THURSDAY night Super League games have always divided opinion.
Yes, it’s an extra day of rugby league coverage live on Sky Sports, but it is also a day which fans just can’t seem to get onboard with.
On a school night, travelling a hundred miles across the country just doesn’t cut it for rugby league-supporting families.
People can argue that thousands of football fans travel a lot further to watch their team in action away from home during the week, but that just doesn’t happen in rugby league – and it won’t change anytime soon.
So when organisers planned for the Wigan Warriors to make over 110-mile trip to play Hull FC last night, what were they thinking?
Credit to those Wigan fans that did turn up, but there weren’t that many despite Matt Peet’s side sitting top of the Super League table.
Is there any wonder? No one can blame the Warriors supporters that didn’t attend the game and instead watched it on television.
Getting back home well after midnight with work the day after just doesn’t appeal which is why Super League, the RFL and Sky Sports should make the Thursday night live Sky Sports fixture a derby one.
Imagine if Hull KR rather than Wigan had been the visitors at the MKM Stadium last night? Guaranteed, that venue would have been full at both ends.
If Wigan had had to travel to St Helens instead of the other side of the country, the same sellout would have been expected at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
So when people mock and take photos of travelling supporters on a Thursday night, they are not helping the issue.
The ire should not be aimed at those fans, however small the number, that turned up but rather at the organisers that set up such a disastrous fixture.
