also, super league is about the same size as the guiness premiership in england in terms of crowds, with a few clubs dragging the average down this year. however, it draws pretty much double the average tv viewers per game on sky sports.

And here we end it – the caravan moves on & the dogs keep barking…..

So he has one Indian friend who was watching highlights of league and all of a sudden every Asian is a rugby league fan ? ha ha. We had many indians playing rugby at our school back in the 90′s but thats another story.

Rugby league fans thinks just becuase his band of mates and brickies are watching the Warriors means everyone in Auckland are as well. Wow. Sky one to sky 2 means more subscription ? Looks like its been demoted down so Sky can show cricket, netball and basketball on Sky One.

Rugby is still a religion in NZ. The RWC time is evidence of this . You should know this. I was laughing too when the rugby league world cup was on. What a joke having a superpool and then NZ upset Australia and not many people in NZ cared. There wasn’t even a parade just families drinking lion reds and smoke a bit of grass.

Your such a liar. We played St Peters college in rugby league back in the 90′s when George Leaupepe and Dylan Mika were playing. How can 1st XV players switch over when school rugby league is played on a different dates ? Our school rugby league team is dying at MAGS because there is no interest from the kids, teachers or local rugby league clubs around the area. Local league clubs don’t help out because they have now lost many of their league players to the school rugby team . School league is played on wednesday so the league boys play 2XV or 3rdXV on saturday instead of club league. You must have been at St Peters when my cousin Roy Asotasi was playing 1st XV rugby.

Before you take on the All Blacks profile. Try and beat the Silverfern, All Whites and Black caps first because you still got a long way before your sport come anywhere those three let alone rugby. What more do you need ? Rugby league in NZ has been in many RLWC finals and winning one and the Warriors been in the NRL final and yet rugby league is still in decline. Wake up dude there’s no need for you get so upset just because you didn’t make your school 1st XV team .
Sorry mate. I don’t read articals from former rugby union disgruntle journalist who was sack in the past.
Good thing you left NZ when you can before the biggest event in NZ history comes around in 2011 but it doesn’t help you moved from rugby mad NZ to AFL mad Victoria. Goodluck.

Read this old article when rugby league in NZ started to fall off the radar.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=10425652

The most recent figures from the Sport and Recreation Council show that numbers of people playing league slipped from 30,249 in 2000 to 15,136 three years later. Similarly, at secondary schools, the number of young people playing has fallen from 2376 in 1999 to 1393 in 2005.

League doesn’t even feature in Sparc’s latest list of the 15 most popular sports in the country.

Matt your right there are definatley fair weather warriors fans out there who watch the odd game and get excited when they overcome there underdog status and have a good finals run. But each time this happens (2002,2003,2009 etc.) some of these people are converted in to passionate fans who live and breathe NRL. They join the already strong core base of supporters. Your Dreaming if you thing League dosent have a profile, falling of the radar you wish that’s what you want to happen! You mentioned the Asian immigrants not following the traditional footy codes. Explain then my local Indian dairy owner who used to watch NRL replays in his shop!!!!!! Id go in there get my milk and cheese, then chat league for a good 15 miniutes explain the rules to him etc.

Silva where do i start with you, your the biggest anti RL Propaganda merchant on the roar, look at the size of your post i don’t have time to write a small novel in reply. I admit i copied the viewership note of anther poster (got a link to any stats?) but most people i know in Auckland watch pretty much every warriors game, why do you think they changed them from playing on Sky One to Sky Sports 2 that’s rite more subscriptions!

Rugby Union “Rligion” “Culture” in NZ No Way not buying it!!!!! Maybey 50 Years ago definatley, not today there’s more competition with sport these days. Crying when the All Blacks couldn’t bring Home Web William Ellis?? Mate i was laughing!!!! Unbackable favorites at EVERY World cup and they cant win the thing! The Kiwis however 13 to 1 outsiders in our world cup final and we brought the cup home!!!!!!!!

Sport in schools??? I went to St Peters College in Auckland while i was there the rugby team were National and Auckland champs. One of our teachers was a Leaugie and put forward the idea of starting up an RL team. Word got round and it started gaining momentum, 1st 15 players were hinting about switching over. What happened? It was stopped imediatley by the principal. Picture the Vichy Banning but a way smaller scale .His Reason – “No room for more than one contact sport at the school” just as irrational as “corrupter of french youth”. Of course i cant prove this but i assure you it happened.

