The 5pm Grand Final – did anyone notice any difference?

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By Brett McKay, 6 Oct 2008 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: grand final, Manly, NRL, Rugby League

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So whilst we didn’t quite get the 3pm kick-off that traditionalists – and plenty of players – wanted, it would seem to me that the first twilight grand final has made little or no difference to the general experience of Grand Final Day.

The move to 5:15pm was supposed to be seen as a compromise by the NRL (and by NRL, I obviously mean NRL broadcasters), and I have a sneaking suspicion it will be seen as a success overall.

The day produced two golden-point crackers, and was then topped off by a pretty dominant display by Manly. All in all, the quality of the football was top shelf in all three games, and even the late rain didn’t really put a dampener on proceedings (no pun intended, truly).

So in lieu of having enough time this weekend to produce my usual weekly column, I’d be keen to hear people’s thoughts on 5:15pm kick-off, and did it really make any difference to the general concept of Grand Final Day??

(and please, no gloating from Manly supporters, those of us that love to hate you are still having trouble swallowing a 40-0 scoreline!!)

Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport

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The Crowd Says (24) | Page 1 of Comments

oikee said | October 6th 2008 @ 2:58pm | Report comment

Because we are 1 hour behind here in queensland it was brilliant. I had a few beers and watched the other games which i enjoyed, then had some snags for tea and sat down for the main game, come 6;30 my mrs then turned onto her shows so did not miss a beat, great timing. And loved the b.b.q’s being bashed during the song, reminded me of the olimpics with the tap-dancing dudes with the grinders.

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oikee said | October 6th 2008 @ 3:00pm | Report comment

Or is that one hour ahead, started at 4 anyhow.

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cosmos forever said | October 6th 2008 @ 5:55pm | Report comment

yep – had my fill of beer and various oven goods and home from a mates place by 8pm to get the kids off to bed. Even light enough to kick the footy out the front at halftime.

Almost as perfect as the Raiders performance in the 20′s!

I liked it.

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The Link said | October 6th 2008 @ 10:02pm | Report comment

Thumbs up from me Brett, I thought it worked.

If anything it increases the liklihood of a dry track which improves the footy on show.

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Choppy said | October 7th 2008 @ 7:58am | Report comment

I loved it, 5pm suited me perfectly, there was still a full day of league on, the drinks flowed and still had time for a good meal afterwards.

I agree with the link, the dew hadn’t hit yet and there was less slipping and sliding which made for a more attractive game…..It’s just a pity only Manly were playing it….

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The Link said | October 7th 2008 @ 9:03am | Report comment

Early indications are that the ratings did not materially suffer. This has been a winner all round.

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Brett McKay said | October 7th 2008 @ 9:17am | Report comment

Link – it goes further than that, there’s reports this morning of a larger national television audience than for the AFL GF, which if it’s true will lock in the 5pm GF for all eternity!!

I have to admit I didn’t mind it – it felt weird sitting down for a proper meal AFTER a GF, but weird in a good way. I’d be happy for 5pm to stay..

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Millster said | October 7th 2008 @ 9:25am | Report comment

I’m not surprised Brett. As some others have mentioned it fitted perfectly into the day.

For serious fans it would have been perfectly timed either after a BBQ starting at 1 or 2 in the arvo, or before a dinner and/or night out.

For more casual viewers it was late enough no to interefere with the day’s activities but (and this is more important than many understand) it did not clash with the 7.30 timeslot that contains shows popular with many other family members. As oikee said, the missus and I didn’t have to fight over the GF vs Australain Idol

I was glad to see ANZ at 80K capacity too. I’d been worried about the finals attendances earlier in the series (e.g. the sub-30K attendances at the SFS the week before) but the GF crowd was loud and proud.

Anyway for mine it was a perfect bit of scheduling.

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Redb said | October 7th 2008 @ 9:55am | Report comment

TV ratings 5 capital cities only.

Rugby League Grand Final Nine 2.074

Seven’s AFL: Grand Final Seven 2.460

On regional the NRL ratings will be higher, however I’m pretty sure the NRL got circa 2.6M for its 5 capital cities ratings in 2007 with the same teams but the 7pm timeslot.

Th AFL GF rated about the same as last year, albeit with two Vic teams this year. In previous years of 2005 and 2006 when the Swans were in the granny the Sydney numbers jumped much higher for the AFL as the NRL numbers in 2007 and 2008 would reflect with a Melb team playing.

Read into that what you will.

Redb

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Millster said | October 7th 2008 @ 10:04am | Report comment

So 10% of the nation for NRL and 12% of the nation for AFL. It would be so interesting (though methodologically impossible) to figure out what proportion of those watched both games. I presume in the case of both matches that one would also need to inflate the figures to allow for communal viewing (e.g. people at pubs and clubs, or people watching in large groups for example at a GF BBQ at someone’s place).

Comparisons aside well done to both codes. Code wars sometimes get heated on this site – and I’m a culprit I admit – but we’re in a lucky land in terms of the quality of sporting events we can enjoy live and on TV.

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