can.

Q. Is there a date for a kit launch?

A. (CG) Not yet.

Q. Will we be returning to branding as York Wasps?

A. (CG) No

Q. With half the central funding of other Super League Clubs, how will we deal with that? And now as a Super League Chair, what can you do to stop some of what seem to be knee-jerk reactions to things from the RFL?

A. (CG) Now we are in Super League, our votes at meetings are worth twice as much so we have more of a voice.

As for the funding, we recruited early, and we won’t spend anywhere near the salary cap. We have lower costs than some other clubs, so that will help negate the gap in funding.

Q. Are we still aiming to play on a Sunday afternoon?

A. (CG) Our hands are tied on that because it’s Super League and games are televised.

Q. Are the plans for card machines to be used to buy Pot of Gold tickets?

A. We are looking at it.

Q. Will all of the squad go full time?

A. (CG) Yes. The only exception is Jack Brown, who is 17 years old and part of the squad as part of his development. He’s at college so will just join the squad when he can.

Q. Will we get revenue when our games are on TV?

A. Every game in Super League is televised so we won’t get anything extra on top of the central funding.

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