whatmichaelsays Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 (edited) Challenge Cup: Leeds United's Elland Road to host 2022 triple-header - BBC Sport I'm not sure where this new-found ambition has come from, but I approve. Edited December 3, 2021 by whatmichaelsays 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 Really not a fan of the women's final being a curtain raiser to the men's semi finals but nice to see some ambition with the capacity of the venue being booked for the games. 7 Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 They could bump up the attendance (and make some new fans) for the women's game by having it in between the semi-finals. 3 1 "We are easily breakable, by illness or falling, or a million other ways of leaving this earthly life. We are just so much mashed potato." Don Estelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 If we are to have double header semi finals then at least it's nice to see some ambition and this announced so early. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 So much better than Bolton, just having it in a RL city is an improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Toppy Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 I would have thought with the RFL's move to Manchester the Etihad would have been a better choice than Elland Rd. Better stadium, better facilities, better transport links and the new base for the RFL. St.Helens - The Home of Rugby Champions Saints Men's team - Triple Champions & Double Winners ; Saints Women's team - Treble Winners ; Thatto Heath - National Conference Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Saint Toppy said: I would have thought with the RFL's move to Manchester the Etihad would have been a better choice than Elland Rd. Better stadium, better facilities, better transport links and the new base for the RFL. Man City are home that weekend. 1 Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creditwhereitsdews Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 Good to see some forward planning for once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 1 hour ago, gingerjon said: Really not a fan of the women's final being a curtain raiser to the men's semi finals but nice to see some ambition with the capacity of the venue being booked for the games. I get where you are coming from. Saying that, if it means all three games are live on national TV at this stage it is probably a price worth paying. There will be a large number of fans in the ground at the Women's Cup presentation too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 14 minutes ago, Saint Toppy said: I would have thought with the RFL's move to Manchester the Etihad would have been a better choice than Elland Rd. Better stadium, better facilities, better transport links and the new base for the RFL. There’s no RL played in Manchester though, whereas Leeds is a hotbed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellsy4HullFC Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 34 minutes ago, Saint Toppy said: I would have thought with the RFL's move to Manchester the Etihad would have been a better choice than Elland Rd. Better stadium, better facilities, better transport links and the new base for the RFL. Leeds is more central. Etihad is also pretty big. It's too big a jump. Maybe in the future, but certainly more appropriate having the game in Leeds at this stage. Great decision in my book. Glad there finally making something of the semi finals! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo5 Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 28 minutes ago, Eddie said: There’s no RL played in Manchester though, whereas Leeds is a hotbed. So do we need to move the Grand Final then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunsletgreenandgold Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 (edited) I think Leeds is a good choice for this kind of event - bearing in mind that now means we have all our show piece events at large stadiums and across 4 of the largest cities in the UK GF - Manchester (Old Trafford) Magic - Newcastle (St James' Park) WCC final/Men's CC SF - Leeds (Elland Road) CC Final - London (Wembley) Not bad for a pokey little game in the North Edited December 3, 2021 by hunsletgreenandgold 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellsy4HullFC Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 4 minutes ago, Davo5 said: So do we need to move the Grand Final then. It's the biggest stadium in the North, so there aren't really other options. There are other options for the semis though. It's not really comparable in any way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellsy4HullFC Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 3 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said: I think Leeds is a good choice for this kind of event - bearing in mind that now means we have all our show piece events at large stadiums and across 4 of the largest cities in the UK GF - Manchester (Old Trafford) Magic - Newcastle (St James' Park) WCC final/Men's CC SF - Leeds (Elland Road) CC Final - London (Wembley) Not bad for a pokey little game in the North It's a shame we haven't established a big event feel for a World Club Challenge yet. Would love to add that to the list in the future! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo5 Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Wellsy4HullFC said: It's a shame we haven't established a big event feel for a World Club Challenge yet. Would love to add that to the list in the future! That’s because we never know if the NRL club wants to take part. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 1 hour ago, Futtocks said: They could bump up the attendance (and make some new fans) for the women's game by having it in between the semi-finals. The NRLW GF in 2018 was the first game on the schedule, followed by the NSW Cup v Q Cup winners State Championship, followed by the NRL GF. In 2019, in response to criticism, they moved it to be the middle game. Consequences were a discernible increase in size of crowd, TV ratings, and general look and impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunsletgreenandgold Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 10 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said: It's a shame we haven't established a big event feel for a World Club Challenge yet. Would love to add that to the list in the future! Think it's a hard one with the WCC for 2 reasons. 