After 4 years in Newcastle magic weekend is on the move again with Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium announced as host for the popular event for next season . It will be the 5th city to host magic , after Cardiff , Edinburgh , Manchester and Newcastle .
After hosting the 2nd test between England and New Zealand the board at Liverpool made it clear to the RFL that they wanted to continue their relationship so the weekend has been confirmed for May 2th and 26th next year . Newcastle are now likely to hold a double header of Challenge Cup Semi Finals as Bolton did this season . The RFL believe the double header semi finals worked with the lower attendance due to Catalans involvement .
It will be a controversial decision though as Newcastle has proved a popular base , holding the record for a single day attendance of over 40,000 . Warrington Coach Steve Price is happy with the decision telling BBC Radio
“It’s an iconic stadium with a great history. Hopefully we can all put on a good spectacle. A lot of our supporters are in that network of Liverpool and it’s not as far to travel to. Newcastle’s put on a really good show for a number of years and I couldn’t fault the experience we had last year playing Wigan. Saying that, going to Anfield – it’s an unbelievable stadium and I’ve watched Liverpool there a number of times – it’s going to be really good for the game.”
The RFL also announced a new format for the games , dropping the idea of friendlies to favour a system based on last years placings , the fixtures are
Saturday May 25th
14:00 Wakefield v Catalans
16:30 Hull FC v Huddersfield
19:00 Wigan v Warrington
Sunday May 26th
13:00 Salford v Hull KR
15:30 Leeds v London
18:00 St Helens v Castleford
Source:
http://www.seriousaboutrl.com/anfield-confirmed-foe-magic-weekend-18442/
