Western Australia's premier has offered renewed hope of salvaging the Perth Bears concept, describing the last-ditch talks with the NRL as "positive".
Premier Roger Cook was a keen observer at the Optus Stadium double-header on Saturday, addressing club officials and sitting in the crowd for the two matches.
A crowd of 31,437 was announced at halftime of the second game, perhaps showing some fans had delivered on the threat of boycotting out of frustration.
But publicly Cook has had a change of tune.
It was only last Saturday that he accused the NRL of treating his state like a "cash cow", with an estimated $65 million gap in funding talks.
Cook is now hopeful the proposed franchise can be saved, with both parties returning to the table in recent days.
"We've made our position to the NRL very clear, and that is any deal must deliver value for WA taxpayers," Cook said in a statement.
"Since then, we've had some positive discussions, and those discussions are ongoing.
"We won't be making any further comment until those discussions conclude."
Saturday's crowd marked the lowest at a rugby league event at Optus Stadium, following two previous double-headers and sold-out State of Origins in 2019 and 2022.
Even so, Saturday's crowd will still mark the second-largest of the round, behind only the 40,814 at Brisbane's loss to the Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Fans had warned in the lead-up to the double-header that they could stay away, after months of frustrations and fears their long-held hope of an NRL side had faded.
Large sections of seats had been unoccupied for the start of Cronulla's win over Manly at 1pm, but by the time South Sydney faced North Queensland the stands were more populated.
Perth's entry in 2027 would put the NRL on the path to 20 teams by early next decade, with Papua New Guinea's arrival already locked in for 2028.
A 20-team competition would allow the NRL to consider a conference system, and a potentially shorter regular season, with room for more representative fixtures.
Head office is keen to make a decision on a potential Perth franchise shortly, in order to ramp up negotiations for the next TV rights deal starting in 2028.
A crowd of 38,824 attended the inaugural double-header at Optus Stadium in 2018, before 45,814 were there for another double-header in 2023.
The Dolphins will also host Newcastle at HBF Park in Perth in June, with Souths already locked in to take a game to the city next season.
