Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

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josie andrews
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Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by josie andrews »

Talking Rugby League with League Express editor Martyn Sadler

A total of 60,866 supporters attended the Magic Weekend at St James’ Park in Newcastle – 35,104 on Saturday, and 25,762 on Sunday.

That is around 4,000 higher than attended the event when it was held in Liverpool in 2019 and it is around 4,000 down on the attendance in 2018, when it was last held in Newcastle.

Given that the Magic Weekend this year was moved to September from its previous May scheduling, when it was originally intended to be this year, I don’t think that’s a bad outcome.

Interestingly, the pattern of attendances always seems to be that the Saturday games attract more spectators, no doubt with people worrying about returning home late on a Sunday night while having to go to work the next day.

And the fans who turned up on Saturday were certainly good judges this year, being treated to two matches that went to golden point, with both matches being settled in the 88th minute, by James Maloney for Catalans Dragons and Kruise Leeming for Leeds Rhinos respectively.

It’s a long time since I’ve seen such an astonishing climax to a game as the Catalans’ victory over St Helens on Saturday.

To score three tries in the last five minutes is possibly unique at that level, and although it gave us a thrilling denouement to the game, it was astonishing to see a team as defensively strong as St Helens allowing their armour to be penetrated three times in such quick succession.

The day belonged to the Catalans and so does the League Leaders’ Shield, which I assume will now be presented to them at the Stade Gilbert Brutus when they entertain Huddersfield Giants on Saturday.

Last week the Catalans’ coach Steve McNamara seemed ambivalent when asked to anticipate being awarded the ‘Hubcap’ in front of his own supporters.

Of course what Steve really wants to win is the Grand Final and there are plenty of examples of clubs winning the League Leaders’ Shield who don’t go on to win the Grand Final.

We only have to look back to 2020 to see the latest example, when Wigan won the Shield but St Helens triumphed in the Grand Final.

The best example of a team celebrating the winning of the Shield, only to fail to make the Grand Final, is Huddersfield Giants in 2013.

Unfortunately the Giants have never attained the same degree of success since then.

On Sunday they were one of the biggest disappointments at this year’s Magic Weekend.

At the start of the season there was great optimism at the John Smith’s Stadium for their prospects under new coach Ian Watson, and to say they have under-achieved is a massive understatement.

But then there’s always next year.

And then we come to Hull FC, who now look unlikely to qualify for the play-offs, although if they can get two wins from their last two games, and other results go their way, then they could still qualify, as unlikely as that looks.

But after a good start to the season, it must be galling for Hull FC fans to come to terms with another season of under-achievement, particularly if their neighbours in east Hull succeed in reaching the play-offs.

Next Saturday’s game between Hull Kingston Rovers and Castleford Tigers at Hull College Craven Park should be worth travelling a long way to see.

Fortunately for neutrals, the game will be broadcast by Sky Sports.

Wigan’s open governance

I was impressed to see the account of Wigan Chairman Ian Lenagan and CEO Kris Radlinski fronting a fans’ forum in Wigan last week to discuss the running of the club.

I would recommend anyone to go to the Wigan website to read the transcript of the event, which delves into all the nooks and crannies of running the club, covering a vast array of issues, both on the pitch and off it.

It demonstrates that running a major Rugby League club these days is anything but a simple operation, whether that involves dealing with players, attracting higher attendances, or managing issues linked to the operation of the stadium.

One of the problems for Wigan is that the club doesn’t own its own stadium. Instead it is a tenant of Wigan Athletic and apparently the new owners of Wigan Athletic FC, who do own the stadium, are keen on extracting more rent from the Warriors.

I had hoped that the Rugby League club would be successful in buying the stadium when the football club went into administration, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

We tend to see the same problem at Hull FC, that sharing a stadium with a football club is a financial drain on a Rugby League club, which of course generates far less money than its landlord.

I can only imagine how difficult this relationship is.

For example, the new owners of the DW Stadium apparently want to paint the whole place blue, which is Wigan Athletic’s colours.

And there would be nothing that the Warriors’ directors could do to stop them.

Nonetheless, we should all thank the two Wigan supremos for their openness and honesty in revealing the intricacies of operating their club to their supporters.

Other clubs should perhaps follow their example.

https://www.totalrl.com/talking-rugby-l ... ectacular/
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
josie andrews
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by josie andrews »

Not a bad attendance overall amid the Covid pandemic.

But, you can see with the imbalance of the two days attendance that the fixtures need addressing!
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
nathan_rugby
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by nathan_rugby »

josie andrews wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 11:28 am Not a bad attendance overall amid the Covid pandemic.

