It isn't great seeing that we haven't sold well for the Wire game too...could be just above 11k when we have averaged 14k all season.

Times are tough and finding the extra cash for these games will not be easy for many folk. And it's no use comparing us to RU when the fan demographic is pretty radically different.

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that non-ST attendances are down when we're in the middle of the worst recession in a generation.

No, they don't. And I can guarantee if they had a similar play-off format, there would be an equally dramatic drop in attendances for them too.

Well the semi-final's last season saw Quins v Saints at Twickenham stoop get 12k (14k capacity?) and Leicester v Sarries get 20k (24k capacity?) so you're right

Ah yes,the recession,always good as an excuse that old chestnut.Doesn't seem to affect fans of premiership football clubs whom,I would imagine,have to fork out bigger money to follow their teams.

I read somewhere that the average age of premiership football fans is now 47. I suspect our average is considerably lower. If true then RL fans may have, on average, less disposable income compared to their soccer counterparts.

Premiership football clubs who have had to undergo unprecedented levels of advertising, not to mention a big cut in prices from what they would generally consider the norm.

Thats a new one to add to the list!.

Couldnt give a monkeys about the crowd, hope the game is immense.

Outside of a certain few (Man U, LFC, Toon, & Arsenal), who sell most of their non-season tickets in blocks to agents in Ireland, London, Shanghai etc. (so always report sell-outs), Prem. football clubs are really struggling - you can purchase tickets right up to kickoff, even for fixtures such as EFC v Man U or Spurs v Chelsea, something unheard of for decades ..........

+1 in the crowd now with Sam Tomkins anyway

Now I've heard it all.

Football is struggling to get fans though the gate.

Tonights crowd for a Leeds v Wigan grandfinal qualifier is pathetic.

Not as bad as stevos commentary but pathetic. When will RL fans wake up in this country and realise that finals footy is the best you will witness all season?

12344 isn't a bad crowd for Friday night football.

The game is dying, paralysed by years of self serving and bad decision making. The game has suceeded in making itself look foolish be it the farcical play offs or licencing criteria (or lack of).

Consequently fans expect freebies to all our marque events. 12,000 is pathetic for the biggest clubs in the land. We have effectively become the equivalent of Aldi - zero brand credibility reliant on sell it cheap. RU, soccer etc are the Nike's of this world. People love the allure of their big events.

Its improtant to ask why fans are not turning up. Dont buy the recession bull. I watched Saints at Old Trafford play Wigan with nearly 30,000 on during the horrible 1990 recession and now we wouldnt even get half that for an equivalent match.