Since the removal of restrictions we've seen a Friday night gate of 5.5k vs Wakefield and 9.2k (with a sizeable contingent of lobbys) for a Sunday fixture with Leigh.

I could understand this when restrictions were still in place, but i expected crowds to return to usual pre-pandemic levels once lifted, perhaps even above these as I thought there would be a lot of clamor to get back to the rugby. What i didn't expect was that crowds would still be roughly half of what they would be for similar fixtures pre-pandemic levels.

The last two attendances have been the smallest for Wigan RL fixtures in 25+ years, and are probably below even usual latics levels (will be interesting to see how they compare in a few weeks).

But I suppose my big question is, is this because people are still nervous of covid so a lot aren't attending (if so, it seems to contradict what we are seeing day to day life, where most folk are carrying on like covid has disappeared

), or is it that 18 months away from the rugby has broken routines for many which are difficult to re-establish.

We can probably live with this short term if it is part of nervousness and crowds return proper next year, but if the latter we need to urgently look at how we can bring fans back as current levels are unlikely to be sustainable. At the moment we appear to have lost around 1/2 of our fans

Does anyone know what other SL teams have been pulling. Wire seemed emptier than usual last wednesday,but is everyone else significantly down like wigan are?

It's not just home fans not attending,Wire fans were lowest i have seen at Headingley .Infact Salford had more when attending Headingley . I kid you not.

I still think people have got very used to watching games from the comfort of their own homes.

I went yesterday, but was 50/50 up to leaving that house. I'd have been more than happy to pay and watch it at home tho. I'm sure there's loads who didn't go, who'd have paid to stream the match.

Lots of people I know are still not going because of the pandemic.

I still don't think there's an air of normality, and with the news and media reminding us at every opportunity that cases are going up etc, it won't come for quite a while.

Also, the disrupted game times are having a huge impact.

Our regular-as-clockwork Friday evening home fixture now seems a lifetime ago.

Yesterday was a step in the right direction and at the minute it’s probably the best we can hope for. I know a lot of people picked up tickets from local amateur clubs, who had been given kids tickets to sell for a quid (my brother in law brought my two nephews). That inflated the attendance, which is a worry when it’s so low but it’s still good to see the club trying things.

One thing that really would help is a better quality of attacking rugby. I think the drab style of play is hurting us but yesterday was genuinely entertaining. Some great try’s, a good bit of biff (not everyone’s cup of tea I know) and a pretty positive feel about the place for the first time since we’ve been back in the grounds.

The club simply have to push and push and push some more when it comes to 2022 season tickets. They have to get that base of 8,000-10,000 season ticket holders back.

I wouldn't say the lobbies brought anything decent in numbers, around 300, 400 at most. Previous visits have been well into the thousands and on one occasion more or less filled the North Stand.

I think the jump from 5.5k to 9k was pleasing. It meant there's still have a chance attendances will return to 2019 levels (I won't say 2020 as we hardly played any matches at home).

That said, our attendances have been reducing year on year for a good 3-4 years prior where they dropped from 16k down to c11k.

I feel we will only know next year when season tickets have been sold (and hopefully covid is a thing of the past for many) will we know where we are.

The litmus test is the Saints game I feel, I suppose that depends on what the team looks like on the day and performances from now until then. It's on SKY obviously so easy for many to give it a miss. That goes for Saints fans who normally fill the North.

I think anything under 16k will be seen as a poor show even though we should really be getting 20-22k+

Aye, Leigh’s following was poor but understandable given their current position. It’s a gutter for the club though because even if they’d come here bottom but in with a sniff of staying up, I think they’d have brought 1500-2,000 and even more had they been in a good position in the table. That’s an awful lot of lost revenue at the minute.

The last game I attended was in March last year - our last away game pre pandemic at Huddersfield. I haven’t been to the last two games as I am away but, to be honest, I am underwhelmed by the standard of rugby that most Superleague teams are dishing up and it is further aggravated by some of our mind boggling team selections and complete inability to break down good defensive structures. I am unimpressed by any defeat of the basement teams so 50 points against Leigh, whilst welcome, is not going to get me to travel over from my home in Leeds.

It probably doesn't help that it's Salford that we're playing on Friday as they aren't doing that brilliant and probably won't bring many unless they want to see Hastings one last time

I genuinely thought we’d be sold out for the first one back. In my mind we could have played Wigan Bulldogs and had a capacity on.

I can’t go as often as I’d like due to work and family life. It used to be gutting but it is what it is. I say used to be because recently with the goings on at the club I’ve had no appetite to either (even if I could). I went to the Leigh game last minute for example despite knowing I could go. I just have no desire to sit and watch drivel and be told afterwards it’s outstanding. There’s sometimes I think Alexander De Pffeffel has spiritually taken over Lam and trying to blind us with his nonsense.

I can’t go for a few weeks now, maybe even months. It may well be I’ve seen my last ‘live’ Warriors game in 2021 but the sad thing is - I’m not really that disappointed. I’m that despondent with the club and with RL in general that I’m not even bothered. It’s a sad state of affairs.

