I think I remember the website talking about tickets selling quickly for the Saints game last year. (In the end I think there were around 15k at the match). Nothing has been said this year though. And we have not heard anything about ST sales either. Attendance for our first two games were a little higher for the Cas game, and lower for Les Cats. It is difficult to compare like with like as numbers fluctuate according to the day, competing sporting events, TV presence etc. But the early signs are that we are not seeing a jump in attendance at the HJ this year, and the numbers may even be flat at best. Following a final appearance at Wembly and Old Trafford last year, I think there will be a few people scratching their heads.

If attendances are lower, then there are two obvious factors that could be at play, but in the absence of ST figures we will have to wait a little longer to see the emerging trend. So I think the Saints match will be quite pivotal. Supporters seem to be in two minds as to how competitive Wire are likely to be this year, particularly without Morley and Briers. And no doubt the CEO will be keeping a close eye on the attendance figure. If we can not increase numbers after such a successful year, what do you do ?

The factor of the match not really mattering in the wider scheme of things is a massive factor. People I know who have been going the match every week since they were kids are only gong to one or two regular season games now, giving most games a miss including tomorrows (our second biggest home fixture of the season). It's the RFL who need to solve the problem and make the regular season mean something.

I cant get my head around this excuse which says people dont attend because league games suddenly mean nothing. It's been the case for years now that the play offs are the end of season goal.

The only difference now perhaps is that we have a team nearly guaranteed to be there or thereabouts come the end of the year, rather than hopeful of sneaking in last minute.

Agree. FPTP or play offs, Warrington v Saints should always be a sell out. As I have said before the club needs to do far more in the way of marketing, admittedly I haven't been in Warrington much this year so please correct me if I am wrong but we don't seem to have advertised any of the games. There are over 200,000 people in Warrington, this game should have been sold out weeks ago.

Agree.
If the play offs are the be all and end all, then why are they even more poorly attended?

because season ticket holders have to pay and every game is on TV.

i was thinking the same about league games. i only got my season ticket at the last min but im glad i did

From the club website-

I'd assume most people on this board still get to regular season games when they can and still enjoy going along to see the rugby every week.

But it's not us they have to convince. The fact is people, understandably or not, see the regular season games as unimportant, more so at successful clubs who are more or less guaranteed a spot in the top 8 barring a major disaster.

It's not always been this way at our club and I think that's also a factor in this attitude. Games would either be against the big teams, your Leeds, Wigan, Saints etc. or against a side that would be close to us in the table which would be a close affair. Now most games are likely to be easy victories and even if we do slip up it doesn't really matter as our spot in the top 8, maybe even top 4, is not in jeopardy.

I think it's understandable that our fans don't feel the need to turn out for the weekly rounds especially when money isn't growing on trees at the moment.

That said I think the club could be doing a lot more to promote itself. Filling a stadium of 15,000 isn't unrealistic with a population of 200,000.

Prices more than anything for me. I can't justify paying £20+ to watch Warrington. I don't have a ST and I can't commit to one due to working most weekends, but when I do want to go, I don't want to feel like I've been fleeced, especially if I go with my girlfriend and her parents. If we want to go and sit down it's £100+ for the four of us. I'd sooner sit at home, have a nice takeaway and spend a quarter of the money watching it on TV.

Maybe if they could find away to include them on the season ticket price,and if a team gets eliminated early then offer an amended season ticket price the following season?

Why not discount playoff tickets for ST holders, same as with tickets for the Magic Weekend? Attendances last year were terrible......

As for 'meaningless' games putting supporters off regular season games - did anyone else notice how few Leeds supporters turned up at Saints, following their 'red hair, don't care' debacle? ...... Pity, as they played much better with 'normal' barnets!

In terms of attendances surely the biggest factors are.

Price inflation
Wage Suppression
Reduction in working hours
Insecurity about employment
etc


But away from politics, if they get the WCC sorted out, then suddenly top of the league becomes important again.

Only 1st and 2nd will gaurantee a spot in a serious international game, which may have some serious money following in the not too distant future.

Even finishing 3rd would not secure a definate spot in the WCC, so if they do get it sorted top 2 will once again be a big target for the top sides.

Sounds like the 'home' stands will be pretty much at capacity, be interesting to see how many Saints fans travel following a less than spectacular start to the season.

