Their crowds are only going down as the season goes on and this is the week after winning at Bradford. They won't fold while Leighton Samuels is funding them but the day he walks out they'll fold on the spot, and he walked out on Celtic Warriors in RU (his first sport) due to bad crowds there. People might like to mention junior development in Wales, but junior development doesn't pay the bills, and Gateshead folded after more success and higher crowds than this.

Would have liked SL to have worked in Wales, but it should have been done properly, would rather there was a decent Championship team in Wales with Welsh players than a SL club made up of Aussies playing in a town smaller than Widnes and getting hammered at home to Wakefield in front of 2000 people

While it is true that a successful team will generate higher crowds, they can be quite separate issues.

For example, if there is an appetite for RL in South Wales, people will go to watch the Crusaders games. Perhaps to see the likes of Saints, Wigan, Leeds etc if not the local side.

Also, surely yesterday was the worst day to hold a live RL game in a development area. FA Cup Final, glorious weather, top-level RL on terrestrial TV, plus the game was televised.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

So what? wakey a team in existance more than a hundred year got 5,000 for a derby match last week and they gave out some free tickets too, the celts had to compete with an FA cup final, international RU, challenge cup rugby and to top it all off the game was on sky! Give them a chance and if its still the same in 3 years we may have to try something new but anybody who seriously expected them to have anything but the lowest crowds in the league this season is not very bright.

By the way wakey fans this isnt a dig at you i could have used say salford as example but your game stuck in my mind from last week.

a bit unfair , wakey have a good travelling support even if the home support is down to its bare bones its still quite evident that the hardcore element is still there

Last week Leighton Samuel himself said that he had put in £745k so far this season just to keep the club operating. Extrapolate that and he's looking at maybe £1.5m for the season. He also professed his disappointment at season ticket sales (less than 250 sold), failure to attract corporate hospitality and the general lack of interest locally (low take-up of free admission vouchers etc).

Make of that what you will.

Get used to it. If they won every game between here and the end of the season, RL fans would accuse the RFL of bias.

Are none so blind etc.

Whoa! You can't argue with the numbers. That is some serious cash in a short space of time.

This development game is a marathon, not a sprint though.

Give it time to grow



They have a few years to go and with it being the Union off season they may, MAY attract a few of them now. It takes time and there is very little in the way of league around them, a few good wins, a bit of positive publicity and it will improve I am sure. The ground is ok, lets face it any ground named Brewery field is off on the ebst foot with RL supporters.

I would be more concerned with Londons gates then Celtic at the moment, but then again they are building up.

it was a mistake to let them in super league, at least three more years building in the lower league was needed, the only advantage they have got from entering superleague is the sky money, look at what happened to huddersfield after being stuck at the bottom of the league, they took years (and a relegation) to recover

It is a poor gate but people have to give them a chance which is why 3years for them is a good thing i feel. (even though im not fully behind the franchise idea) Could anyone tell me what there gates were when they were winning games in nl1?

The thing is though that it is at the discretion of one man whether it gets that time or not. If Leighton Samuel runs out of money or patience then it's game over. Not a great situation to be in really.

Less than 250 season tickets sold? most championship teams beat that, and a few hammer it

I want a SL side in Wales, consisting of a core of Welshmen.

CC do not tick any boxes in convincing me they are that side. Poor ground, no fans, small town and packed full of tourists from Down Under.

The RFL have made a monumental cock up again, I wonder if a gun was held to their head??

Wales may be ready in 5 years, at Cardiff or Swansea though.

TBH they aren't a million miles away from London, and theyve been going for decades!

We took a good number down and at short notice as well in a month that has included games in Scotland and London. Was a really enjoyable experience and I look forward to going next year. Am sure given time that their crowds will increase.

And how many other clubs wouldn't if their benefactor did the same?



More interference from the WRU from what I recall.

Believe it or not but our average attendance is nearly 1,000 above that of quins in competitive home games this year.

This will only increase too, in my opinion, with the visit of Wigan, KR and the Leeds game at Rodney Parade, Newport.

Spot on.

