Championship Round Seven attendances as derby attracts impressive crowd

Josh McAllister 27 Mar 2023 4:06 PM

Championship Round Seven, Keighley's Brenden Santi, SWPix. Keighley — Photo: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com

Keighley were able to claim bragging rights for both the result and the highest crowd of the weekend in their 34-6 win over Bradford at Cougar Park.

4,793 attended the fixture on Sunday afternoon, the third biggest in the Championship so far this season. The Bulls have previously announced crowds of 4,878 and 4,827.

Rhys Lovegrove’s side ran in six tries with six different scorers, while Leeds’ Liam Tindall scored Bradford’s only four-pointer on dual-registration.

Featherstone saw a crowd of 2,892 for their 46-4 victory over York.

Sean Long’s side have already played five home league games so far this season, giving them an average crowd of 3,087.

Barrow recorded their first win of the Championship season with a 16-12 score over Halifax, with 1,879 spectators at the Matt Johnston Prestige Stadium. Wigan’s Iain Thornley scored on debut following his short loan move. Jarrad Stack and Jarrod Sammut also scoring in the home victory.

London Broncos held on to claim their third win of the season with a 16-14 scoreline over Swinton with 829 in attendance in the capital.

Sheffield continued their fine start to the season on Saturday as they stunned Super League promotion hopefuls Toulouse 32-4 in front of a crowd of 959 at the Olympic Legacy Park.

Mark Aston’s side ran in six tries against the French outfit, with the two clubs now on level points with 10 in the Championship table.

Back to Sunday, Whitehaven fell to a 18-16 home defeat to Batley with a crowd of 1,006. Both sides crossed for three tries during the fixture, with only one conversion the difference.

Finally, Widnes posted an attendance of 2,743 for their 24-16 victory over Chris Thorman’s Newcastle Thunder at the DCBL Stadium.

John Kear’s Vikings sit fourth in the table with four wins from seven.