Leyther_Matt

That was one that certainly lasted up until the early 2000s. I used to have a great collection.

Clubs aren't allowed to switch cup fixtures, they have to play at their league venue. For what it's worth, if Wakefield AFC were to climb through the divisions - and I don't think people realise quite how far down the pyramid they actually are - then you'd expect them to invest in their pitch accordingly.

It was merely a play on words because the original title said ‘bibber’ rather than bidder.

Does highest bibber mean it will be based on who can spit their dummy the furthest?

I prefer 'economical'. Why pay £60 for one game when you pay £30 apiece for two games? £110 is a little over half my season ticket cost at Bolton this season! And I'll never stop being annoyed that the 5pm kick off for that game is about 60-90 minutes too early to have been able to go to Accrington v BWFC at 3 and then the rugby afterwards.

Tbf I recall England/GB games in the mid 2000s where those tickets remained empty (a game versus NZ at Huddersfield immediately springs to mind) and that was as part of a tour (or possibly Four Nations) rather than a competition where we're relying on x number of folk going to x number of games

On that front, I would suggest Salford City have got a lot more in common with Sale than they have Salford RL

Yes it seems to be 6 for the final and 8 for the other games. I filled in the form yesterday morning for group tickets for the final but not heard anything yet. Will email them directly if I’ve not heard anything by Friday as I’m anxious to be in the lower bowl. Bit of a faff really for what I really wouldn’t consider a particularly large number of tickets. Elland Road on Friday and Emirates (presumably for any England game) on the Saturday, isn’t it?

I went to see the short-lived ‘Ice Warriors’ filmed at Manchester Arena with my brother who had recently broken his arm. It was so hot in the Arena that it melted the plaster on his cast and he had to go to hospital on the way home to have it re-set! We’d only gone as we used to frequently watch Manchester Storm and one of the players (Hilton Ruggles) was filling in as one of the ‘warriors’. And was rumoured to have had his wicked way with Dani Behr who was presenting the show. The two competing teams were Hull Huskies against Birmingham Blizzard, which tbf could quite easily pass as a League One fixture these days. I’ve been to the odd game at the new rink in Altrincham (the ‘new’ Storm being quite literally a phoenix of a phoenix club, as the original Storm were replaced by Manchester Phoenix - eat your heart out, Sheffield Eagles!) and it’s bloomin’ freezing in there! Manchester-Sheffield games used to regularly attract five figure crowds and were as high as 17,000 at one point. Amazing how much toss you can write while walking home from work with barely a tenuous link to RL

It was a similar process when tickets first went on sale for the Women’s Euros where you just picked the price category and it was ‘dressed’ from there on in. However, once tickets were on general sale, then you could pick your exact seat which is really where we should be now. That said, I’ve been to enough RL events where the ticket purchased has no relevance to what you end up with. Opening game in 2013 at Cardiff there were 15+ of us who were arriving separately but had bought seats together so that we could meet up in the ground. Upon our staggered entries we were then shifted around to literally the opposite side of the stadium and ended up scattered all over the place in separate groups

I did wonder about Druids having gone there previously (against Swinton ironically enough). You would think the artificial pitch would be more conducive to hiring it out? I know there would be the cost involved of getting the pitch marked, but maybe that could be used as a leverage to become something of a semi-permanent back up plan for whenever Eirias isn’t available, particularly as Druids obviously won’t be affected during pitch maintenance season.

Picking your block isn’t quite specific enough as far as I’m concerned at any of the bigger grounds really, particularly behind the sticks at Old Trafford where the height makes all the difference. This thread has at least inspired me to create the third(!) incarnation of our RLWC WhatsApp group, so hopefully I’ll be buying a ruck of tickets before long.

Only bought for the wheelchair final so far but have just put in an application for group tickets for the final (6 seems a weirdly low cut off, but only doing as I'm told!) and will get round to sorting our rabble soon for the other games

Glad to hear the dugouts are moving over to the main stand side. Should make a massive difference to the view - and distribution of fans - on the 'away' terrace (assuming the old ones will be demolished)

Kicking off between 2.30 and 3.30 on a Saturday means it is pretty much ideal for people who wish to attend without forking out for hotels (namely the fans of the competing clubs). Pushing any later than that and it becomes a lot more tricky, and that isn’t restricted to RL as there have been plenty of (ignored) comment about it when it comes to kick off times in the final stages of the FA Cup.

It was fantastic to see the number of kids (and notably their geographical spread) and they certainly made up the vast majority of the crowd. Must have been one hell of an effort from the Thunder community team to coordinate it all! Just over 2,000 sounded a little generous to me but I suppose the main stand is deceptively large, even when there was only a little over half of it open. Had a corking view in the second half from a padded seat right on the halfway line. As luck would have it, Denis Betts was sat right behind me and I reckon he must have had a sore hand today with the amount of times he was thumping the desk in front of him! Overall certainly a much more positive experience than when we’d previously played at Gateshead and as I say the level of community work is outstanding that will hopefully be fruitful both in terms of player pathways and building a support base. Think it’s fair to say that Gosforth is one of the more well-to-do areas to host Championship RL!

Doesn’t help that they’ve been at varying times of the year so could have clashed with something else (possibly even the Grand National at one point or another)

No chance the BBC would go along with the men’s final eating in to their Saturday evening schedule. Women at 12, men at 3, 1895 at 6. Not a clue how the kids will fit in to that. Either 10am or playing a portion at half time in each final (I joke, but it can’t be ruled out)

I’ve been probably 4 or 5 times since Swinton moved there. Maybe it’s changed since my previous visit when Leigh last played there, but at the time the terracing opposite the main stand was cinder and railway sleepers. Has it been rebuilt or remodelled since then? As I said, it genuinely isn’t a slur against Swinton as I have the utmost respect for the club and even more so for the fans who have stuck with them over the various venues over the years (and I’ve been to most of them at one point or another, both watching Leigh and as a neutral)

Heywood Road hosting an international fixture is honestly just another level of RL ridiculousness. Fancy getting players coming over from the over side of the world to run out at a ground that still has terracing made from cinder and railway sleepers. (Not a slur against Swinton who I have always had a huge amount of time for)

Yes, we’ve definitely just hosted a UEFA tournament because we’ve absolutely kept the same pitch for the last 14 years.

The main thread is about Odsal though was my point. And yes, looking at that, it will essentially be the same pitch as LSV (and pretty much every major football ground). If you think you’re going to get much community usage out of it then you will be in for a shock, I’m afraid.

Don’t wish to derail the Odsal dreaming, but there’s absolutely not a prayer you’ll be getting anywhere that much usage with a Desso/hybrid pitch. Generally 2-3 games a week at absolutely maximum before the wear becomes noticeable. Also the additional costs of grow lights etc.

Sit back and enjoy Phoenix Nights outtakes meets rugby league No wonder the Bulls are skint if they’re forking out for air conditioning in the commentary box. Unless of course it’s the same “air conditioning” as three quarters of Odsal.

Apart from Wasps being responsible for the upkeep of the pitch? Although you’d have thought someone from CCFC might have popped in at some point just to see how things were going