The Huddersfield game is looking like a sell out now.

Although some sections are not showing as sold out if you try to click on some sections it will not let you, so they must be full, but it probably needs a manual change to change the colour to purple sold out.

But more than that, there are no middle sections on any side where you can get 4 seats together.

I think once this game has sold out, Saints may see an uptake in their own game.

Saints have been landed with a game on the same day with England. So it's a tougher sell. I know you can get back, but if people want to have a drink, it's less likely that they will tramp across for a second game.

I think 10k would be a good turn out for Saints.

Got tickets for the quarter final at the JJB and going to Australia Vs Fiji at Langtree Park. Might get tickets for the final too.

Oh, they could be doing all sorts of things. They could be using the players to promote it. They could have had events before the season ended to promote it, when people were congregated at the stadium. They could be going round schools, playing Australia verses Fiji games. All sorts really.

Promoting the game was part of the bid put in jointly with the Council. The Council have been just as bad as Saints. Neither has organised anything to promote the game or world cup anywhere in the town. Therefore they are effectively in breach of their bid commitment. Saints will be lucky to get another international, especially if they do sod all at the match (which I am expecting them to do). I doubt there will be a good crowd at LP but you never know. My guess is that Saints assume the fact that we are hosting Australia is enough to pull in the crowds and they can just do nothing.

Which is why you'd think they'd be working hard to promote it, trying to enthuse locals who wouldn't travel to Hudds.

I'd be very surprised if Saints got 10,000 to the game. In fact, we could be the competition's embarrassment.

From what I've seen Saints are one of the only ones clearly advertising their game on their website.

From what you can see/have heard, are any of the other clubs doing any more than Saints are?

Without getting into the whole what other people argument, I have to say which players can they be using to promote it? They won't have access to the Aus/ Fiji squads for them to do appearances so you can't expect saints to do that, and I'm not sure how any of the current saints team turning up is any sort of promotion as they are in no way involved.

If they'd of talked/advertised it during the season then we'd get the usual doom mongers critiquing the club for writing off the end of the season and how dare they try and ignore the worst end of the season ever had by any team ever. Also I imagine the rfl would have some sort of schedule of event for when promotions/ advertising should be - all the talk has been that everyone from the rfl wanted to go straight from the grand final and domestic talk into the rlwc and not let either interfere with the other.

I don't know if they are in school atm since I'm not in a school in st.helens but given most of the players are on leave/ with international teams I'd imagine we're light on the ground on that respect - but even so I don't know that many Australia vs Fiji games what are they?

That said of course there are things they could be doing but for now social media should be the way forward, and there may be a bigger push closer to the game - I think it's unfair to criticise them for now

The problem to me is that that is ALL they are doing. When the season was still going they did nothing. They did make a commitment to promote the game as part of the bid and that's a fact but they haven't honoured it. Nor has the council, but then I wouldn't expect them to either as they are utterly clueless.

So Saints should be putting money into advertising a game they get no money from???

Of course they get money from it. They get all the income from hospitality sales.

They were provided with leaflets, for example, that they passed on to the council who have done nothing with them. Why didn't Saints hand out those leaflets at the last match against Wire? Or why didn't they arrange for players to hand out leaflets in a town centre event promoting the match? Get children involved in an Aussie - Fiji tag game or something? There are endless ideas that would cost sod all really, except maybe a bit in security/health and safety but would engender a buzz around town. Obviously the Council working in conjunction would have been good too given that both Council and club joined in the bid. But their bidding obligation was to promote the game. They haven't, so they don't deserve any future games.

SaintsFan has a point here. It is on the clubs head to market these sort of games, that is part of the criteria for bidding for them. In the past when we have had games such as the Exiles they haven't been promoted particularly well; this is why we only have one match.

People often question why so many games are played at Headingly, but the fact is they market the games and get strong crowds, Saints don't.

Although from what i've heard ticket sales have picked up massively in the last week , St Helens have been utterly useless in promoting this game ... so many 'rugby fans ' in the town don't even know it is happening ffs..

I know there are other thread on the Internationals board but McBanana is now saying he wants to stay on with a new contract.

Hells bells; do we ever want to win anything or are we going to carry on offering the job to big time failures like him (within a week of being sacked by Shudders).

The proof will be how we perform..

Keeping players happy certainly helps him, but if he can't coach a few decent games out of them then, I would not be in favour of keeping him.