Tonight s game between Huddersfield and Catalans seemed to have a max of 1,000 fans! Tomorrow the Leeds v Leigh game is being played in Featherstone! and the Semi finals are being being played at Bolton F.C. ground on a Sunday afternoon in August! on the same day The R.F.L have seem to have given up on the competition

More like fans have given up on it, except for the final itself. The venues are a response to the low attendances, not the other way around. Better a nearly full Macron for a double header than one very poorly attended one ( whoever draws Catalans) and one barely average one.

I think the fans are giving up on the final as well . Thousands of neutral supporters having a weekend away seems to be a thing of the past as well . The whole event is so flat now so unless you support one of the teams playing it is becoming a less and less attractive day out. The RFL seem to make little or no effort to revamp the whole experience and attract RL fans and others. We will be in London as always that weekend an for the first time in many years will seriously consider doing something else there if Wigan are not playing and that saddens me .

Regards EW

The challenge cup has definitely lost its mojo. For me it used to be the pinnacle of the season. when I first started to watch Wigan in 1979 the cup was THE competition and I couldn’t wait for the 1st round draw to be done so we could begin the arduous battle to get to Wembley.
But since the switch to summer rugby the main focus now is getting to old Trafford and the grand final. I hate the new Wembley as well which I suppose doesn’t help either as it to has lost its appeal and doesn’t get the juices flowing anymore. I think there is room in the rugby league season for the challenge cup but it needs a complete overhaul, whether this means bringing the super league teams in earlier to give the chance of the lower leagues teams the prized giant killing scalp or simply moving the competition to the start of the season I don’t really know but something has to change soon.

Change the magic weekend to the challenge cup quater finals. whether the BBC and Sky could sort who shows the games is an issue, the BBC offers little to promote the CC even though they have less high profile sports events to show.

As pointed out, the semi-finals at the Macron is actually a good idea (especially for me, sitting only 7 miles away

), but I agree the Cup should be moved to the start of the season. Or indeed, to the Magic Weekend, which would have the added benefit of making the league fixtures fairer.

And yes, the new Wembley is a charmless place. The only thing you can say in its favour is, it's still better than the awful 'London Stadium', or whatever they call it this week!

I'd start at the end of January as we do now, same format but fixtures are every two weeks, except for three weeks between semis and the final, which would take place on May bank holiday. Like so:

27/01/18 - 28/01/18 Round 1
10/02/18 - 11/02/18 Round 2
24/02/18 - 25/02/18 Round 3
10/03/18 - 11/03/18 Round 4
24/03/18 - 25/03/18 Round 5
07/04/18 - 08/04/18 Round 6
21/04/18 - 22/04/18 Quarter Finals (maybe an opportunity to group these and make an event out of it in somewhere we are looking to expand?)
05/05/2018 Semi Finals (double header somewhere in the heartlands as they are doing)
26/05/2018 Final

The extra week would allow fans the chance to plan their trip to Wembley. Having the final earlier in the season would give it more focus, as it wouldn't be competing for attention with the Grand Final and Internationals. Likewise, having fixtures every two weeks would keep it at the forefront of fans' minds. Move Magic to August bank holiday weekend as the first round of the super 8s.

Problem with May Bank holiday weekend is Wembley is booked for the football playoff finals

We would need another venue, for May

The BBC I believe want the CC final to be in early May or early June as the August date doesn't work for them either.

For me historically the CC particularly away ties was about having the day out and having the craic. It is now competing with the GF, Magic Weekend, catalan trip, potential aussie trips and if there are internationals they invariably now have one in the capital. The game is a blue collar sport and fans have limited budgets and they will spend their money where they feel they will get a better craic/deal. For me scrap the magic weekend and only play internationals in London if the opposition is Australia.

The CC has been dying on its harris for years as spectacle e.g. when was the last time that there was a real giant killing result or even close to a giant killing result. Historically a trip to say Featherstone or Workington in any round would have been a tough tie and now its just by how many points will a SL team win by.

For me home ties in the CC should be included in the price of the season ticket. This should then you would like think get both teams in marketing overdrive to sell tickets for the tie. The home team should receive receipts for tickets sold in their ticket office and the away team the receipts sold via their own ticket office. Has anyone seen any marketing around Wigan or in the social media actually actively selling tomorrow's game?

As to the final itself I would not sell any tickets for the tier in the gods to the general public but would give these away free to areas of London, other RL development areas, amateur clubs in the RL heartland and other sectors where the could be a future income streams. As part of the free ticket offer a prize draw say a trip to Australia for 4 people for 2 weeks covering flights, hotel, a couple of nrl games and a bit of beer money. The real cost will be the marketing in getting take up of the free tickets but it would add to the spectacle with a full or near to full house versus a half empty soulless match that inspires just apathy with hardened fans and more importantly potentially new fans.

Changing the date of the final will do nothing unless it is backed up some real razzle dazzle marketing. If the RL don't have the appetite for this then let's say then the CC has had its day and move on or offer it to a promoter to try and drag into the 21st century. Along with many others for me the CC was really what rugby league was all about with league matches a pipe filler waiting for February to come around which was the start of the competition. Now I'm not really bothered one way or the other if we win or not other than I don't want Saints to win it. I am looking forward to tomorrow's game which should be a sell out but I'd be surprised if there are more than 10k on the ground tomorrow for a 2nd v 3rd and less than 10 miles apart from each other.

When will people realise that most of the population are skint?

Prince Harry and his Maud can probably afford to go.

Well,i*d have Cardiff over Wembley anyday.Outside there*s plenty of Pubs and Eateries,really enjoyed it there when they had the final there.

