The attendance was 30891 on Saturday, 29323 on Sunday.

Attendance at 10 NRC games was 11166.

so what? the attendance was only a fraction of what was on at the RFU comps or the FA matches, you can't compare the SL gates with Championship gates the two are as far apart as the RF is with the RFU or with the FA, and it isn't an issue anyway unless the RFL wishes to start funding the Championship with the same amouint of monies.
if the games had been played at the SL clubs home ground the figure collectively would have been a lot higher.

Can't argue with that but seven random games wouldn't present themselves as an attraction to people outside the SL or as a TV spectacle.

I include the total attendance for the NRC as a comparison to an earlier poster about those who "bother to go" to the "Magic Weekend". The same could be said for the NRC games.

Perhaps the RFL could rename it Millenium Marmite because its clear from numerous message boards that you either love it or hate it which is a shame really.

But if the RFL can afford to frustrate, exclude, or annoy a significant %age of RL fans with their approach then good luck to them. The game must be healthier than I give it credit for.

Balance sheets up and down the country say otherwise but hey, it's all free money at the end of the day so why worry about financial stability and the RFL contempt for middle tier rugby league - we've got Welsh ball boys you know. Ace. All in the world is rosy.

Why do you think that is though?

Is it because folk see them as glorified friendlies brought in by the RFL to pad out an otherwise wafer thin season? Or is it because each year fewer and fewer people are interested in RL outside SL? Expansion is great but show me 500 kids playing rugby in London (population god knows how many million) and I will show you 500 kids in Leigh (popluation about 40000) playing with anything but a rugby ball or 500 adults who have lost interest in the game altogether. We don't even have proper inter-schools competitions any more!!

Thats what happens when the RFL can't be d with middle ground rugby league. SL and expansion is all that matters to them. The rest is just an annoyance.

and which two teams were the main culprits conspicuous by their absence at the choo choo launch??

I think dewsbury wern't there.
Who was the other team ?.

Not being there myself I wouldn't know, please enlighten us?

The single most important post on this thread until TV viewing figures come in.

£1.25 million pounds in the RL bank - no matter who gets it - is the bottom line.

Would that money have been made on a normal derby weekend? Would the viewing figures have been as high? Somehow I doubt it.

All that said, the RFL organised this particularly badly, even by their standards. 6 Nations and a big North West football derby the same weekend? That was always going to make a huge dent in the attendance. Perhaps the football was unforseeable, I have no interest in the game so wouldn't know when the fixtures are announced, but the 6 Nations clash was unforgiveable.

No matter how much the regular fan sees empty seats at the ground as a sign of failure, the real measure of success is how much money the weekend made or lost.

£1.25 million isn't an amount to be trifled with, is it? The game is about being a sucessful business, not just a sport.

Who payed for the hire of the stadium ?.
Plenty of supporters didin't pay,i believe it was part of there season ticket package.Lots of supporters payed a tenner thats not counting concessions.
That magical £500 thousand pound figure is based on the first MM weekend,how much did they pay for the 2011 MM?

So how do they avoid 5 weeks of RU played from the 2 nd week in feb into March , and have this event as a season opener ?

Owd up.

If it costs them £500k and they are paid £500k then the net outlay is zero.

And this is without asking for VT standard 'link please' protocol to prove they get £500k. It might be a bag of spanners for all we know.

But one thing is for sure, you dont roll it over then add up some guestimated figure and shout 'Bingo!'

There may not be any money from the tourist board and the Stadium Company might want £1m a day. Ticket sales might not cover the clubs transport and hotel costs, promoting the event, policing, stewarding, the VATman....we don't know. I could guess at a load of figures in an attempt to show it lost money.

Nobody knows unless the RFL tell us. And they don't so until they do lets not kid ourselves otherwise.

still cant work out who the missing clubs where from the photo www.northernrail.org/northernrailcup/news/6600

still cant work out who the missing clubs where from the photo www.northernrail.org/northernrailcup/news/6600

20 Teams in the comp only 19 shirts on show there is a least one club missing.

As far as I can make out the missing team is Dewsbury