As it's now do or die I expect a bigger crowd next week.

VERY disappointed about the attendance last night.

Loads of spare seats.

I think it's a combination of the stupid format and people not wanting to pay for up to 4 extra games. I don't think the prices are too bad tbh, but it's a lot to find in a short space of time, especially for families. If the format is going to kept like this then round 1 fixtures should be included in the price of a season ticket. At least that will keep the attendance somewhere near average for the rest of the season.

I'm pretty sure the week two attendance V Huddersfield in 2010 was lower than last night and that was do or die after a defeat to Saints in week one.

Advertising won't change this.



How many of the regular SL fans, were unaware that the playoffs were on? They knew it was on they just didn't want to bother.



But of course if you want to hire a top London based advertising agency I am sure they will be happy to take your money.

Our attendances for week 2 in both 2010 and 2011 were worse than week one. Despite it being a knockout fixture you expect to win against teams from the bottom half of the draw, and again people don't want to shell out on that game as they want to save it for a possible semi and final.

Hudders 2010 was about 8,000 from memory, expecting Saturday to be even less and only spared by a decent away following.

yeah thats what they said about football...its full of hooligans its a working class sport. A simple minds track and mainstream TV advertising wont change a thing.



I'm sure the same was said about cricket. this limited over rubbish isnt real cricket who's going to turn up to watch that.....lets no forget the idea of playing cricket under floodlights I'm old enough to remember the out cry over that crazy notion.



Darts......fat blokes sipping pints and chucking some arrows on BBC2. never going to take off.



Formula one a massive global sport when I started watching that back in 1982 I had to watch the 30 minute highlights show on BBC2 on sunday night, and then read Autosport on a Thursday. Its got its own HD Channel now, every round Live from Practice to after race interviews. People that wouldnt have a clue who Niki Lauda or Nigel Mansell were will talk about Hamilton and Button like seasoned experts because its image has been transformed. It is arguably half the sport it used to be, but its ten times more popular.



whether its advertising or improved TV coverage or just a better run sport there's plenty that can be done.



lets just give ourselves some credit....in a poorly attended round of Little old Rugby League a fixture between 2nd and 3rd in the league attracted twice the numbers of fans than Top v 4th in the Scottish football premier league, also attracting nearly double again than the Fixture between world Famous Glasgow Celtic were participating in.



its the second most watched league on SKY tv we should be circiling around SKY TV like vultures for the extra money avialable when the SPL goes tits up, and SKY pull the plug on that....



we are not in the by any stretch but the people in charge need to work their s off like they have in the NRL.



making something appear popular is half the job. People follow popular things they dont have to be good (see X factor). We have a good product that isnt massively popular......its a messed up world

Good post.



This sport is in a very precarious position at the moment. With the extension of the NRL salary cap and the recent rise in money in union over the last decade or so, and the apparent lack of high money interest in our sport...we're on the brink of being left further behind as we see fewer overseas players head over here and more youngsters look to union rather than ever look to League.



Something needs to change with our sport and soon. I know, you know, many fans up here know, that a top game of rugby league is about as exciting as sport gets...for some reason the world outside doesn't know about this.



The governing body is letting us all down. It has to change.



The international game has lost it's prestige with the abolition of Great Britain. Players have said it on all sides (GB, Aussie and Kiwi) on Super League's Super Men, that playing for or against Great Britain was the pinnacle of their international career. We would easily fill Wembley for a test game, now England probably wouldn't sell out the Dave Whelan Stadium. This needs reversing.



There's too much averageness being allowed into the play-off series. Teams having second chances creates a lack of enthusiasm for games. The probability of playing the same team just two weeks apart is making the first of those games bull. A higher quality, higher pressure, no second chances play-offs is needed. The play-offs were once fantastic from Round 1, this needs reversing.

RL is the small band that spends all its time touring tiny venues, in front of a small bunch of dedicated followers, who constantly moan at the big supergroups who get all the media attention and play all the big stadiums, all the while moaning that their ignored favourites are miles better than the bands who have millions of followers and deserve a shot at the big time.



Unfortunately, in all niches of life, there are acts or sports that have a cult following despite seemingly being extremely good - Rugby League is one of them.

Part of the answer about ticket prices may be found in the take up of that £5 kids ticket offer?

A lot of play off games are short notice which might make it inconvenient for some people too. Teams don't tend to know until a few days before what day they'll be playing on, and the week two fixtures in particular are difficult to promote because both home teams are playing that week after losing the week before making it a largely unwanted fixture that a lot of fans might not be keen to pay £20 to attend.



The real problem with the play offs though is the weakness of Super League overall means they aren't as competitive as they should be - this weekend's easy wins for Wigan, Leeds and Hull all proving the point. Yes, Saints won easily as well but that could be deemed a slight shock as they were the away side and lower ranked. The other three games offered no excitement at all to a nuetral though.

Something for the RFL heads to ponder:



Yesterday, on a cold, dank Sunday morning, I was one of a small group of parents who took my lad to his U14's game for Crosfields away to Rochdale Cobras ..... As the game kicked off (10:30am), there were 3 Sunday League football matches (adult age) on the adjacent pitches. Approx 30 people, I assume parents & coaches, were watching the rugby ..... As the game progressed, I noticed how many people were leaving the touchlines of the football matches and migrating over to the rugby pitch. By the middle of the second half, there were over 70 people (I stopped counting at 70) alongside the touchline. Questions I personally fielded included "What age are these?".... "They don't hold back, do they" ......"Don't they get hurt?" ...."Why doesn't the ref stop it so they can get up?"..... "Why do the players/coaches address the ref as 'Sir' (that one made me laugh)".....followed by amazed looks as the game finished, the players shook hands (despite the usual 'in-game' conflicts), and parents/coaches applauded both teams as they left the pitch .... with the 'football converts' joining in the applause/praise.



This same scenario has played out at every venue where football has been played on adjacent pitches, so don't tell me there isn't a wider audience for the game ......... it's down to those at the top/in the media to promote our game properly.



As has been said, if they can get 8-10,000 people to watch darts (and this coming from someone who played county darts!), then selling rugby league should be a doddle!