Super League coach proposes Magic Weekend plan and praises Elland Road

Hosting Magic Weekend at Elland Road was a divisive decision and it’s even had a divisive outcome with the organisers labelling the event a success but fans left worrying about the lowly attendance. Now, one Super League head coach has had his say on the showpiece event.

That man is Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Luke Robinson who, after his side’s 20-12 win over Castleford in the final game of the weekend, declared: “I love magic. I know there are some other pundits in the game that don’t seem to like it but I love it.”

Many fans will agree with him about loving Magic Weekend but the use of Elland Road as a venue was not well-received which suggestions that the event had been ‘done on the cheap’ and ‘lacked ambition’, the latter being something that pundit Jon Wilkin suggested.

After RL Commercial’s Rhodri Jones declared the event a success after it had turned a profit, Wilkin asked: “It just felt like we just put it on in Leeds this year, and I just, does that lack ambition? I don’t know. I know they’ve worked incredibly hard, but to get all these games on, we know how difficult it is but is it the best it could possibly be? No.”

Luke Robinson has now given his verdict on the 2024 event whilst also weighing in on the debate about whether the event needs to be held in the heartlands or taken to expansion cities.

Super League boss praises Magic Weekend

Robinson was commenting after his side’s 20-12 victory over Castleford, a result that has seen Huddersfield solidify ninth spot in Super League, with the interim coach speaking to BBC Sport West Yorkshire.

“People seem to have to think that you have to decide on expansion or keep it within the heartlands. I’m on both. I think we should grow the game for the Heartland clubs and keep it within the Heartlands and expand on them and make them better.

“I actually love taking it to different places. My family love going to Newcastle and Cardiff and all of these places where we can hopefully expand the game and bring it to people who have not experienced too much of it.

“I’m a big believer in magic. I think the concept that you can have 12 different sets of fans under one ceiling should we say over a weekend and have hardly any trouble with fans intermingling, I just think the concept is brilliant.”

Specifically on the event at Elland Road, Robinson gave it a thumbs-up, adding: “We’ll get home a lot quicker and hopefully the fans have had a really good time. With it being at Leeds, in modern times with feeling it in the pocket a little bit, it might have been easier getting to Leeds but I’m all for both (expansion and heartlands).”