Perhaps League taking over was a bit optimistic of me but it can definatley build a profile that rivals Union. It wont happen overnight maybe 20-30 yeas. With continue sparc funding, the kiwis competing internationally, warriors winning a premiership, Another NRL team, ABs following there trend of loosing world cups, more exposure of the NRL it will happen. Sure the playing numbers are low at the moment, and the exposure is smaller out side of Auckland but these can change easily. Peoples perceptions can also change and they are. Silvia i want you to read this article and wake up to reality

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=10599966

I don’t see how a team in Perth can make a comp ‘national’ when the other major cities are in the East, where the NRL is based. Even though we have teams in Nth QLD, Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong our comp isn’t ‘national’ because we don’t have a team in Perth that somehow covers the whole of Australia west of Melbourne.

ESL has teams in Wales and London. If that is not national then the GP isn’t because it only has two teams in League heartland.

and its not rugby league. its simply a game

The more you post, the more you embarrass yourself.

I’m surprised actually, as it is a very good proposal.

But you keep kidding yourself that League means nothing to Australian’s, it’s all about Rugby Union here. Placing your head in the sand seems to be working out well for you.

Sparc funding is the same as its always has and the reason why sparc got involved was to make sure their money wasn’t been use to buy some pubs in Manuwera and Northcote. You sound like this Aussie guy on here name oikee and he’s been waiting this long for a nrl team in Perth, Adelaide, Central Coast and a second team in Brisbane. Wow ! A double header at eden park between the four best team in the world. I would be turning in my grave when the day a rugby international game between the Springboks and Wallabies become the curtainraiser for the All Blacks and France. That is a step backwards my friend.
Anyway the only time rugby league even came near taking over rugby union as national sport of NZ is when the first ceo of the Auckland Warriors Ian Robson predicted that rugby league would overtake rugby union in 1997 and that fail big time. Thats what happen when you hire an Aussie RL person who doesn’t know anything about NZ , its culture and religion. Goodluck in Melbourne and hope you go and watched the new super 15 team.

Auckland city in general, while being a 3rd of the NZ population now, is VERY diverse ethnicly and there is very little support of any of the traditional football codes from the masses of Asian and Sub-continent immigrants. They have no history with any code and might jump on the bandwagon of a local team is doing well (Breakers, Blues, Warriors). In the rest of the nation though, Union is the only sport with any real profile. There are very few League clubs of any capacity and very few schools who bother to carry both codes on the curriculum. Participation in League is in danger of falling of the radar completely.

The only reason people talk about Rugby’s demise in NZ is because of the tall poppy attitude that our countrymen seem to possess. The truth is that participation in the Rugby is stable and actually increased last year. Outside of Auckland very few people care about the warriors or play Rugby League.

The Warriors are a VERY long way behind Rugby in terms of viewership also.

Sorry bud but Jock M is right on the money, Support and Popularity of RU in NZ is decreasing. RL and NRL is on the rise. I Know because i am a Kiwi who recently moved to Melbourne. Its a generational thing, Ask any 18-25 yr old from the Auckland Area (One Third of the population) what the favorite code is, its the NRL. If the Warriors arent already the most viewed sports team on TV in the country they will be soon. There is a common stereotype that Rugby Union is “religon” in NZ this is far from the case. Alot of people in NZ Prefer League, Soccer or just don’t like sport at all. Amongst the older generation is where you find the die-hard rugby fans but they grew up in a time where the was no competition. Rugby was the establishment game, There was no other sport in most schools. Other sports were ridiculed, League was called “Last man standing”, “For idiots who cant count past 6″. Soccer was called a “girls” game. Even they are becoming more distant eg. my old boss who i did my carpentry apprenticeship with used to be a rugby die-hard but he flagged it because they re-appointed Graham Henry after losing the World Cup, Hes now a Warriors Fan. Alot of Rugby Fans on the Roar Use NZ as a case in there arguments. It being a rock solid Rugby Union Fortress. They need to get out there and talk to a few Real New Zealanders and not just use this stereotype! I Personally am looking forward to the day that RL is King in NZ!!! Yes Folks it will happen. Sparc funding, Another NRL Team and a Double Header at Eden Park To Kick of the 4 nations Next Year are a few of many catalysts for this revolution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!