I thought the complete opposite to be honest. But it's not our attendances as well, a few weeks ago I went to the cinema with my lads watching the latest Marvel movie Black Widow in the first couple of days of release (normally would be well attended) we were the only ones in the screening. Not only that the cinema itself was absolutely empty, 7pm in the evening.

Even after the initial rush (since Euro's ended) most of the pubs and restaurants I've seen/been to are now empty most days. Have people simply got used to staying at home watching TV, sitting in their newly built home bar with friends, gone out on UK day trips or weekends in the caravans? Somethings happening and it could take months for things to revert back to some sort of normality.

Just to put some reality into things.

Our normal eight was three for the Wire away game.

For the Leigh game, one was working, one was on holiday, one had covid and one was scared of contacting it. I suspect that is a reasonable spread of concern throughout the game.

The big drop is down to the reduced uptake in season tickets. After the donation at many clubs in 2020, and the poor outlook with no return guarantees for 2021, the uptake of season tickets was well down. Around 50%? That equates to 3k+ down at Wigan?
I’d be less concerned about those 3k or so, a good chunk of those will return next season, however the general loss during the reign of Shaun Wane, of almost double that loss, is what would worry me. That envious fan base was built up over decades of top contenders RL and peaked again under Madge.

Lots of people don’t want to buy tickets for games that have, at best, a 50/50 chance of being called off due to Covid.

This obviously has an impact on season ticket purchases too…..

To some people it’s a massive effort to finish work on a Mon/Wed/Thurs/Fri and drive to the game and then have to drive home……Or they can sit in the local/at home and watch the game with a beer?

As the phrase goes “People will vote with their feet…..”

Several factors preventing us coming in our usual numbers at present.

Midweek matches
Possibility of matches being postponed and train tickets lost
Holidays
Covid isolation

Get to as many as we can. Missed it so much both the game and the social side

Regards EW

Time some stop making excuses,. especially about Covid and faced the the truth about the state of the game today compared to a few seasons ago.

If people are uncertain about attending because of Covid, that’s a valid excuse in my book. It will be some considerable time before things get back to normal, if at all.

Some folk in their teens, twenties and thirties are rather blasé about Covid because their chances of dying from it are extremely low. For those in their sixties and above, it’s a different matter altogether and a sizeable chunk of our support comes from that age category. Then there’s the possibility of Long Covid and facing a severe disability that’s going to hamper you for the rest of your life.

I’m sixty three, it won’t stop me watching the lads, it won’t stop me going to the pub, going on holiday or doing a whole host of other things that I do but I can well understand others being hesitant, if that’s their choice.

I dont think attendances were ever going to just jump back to normal as soon as restrictions were lifted. As a family we are currently all in isolation as all 4 of us have got covid, so still lots of people in the same boat with either contracting or isolating due to contacts.
There is then the loss of habit. If you get out of the routine on going to the game every Friday night, its very easy to replace it with something else (admittedly that could only really be sat in the house recently)
I saw a friend post on twitter earlier in the week that it cost him £100 for 2 adults and 2 juniors to attend the game, so that is going to put some off. If they are looking to take the family as they cant go on holiday etc, then £100 to watch some of the stuff being dished up IMO is too much for game of RL

Typical gammon comments made from our some of our supporters yet again. I had another gammon tell me that this virus doesn't exist a couple of weeks ago and was all part of the 'great reset' to move into a cashless society, Rothschilds I kid you not.

Time to stay away from the conspiracy YouTube videos and QAnon website boomers...

Slightly racist, but whatever.

Thats pretty bad luck, assuming your family are all fully vaccinated.

wife and myself are. Eldest daughter had 1 jab but youngest only just left school so not had any.

We think we know what started it, but its one of those things. The school tried to keep things going and held the prom as the last 18 months had been so disrupted for the kids. Unfortunately, the outcome is youngest seems to have caught it at the prom and passed it onto rest of us. We were all fit and healthy beforehand, so luckily at the minute seems like we are all ok

For me I'm not spending any more money on a very poor product which is now very overhyped. The referring of the matches is worse than it has ever been I feel and it feels like I'm watch WWE wrestling with the commentary of sky. I'll happily put my money into grassroots rugby and support the kids that play it for fun and the volunteers who help. That's where my money is now going. Nothing to do with covid. With the rfl running the game, watching rugby League in this country for me has become a chore rather than an exciting sport. It's like watching a dog suffer, the kind side of me says let's put it down and end the suffering, and invest in a puppy that I will find joy in bringing up. It's sad to see the old dog go but it's necessary and kind....... Sorry for the grumpy, sad, pathetic post. It's just the way I feel. Like I said I will continue to support the grassroots stuff, but super League can take a running jump for me. I'm only one person but looking at the figures there are a few more like me.

I can't say that I'm impressed with what I've seen in the TV games. We haven't been to a game yet, but we do intend to. Mainly because we're going on holiday in the next week or so and don't want to put that at risk with getting pinged etc before we fly. We will definitely be returning to games once the holiday is done and all the tests etc completed. I suspect others will be in the same position.

They're not brilliant atm, but we've been going a loooooong time, and we've seen much worse

The Pandemic is becoming a excuse for everything now and not just for not attending games in sport.