The WRU actually bought him out and then wound the club up spreading the players around the remaining regions. All this despite LS asking for assurances that this wouldn't happen.

Hate to say it and it*s good for expansion but can we really see Celtic taking off in what really is Rugby Union country?We have a team that could well be finishing bottom of Superleague for 3 years running,and then what happens if the benefactor gets fed up with them and who can blame him?....It would have been the same if they would have started a club in,,say ,,the Midlands,,.There*s no interest here i*m afraid because one sport dominates and that is football,,same as South Wales..

Exactly. Rather than point the finger at Celtic who have been in existance for 5 minutes, we should be looking at the London club, who after all these years, still cant get more than 10 men and their dogs watching. The london fans will point to the 3 million school kids playing the game, so why arent they watching the games?

We have to be more clever when staging games.

Yesterday was bound to fail in getting decent numbers in as it was FA Cup final day, there was a lions game on which included many Welsh players. In two games there you take out a lot of sports fans who will go with their sport of choice first before ours.

Like it or not but we must be looking to attract these fans. As there has been a void that rugby league now fills, virtually every sport fan in South Wales have affiliations with other sports and clubs within those sports. People are creatures of habit and will watch/participate in those sports first and foremost and rugby league will be a passing interest for a lot. We need to stage our games at the right times, get success on the field and make it appealing to these people to grow and succeed.

As for LS, he spoke very passionately about the club at the fans meeting the other week. A meeting nobody knew he was going to attend. He took it upon himself to attend and put fans minds at rest. The rumour mill is in overdrive down here. Maybe the rumours are being started by those who don't want us to succeed, who knows. I think LS is in this for the long haul. When asked by one fan 'What happens if there is no more Leighton Samuels?' he responded with 'Well I'm here aren't I'. I'm fairly confident he will be here to see this through and will put his hand in his pocket if need be to attempt to get success on the field. The emphasis from the coaching staff right through to LS was very much on youth development though. I think most, especially us, were happy to hear this.

CC.I would love nothing more than to see our game spread round the UK and really hope to see Celtic grow and i think it was great to have the Millenium weekend and the Challenge Cup down in Cardiff because i had many happy times down there.I suppose you can look at what Catalan have done and hopefully take it from there,who knows what could happen,suppose it takes time.

Hopefully.

This season, I'm pretty sure, has opened the eyes of people at the club and given them an insight into what is needed.

They have seen what Super League set ups are at other clubs, they have seen how big they can be and they have made mistakes. I am sure they will learn from these going into the second season and things will improve. For example, staging games the same day as Lions union games will only see a reduction in crowds as 'dual coders' (a term used down here by people who like union and league, heaven forbid

) will stay in there rugby clubs all day and watch the Lions then the Wales union games later on. We need to avoid this and I'm sure next season they will go through the fixtures with a fine tooth comb to avoid these things happening again.

I am confident we can do it this time. We can only go one way if truth be told as it has been pretty grim with regards to results to date. Fingers crossed.

Good Luck to you Mate

You are living the dream.Hopefully one day they might bring it to Birmingham or somewhere nearby,,,but until it happens hope your season and everything with the Crusaders picks up,,,and hopefully will come to your neck of the woods soon,,,it*s only about a couple of hours at the most from where i am...

Yeah good road links too. The Leeds Rhinos game at Rodney Parade Newport would be easy enough for you by train and car. Hope to see you at a game soon. In fact, just had a quick look and if booked soon you can get two singles down here from Walsall for £31.00 return and at £10 to get in you see the Champions v. Challengers for £41.00 and have a day out in Sunny South Wales to boot. Can't be bad. www.thetrainline.com/Buy_Tickets ... 9531222423

Yeah good road links too. The Leeds Rhinos game at Rodney Parade Newport would be easy enough for you by train and car. Hope to see you at a game soon. In fact, just had a quick look and if booked soon you can get two singles down here from Walsall for £31.00 return and at £10 to get in you see the Champions v. Challengers for £41.00 and have a day out in Sunny South Wales to boot. Can't be bad. www.thetrainline.com/Buy_Tickets ... 9531222423