1 - it's very much only involving 1 set of fans. I know some casual fans will go to watch/support the NRL team (I know I went to Saints when they played Rabbitohs) but that can't be relied upon. So at best it's never going to do more than 25k most years. 6 minutes ago, Davo5 said: That’s because we never know if the NRL club wants to take part. And reason 2 is well...yeah the above is very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellsy4HullFC Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 2 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said: Think it's a hard one with the WCC for 2 reasons. 1 - it's very much only involving 1 set of fans. I know some casual fans will go to watch/support the NRL team (I know I went to Saints when they played Rabbitohs) but that can't be relied upon. So at best it's never going to do more than 25k most years. And reason 2 is well...yeah the above is very true. Whilst I agree in theory, if the event is seen as important, it will pull in far more punters. At the moment, it's presented as a glorified friendly at the home of the SL champions. Few neutrals will ever be interested. I have always wondered whether a 9s tournament on the same weekend at the same venue might help build up more neutrals. Group games on the Saturday. Knockout on the Sunday, with the WCC following the final. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatmichaelsays Posted December 3, 2021 Author Share Posted December 3, 2021 44 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said: Leeds is more central. Etihad is also pretty big. It's too big a jump. Maybe in the future, but certainly more appropriate having the game in Leeds at this stage. Great decision in my book. Glad there finally making something of the semi finals! Another factor is that Elland Road can also look and sound a lot more "full" than it often is which, given how we know crowds behave in double/triple header games, is probably a factor in the decision. The TV gantry position is relatively low by PL stadium standards, which means that even when it comes to the larger east stand, only a small proportion of the seating is actually exposed to the camera, three of the four roofs are low and the east stand roof is sloped to funnel sound to the pitch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 I am not writing this just to be negative as I like the idea of more events from RL but I strongly feel that the Women's final should be its own event as there is real momentum in the Women's game now and it deserves more than an attendance that is building towards the end of the game as it waits for the men's semi's. 6 "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunsletgreenandgold Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 8 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said: Whilst I agree in theory, if the event is seen as important, it will pull in far more punters. At the moment, it's presented as a glorified friendly at the home of the SL champions. Few neutrals will ever be interested. I have always wondered whether a 9s tournament on the same weekend at the same venue might help build up more neutrals. Group games on the Saturday. Knockout on the Sunday, with the WCC following the final. It's a good shout - i'd love to see the WCC be built up more and used as a genuine benchmark to say which team is the best in the world - even if it did mean SL took a pasting more often than not. For me that would involve it being played late Oct though, which I just don't think will happen. But who knows, if there's a will for it on both sides and it can get a decent financial backer, anything is possible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 2 hours ago, gingerjon said: Really not a fan of the women's final being a curtain raiser to the men's semi finals but nice to see some ambition with the capacity of the venue being booked for the games. I agree, I’d rather the Women’s Final be a standalone event at Headingley Stadium. Great that Leeds is hosting the Semi Finals though, Leeds really is the home of Rugby League. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo5 Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 24 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said: Whilst I agree in theory, if the event is seen as important, it will pull in far more punters. At the moment, it's presented as a glorified friendly at the home of the SL champions. Few neutrals will ever be interested. I have always wondered whether a 9s tournament on the same weekend at the same venue might help build up more neutrals. Group games on the Saturday. Knockout on the Sunday, with the WCC following the final. A 9s tournament in February,good luck with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatmichaelsays Posted December 3, 2021 Author Share Posted December 3, 2021 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Dunbar said: I am not writing this just to be negative as I like the idea of more events from RL but I strongly feel that the Women's final should be its own event as there is real momentum in the Women's game now and it deserves more than an attendance that is building towards the end of the game as it waits for the men's semi's. I think that's fair, although I would argue that there is probably a sensible approach at the minute to see what model works best for the women's showpiece events in their current states. As it stands, we have the Women's Grand Final as a stand-alone event, and the Women's CC Final as part of a triple-header with the men's game. I think it's probably sensible to 'test and learn' with what works best for an aspect of RL that is still relatively young. Edited December 3, 2021 by whatmichaelsays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now