Been to them all although only for the day as I'm not too fussed about being ripped off with the accommodation, Cardiff the best with all the variety of eateries across from the entrance, best memories were two trips to Edinburgh in a stretch Hummer with snowie, wow what a way to travel, supped the two bottles of complimentary champers before we got out of the car park.

Other than the 28-10 loss to Wigan?



It was less of a comment on the quality of the opponent, and more on the repetition of opponents. Wigan have only faced 4 teams at Magic, whereas St Helens have faced 7, Leeds 6 & Warrington 7. And despite this, Wigan are the most successful team at the Magic Weekend, followed by Huddersfield.

I can totally understand the frustration with the way the fixtures are generated.

However, for us a large part of going to matches is the social aspect. We always have a fantastic weekend in Newcastle.

Although I’m massively in favour of expansion I firmly believe it should be done in small steps.

Places like Newcastle, York and Coventry should be given a good crack. So events like the Magic Weekend help to raise the profile of the sport in those areas.
This includes the fans. Every single place I’ve been to I’ve had a conversation with locals and they never fail to be astounded that rival fans can mingle without there being trouble.

2008

hey, at least you've been on telly every time, warrington were relegated to opening game of the saturday one time, in the match sky didn't televise, have a guess who the opponent was?

i think the etihad was perfect for it, i really dont like st james park, its too tall, and feels too segregated for me.

Which Stadium in York is big enough to stage the Magic weekend?

All of them at the moment..

You knew full well what I meant in context to the poster saying that York would be ideal fro a "Magic weekend" but crack on!

It would imo be madness to scrap it permanently. One of the big events of the year. Maybe take it down to London and have London play as the opening game. Wrt the fixtures I liked the idea of based on previous years place.

Hi Mike, thanks for the interesting post, do post more



York would be a wonderful venue if the new stadium can cope, I don't know the capacity nor the current crowd interest in Magic, or the demand if York was used......

Not sure Coventry would be a pull, but if Coventry RL had a significant and serious ambition for Superleague then fair enough, but I can't see it when they are up against Wasps, albeit we took a major International there.

Financially how does magic weekend ever benefits clubs? Hugely discounted tickets so lower income compared to a standard ticket price which effectively reduces the revenue on top of significantly fewer overall fans even for games with no derby matches, not having the game on one of the teams home turf means zero concessions or private boxes/hospitality.
It continues to erode into the bigger games or traditional rival games with it being another loop fixture so a significant % of fans simply get switched off and don't attend by the third or fourth event. Suggestions of Cardiff ignore that for some teams/fans it's the same distance/time as travelling to Wembley, if it were more central in the country it would make it far easier for all fans but it simply should be stopped.
As should the additional fixture on the Easter Monday, this to my mind is a huge part of the player welfare that the RFL bang on about yet they ignore the very obvious in terms of protecting players and the entertainment itself from being diluted.

14 teams, 26 fixtures, league leaders as champions, no magic, no Easter Monday fixture, tighter control on salary cap plus maybe licencing reintroduced. Have a top 8 play off for a minor end of season competition if you like (first round and 'semi' at a single location), with teams required to have at least 9 of the XVII coming from the academy/rookie players with fewer than double digit first team appearances in all the rounds including the final.

This protects senior players and gives time slots for internationals without increased player fatigue for those that are more likely to be selected.