Gateshead Thunder will not be seeking a change of venue for their Challenge Cup quarter-final tie against holders St Helens at the end of May.

The Tyne and Wear club have insisted it is only right to give their own fans the opportunity to watch the match at Gateshead Stadium.

And Thunder's chief executive Rod Findlay dismissed any suggestion the tie would be switched to St Helens in order to draw a bigger attendance.

Findlay stressedWe think our stadium is probably better than St Helens. We have a 12,000 all-seater international stadium and there's no reason to move it. We might get a bigger crowd if we played the game at St Helens but that would be extremely unfair on our fans who deserve better.

"They've had 10 years in the wilderness after Super League was taken from them. There's been an awful lot of interest since the draw was made. There's already a buzz about the match and the phones have been ringing non-stop with people asking about tickets for the tie."

and Curry Houses

A good night out Shields

Good on yer Gateshead! Hope you get a 2k+ crowd. Enjoy the big day and give Saints a good run for their money, good Luck.

I expect at least twice that attendance and Saints to give Thunder a good run for their money.

I expect Saints to 'have a bye'

A goodbye ,then they can concentrate on winning at Old Trafford in October.

never underestimate the opersition, i dont think its going to be a walkover
as some people are sugesting, well done to gateshead for getting to the quarters

Sorry, it was meant very tongue in cheek. Hope it's a corker.

Never having been to your part of the country before , where`s the best/safest place to park ? , thanks

I am a non-driver but there are a parking spaces at the Stadium itself and there are streets around the ground... Never known any cars being "done" around the ground

Thank you squire , look forward to seeing you all , a good game with the right result (for me )

I've just got back from spending a great late afternoon/early evening at your place. I hope you'll forgive us the scoreline but that doesn't tell the true story of the match because your guys must be the masters of the interception pass! I counted five that came off, one that was fumbled, and of course one of the successful five gave you the try. I really enjoyed watching Thunder play - first time for me - and I hope your club goes onward and upward because your team plays well and works hard and your fans are fantastic. What support!

Unfortunately, there was no PA working on the East Stand so I hope no-one thinks we were not joining in with stuff because we are a boring lot. It's just that we couldn't make out what the guy on the tannoy was saying so we didn't know what was happening or else we would have joined in.

I hope we had a good turnout for you. I couldn't tell how many of us were there.

And The Schooner pub sells the best chips ever!

Thanks to everyone at Thunder (and The Schooner!) for such a friendly welcome.

Thanks SaintsFan for finding the time to be complimentary.The PA(and other things) failed to work for Thunder fans so we join you in the feeling of frustration regarding that.
I thought you were determined and professional on the field and the nurturing of your young players is a successful works in progress.
It was a superb display of teamwork with Eastmond showing a great range of skills.
Make sure you win it - I have the utmost respect for Mick Potter.

I hope Thunder fans didn't think we played our young guys for any other reason than we had to? Both our wingers missed the last league game and one, Gardner, will miss at least two more games. We also had Gilmour out with injury. Our young players are our squad this year. But in Eastmond's case, we think he is being trained up to replace Long when he goes, hence Long's disappearance and Eastmond's appearance. But yes, they have stood up well have this crop. We have been very lucky because we need them this season!


We will try! But this season it's going to be a real toughie for us.

You have a good coach and he clearly had a plan with the interceptions. I am sorry for your sake that more of them didn't come off but I hope that your season just gets better and that you get to enjoy some success of your own.

thank you for a good day out. good luck for the rest of the season you deserve it, your team was a credit to you.