How new media could reconnect club rugby with Sydney fans
Roar Pro
By John Hanrahan, 2 Jul 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
Sydney’s Premier Club Rugby, often more entertaining than rugby league games and some Super 14 matches, battles to get any consistent exposure in mainstream media.
Even the ABC-TV match of the day has to be funded by the Australian Rugby Union as a way of giving the heartland of Aussie Rugby some exposure.
Over the decades, club rugby fans have given up expecting any regular coverage of the competition and no longer bother to contact media outlets to complain.
But with rapid improvement of new media technology and the explosion of social media sites like YouTube and MySpace, Eastwood Rugby Club is opening up a new market.
The Woodies, which has produced Wallaby legends Matt Burke and Matt Dunning, has hit on a potentially strong vein of revenue by creating a “live” broadcast of each of their games and making it available to fans via subscription online.
Club manager Rob Frost and board member Graeme Harrison call the game and later edit the audio over the video footage of the match.
Club supporters can subscribe for $120 a season and watch the games at the leisure on their computers.
“We’ve already got more than 150 subscribers,” Rob Frost confirmed during a break in his call of the Eastwood match against Eastern Suburbs at the weekend.
“It takes a while to edit our audio call on to the vision but we’ve had some great reactions to it. I can’t say we’re the most unbiased commentators going around but we have a lot of fun.”
Occasionally, the excitement of the action has overtaken the call, prompting some colourful descriptions of players and incidents.
“But I either edit them out or turn up the crowd sound so you can’t hear it. I don’t think we’re any threat to Gordon Bray but for people who can’t get to the game, or have moved out of Sydney, they can catch up on how our first grade is going.”
Club sponsors get a bonus for their investment and support of the club, with both Frost and Harrison indulging in some extended ads, free plugs and cheeky banter for McWilliams Wines, Eastwood Retrovision and Ryde Motor Group.
“We’re going to do a few more of those but the main thing is the call of the game and giving people a good idea of the game and a lot of our opinions. We always start off with a beer or a glass of wine and then get in to the call,” says Frost, who does all the editing and post production work.
Highlights from the Frost-Harrison call also get posted on You Tube.
“We only have one camera on the game but that’s enough to capture all the action, the tries and tackles and of course people can run their own ‘action replays’ by simply clicking on replay,” Frost explained.
“At the moment we’re looking for a couple of Eastwood supporters who might like to have a go at calling the games. We do home and away matches. It is a lot of fun but I’m flat out doing a lot of other stuff so there is an opportunity there for someone who might want to be a sports broadcaster.”
Frost believes other clubs could do a similar thing because every first grade game is videoed under the agreements club’s have with the NSW Rugby Union.
“Club Rugby does not get any coverage apart from the ABC TV match of the day. But hundreds of thousands of Rugby fans could have a chance to check out the games online,” he says.
“YouTube and other online sites are becoming a very popular way of reaching a lot of people. Why not Club Rugby? It’s not as good as being at the game, but if you can’t make it, at least you can see how your club is doing and get a bit of club gossip into the bargain.
“Maybe NSW Rugby or the ARU could throw a bit more money the clubs’ way and help them cover the cost of editing sound and video footage for posting on each of the club websites.”
Rob Frost makes a lot of sense. There are a number of companies around Sydney capable of taking the raw material, in this case audio and video, editing it together and helping clubs to publish the games online.
Rob would be the first to admit that the production could be better. But with enormous time limitations it’s difficult for him to do much more.
Some funding and professional involvement could make an enormous difference.
With the right Search Engine Optimisation of club websites, to lift them up the search engine results, rugby fans around Australia could discover the games and begin to follow Sydney clubs with their Super 14 and Wallaby stars.
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Midfielder said | July 2nd 2009 @ 12:42am | Report comment
Interesting article John and the Woodies streaming live on line well I be buggered … great idea
Teo said | July 2nd 2009 @ 12:52am | Report comment
Great idea I’d say. Another example of the democratising power of technology. Consider this club rugby fan on board!
RickG said | July 2nd 2009 @ 8:47am | Report comment
I agree, somehow the message re club rugby needs to get out and if the traditional media keep ignoring it then this is the way to go.
Campbell Watts said | July 2nd 2009 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
Matt Dunning – a legand?!?!
Pah ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!
Central North said | July 2nd 2009 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Good on the Woodies for getting into this. I sincerely hope it’s worth the time and effort that these guys are putting in and, most importantly, it develops into a sustainable revenue stream for the club. My maths is far from perfect but assuming that the 150 have each paid their $120 then they have $18k in the bank to show for it – fair play.
But – and there always seems to be a but where club rugby’s concerned – i’d be careful about gilding the lily too much. Saying things like “hundreds of thousands of Rugby fans could have a chance to check out the games online” Is highly unlikely, even for free content of this type on youtube. Likewise asserting that “Sydney’s Premier Club Rugby, often more entertaining than rugby league games and some Super 14 matches” is fine when dressed up as opinion but in a piece of reporting as seen here? Sorry to nitpick but it just debases all argument that follows.
AndyS said | July 2nd 2009 @ 1:37pm | Report comment
I was thinking the same, but was loath to rain on the parade.
Lots is made of Sydney club tribalism and how it would be a good basis for a pseudo-national comp. But tribalism is by definition exclusionary…I can’t see too many people not already club supporters tuning in. I would imagine it will be as effective at spreading the message as the WAFL is at interesting people in NSW in Aussie Rules. No-one outside Sydney cares about what is essentially a NSW surburban comp.
AndyS said | July 2nd 2009 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
Sorry, that reads harsher than was intended. It is a good initiative for the involved, and the lads are to be congratulated on coming up with and going on with it. It would be interesting to hear how it gets on and what level of supporter involvement it achieves.
Marlin Magic said | July 2nd 2009 @ 2:04pm | Report comment
Great initiative from the Woodies!!!! Manly’s been putting video hlts up for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79ZZqT1aUc
bennoes said | July 2nd 2009 @ 5:02pm | Report comment
It is a great idea! It is better to be able to choose to watch some quality rugby. My question to anyone thinking otherwise… WHY NOT? It is a better club initiative then some rugby league clubs who promote their members blowing their hard earned through their betting programs (i.e the Knights).
westy said | July 3rd 2009 @ 1:27am | Report comment
It must be just me but the ABC was so impressed when we got 60000 to view the grand final last year. All those tribal rugby fans were there watching their teles in force. no they were at the game all 5000 of them although it was recorded as 6000.
I am sorry to be cynical but rugby league friday night gets around 750000 in brisbane and Sydneyand it starts to become embarrassing to ignore this reality.
the match of the day on the ABC has been buliding good audiences from 51000 to as high as 75000 now, this is good.
the move by Eastwood is excellent as is their hosting of the golden oldies rugby world cup which will definitely raise funds especially from grog sales. This is genuinely good news for the club and its management
however to dress up a good article with smug snide at rugby league games invites their rebuttal as to why it took Eastwood so long. A number of NRL clubs run their own ” TV ” station for years for their paying members an idea they borrowed from originally I think Collingwood AFL.
As always in Australian club rugby better late than never. Parramatta fourth grade forfeited last week . no First grade Colts sides at Parra or penrith and all is well in the coop.
I think the Woodies main sponsor is North ryde RSL a body renowned for its poker machines and the last time I was at the woodies club I paid the admission fee few had a few beers bought a meal and put $10 in pokies and watched the woodies because that is what you do to support a club.
I can be up myself but at least i recognise it .
I would love for 5000 of the ” hundreds of thousands of rugby supporters” each fortnight to just turn up to TG Milner to support the Woodies and you can shove the rest wherever you want.