After all the hype on Look North and Calendar, Eorl Crabtree's performance was as about as frightening as a wet tissue!

You couldn't have summed it up better.



And that made me laugh!

I was at the final yesterday and enjoyed the event (even if the big screen to not work for the first try!) would like to make a couple of comments on the attendance
The attendance this year was some 10,000 less than last year and looking around the stadium two things stood out:-
- The number of middle tier seats that were empty – these are all the Club Wembley seats and unlike the past year it looks like the novelty of attendance may have gone for the “debenture” holders when two “less attractive” teams are playing.
- Whilst they may have been hiding there were clearly far less shirts from other clubs than in the past few years, I saw a few Halifax shirts and indeed some from lots of clubs, but it was clear that the numbers of “unattached” fans was much lower than previous finals – recession related or lack of interest, I wonder which?
The stadium is also not cheap, £4 for a pint of lager. £8 for a pie (small size) + pint doesn’t help! Programme at £5 was good value.
One final point - I thought the referee team had a very good game, Ganson managed to keep the match flowing despite Giants attempts to stop it doing so.

I get so much stick for saying it, but Ganson is the best referee in this country and has been since Russ Smith left..

To give him credit (not something I thought Id ever put about a ref!!)but Ganson does stick to his guns when a decision is required, good or bad!

Ganson made his usual several bad calls again, I don't rate him at all.

Ganson is a parasite who needs removing from the game ASAP

we also need to ask both cubs serious questions as to why they served up such a lacklustre final

Not a great Final but it was good to see two different teams and fans that were really bothered about winning the Challenge Cup, especially the Warrington lot.
The attendance was a surpise, there were more Warrington fans than Huddersfield, no surprises there, they just don't turn up Hudderfield do they but don't know why there were less neutrals.
The RFL just keep kidding themselves that our game is getting better and better and the crowds are getting bigger. I can remember when the crowd was always around 90K at Wembley with no free tickets and lots of give aways like now.

It needs Halifax in the Final to get them all back

agreed, no shortage of fax fans in '87.
not a single seat empty



the attendance for the flagship event was a tad embarrasing.

Anybody think the attendance is symptomatic of the way the RFL are slowly killing the game at grass roots level?

There again maybe I am just a flat capper.

Maybe people are voting with their feet after some of the "thoughtful, well informed, fair and inspiring" decisions the RFL have made recently.


Embarassing as it is that rugby league's showpiece event at the world's most famous stadium is not a sell out, maybe it's a good thing if it removes the RFL's heads from the clouds.

The odds are pretty high that fans outside of super league have voted with their feet cos of the shameful way the lower leagues are treated.

I didn't watch the game because of this - not interested

Spot on.

Spent a fair bit of time chatting with supporters of other clubs over the weekend and there seems to be a lot of depression out there over how the RFL / SL are running (should that be ruining?) the sport. The Celtic Crusaders visa embarassment the latest debacle.

There are a few more options now for a weekend away for all RL fans than there were 20 years ago

SL have a trip to France , a magic weekend and potentially a weekend away in South Wales

For us peasant's there is a lovely trip to Blackpool

, and depending on which comp you are in a ' Why aye ' weekend in Nooocastle , or should that be north Queensland

He also handed a couple of decisions to the video ref, the double movement from Lunt early doors looked a certain try 'til you looked in slo-mo.

Absolutely.
You do still see fans of most clubs down to Championship 1 level, I even met three really nice Workington fans who I took time to go and shake hands with, we think we have had a rough time take a look at them, they still wore their shirts bless 'em.
You do not see many of the 'new clubs' fans though, now come on there should be plenty of Harlequins fans its on their home patch almost, but you don't.
It is very noticeable that there is a large proportion of the Big 4 fans at Wembley, mainly Saints, Wigan and Leeds not as many Bradfut fans this year, and I have found that since we dropped out of SL we don't get SL fans coming up to us any more, I think some don't know who we are these days, although those who do recognise our shirts still give us a warm welcome (apart from some not so nice Warrington fans!)
The point is in the heartlands its in our blood so even when the Pro team are not doing well there are still the pubs and amateur clubs trips who go to Wembley. We saw some lads who must have been from Halifax who were in fancy dress who starting singing Oh, Ali. Ali, Ali when they saw our shirts.
But as the RFL seem hell bent on alienating us 'flat cappers' in sacrifice for the 'expansion clubs' they don't seem to realise that you will never get the same number of people from Wales, London or anywhere else outside the M62 corridor and Cumbria as its not in their heritage so the gates will keep getting lower.

Agree entirely. It saddens me to see the likes of Workington and Oldham (who already have a "sleeping" fan base and a knowledge of RL) be sacrificed for the likes Harlequins and Celtic who don't give a toss ... the RL have tried the past 20 years to "spread the gospel" in the Big Smoke, but you have a drink in St Johns Wood and try and engage the locals in RL banter they've never heard of RL never mind gone to see the Quins, it's a total sad joke, it's all soccer soccer soccer down there and RU RU RU in Wales, why are the RL so keen to grasp their respective nettles, does it really matter if RL is played there or not? Also ask even any hardened expansionist and they'll admit the least attractive fixtures of the season are against the Quins and Celtic because they bring no fans. Remember London playing at Thrummers? Even with Edwards and Matterson playing no one could bring themselves to get excited, London brought no fans, no rivalry and the place was like a morge. The only way things will change if we had folk with some spine working for the RL rather than the clowns who dance to SKY'S piano.

The question is what can be done? I cant imagine the majority of clubs - especially those outside SL - are happy with how the game is run. Yet can anything be done? Can a vote of no confidence in the buffoons who control the game be called or do they pretty much have a free reign?

should start a break away league and get a television deal from Al Jazeera or someone

Super league clubs will have 6x the amount of votes to ours. Just to keep us in our place!

And replace him with whom?

We all hammer on about this referee and that being cack, but if they were to jack it in who would be there to replace them? We moan about the likes of Child, Carr, Tomason, Dolan, etc. who are relatively new to the Championship league, yet these are referees that will replace Ganson, Bentham and Silverwood in the future.

So, what is YOUR solution?

FWIW I think Ganson, although a bit attention seeking and over reliant on the big screen is one of the better referees. The best referee IMO is Ian Smith.

My solution would be to give one of those new refs a crack at the whip now, the have to be better than ganson. He is as useful as a phonebook without any numbers

Even without flying abilities superman would still be strong, fast, have x-ray vision, lasers for eyes and a naff cape!!!

yes but he wouldnt be able to get anywhere fast, hed be stuck in customs with the rest of us suckers!

Go on then, enlighten as to which one you mean......


Ganson is the reason they altered the "hometown referee" ruling, so that he could take the middle in any cup final, not just the ones Stains don't qualify for.