Now as a Huddersfield fan my club has, and rightly at times, got stick for lack of fans but the fact a semi-final on Wigan's doorstep could only attract just over 6,000 is non excusable to me - we keep hearing how Wigan's fans are the best in the world and loyal and proud etc but less than half of their average home crowd actually bothered going to a town down the road for a Semi-final.

I realise all the reason's and excuses will be accepted and defended like most bad crowds unless its us are but if the so-called 'best' fans cannot be bothered what does it say about the state of the game.

I could NEVER imagine not going to watch my team in a Semi-final, maybe the Wiganers aren't as loyal or proud as they like to make out !.

The modern day SL-era fan is culturally attuned to attending fixtures via the once-a-year purchase of a season ticket. Having to pay for one-off fixtures does not form a part of their cultural attachment to their club or the sport.

Evidence? The increasingly embarrassing attendances for SL play-offs and Challenge Cup fixtures (which ironically are the only meaningful fixtures) where SL-era fans actually have to pay. Huddersfield had to flog tickets for £8 in an earlier round against Leeds in order to avoid an embarrassing attendance.

I think this supports the RFL's decision to play the game at Leigh. Can you imagine the attendance if this game was played in somewhere like Coventry or any other locations that were mentioned this week? It would have been even worse....and it looked bad enough on national TV.

If Wigan fans can't travel seven miles to watch a semi-final at a 'neutral' ground then Leigh was the only option. Unfortunately, Wigan aren't renowned for supporting semi-finals in big numbers in the same way as other clubs.

unless any poor crowd involve Huddersfield then its perfectly acceptable, and any reasons or excuses is tolerable.

but presuming out of that crowd, 5,800 were wigan fans, their average is over 14,000 which works out around 41% of their home support.
using the same principal with Huddersfield,thats akin to 2,500 fans
im pretty sure if we had 2500 fans at a game 8 miles away we would be hung drawn and quartered!

I don't remember Hudds fans being hung, drawn and quartered over these.

Batley V Huddersfield, CC Round 4 2013, distance from Huddersfield 9.3 miles, attendance 2,067.

Huddersfield V London, CC Quarter Final, distance from Huddersfield , attendance 2,574.

they weren't semi-finals, and for your information - there was meltdown on here over that London game !!!

there was a whole thread on Huddersfield's poor attendance v London if I remember rightly.

Oh my god the irony.

Is this a joke post? Huddersfield fan in slag off other clubs attendance shocker.

There is a tiny bit of irony but a lot of seriousness, why cant we have threads about other clubs poor turnouts ? if it was us there would be 35 pages already, just because its a big fashionable club doesn't mean low attendances can't be critisiced too does it ?

Quite right, after all we don't get any stick for anything do we!!!

The Challenge Cup should be moved back to earlier in the season. Both Wigan & Warrington (if as expected they win tomorrow) fans face 6/7 cup/playoff games in just 13 weeks if they reach the GF to pay additionally for (both too travel to France in the league).

Note the good attendance that the Leeds v Wakey games have gotten in the last week. I imagine both would've been down a bit had Leeds still be in the cup this year.

Been saying that for years. What was the reason for moving it to August anyway? You would hope it's a good one.

Thought it was at the request of the BBC who wanted a schedule for it that suited them and fitted around other things they show.

It was shifted from the traditional late April slot to late August because of the timing of the SL summer season which gave the impression that the Challenge Cup had become an insignificant pre-season tournament. It was hoped that the switch in schedule to accommodate Super League would prevent the further erosion of interest in the Challenge Cup but, if anything, it's got worse.

The Challenge Cup has slowly but surely been dying on it's @rse for one reason only - Super League is to blame.

Lift that carpet a little higher while I brush it all under, shush everyone.

Huddersfield Giants were not involved therefore its not an issue and nothing should be made of it.

However if a club as successful as Wigan over the last few years cannot get 6000 fans to a game a few miles away for the Semi Finals of the Challenge Cup, then I cannot for the life of me see how Huddersfield can possibly attract more than a couple of thousand fans to watch a team that hasn't won anything that people would recognise since the 60's.