But he didn't criticise Leigh or their fans, he simply said the loss of the Hull KR support had an effect.

That could mean he's having a go at Hull KR getting relegated, or at Salford for relegating them.

There was literally no point in bringing up Leigh's support.

Hasn't the whole concept just gone way past its sell-by date? It adds an unnecessary extra fixture and should be dumped.

Disagree with that. I'd say that MW is the only thing as a sporting event is unique about rugby league.

What does that mean? Are you writing in Martian?

Cheer up,you could be joining the Summer Bash next season.That should increase sales for that weekend. Always talk of why attendances are down and let's look for an excuse. Whatever is lost at MW will be gained at SB and vice versa.

Internet arguments about away support always end well.

The Magic Weekend needs moving around the country more in my opinion. Birmingham or Nottingham would be interesting venues and not that far from the traditional RL areas. The same venue every year makes you think "ok, I'll miss this one but I'll go next year". I know a number f bands try to avoid playing tours every year as fans drop off quickly if they think it will be an annual event. I know this is annual but moving it around would give a bit more prestige to the city that holds it, keep it more interesting for travelling fans and hopefully engage the locals more as it will be a one off event for the city.

Suprised its never been moved to the Midlands with quite a few amateur rugby league clubs in the area. Moving it to London or Liverpool wouldn't in my opinion be a good idea.

I think the problem at the moment is we don't know what the underlying strategy is for MW.

Is it first and foremost a money spinner?
Is it to increase fans/awareness in new areas?
Is it to help increase participation in those areas via community clubs?
Is it to help boost an expansion club?

I imagine the RFL see it as purely a money spinner, with the hope that it positively effects the other three, but the problem as always is it's half-d.


I like your idea to move it every year, create the prestige and honour for the city holding it, but there also needs to be a broader strategy from the RFL to leave a legacy in the area it's held after it's been played.

For instance, if after MW next weekend, the RFL announce MW2018 will be in Coventry or Liverpool, we need to have: RFL development officers in that city's schools and supporting any existing community clubs right away; RFL execs creating partnerships with that cities public bodies and key businesses; a targeted and visible marketing strategy in that city; a clear plan on how to harness the interest created post-MW via participation and/or supporting their local club.

I really don't get this either. On top of the ground being small it isn't the most glamorous place in the world and the ground is hard to get to if you are travelling on public transport, harder than Newcastle and Manchester anyway which are a walk away from trains. I have been to Newcastle every year and the main reason is it is easy to get to on the train, only takes a couple hours from hull.

When you think about it, Coventry would only have 9-10,000 more people than some individual games such as wigan-saints and hull derby. Ridiculous to think that 1 game could get almost as much as 3 games.

If the venue was moved I would go for Olympic myself. Would be great to have a weekend in London, decent sized ground which is around the size of grounds we have used before and the perfect way to show off our game in the capital.

Considering you've been banging on about how Toulouse should be in SL for months, the above comment is self defeating because Catalans Magic Weekend fans will be thin on the ground, and Toulouse would be worse. I wonder how much we'll miss Widnes or Huddersfield fans next year? We should cover that and if Feath get promoted as well, they won't be lacking in numbers.

Because Coventry have shown a lot of interest in hosting it in previous years, including this one.

But you've inadvertently helped me make my point, is it all about attendances and cold hard cash, or is there a strategy to expand to new audiences etc?