Eddie

The Pele of Rugby League.

Gary Schofield was laughing and sneering about Cornwall on this week’s Forty 20 Podcast - this has made me much more optimistic about their chances of success.

Predictions for Wire v Cas? I’ll go 11,500.

The corporate hospitality bit is great news, but doesn’t explain or excuse the huge drop (not slight drop) from five or six years ago.

In what way are they ripping them off?

With your last comment there are you parodying the TRL forum?

Who are they? That news has passed me by, sounds good though.

Indeed, iirc in the last normal season only one team (St George) averaged in 5 figures.

I watched some of the game on YouTube, really enjoyed it and as you say there was a big noisy crowd, there was even a smoke bomb just before kick off.

Hope so mate

Which NRL teams get 6k?

At the moment yes, but the downward trajectory hasn’t stopped yet so hopefully they’ll be able to do the before attendances drop below Saints or Wire’s. I would absolutely love to see Wigan and Leeds averaging 15-16k each again, would be great for the game.

York and London are part time and Newcastle got 700 to their season opener, Cornwall haven’t played a game yet and don’t even have 13 players, yet you’d like to see them replace existing SL teams?

Yes it is but at the same time Saints, Warrington, Hull and Castleford’s crowds have at least held up, and Hull KR’s have grown. The decline in people going to watch Wigan and Leeds isn’t mirrored at the other big clubs.

To me Leeds and Wigan are the two biggest RL teams outside Australia and their attendance slumps in the last few seasons are the most worrying thing about English RL. The game needs the big clubs to be thriving, yet from the outside at least neither club seems to be doing much to address it.

Maybe Leigh have the highest Premier Sport subscription numbers, because your fans are so mad for it.

What do you suggest Huddersfield do?

One

Oh dear, just when we think the game might appeal to a wider audience.

I winced a but when he said that too, but to be fair he did say it’s mainly an M62 game (which is is) but he was hoping more people would now watch and appreciate it - which is reasonable.

I met three mates for a bevvy last night, two of them (sports but not not RL fans) had watched Leeds v Wire, thought it was great and were asking when the next game is. Obviously this is a tiny sample but it’s no doubt replicated around the country, this C4 exposure is fantastic.

No bars or food outlets open, France on the tv.

Could be tickets sold. Given the circumstances many might not have bothered going.

Big county though isn’t it, I think Norfolk is a similar size and Kings Lynn and Yarmouth might as well be on different planets. Plus how far is it from St Helens to Huyton or Widnes to Speke.

Understandable, Wigan isn’t a big place and is sandwiched between Liverpool and Manchester, not to mention Wigan Warriors on their doorstep.