read in the metro newspaper yesterday,the rfl are considering moving the final to be played in may again,not sure if they mean next year.

good idea get rid of the magic weekend and play it on the last bank holiday weekend in May so I doesn't clash with the FA cup final also at that time of year the weather should be better then it has been for the last couple of finals.

Something needs doing with the Cup. Fans are simply not buying into it anymore in numbers. The attendances today are embarrassing to the sport

4,390 at Wigan
3,002 at Warrington
2,630 at Salford
4,648 at Cas
2,341 at Bradford

It's simply down to the lack of 'magic' in the competition. There are no underdog victories anymore and fans just don't care as much until the semis come around. Even then it's not brilliant. How many more did we take the the Semi in 2005 compared to last year?

How you go about fixing the issue I have no idea. I don't think the problem is money for the fans, it's general interest. It's under valued by almost everybody in the game but the nostalgic fan. It's a problem football has with the FA cup too.

Except I think you may find there are football play off finals then.

Its only a good idea if the RFL and the clubs treat it with respect. When SL started and it was treated and felt like a pre season competition it was awful. There is a hell of a lot of competition for national press in May. The Union & football seasons reach a peak with finals galore.
There should only be two weeks between rounds to keep the interest up which will help the national TV audience on the beeb as well.

i guess most fans treat the challenge cup with contempt as it is mainly the likes of wigan, leeds, warrington get the easy routes, apart from ourselves and hudds nobody else seems to get to the semi finals! supporters of the above teams then tend to wait, knowing their teams will end up in the final or last four and save their cash for the big day!

They could move it from Wembley permanently too, and set us off on a run of final victories

Seriously the comp does need some kind of overhaul, not just to encourage spectators, but those crowds are poor. I can't even imagine that we'd have had a huge attendance if we'd had Widnes at home.

major problem for me is the gulf between superleague and the rest. not much chance of an upset in most of the cup ties

Do feel the benefit of not having a free ticket (Like we use to) for fourth round in season passes have benefited the decrease aswel

Why not scrap the Magic Weekend and hold a pre-season 9s tournament like they did here in Oz

It wouldn't work people wouldn't pay to watch a 9's tournament.

Pre season in Australia is in the summer. I can say with almost absolute certainty that a freezing cold Jan / Feb afternoon in Manchester or Leeds will not be a great setting for a 9s tournament. Fans hardly turn up for a weekend of 7 games in May, they won't turn out for a gimmicky 9s tournament in the winter.

Just my thoughts, but I am sure its correct.