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.