Quote: Warrior Winger "I wonder if they have schedules the fixtures in a way to try and keep momentum in the crowds attending?
So for example, once the season starts most fans will be starved of any Rugby League and would 'hopefully' turn out in their numbers for the first few rounds, then add in some juicy fixtures to keep crowd momentum turning up in their numbers.
Having one of your nearest rivals in the opening round when it would generally be well attended anyway is probably not the best way to go, yes I see the logic in it, but even if the Leigh game is scheduled for a mid week I would still expect a decent turn out, so maybe a fixture that would generally be a lower turn out, but fans are eager to watch a game and therefore would go to watch the grass grow if there was a rugby ball on the pitch, maybe is more savvy thinking, just maybe?'"
I previously held the view that its best to avoid putting on the bigger fixtures in round one as any fixture should in theory get a bit of a bump from being the first game back. However, RL only has a very small number of good cards in their hand so its probably best to play them at the time where they have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. You play Leigh in Round 1 in a local derby with the rivalry and the pre-season optimism, you guarantee close to 20k. You play it mid year when the excitement/momentum has died down and it may end up nearer 13/14k.
Either way, its the need to rearrange a potentially big game to mid week that's the irritating thing here. With Saints last year it was the Huddersfield game that was postponed but makes no difference when instead of getting 200 fans travelling they end up getting 100.