Leyther_Matt

Probably about 300, good going on a Thursday

I think Wembley is great tbh. Doddle travel wise from central London. Club Wembley is great, we’ve got some top drawer seats for the Ashes for £45 which is an absolute steal IMO. The approach from Wembley Park will always be a magic sight. Disclaimer - my views of Wembley have been improved immeasurably by Bolton and Leigh both lifting pots there in the space of a few months in 2023!

8,064 at Leigh v Hull FC

Final scoreline flattered Leigh. Completely disjointed performance, hope they get the name tags out at training next week. Hull looked lost without Asiata, but the damage was long done by then.

Take out the Man Utd & Liverpool telly clappers and Leigh is very much a Bolton town in terms of match going fans, with a sizeable crossover with Leigh RL fans. City behind that then Everton, and thankfully Latics barely even register.

Was 1,200ish which I don’t think was too bad in the scheme of things. I expected less tbh. You can’t underestimate the effect of a semi final hangover (and the resultant expectancy of a tonking). Chuck in the fact it’s a loop fixture so soon after the previous visit and it all adds up. In years gone by I remember Saints and Warrington both taking sub-1,500 followings to Wigan in similar circumstances so certainly not unique to Leigh. I turned up anyroad, can’t do much more than that.

And guess what? They were shouted down by other Leigh fans. You know, because plenty of us are actual grown ups rather than being tarred by a same brush. Although I have to question whether or not you’re a grown up given you’re expecting players not to set up for the following play in the immediate moments following a tackle.

Or I’ll just rely on the fact that I was there. Amongst the thousand or so who gave Eckersley a standing ovation.

1,200ish I believe so not bad really for a loop fixture with a semi final hangover. I was there and that’s all I can do. Or was he checking on a fellow professional? Hope he’s ok and everything was just a precaution. Standing ovation from all four sides when he was carried off. Feared the worst pre match and even more so at 28-6. Certainly didn’t think it would turn in to a “what if” kind of game but we were really left to rue the soft tries in the first half from *CHANNELLING THE GHOSH OF STEVO* and letting the rugby league ball bounce, and then conceding with four men in the tackle. That second half was bloody brilliant on all fronts. Refreshing to see us chuck it about and get the reward for it. But my word let’s get Tesi on the ball 10m-15m out instead of having Bailey Hodgson in the McNally role round the back.

Because they’d then have an even shorter turnaround for the Hull game the following Thursday. Wigan by 40.

Add The Tipsy Tap in St Helens to the ABK draught list

Your loss. Should be an absolute cracker Leyth by 4

Got £120 on a Leigh win between me and the Mrs, albeit that’s an investment for the final more than necessarily faith in the result!

Which pub was that, out of interest? Been served in ABK glasses in Barnsley a couple of times but never actually seen it on sale there! Cas used to sell ABK last season in the tent behind the main stand but didn’t have it the other week. Aside from that, I know it’s available in The Tavern in Warrington, and I had it in a micropub in Blackpool a few weeks ago (and apparently there are three other outlets in Blackpool)

If it’s good enough for the Bulls…

Favourite: Strike me down for saying it, but Wigan has great sight lines and can be a cracking atmosphere when it’s full. Also, not a popular one, but I don’t think there’s a bad seat at Wembley. Tottenham was pretty special, and if we’re talking ‘atmosphere’ then Lamport Stadium was beyond unique. Least favourite: Olympic Stadium but hopefully one we won’t be seeing again. In terms of club grounds, Odsal is an outright leader since the demolition of Don Valley. The only two grounds where I’ve outright refused to attend purely because of the poor view.

With four different lines to go at, kicking out time at Old Trafford is a dream these days compared to 20 years ago as long as you’re switched on enough to go to Wharfside/Exchange Quay/Trafford Bar rather than blindly following the crowds to Old Trafford. Been sat in the George & Dragon in Leigh within an hour of the final hooter for the last two Grand Finals

Fantastic gate I always cast my mind back to Oldham’s NFP play off runs in the early 2000s and the support they had at those games. Would be great to hit those levels again

Bet you I’m not. Looks great from that angle albeit I don’t expect there are many other areas open out of shot other than the left hand side of the new stand

Fixed to include the Leigh game

I’ve got an ISC Catalans top and a few of the ISC England tops and they’re all outstanding quality

Another vote for the 1994 Ashes shirt. I’ve got plenty of England shirts, but I’m already set on my 1994 top having a run out at Wembley in the autumn. Aside from that, I remember buying this one with my birthday money from my 10th birthday. They only had adult sizes left so it didn’t actually fit me for a few years, but I’ve kept it ever since

The debenture tickets for Club Wembley only include a finite number of blue chip events these days which is why they’re on open sale for the CC Final and Ashes. The Tickets for Good/community group type seats are generally lower bowl in the TV arc or upper tiers when they’re already committed to being open. Bags and bags of time for the tickets to sell yet, anyway. And a positive Easter weekend in SL certainly can’t harm that.

More than happy to make a deal with the devil (not Marwan) that Leigh lose on Saturday but win the semi final

The FA routinely do it for lower-subscribed games at Wembley, even internationals and cup semi finals on occasion via Tickets for Good and the like.