I have no idea how Rugby League has managed to get such a noisy minority of fans who don't seem to actually want to watch Rugby League.

Do you go to the games Smokey? Do you dwell amongst the Loiners?

No he visits Batley , Keighley and Fax , he believes the Championships are more ' Vibrant and worth winning ' than they were 5 years ago

I reckon (now that you've packed in at Leigh) you should both get together on a Sunday afternoons and chew the fat. Put the RL world to rights. The sum of the parts are greater an' all that......

The World club challenge games, yes. Why wouldnt I?
I would love to go back to Aus and see a proper WCC too. I cant for the life of me fathom why any RL fan wouldnt want to watch a match up between the best SL sides and the best NRL sides.

There should be more fans like you Smokey, what were the Crowds like in 1997 with all of the "Super League" hoopla and money thrown at the tournament by Newscorp and their media presence and with 640,000 Pound prize money.
Half the games were less than a Park team would get.

The Australians started with good crowds and then realised it was rubbish.
1997 tournament matches

[edit]Round 1
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
6 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. London Broncos 42-22 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 18,193
6 June 1997 Auckland Warriors def. St Helens 42-12 Knowsley Road St Helens 8,911
7 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Leeds Rhinos 42-20 Stockland Stadium Townsville 14,561
8 June 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Salford Reds 50-8 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 11,346
8 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Halifax Blue Sox 70-6 Bruce Stadium Canberra 7,780
8 June 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Paris-St Germain 28-12 Charlety Stadium Paris 3,500
8 June 1997 Perth Reds def. Castleford Tigers 24-16 Wilderspool Warrington 3,378
9 June 1997 Wigan Warriors def. Canterbury Bulldogs 22-18 Belmore Sydney 10,680
9 June 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Bradford Bulls 20-16 Odsal Stadium Bradford 14,378
[edit]Round 2
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
13 June 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Leeds Rhinos 34-8 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 14,630
13 June 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Castleford Tigers 42-12 Wheldon Road Castleford 3,087
14 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Oldham Bears 54-16 Stockland Stadium Townsville 12,631
14 June 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 20-16 Odsal Stadium Bradford 13,133
15 June 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. Halifax Blue Sox 58-6 Belmore Sydney 5,034
15 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. London Broncos 66-20 Bruce Stadium Canberra 6,471
15 June 1997 Sheffield Eagles def. Perth Reds 26-22 Don Valley Stadium Sheffield 3,000
15 June 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Warrington Wolves 52-22 Wilderspool Warrington 3,850
16 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Wigan Warriors 34-0 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 14,833
[edit]Round 3
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
20 June 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Oldham Bears 42-14 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 13,852
20 June 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Bradford Bulls 30-10 Odsal Stadium Bradford 10,756
21 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Salford Reds 44-8 Stockland Stadium Townsville 15,508
21 June 1997 Paris-St Germain def. Perth Reds 24-0 Charlety Stadium Paris 2,500
22 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Halifax Blue Sox 76-0 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 11,358
22 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Wigan Warriors 42-6 Bruce Stadium Canberra 9,098
23 June 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. London Broncos 34-18 Belmore Sydney 4,000
23 June 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Warrington Wolves 56-28 Wilderspool Warrington 4,428
20 June 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Sheffield Eagles 40-4 Don Valley Stadium Sheffield 2,500
[edit]Round 4
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
18 July 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Warrington Wolves 48-12 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,642
18 July 1997 Leeds Rhinos def. Adelaide Rams 22-14 Headlingley Stadium Leeds 11,269
18 July 1997 Oldham Bears def. North Queensland Cowboys 20-16 Boundary Park Oldham 2,961
19 July 1997 Perth Reds def. Sheffield Eagles 48-12 WACA Ground Perth 7,429
20 July 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 64-14 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 13,000
20 July 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Castleford Tigers 26-8 Topper Stadium Newcastle 3,379
20 July 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. Halifax Blue Sox 40-22 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,500
20 July 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Wigan Warriors 30-4 Central Park Wigan 12,816
21 July 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. St Helens 28-12 Shark Park Sydney 7,751
21 July 1997 London Broncos def. Canberra Raiders 38-18 The Stoop London 7,819
[edit]Round 5
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
25 July 1997 Auckland Warriors def. St Helens 70-6 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 8,500
25 July 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Oldham Bears 18-2 Boundary Park Oldham 3,315
26 July 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Warrington Wolves 44-0 Shark Park Sydney 6,112
27 July 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Paris-St Germain 32-4 Topper Stadium Newcastle 2,210
27 July 1997 Perth Reds def. Castleford Tigers 24-14 WACA Ground Perth 6,114
27 July 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. London Broncos 34-16 The Stoop London 9,846
27 July 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Salford Reds 24-14 The Willows Salford 7,448
27 July 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Halifax Blue Sox 42-12 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,620
28 July 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Bradford Bulls 54-14 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,332
28 July 1997 Wigan Warriors def. Canterbury Bulldogs 31-24 Central Park Wigan 10,280
[edit]Round 6
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
1 August 1997 Perth Reds def. Paris-St Germain 18-8 WACA Ground Perth 5,160
1 August 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. London Broncos 44-22 The Stoop London 6,923
2 August 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Bradford Bulls 40-12 Shark Park Sydney 8,272
3 August 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Warrington Wolves 16-4 Lancaster Park Christchurch 6,500
3 August 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Sheffield Eagles 58-12 Topper Stadium Newcastle 1,965
3 August 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Leeds Rhinos 48-14 Headingley Stadium Leeds 12,224
3 August 1997 Salford Reds def. Adelaide Rams 14-12 The Willows Salford 6,995
3 August 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Wigan Warriors 50-10 Central Park Wigan 12,504
4 August 1997 Penrith Panthers def. St Helens 32-26 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,000
4 August 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Halifax Blue Sox 54-10 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,255
[edit]Playoff
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
20 August 1997 St Helens def. Paris-St Germain 42-4 Knowsley Road St Helens -
[edit]Quarter-finals
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
3 October 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 62-14 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 9,553
3 October 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Wigan Warriors 22-18 Central Park Wigan 9,553
4 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. St Helens 66-12 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 6,438
6 October 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. London Broncos 40-16 The Stoop London 6,239
[edit]Semi-finals
Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
10 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Auckland Warriors 22-16 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 9,686
11 October 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Cronulla Sharks 22-18 Shark Park Sydney 5,214
[edit]
Final

