And with an attendance of <6k the mystery of why fans don't give a crap about the CC continues for another year.....

A cup-tie not worthy of a nanosecond of Sky's output. They'd much rather broadcast London Broncos 50+ point hammerings away at Leeds and at home to Castleford in Sooper Dooper League instead.

Quite why they bothered purchasing the rights to broadcast the Challenge Cup when they had no intention of exercising those rights simply beggars belief. Unless it was a deliberate attempt to further marginalise the Challenge Cup?

I can imagine the outcry on these forums had it been the BBC treating the Challenge Cup with such contempt instead.

Sky

I know of three other Salford fans who would have gone if it was Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I get up before 5 to get to work ... so Thursday was a no no.

Don't base the figures on an atypical night.

More than the playoff crowd against Catalan last year. Does that mean people don't give a crap about the playoffs either?

I agree but there obviously is a problem with low challenge cup crowds. To be honest I think the best way forward is to increase season ticket prices and include challenge cup games on club season tickets.
Obviously there would have to be some analysis from each club as to how much to increase the price by but I think it's the best way to get bigger crowds at Challenge Cup games.

I'd also be tempted to look at having a semi-finals double header, with a lot more publicity/marketing for it than currently, to try and boost those crowds.

Why not make it mandatory that all season ticket holders must purchase a Challenge Cup ticket? I can already imagine the outcry at such a suggestion, but seriously consider how many home games each team has in the Challenge Cup each season. Obviously season ticket holders should receive a discounted rate for the game (£10 adults, £7 concession, £5 kids) but generally; if you buy a ST you are automatically enrolled into buying Challenge Cup games.

Well done Reds. F.C dont win at Wembley anyway.

I've thought about and it's a potential option but would have to be at a discounted rate as you suggest, and it might pose problems for clubs because whilst there are direct debit options for season tickets currently, a lot of people still pay up front, so no bank details are held by the club.

I know Man United and other Premier League clubs do it, where season ticket holders have to buy tickets to FA/League Cup/European games but they have waiting lists for season ticket holders!

I'm not totally against the idea, just we have to be careful to not put off people from buying a season ticket.

As a United fan, we don’t have a waiting list for season tickets anymore and they still do the automatic cup scheme. This relates to all Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup games, a potential maximum of 14 games if United reached the finals at a minimum ticket cost of say £30.

In comparison, you can only have a maximum of 3 Challenge Cup home games and how often does that happen. As long as season ticket holders are given discounted ticket prices as I mentioned earlier (£10 for adults is a bargain – but reflects potential standard of opposition to) I can’t envisage it discouraging many people. It would certainly increase crowd sizes and bring the buzz back to the famous cup.

RE bank details, I assume most clubs make it easier for people to pay for their season tickets so offer direct debits. I know Salford do and whilst I appreciate a lot of people pay upfront, it wouldn’t be difficult to request this information at the signing up stage.

For it to work though, all clubs Super League would have to abide with it becoming optional for Championship clubs.

Well yes, certainly not enough to attend the games. But I guess this is off topic.

Just a shame that the match going RU fans didn't fancy it:

Sale vs Northampton. European Challenge Cup quarter final attendance: 4650. *CHEAP £10 TICKET OFFER ALERT*

Hull vs Salford. Rugby League Challenge Cup 1st round proper attendance: 5963.

Agree with most of that. As long as it's kept to a reasonable additional price I wouldn't be averse to it.

On a slightly different tack, would seeding help maybe?

Maybe make it so in the 4th Round (1st Round for SL clubs) SL clubs are drawn against each other?
That would then guarantee that the 5th Round would have 6 SL clubs and 10 others in it.

Seeding is a difficult one and if you'd have asked the Dewsbury fans at half tie last night they would have said no chance. Whilst its highly unlikely Championship clubs could cause an upset these days the possibility is still there which makes it exciting. I guess it financially assists lower leagues clubs too, was that Dewsburys biggest crowd in years last night?

I'm a traditionalist, keep it as is.