But, you can see with the imbalance of the two days attendance that the fixtures need addressing!
Is the imbalance because the Saturday teams are better followed OR because people wanted to get home Sunday?
Bomhead - "Lockers to prop."
fozzieskem
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by fozzieskem »

The magic weekend has a home now in Newcastle,I had tickets but couldn’t go due 1 to illness and 2 if I hadn’t been ill the club not running a coach (I only go via club travel tbh)so I’ll be there next year.

The fixtures on paper were poor but produced the best comeback by Catalan seen in many a year,worked out quite well certainly on the Saturday at least
josie andrews
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by josie andrews »

fozzieskem wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:22 pm The magic weekend has a home now in Newcastle,I had tickets but couldn’t go due 1 to illness and 2 if I hadn’t been ill the club not running a coach (I only go via club travel tbh)so I’ll be there next year.

The fixtures on paper were poor but produced the best comeback by Catalan seen in many a year,worked out quite well certainly on the Saturday at least
What’s wrong with Mayfair Travel Fozzie?

We travel to (far) away games with Mayfair local games I drive.

On Sunday we travelled with the Riversiders although we had previously booked with Mayfair but cancelled it because of unforeseen circumstances which then changed! We were lucky to to get seats in the end!
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
fozzieskem
Posts: 6494
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 10:54 am

Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by fozzieskem »

josie andrews wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:24 pm
fozzieskem wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:22 pm The magic weekend has a home now in Newcastle,I had tickets but couldn’t go due 1 to illness and 2 if I hadn’t been ill the club not running a coach (I only go via club travel tbh)so I’ll be there next year.

The fixtures on paper were poor but produced the best comeback by Catalan seen in many a year,worked out quite well certainly on the Saturday at least
What’s wrong with Mayfair Travel Fozzie?
I honestly don’t know where they pick up from Josie it’s just so much easier going via the club,I hope they sort this issue out for next season otherwise I’ll be cracking the map open and letting gwen loose on the M62.
josie andrews
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Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:17 pm
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by josie andrews »

fozzieskem wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:31 pm
josie andrews wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:24 pm
fozzieskem wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:22 pm The magic weekend has a home now in Newcastle,I had tickets but couldn’t go due 1 to illness and 2 if I hadn’t been ill the club not running a coach (I only go via club travel tbh)so I’ll be there next year.

The fixtures on paper were poor but produced the best comeback by Catalan seen in many a year,worked out quite well certainly on the Saturday at least
What’s wrong with Mayfair Travel Fozzie?
I honestly don’t know where they pick up from Josie it’s just so much easier going via the club,I hope they sort this issue out for next season *

**otherwise I’ll be cracking the map open and letting gwen loose on the M62.
*They pick up from Wigan Lane & Hindley

**😂😂
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
fozzieskem
Posts: 6494
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 10:54 am

Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by fozzieskem »

josie andrews wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:43 pm
fozzieskem wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:31 pm
josie andrews wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:24 pm

What’s wrong with Mayfair Travel Fozzie?
I honestly don’t know where they pick up from Josie it’s just so much easier going via the club,I hope they sort this issue out for next season *

**otherwise I’ll be cracking the map open and letting gwen loose on the M62.
*They pick up from Wigan Lane & Hindley

**😂😂
Thanks for that info Josie especially handy if the club haven’t sorted the coach or lack of them by next season.
the pieman
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Re: Talking Rugby League: A Magic Spectacular

Post by the pieman »

it was no surprise that Saturday was better attended

i was chatting with a friend last week and said if i was a neutral i would have chosen Saturday to go and watch as the games on paper looked the better choice

Hudds v Wakey & Leigh v HKR werent exactly going to get the neutrals packing in to watch them on Sunday

My wife was also surprised that it wasnt on the bank holiday weekend. If someone that i have only ever managed to get to 2 games (cos my daughter was singing pre match / half time), can see a flaw in it, then surely the RFL etc can see that playing something like this needs to be the bank holiday so that the fans on both days dont need to worry about the travel / work on Monday morning

i am personally not a fan of the concept, and think it could be better served as a 9s (or other format) competition involving clubs in all tiers. If you could attract fans from all 36 clubs to the game to watch their club, surely that would serve the game better? whilst i accept that the winner would likely be one of Wigan, Saints, Leeds, Cats, Wire it would showcase the game in shorter faster games and give some exposure to clubs that many have forgotten about. Even on the BBC website RL is Super League, and you need to search to find the tables for championship as it isnt automatically given as a drop down option, and i am pretty sure that there will be no news articles to cover any of the other clubs (unless a player has been banned for drugs or another crime)
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