I was at the Carlisle United v Southampton final at Wembley the other weekend. Despite both teams being from the third tier of English football the 73k attendance was the biggest sporting attendance of the weekend.

Back to RL - We have some formerly big teams in the Northern Rail Cup and many who have lifted the Challenge Cup in the past.

So how comes the third tier of English Football can have a respectable Wembley attendance where the Northern Rail Cup can fit in Bloomfield Road in Blackpool.

How would you improve it?

Turn it from a pre-season comp to overlap with the League season perhaps cumulating in a double header at Wembley with the Challenge Cup?

Get the French Elite involved in their own pool prior to the knock out stages?

maybe because football is the National sport and is a lot better supported than RL.
I dont think you can really improve the attendance for the NRC to anything like the JPT standard simply because its never going to get an attendance anywhere near Football be it 3rd tier or whatever

The two aren't comparable.

Even in the 3rd tier of English football there are 5 teams with higher average attendances than any Super League side, it's in a different world in terms of profile compared to Championship rugby.

What are Championship attendances comparable in Soccer? Sunday League Lads 'n' Dads or something?

Not really sure, but I was at an 8th tier football match this afternoon with over 3000 in attendance, OK that's not the norm but it's a stark indicator of how far behind RL is in terms of interest and profile.

Isn't that Unibond Division 1? I've been to a few Warrington Town games, and they usually get a couple of hundred.

People will go because it's at Wembley. Bloomfield Road? Doesn't inspire confidence that the NRC has any presidence, does it?

rename the NRC the challenge shield/trophy and play the final as a curtain raiser to the challenge cup final



as the advert says..SIMPLES!

Spot on. I reckon most clubs would take more than 10,000 to Wembley just because it's the special place it is.

Most of them will have never seen a game in their lives and will probably never go to see another one but turn up as gloryhunters just to be able say I was there when we played at Wembley back in the day.

yes i see what you mean,just like warrington in the final at wembley.

Much as I dislike Blackpool [ the town I dont really see any better option at the moment , personnally having the NRC final as a curtain raiser would just detract from it as a competition IMO , As for the attendance of the final , a bigger concern is the low interest in all games played in the lower tier games , that should be the main focus

What about playing the NRC final either at Murrayfield?

Or as i have said in the past, play one of the big SL games at a big stadium and play the NRC as the curtain raiser for that. What crowd would you get at Anfield or Goodison if Widnes v Leigh and then Saints v Wigan was played there?

So in your opinion we are worth nothing more than a pre game entertainment for a SL match , do we go on before or after the cheerleaders and the stiltwalkers ?

I think the NRC final being a prelude to the Challenge Cup final is a good idea, but the tv rights and sponsorship deal would have to be brought in line with challenge cup to make it work.

Not sure about Murrayfield though, I don't think being a sideshow to Super League games does it for me.

FWIW

If you played the NRC final at Old Trafford and allowed FREE entrance it STILL would not be a sellout.

It was only an idea, lets just leave it and got to 3/4 of bloomfield road, get no press coverage, no tv money, not sell it out.

Great.

To those who are saying put it on as a curtain raiser to the Challenge Cup Final, what would happen if a team in the NRC Final also got to the Challenge Cup Final? (Unlikely I know, but Hull KR for example came close a few years ago!). I think for that reason alone it won't happen.

Don't know what else to suggest though.

Don't suggest anything, the clic will only shoot you down for having ideas.

Usually Soooooooperdoooooooper club followers.

Sooooooper doooooooper league has REALLY benefited the game as a WHOLE hasn't it.
















and the next club down the financial plan.








The amateur game is struggling for players!!!!





But hey Sooooooooperdooooooper league is fine.








but in reality is an edifice floating on a precarious raft that's sat on quicksand!

As I said , just an opinion

Perhaps more people use Johnstones Paint than they do the Northern Rail.

As a rail worker, i can pretty much guarantee that!

As an aside, but as a partial answer to the OP, many years ago I went to watch Clitheroe FC play Brigg Town FC in the FA Vase at Wembley. Even two clubs with a combined following (then) of around 750 managed to half fill Wembley.

It was a crap game though.

I reckon Blackpool is the perfect home for the NRC, personally. Been to finals both as a supporter of one of the sides involved and as a neutral and enjoyed the whole experience.

.

The Jonstones Paint Trophy is still called a Mickey Mouse cup but the chance to get Wembley means that the fans still turn out.

What about a day out in Glasgow? Hampden Park is my favourite mid-size stadium (was there when almost Cumbrians Gretna almost beat Hearts) and for Lancashire clubs roughly the same distance away as Wembley.

Could famous names of the past be used to promote the game up there? I saw the Scottish Grand Final last year and it was a surprisingly high standard. Get the neutrals up there who have heard of Fax; Haven; Barrow; Leigh and (although pains me to say it) Widnes in and let them see whats on offer in the Scottish Conference as the curtain raiser.

Edinburgh Eagles only lost one game last season and were the club rumoured to be applying for NL2 a couple years ago. It also gives their fans a gauge of the next level of competition in RL.

Fans day out in a stadium that we should aspire to at least half fill and a great City. 2 Games of Rugby League! Boost for the game up there too.

And if we do get a French group in the NRC then apparently Glasgow airport has been open over the last few days!!!