Great News about the 2 competition winners.....but in reality, Saldfords attendances are not the responsibility of the RFL and I doubt there'll be a massive increase on Friday night.

With the exception of the French v London, no other "supporter" on Sunday would have had a journey of more than 50 minutes (Leeds-Manchester).......yet 33k in a 48k stadium is what we got.
Leeds Bradford attracts 20k.........Wigan Saints the same....Hudds v Salford 7k,................yet 14k LESS roll up to a game on their front door



The point of Magic was to spread the word......what we got was a weekend crowd 6% up from Wales 2011, played less than 1 hr away from the home grounds of 10 of the 14 teams taking part...



The general aparthy of RL fans is sometimes quite staggering.......

So basically your problem with it being in Manchester is the potential it may have to increase salford attendances which would hamper your own attempt to gain a franchise?

For most RL fans Magic Weekend is just another away game. 2 points are at stake, nothing more. RL fans generally only watch games as a neutral at the CC final and GF. How many neutrals travel to watch a routine league fixture between Saford and Huddersfield? And the number of fans that have the appetite to watch several hours of continuous rugby is strictly limited.

The event appeals to those of us who enjoy the social aspect, but its not a great attraction for families, young teenagers and others on limited budgets.

When the concept was first introduced I was derided on here for suggesting that attendances in the ground for most matches would be nearer 20,000 than 70,000. But it always seemed more realistic to expect the event to attract mainly those fans that travel to away matches rather than those that only go to home games and cup finals. Some might call that apathy but for me its just a fact of life that sports fans, not just in RL, are averse to travelling even short distances to away games. Where I live is almost equidistant between Odsal and Headingley. There are several Bulls and Rhinos fans in our neighbourhood who are season ticket holders but some would never attend the away fixture. And to them MW is just another away fixture.

Magic Weekend has its place provided that people do not have unrealistic expectations of the event.

If you can read that into my post...good for you.


What I said was that it's no longer about expansion or spreading the word and was just another round of games that wouldn't be missed by the players or clubs if it was removed.....

We're doing plenty to hamper our franchise on our own without Salfords help thank you...

Why be concerned what other sports think of RL?

Given the amount of RL that is played and watched by people in Manchester, how can it be considered anything but a development area? Grass roots expansion and development as well as engagement and attendence at some of the pro/semi pro clubs you mentioned earlier should all be goals for RL to achieve in and around Manchester.

If the Magic weekend is at the Etihad next year then i would like to see the RFL offering Manchester City fans some sort of concessionary ticket for the weekend, a 2% take up would be an extra 1000 people (ish) in the ground possibly attending their first live RL event.

They're more likely to flog to someone they know that would be going anyway!

Not sure how true it is, but a mate who went on Saturday mentioned that a lot of his City-supporting work colleagues were offered discounted tickets.

What a brilliant weekend! Saw every game and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Etihad was amazing but as someone else said no RFL merchandising, fan zone was fun and seeing all the Rugby Stobart trucks in one place a bonus!

Hopefully it will be at the Etihad next year, easy to park, easy to find - LOVED IT!!

I know City season ticket holders could get tickets for £20.

I know City season ticket holders could get tickets for £20.

it was a great weekend, but that was mainly due to the weather, if the rfl keep it at the etihad for the next 3 years, there will be no guarentee the weather will be the same, possibly worse once the bank holiday gets moved back a week, won't be much fun sat all day in pouring rain without decent cover and will no doubt effect the crowds, that was one plus point about cardiff, regardless of the weather, the millenium stadium kept you dry!

What people don't realise is how big the Manchester rugby league scene could be! The only thing holding it back is how average/poor Salford have been over the years, no matter how you look at it Salford are manchesters only RL team, Wigan are not Manchester before someone mentions them, the people of Manchester are not going to travel 30 mile every week to watch a team that has no assosiation with Manchester so therefore Salford are the club that has the Manchester RL scene on its shoulders, the fact is Manchester don't do rugby not because of football it's because the local rugby team don't succeed, fans are glory seekers unfortunately and won't watch teams lose every week. I think until we have a strong competitive Salford side there's no other way the word of RL will spread through the twin cities!
I am not saying its the RFL's duty to help Salford like they have London/Catalans but i'am just stating a fact, if the RFL want to conquer Manchester their next door neighbours are the key!

I understand that this years Magic may not have been the success the RFL are making out, compare attendance with the last one held in May and not one at the start of the season with the bad weather we had.

Makes interesting reading...

As the champions league final is on 25th May in 2013 doesnt that mean the EPL will finish on the 17th so does that mean we are looking at a July Magic Weekend next year?



I said before the event that if the crowd is lower then 70k then we should see it as a disappointment. 63k is not a great success in my eyes.

Had a great day at the magic weekend in the Sunday despite the result, I have one complaint why can't the RFL get into their heads, if you want people in the ground you do t have all them activities going on outside during games and you certainly dont have big screens showing the games. Get the people inside.

How do you work that one out?

well i was glad for the big screen. watched the leeds vs bradford game in the sun!



activities are good for the kids and should be kept. What I couldn't believe was seeing tons of people @ the stobart trucks zone.

If it as @ the Eithad it has to be after the EPL season has finished. They not gonna do it same weekend as CL final so I was just guessing it would be in July.

1. There is a bloody long time between the middle of May and July.
2. Man City only allowed us to use the pitch because it was being ripped up the next day.
3. If they are replacing the pitch again they will want to do it way before July.

my bad

I meant June.

Are you suggesting that the weather is sentient and deliberately makes itself worse if it knows there is a bank holiday?

For what it's worth, the weather has been really nice on that weekend in Manchester for 5 years. It's the one weekend I can speak with certainty about as it was a mate's daughter's 5th Birthday on Saturday, and every year I've had to go to help out at a party at a local cricket club and then we've ended up basking in the sun afterwards.

if this is to be a stand alone event, there needs to be something extra special about it. derby's, as much as everyone wants to see a close game don't always add up to that. the fairest way i can see is that if competition points are available, then you have to play your nearest rivals in the table. so 1st should play 2nd. 13th play 14th etc. however this is the add on game, its a stand alone, its a special event and therefore should have something extra up for grabs. if you are playing the nearest rivals in the table, how about an extra point which will really make every game worth winning.

Every game to be worth 10 "magic" points.

normal points for win-lose-draw but magic tries worth 8, magic goals worth 4, magic drop-goals worth 2 and gaz hock worth nothing