You can judge a teams fanbase by looking at what they pull in against the teams with virtually no travelling support. We pulled in over 10,000 for a freezing friday night televised game against Catalans. Not too shabby in my book. In fact, i don't believe we have dipped under a five figure attendance for a league game for the past two seasons. Like somebody posted earlier, if everyone is waiting for the play-offs why are they so poorly attended? Last seasons crowd at home to Hull was disgraceful. Forget about selling out league games, that was knock out football and possibly the most important game yet at the HJ and the ground was half full. I don't have a ST but wouldn't have missed that game for anything.

I agree with you, a few of my mates have said that they will pick and choose games this season, and have not renewed their season tickets. Some naysayers say that they don’t think that the playoffs are anything to do with the drop in some attendances. I would agree it’s not the only reason, cash is tight, but from the people I know the playoff systems is the main excuse, and as to the question “why now then?” well all I can say is it’s what Leeds have achieved from their league position, makes quite a few of the seasons weekly matches meaningless, and it's folks pockets too!

Can't see it selling out, oldest trick in the book is to create panic that you'll miss out if you don't hurry up.

Not bought a ticket yet, driving up after i finish work at 2, get a ticket around 6ish, probably in the West but don't care.

You can book on the website and pick your ticket up from the shop on the day. It would be safe, just in case they do sell out.

I order on the website all the time then just pick it up from the shop when I get off the train or from the windows before the game. Only takes a couple of mins and saves messing about.

The playoffs don't have to be popular to devalue the league system.

Just because the playoffs are not flooded with people does not mean that former season ticket holders believe that the season ticket is now devalued.

So rather than get a season ticket and watch the likes of Salford. They will pick and choose. Attend the Saints/Wigan/Widnes/Leeds matches, but the rest of the regulars are not worth expending large amounts on so you may only take in 2 of those type of games.

But the economy will have the biggest impact. Last year Saints attendances rose, but this year, you would guess they have fallen. Warrington are doing very well on the field, but the fact winning the league means little in terms of success and that you can rest a team for a smaller fixture will lead to some (even if a small %) of fans doing the same. Picking and choosing games.

If it catches on with larger percentages then RL will be in trouble.

The principle of the playoffs is fine. It retains the interest of fans in mid table and extends the excitement of the final SL winners. But to be viable it needs all matches to be competitive and for the SL winner to come from the top 4 ( as Yed stated) in the league. Leeds winning from 5th was the 'emperor has no clothes moment' I am afraid. Fans questioned the value of the earlier rounds where Leeds openly admitted to 'peaking for the playoffs' and Wire and Wigan used large numbers of younger players in less demanding games. It is highly unlikely to happen, but just suppose Leeds finished eighth and won SL. I suspect there would even be some disquiet from Leeds fans if that happened.

SL is not the NRL, so you can not make a direct copy and expect it to work. I personally think the SL chairman have a bit of work to do here. And yes, I agree that a proportion of fans are picking and choosing their games and foregoing the ST.

The crux of the issue is that whatever you may feel, Friday's night will have little or no bearing on our silverware prospects this season, and the same applies to Saints, Leeds, Wigan, Hull etc. etc.

We're all really playing for bragging rights until September.

If we lose on Friday I might be annoyed, frustrated, angry or disappointed but I'll get over it a lot more quickly than I did years ago when losing not only meant local rivalries were stoked a bit more, but the prospect of silverware slipped that little bit farther out of reach.

I just can't justify the expense any more particularly if it is on the box.

This will be the first Wire-Sts match I have missed in living memory.

Why is 2013 any different to 2010?

...because of what has happened in the previous 2 seasons.
Leeds having a very average season 2 years running and still going on to win it all has really changed the way other teams view the competition.
Last season we dropped players in games we viewed to be meaningless even though we were supposedly chasing Wigan for top spot.
The reality is that because of what happened the year before, we didn't care about finishing top.
The emphasis was on getting to the playoffs with a fit squad of players.

The entire way the league and playoffs are setup, will always discourage fans from attending games.

Why would anyone make the effort to go to London for the weekend to watch us play the Broncos, if we are going to put out half a team and not care about the result?
Why would anyone pay to go tonight, when the view is, that it doesn't matter who wins as it will have no effect on the outcome of the season, and it is on TV?

Then we get to the playoffs, and they are poorly attended.
Well what do you expect when a team can lose, but not be eliminated?
That first week between the top 4 teams is even more pointless than the regular season!!!!

Yes, they have to try things to make the regular season mean more for longer for more than just the top 4 or 5 teams, but the current setup has been shown up for what it is by Leeds in the last 2 years, and the results are less bums on seats.

Time for a rethink.