Apart from the school certain raiser why don't the rfl introduce a minor Challenge Cup for teams in the bottom tier of the leagues and play that before the main event?. Would give supporters of teams in that league the chance of seeing their club on the hallowed turf and could fatten out the crowds?. You could show the game on the red button on the BBC as an option to watching the build up on BBC1.

The problem is there clearly wasnt 76k in the ground as that number includes Club Wembley tickets who dont show up. And regardless of which version of the number they announce its a number that is in decline.

Does anyone know what happens with Club Wembley after next year? My understanding was the initial 10 year deal is up. Hopefully that means the RFL can sell just the bottom two tiers of Wembley and only open the top tier if needed, when theyce done that for England games the atmosphere has been good.

Saturday was an excellent game, superb crowd and a top "event".
RL has done well at introducing The GF and Magic Weekend in addition to the long established CC Final. However, it's probably unrealistic to keep adding to the number of major events and expect that they will all be sell out's.
Sometimes less is more.
IF we still had to old style league with the top club as champions and the big day out was a Wembley final, it would sell out every year but, it's not reasonable to expect the "same" fans to keep emptying their pockets.
The reality is that they will pick and choose their days out.

Of course it's all a balance, between trying to expand the games appeal and "find" new fans but more importantly, we have to expand the fan base.
The Magic event should be the best way of doing this but, it needs moving around the country at regular intervals and some solid marketing to try and bring new fans on board.

Although the inclusion of Toronto and Toulouse into the domestic competition is contentious, there is no doubt that this will increase the sports profile and this should create some interest outside the traditional RL heartlands.

Of course there is no magic formula but, the key is growing the game and increasing the number of people across the country that are willing to pay to watch our sport.

The upcoming 4 nations with a game in london will also be a major factor. Saturday was far and away the fewest neutral supporters I've ever seen at wembley

For me 1 they should move it back to may 2 they should fix the early rounds and 3 why should the top teams play less matches to get their go back to what it was, I hope when sky get it thats what they do

Elaborate, please?

I went on Sat and try to get down every year. It's still a highlight for me and I'm sure for others too.

The problem is that people have an obsession with empty seats, which I agree doesn't look good, but 76k is still a good crowd if you take it as a stand alone figure. Although I accept the point about Club Wembley, which hopefully will not be a problem any longer.

Wembley is a massive stadium and we just need to accept that it's difficult to fill considering that a lot of our fan base is Northern. Travelling down to and possibly staying in one of the most expensive cities in the world is a tough ask for those who simply can't afford to do that.

I think a lot also has to do with the reduced quality that we have now and the last couple of finals have been one-sided so I can imagine that would put people off

I think football are having the same problems with the FA Cup. Obviously they will still sell it out, but it's lost something.

I think we just live in a sporting society where the league is the ultimate prize and the cup is secondary. Possibly changing the scheduling would help, but it needs to stay at Wembley 100%

It's also an expensive day trip and has now become one of many.In the past the league was won by the team that finished top - no special day out needed,it was won over the season. Now we are asked to spend out on a trip to the Magic Weekend in Newcastle, a trip to Wembley for the cup, a trip to Manchester for the Grand Final. It's a big and expensive ask and some people will have to pick and chose which they would prefer to attend. Not everyone has unlimited finances!

Brilliant afternoon in Queens Gardens, Hull for the victory parade. Huge turnout and glorious weather.

:zv834ouy

I suppose we will be seeing that 23,000 filling out the KC week in week out from now on ?

Only if it's free



Would hope our attendances next year will be up but we have the same issues in increasing crowds as every club. An extra thousand or two would be good.

You are such a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?