There will be just two days to go to Leeds Rhinos' eagerly-anticipated semi-final date with St Helens, a tie which has all the hallmarks of a classic.

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But the city's other professional club also have an important game coming up.

Next Thursday Hunslet Hawks will take on Workington Town in Co-op Championship One.

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The significance of that fixture is the fact that it will be televised by Sky Sports – the first time live TV cameras have visited South Leeds Stadium.

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Hunslet haven't been in a live TV game since their Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final triumph against Dewsbury Rams 11 years ago.

It has been a long time and Hawks are looking to make the most of the occasion.

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Unlike in Super League, where live TV coverage tends to reduce crowds, in the lower divisions the opposite often happens.

Hawks have slashed admission prices for next Thursday's game, to just £5 for adults with children under 16 admitted free.

That's a bargain in anybody's book, though it isn't a huge gamble by Hawks chairman Steve Ball and his board.

The fact is, Hawks gain so little income through the gate, they aren't risking an awful lot.

Next week is an opportunity for Hunslet, on and off the field. Off it, they need to draw a full house, to create an atmosphere for the TV coverage and to boost their finances through catering, programmes and so on, as well as gate income.

On it, it could be another step towards promotion. Under player-coach Paul March, Hawks have played a bright, positive style of rugby, which has carried them to the top of Co-op Championship One.

Hunslet are without a fixture this weekend, when second-placed Oldham and Blackpool, who are third, play their game in hand.

Both those clubs could still overhaul Hunslet and Oldham will draw level on points if they beat visitors South Wales Scorpions on Sunday.


But Hawks have such a superior for and against, they are guaranteed to go into next Thursday's match as league leaders, with just three games remaining.

And should they win their remaining fixtures, it'll be party time.
Hunslet have the best attack in the third tier and the meanest defence.
They've lost just two of 17 league fixtures and their average score this season is 44-14 in their favour.

It's unfortunate that the public of south Leeds haven't really responded to the advances that Hunslet have made this season. Their last home fixture, a highly-charged clash with York City Knights, pulled in just 537 fans – hundreds short of what's needed to really sustain a semi-professional club.

In their NFP championship season, Hawks played in front of 18 home gates of more than 1,000 in all competitions.

The only time they failed to reach five figures was the first match of the campaign, a Challenge Cup win over amateurs Townville.

The average league crowd was 1,554, so the interest is, or was, there. Sadly, after finishing second in the table and winning the Grand Final, Hawks were denied a place in Super League and crowds began to dwindle.
Hawks' broken dream in 1999 ended many supporters' interest in the game, but it is the Hunslet club who have suffered from that, not the RFL. Hunslet, at that time, were in a lose-lose situation. Had they been promoted, though sponsors were supposedly in place, it is hard to see how they could realistically have competed with the rest of the top flight.

It's likely they would have had to spend well above their means, would have been relegated after a year or two anyway and would have spent the next few seasons in financial meltdown.

After being denied promotion, they struggled financially anyway – because they had spent big to win the title.
they couldn't hang on to their best players and many fans turned their
backs on them, so they were damned if they did and damned if they didn't.

Hunslet is a rich player-producing area with a strong amateur base. Hawks need to accept that they are never going to be a top-flight club, but that doesn't mean they can't be successful – as Batley Bulldogs proved a fortnight ago.

They just need to be a bit more realistic in their aims. One Hawks official told this reporter recently: "We could have a really solid Championship club here, if we attracted just a bit more support.

"The problem is, everyone claims to be a Hunslet fan, but they don't come to the games."

If Hunslet could put an extra 300 to 400 fans on their average home gate, it would bring in an extra £60,000 to £70,000 per season, which would make an enormous difference.

Should they win promotion this year – which is in their own hands – Hawks' gates are likely to increase as better-supported clubs, the likes of Halifax, Featherstone, Leigh and Widnes, will be visiting South Leeds Stadium next term. But costs will also go up, so Hunslet will need more regular fans and more season ticket holders.

Next week is the chance to show the wider sporting public that this is a club with a future and with a team worth watching. At Hawks' level, even attracting another 50 regular fans could make a difference.

Even in these tough times, a fiver is not much of an outlay. The standard of play in Championship One is improving year on year and South Leeds Stadium is a nice place to watch rugby in the summer.

Sitting in the main stand – with steam engines from the Middleton Railway, one of Leeds' secret gems, chugging past – is a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Hopefully a few extra fans will turn up next week and Hunslet can hang on to some of them for the remainder of what is likely to be a successful campaign and beyond.