Quote: jarvis12345 "Just an idea. With the magic weekend making the fixture list in SL uneven in the sense that Warrington have to play Widnes which should be 2 easy points but Saints have a much tougher game against Wigan and Leeds likewise with Bradford, could there be an option to make the magic weekend the last 16 of the challenge cup to try and increase the interest in the cup and also give championship clubs more exposure as there will be at least 2 left. The schedule of the challenge would have to be changed slightly to make this possible but is certainly possible.'"
I think in other years that would be a really good idea and it would produce some really big games bringing in the crowds. And whilst even for some SL supporters Leigh v Fax should be a good game to watch, would Wigan or Huddersfield supporters want to stay and watch Oldham v Saints? I don't mean any disrespect to the Championship teams that have drawn SL opposition but despite for the first time in however many years there are a good few Championship/1 teams left in the 5th round, would they draw in crowds? We rely on the SL teams bringing their supporters but sometimes the games just don't appeal and showing them on TV can stop people from attending. Fax v Bulls CC4 last season was on BBC and the attendance was only 4500-5000 - and that was the first derby (aside from Langleys testimonial) since Fax dropped out of SL. And unfortunately unlike the FA Cup, the lower league teams find it harder to pull off a shock win cos the game is so physical and the gap is so big. Would it have a positive impact promoting the game? Unfortunately games like Fev v Cas are few and far between.
