After plenty of excitement around Bradford Bulls in the off season as they drafted in star Super League players like Leeds Rhinos duo Jack Walker and Bodene Thompson as well as Huddersfield Giants veteran Michael Lawrence, the Bulls ran out for their first Championship game of the season at home against Whitehaven as they look to end their decade absence from Super League.
The Bulls looked to turn the pre-season excitement into bums in seats and made it clear they were chasing the record crowd for an opening round game in the Championship.
The current record for the sport’s second tier opening round stands at 8,817 and the Bulls had a good chance of breaking it with kids going free in 2023.
The Bulls notched an impressive 4870 strong attendance today. Still good but not enough to break the record.
Four games, including last’s night’s clash on Viaplay Sports TV, attracted crowds of over 2000.
London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs weren’t far behind with 1,800.
Sadly one game failed to reach 1000 fans, hopefully stronger attendances to come at Swinton.
Here’s a round up of every Championship attendance over the weekend:
Barrow Raiders vs Toulouse Olympique: 2,177
Halifax Panthers vs Sheffield Eagles: 2,101
York RLFC vs Widnes Vikings: 2,117
London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs: 1,849
Swinton Lions vs Newcastle Thunder: 877
Bradford Bulls vs Whitehaven: 4,870
Keighley Cougars vs Featherstone Rovers: 2,443
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