Joined: Oct 29 2018 Posts: 92 Location: Warrington
Might be a bit premature, but wondering if anyone has heard/seen/inside knowledge on when Magic Weekend may be next year? I’m thinking it may revert to late May again this year, as it was only early June due to the Premier League being halted for the World Cup over the winter, which pushed the season longer. I’m assuming it’s going to be at St James Park once again, and with it potentially being the last MW before IMG take over and try to bin off loop fixtures (I’m 100% in favour of getting rid of loop fixtures, but keeping MW) then I’d really like to go. Any help appreciated
Joined: Oct 29 2018 Posts: 92 Location: Warrington
Ah yea, I didn’t even think of the Challenge Cup. I know it was in June a year or so ago, but it reverted to August this year, so i thought they’d binned it off. I remember seeing IMG say that they wanted the Cup final to be “Rugby League’s Big Day Out”, and Magic Weekend threatened that, so it was a big reason for it to be axed. I’ve got no idea when in the calendar it could be now then….
Yea i had a read of this before i posted as thought the dates might’ve been out and about somewhere. I fancy wire v Leeds at MW though, so hope them fixtures are true!
Yea i had a read of this before i posted as thought the dates might’ve been out and about somewhere. I fancy wire v Leeds at MW though, so hope them fixtures are true!
skotyw wrote:Ah yea, I didn’t even think of the Challenge Cup. I know it was in June a year or so ago, but it reverted to August this year, so i thought they’d binned it off. I remember seeing IMG say that they wanted the Cup final to be “Rugby League’s Big Day Out”, and Magic Weekend threatened that, so it was a big reason for it to be axed. I’ve got no idea when in the calendar it could be now then….
Before the Magic weekend, Wembley was the RL Mecca. Fans from all clubs would go. You don’t see so many now.
Packs Win Games Great Packs Make All Backs Look Class #onceawirealwaysawire
Old Trafford is exclusively for SL teams & Wembley for the top 8 teams from all divisions thanks to the seeding system. The romance of the cup has gone for lower division supporters.
I think the magic weekend needs a big overhaul. I would go with a regional 9's competition with a full international at the end of each day. So for example you could have a North West 9's competition with Wigan, Saints, Salford, Leigh, us, Widnes, Swinton, Whitehaven, Barrow etc with then say Wales v Ireland at the end of Saturday and England v France at the end of Sunday. This could be played at Bramley Moor Dock or the Etihad at the end of the football season.
Then there would be an equivalent in the North East with Leeds, Hull FC, Hull KR, Cas, Huddersfield, York, Bradford, Dec etc etc and an international again on Sat and England v France on the Sunday.
We are likely to see 2 French teams in super league from 2025 and this would help to build the France v England competition. It would help to rekindle some of the old rivalries like Wire v Widnes, Leeds v Bradford and Cas v Wakey (although they could be in the same division by then). Because of the loss of competitions like the Regal trophy and Lancashire cup the teams in the lower divisions only really get one chance per year to face a big team in the challenge cup and for a full 13 a side 80 minute game they don't really stand a chance but in a 9's comp they could have a shot of an upset. Playing a 9's competition would help to release some of the players for the full internationals whilst you had the likes of Field, French, Dufty, Mbye, Croft and would be a good chance to see some youngsters etc etc playing in the 9's
The North East teams would get a week off (apart from players on international duty) when the NW weekend is played and cisa versa.
Cricket has managed to diversify to a point that is almost unrecognisable from 20 years ago With T20 and the Hundred and I think we need to do the same. We need to showcase the speed , skill and athleticism in a different format. Combine that with a full international would be quite a draw for established supporters, newcomers and broadcasters.
Deus Dat Incrementum wrote:I think the magic weekend needs a big overhaul. I would go with a regional 9's competition with a full international at the end of each day. So for example you could have a North West 9's competition with Wigan, Saints, Salford, Leigh, us, Widnes, Swinton, Whitehaven, Barrow etc with then say Wales v Ireland at the end of Saturday and England v France at the end of Sunday. This could be played at Bramley Moor Dock or the Etihad at the end of the football season.
Then there would be an equivalent in the North East with Leeds, Hull FC, Hull KR, Cas, Huddersfield, York, Bradford, Dec etc etc and an international again on Sat and England v France on the Sunday.
We are likely to see 2 French teams in super league from 2025 and this would help to build the France v England competition. It would help to rekindle some of the old rivalries like Wire v Widnes, Leeds v Bradford and Cas v Wakey (although they could be in the same division by then). Because of the loss of competitions like the Regal trophy and Lancashire cup the teams in the lower divisions only really get one chance per year to face a big team in the challenge cup and for a full 13 a side 80 minute game they don't really stand a chance but in a 9's comp they could have a shot of an upset. Playing a 9's competition would help to release some of the players for the full internationals whilst you had the likes of Field, French, Dufty, Mbye, Croft and would be a good chance to see some youngsters etc etc playing in the 9's
The North East teams would get a week off (apart from players on international duty) when the NW weekend is played and cisa versa.
Cricket has managed to diversify to a point that is almost unrecognisable from 20 years ago With T20 and the Hundred and I think we need to do the same. We need to showcase the speed , skill and athleticism in a different format. Combine that with a full international would be quite a draw for established supporters, newcomers and broadcasters.
I'd try 7 aside with a 3 tackle rule. 7 mins each way. The six tackle rule needs to be dumped for a smaller game. Top sides would have to buy into it and play their best "sevens" players. We'd have Ashton, Dufty, Williams, Thewlis, Currie, Walker, Nicholson ... or something like that.
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