I'll [size=150believe[/size it when I see it.

Agreed Warrington's crowd was a little under considering the presentation of the League Leaders trophy but still think Leeds' was worse given the sizeable Hull contingent compared to Huddersfields if you get me and only one was a season-over prospect.

Wow this thread is just full of flakey types. Show some spine FFS - the game has been in much more precarious positions than this with its "death" confidently predicted. It is more resiliant and its fans and backers more hardy than you give it credit for.



Personally, I believe the current era is something of a golden age and will be looked back on as such. Short term difficulties will always arise. And whilst attendances for these games are disappointing, they have been ever since 1998. One could ponder on that at length - but one reading is that the success of clubs in selling fans season tickets has weaned many off the idea of paying at the gate - boosting recurring attendances through the season but undermining to a degree the events for which cash has to be forked out.



And don't compare RL to RU. League is a healthy, largely regional, minority sport. To compare it to a much bigger sport off the field is lunacy that will only ever be futile.

Flying back from Hamburg. None that it is any of your business.

Can't disagree with any of that, the game is on its a[irs[/ie with falling crowds and complete media indifference.



Compare the RU World Cup with the equivalent in RL, is there an equivalent in RL, is there going to be some international games this year, really - theres a small circle of people in the north who go and look for this information, the rest of the country have never heard of these events.

& their fans (or some of the more die hard ones anyway) hadn't just had to fork out ridiculous amounts of money to go to Wembley.

The problem as I see it is that in the current economic climate having to fork out for the playoffs almost immediately after the Challenge cup run culminating in a final appearance is too much outlay in a short space of time.

For my part I chose to stay at home to watch it on tv along with the Wigan vs Saints game after the Spurs vs Liverpool & Man U vs Chelsea games.

Well said that man.



Are you Malcolm Tucker in disguise spinning like that?

I love this post. It's spot on. I like it even more that it came from a Wigan fan.



I especially like the "too busy defending themselves and pointing out what a great job they're doing to sort it out." line. Which is true. They spend more time telling us how they're going to sort it, rather than just sorting it. The "[ilook how good we are[/i" news articles are starting to become embarrassing. I'm sure that if you were to just do a bloody good job, people are intelligent enough to notice what a bloody good job you're doing. I don't need people spending time writing a "[iwe're doing a bloody good job[/i" article, I just rather they spent the time doing a bloody good job.

Don't you mean "lying back after eating many hamburgers"!

I recall Eddie or Phil predicting a 25 k crowd for the Wigan/Saints game . I think it was Eddie .

Agree rising costs and wages not or dropping, when a game is on TV you can't blame people for not attending games that come at extra cost

Which crowds are falling? Is the SL average up or down this season? Playoff and Challenge Cup crowds have been an issue for years and they have been worse than this year in the Summer era. I think you're conflating your own indifference or even the present short-term indifference of Leeds fans with the wider picture. The fact of the matter is the game is in robust health - nothing is perfect, but it is stable, reliable and is secure for the future.



And I'll repeat the point I made to the Pie Eater - what is the point of seeking to tear down our sport by making deliberately negative comparisons with another one which faces few if any of the same challenges and shares few if any of the same defining social characteristics? If you continue to view Rugby League in this way it will forever be self-defined into perpetual failure. You are setting an impossible, unreasonable challenge, but one which gives you free scope to forever abuse the sport for its so-called failures. If you judge Rugby League "success" on its own merits, in relation to its own history, its past failings and its past successes I believe you would come to very different conclusions.