Hardly a surprise when three of them are Skolars, Crusaders and Eagles.

The location of Fax versus Blackpool no doubt made a difference as well, in terms of the appeal of a family day out.

This.

The biff during Leigh vs Sheffield was a bit special

We did our bit, took about 2800 of the crowd. Atmosphere was amazing in the Leigh end.

Enjoyed seeing a few Fax fans wearing their shirts at the game with pride, fair play to them.

If it had been Leigh v Fax/Fev there would have been 7-8k on.

There was a very impressive following from Crus considering the challenges they have endured in recent years. Skolars had a handful of loyal fans who had made the journey north and Leigh fans turned out in numbers, probably 2500+, which considering it is the first weekend of wakes fortnight is pretty good.
Eagles following was an embarrassment and I don't know what else they can do to boost their profile in such a large football city.
What about the main game though? Exciting enough for SL fans to appreciate was it?

A wonderful day's rugby league with two cracking finals.

Kudos to the small army of Crusaders fans for creating a great atmosphere in the first game and to Skolars for really giving it a go and taking North Wales all the way.

The Leigh-Sheffield contest was a beauty from start to finish and no one could have left the ground feeling short changed. It was a final that ebbed and flowed and had a bit of everything.

The day proved there is nothing wrong with the game on the field at all. The players never let us down and the truism that two evenly matched teams will always produce a decent game was upheld.

What a shame the same can't be said of the game's administrators or 'fans' like Andy Gilder whose immediate response is to complain about the attendance (the lowest-ever for a Northern Rail/Buddies final). Did you go Andy ?

I'd put the crowd-drop down to the powers-that-be for taking it away from Blackpool. A day/weekend in Halifax hardly has the same ring to it does it ? To out it into perspective there were 9400 for the Hull KR-Cas final at Blackpool and it was live on Sky in 2005.

However, I'm glad I went (as a neutral) and its a shame more fans don't show support for this great game we have.

Use it or lose it should be the message. This truly IS the greatest game of all.

The NL/NRC has rarely produced a poor match, and based in Blackpool it was ripe for promotion as a junior Challenge Cup Final EVENT, IMO more could have been done to encourage more neutral fans to attend

Since losing seasonal promotion the junior cup had taken on more prominence within the NLs/Championships as a fun competition without the double edged joy/disapointment of winning the league, it is and could have become a much more ' Vibrant, worth winning in its own right ' competition

Good to see the passion from the Leigh fans over yesterdays victory. It will be a shame when promotion/relegation returns and this is replaced with it being treated more as an irritant on the quest for the promised land of SL.

Sheffield, Wales and London club in finals? At least the lower divisions have expanded!

It has been a while since I have enjoyed a game that much. Finals rarely create exciting football but that had everything! As for location I'm far from convinced by the move to Fax, however it could have been played on the school field and it would have still been a day to remember.

I attended two finals in Blackpool with HKR & have attended others since it is a great day out but Halifax is not for me I would not have gone even I was not working as I made a weekend away of it. I enjoyed it on TV & it shows how good a game we have as long as the teams are matched. I think it also highlighted the gap between the championship & the full time Super league, not in skill or entertainment but in the physique of the part time players they were all diferent shapes & sizes just like most of us. Thats why the way we introduce these clubs into the top level has to be thought out very carefully.

Think yourselves lucky, when the Giants won this is 2002 the final was played in Featherstone !!!

I watched it via internet and thought it was a great game till Sheffield collapsed, fair play to Leigh though, they were excellent.

2200 at a Super League game on Friday? Thoughts?
4870 at a Super League game on Friday? Thoughts?

Bear in mind, Super League attracts much more media, RFL and SKY TV attention than a Championship fixture.
Another problem which probably knocked a lot of the attendance was the game was advertised as ticketed.
There should have been a large promotion in various league publications and local media stating that you could pay on the day for any fans that may have fancied popping down at late notice.

Sheffield brought around 300 fans. I hate to think what the attendance would have been if Batley beat Leigh in the Semis.

Hope it reverts back to Blackpool next year. I don't think there will be a huge attendance in the Championship final at Leigh if Sheffield are there neither.

I was there for that too, Huddersfield vs Hull KR at Fev haha!

Wasn't it called the Buddies Cup then?

Leigh lost it at Dewsbury in 2000 , won it at Keighley in 2001 , both against the home teams, then lost against Salford in 2003 and beat HKR in 2004 ,both matches played at Spotland in Rochdale

But since they moved it to Blackpool it had been building as an event, just a shame the RFL and the clubs decided to cut costs rather than invest in it