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
18 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Hunter Mariners 36-12 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 12,000

no they werent,

why do NRL fan boys overstate things so much?

A pretty daft and meaningless comparison, no?

Any expansion of, or change to, the WCC which makes it worthwhile to both Super League and NRL clubs could only be a good thing. But if the attitude of most is "why change anything, it's broken now, it'll always be broken" then we'll never get anywhere as a sport.

This concept needs the Aussies input far more than the opposite.
Get the International Game up to speed.
Will an expanded WCC that may be dominated by Australia make the Aussies appreciate the English game at any level more? or will SOO just be reinforced as the best game in the Sport?

What were the average crowds Smokey?
The Semi Final and final games got what sort of Crowds?

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
10 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Auckland Warriors 22-16 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 9,686
11 October 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Cronulla Sharks 22-18 Shark Park Sydney 5,214
[edit]
Final

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
18 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Hunter Mariners 36-12 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 12,000

How good are those Crowds?
It was a Circus that could not be sold to smart fans.
The fact the Final was played in Auckland with two Australian teams in the game says it all, they knew it would flop in Oz so hoped the novelty of a "Final" in Auckland might work, (they were wrong)

They were a boat load higher than what the NRL fanboys would call ‘park’ football.

Where are the 'park teams' (presume that means amateur!!) that get a low of 2500 attending?!!

Park teams are Clubs that play below the top game.
Toyota Cup and the QRL are Park teams
Look at most of the name of their home grounds it ends in "Park"

Redcliffe Dolphins played Wynnum Manly Seagulls in front of 9,682 last year.
That is only 2,400 less than the 97 WCC extravaganza Grand Final.