I enjoyed the Magic weekends there and the Rhinos v Hull CC. I prefer Edinburgh myself as there are more places to stay at a decent price, I dont think Edinburgh can be beaten for pubs, bars etc

What a load of rubbish.

People have money but choose to spend it differently than they did 20 years ago. There is so much choice of entertainment these days that a trip to a challenge cup round is not near the top of most peoples priority. Im not ashamed to say that i never go to a game anymore. Id rather spend my money on the latest smartphone etc. The money is there it is just tied up in other choices.

And just to add, im glad i no longer waste money to watch the absolute drivel ive just seen. Ive never watched a more lacklustre Wigan team filled with has beens, average Joes and over-rateds. Warrington where worthy of their win but my God they didnt have to do much to get the win. If they have anything about them, the Wigan club will offer a refund to every Wigan fan that wasted money going to Warrington today.

"Id rather spend my money on the latest smartphone etc." You discount a view as "a load of rubbish" then include that statement. How do you know what disposable income if any other fans have to spare on a game of RL?

I think the fact is, if you're going down to London for the game maybe even staying overnight, a fiver more or less on the ticket prices is small beer compared to the total cost. By any reasonable comparison rugby league ticket prices in this country are very reasonable, even third tier football teams often charge more. And their fans pay up, and many of them from areas no wealthier than Wigan (which, lets face it, is far from being the poorest place in the country).

The smartphone analagy is a strange one but I get his point.
I began watching wigan in 2005. Until 2013 or 2014 I would spend my last penny on tickets and travel. These days it’s barely my last thought to buy a ticket 9 weeks out of 10, certainly so in the last 3 or 4 years under Wane.
I am no less passionate, in my own mind, about Wigan. Not spending on tickets still leaves me screaming at the tv or radio every week. However I’ve miles more to spend my money on than Wigan and plenty I wouldn’t have dreamed of putting before Wigan RL 10 years ago.

I appreciate that poster and I are only two examples but I certainly have disposable income to spend on a Wigan RL. I chose not to as feel it is not worthwhile doing so.

I could’ve gone to warrington today, no issues. I didn’t however. Being about 90% certain what Wigan performance we COULD see I decided I would sit on the couch and spend that £50 or so (for the wife and I) on a meal out later in the evening.

I forgot to add my main point to all the above; I can count at least 5 other households/families we know who chose to do the same and not spend on Wigan RL (and therefore RL & the Cup).

It was an example and if you cant see what i was getting at then you need to take some fish oils to raise your level of thinking.

Let me put this clearly for you. These days people have a far greater choice of things to do in their spare time and much more options to spend their spare cash on.

The idea that most of the population are skint is rubbish. I know this just by looking around at all the luxuries the people of this country have. Of course there are some people in poverty in the country but that has always been the case anywhere you look and will always be the case in the future.

Simply put, the idea that people are not going to rugby games because they cant afford it is utter tosh. People are not going because they dont want to. Its up to the RFL to make people want to go. Look at football, much more expensive to get into a game but they still draw big crowds.

Thank you, at least you understood what i was getting at. The smartphone example was just that, an example. If i wanted to i too could go to any game i like but to be honest, i have no real desire anymore to go to a match and would rather save my money to buy other things.

Maybe you need to look at what you post. You dismiss someones post as rubbish. Who are you to say that fans not being able to afford to rugby games is untrue Lets look at your exmaple football -

"The BBC Price of Football study 2017 has found the majority of ticket prices have been frozen or have fallen for a third year - yet a poll of young adult football fans suggests the cost is still putting them off. This year BBC Sport asked more than 200 clubs across the United Kingdom for information on ticket prices and found almost two thirds of price categories have been reduced or remained the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In a separate poll, we asked 1,000 18- to 24-year-old fans living in Britain how they engage with football, and four in five (82%) said the cost of tickets was an obstacle to them going to more matches.

Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, says top clubs need to do more to attract young adults. "These fans are the next generation of season ticket holders but they have been brought up in a sanitised and expensive environment," he told BBC Sport. "With this in mind, they are reluctant to pay so much to watch their teams play and these findings should act as a warning to the Premier League elite - they ignore this group of fans at their peril."

If you need a hand opening the fish oil let me know it may have a childproof top.

Really? What white powders have you been snorting lately?

What kids, if asked if ticket prices were not a factor in them not going to games, would say no?

The wife and i were season ticket holders until the end of the 09 season (when our daughter was born) and saw some pretty torrid performances

We could have gone yesterday but decided to take the little un to Southporr for the morning, have our dinner out and then get back in time to watch the game. Turns out we rushed back for nothing but doesnt make us and less supportive of the club/team

Wheres above is only pie when you need him. Hed love this discussion about category 3928166 fans

I stand by what i said. The blanket statement made by the other poster that people are not going to games because 'most of the country are skint' is simply untrue. In the case of Rugby League cup games, if fans of clubs really wanted to go to the game, the vast majority would be able to afford it. The truth is, they simply do not want to go and would rather spend/save the money for a different kind of luxury (maybe the latest smartphone!). There are even examples of people coming forward in this thread to say they didnt go, not because they couldnt afford it but because they chose to do other things.

The game has become stagnant and the entertainment/excitement value is just not there anymore and there are various reason for that which i wont go into right here and now. The whole sport needs a complete revamp.

Regarding the football study you quote. Younger fans are reluctant to pay so much to watch their teams play because of the very reason i outlined with the smartphone example-they have
other things to spend money on these days.

Btw, my fish oils do not have a child proof cap. Not sure what you're taking but no wonder you fail to understand the simple point im trying to put forward.