Having undergone an off-season makeover the website has proved a massive hit with supporters, recording strong merchandise and ticket sales.

The club’s weekly email newsletter boasts over 10,000 subscribers, while more than 1,400 supporters have registered to put their points across on the fans’ forum.

Falcons media manager, Mark Smith, said: “Having given the website an extensive facelift over the summer, we have seen an enormous response from supporters who are visiting in ever larger numbers.

“To achieve an increase of 45 per cent on average monthly visitors is quite incredible, and demonstrates the huge interest and wide appeal that we enjoy as a club.

“We are fortunate in having an exceptional website provider in Sotic, the industry leaders in rugby, and we look forward to the continual development of our web offering and listening to what our supporters want.”

Falcons commercial director, Mick Hogan, added: “These figures for 2007 back up the feedback we have had from our fans, who have responded fantastically to the improvements we have made on the club website.

“From a commercial point of view companies now know that they are reaching a much bigger audience when they advertise with us, and that their logo will be seen by an average of 40,000 people every month, rising to 81,000 during our busiest periods.

“This is just one of many ways in which we as a club are working closely with our supporters, and the statistics show that they are responding in their numbers.”