Should the NRL expand to Christchurch?
Roar Pro By ptovey01, 11 Aug 2010 ptovey01 is a Roar Pro
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- Beau Ryan, christchurch, New Zealand Warriors, NRL, NRL expansion, Robbie Farah, Rugby League
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I was against the idea of expanding the NRL with a second club from New Zealand based in Christchurch. However, after being there for the rugby last weekend, I must say that I am mightily impressed by the cities love of league.
In every pub that I attended, both before and after the rugby, there were people (both men and women) watching the NRL. At a club rugby game between Diamond Harbour and Selwood (I think this was the team), the talk from many was about their team, who would make up the eight and how their fantasy teams were going. They were even talking about Beau Ryan and his Robbie Farrah skit from the Footy Show on Thursday night.
I found the same thing on Sunday when I ventured out with more people watching league in pubs.
I discussed the phenomenon with one friend from Christchurch who played for Diamond Harbour and he said that they love the game and it has a good brand. From his point of view (a rugby crazed Kiwi since forever) he would really like to to go the league over an NPC game as the action is more intense and the game flows more. I nearly dropped my beer.
So I must say that whilst I was skeptical, and still have doubts, I am much more open to the idea of expanding into Christchurch.
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- Beau Ryan, christchurch, New Zealand Warriors, NRL, NRL expansion, Robbie Farah, Rugby League
August 11th 2010 @ 12:31am
Christchurch said | August 11th 2010 @ 12:31am | Report comment
Wellington is the expansion market in New Zealand, although it rivals Adelaide as a difficult market to crack. Christchurch is a union city, and even then they have become complacent in recent years with the success of the Crusaders. It used to be that visiting teams were met with streams of bile from local fans. In 77 we won the NPC and soon after had a golden period holding the Ranfurly Shield (R Deans fullback). This was the genuine Wylie era. Now the applause and self satisfaction (a necessary Chch personality) leaves me cold and most seats empty. What chance a new NRL franchise, “the Lambs”. Give it to the Wainuiomata Kiwis, now that is real league country (only because it couldn’t be the Charleston Chargers, the Westport Packers , or the Greymouth Gorgons)
August 11th 2010 @ 1:21am
Morgan said | August 11th 2010 @ 1:21am | Report comment
Good of you to use a rugby craze kiwi as an examble. Its been done to death on here many times. I suggest you have a look at the NRL TV ratings on Sky TV when the Warriors are not playing which is nothing to get excited about. You can’t really give out NRL license because some pubs have them on when theres no rugby on. If thats the case then Christchurch and Dunedin should also ahve a A-League team each.
August 11th 2010 @ 2:45am
extreme13 said | August 11th 2010 @ 2:45am | Report comment
Yeah listen to morgan above, he knows what he’s talking about.
I mean the ratings in NZ for non Warriors games that start at 9;30 at night beat the Australian S14 teams in the ratings in Australia that are shown prime time.
Pretty good considering the time slot and the population difference, wouldn’t you sat Morgan?
Anyway, if you want the link, I’ll post it just to prove it to you and our mate morgan.
August 19th 2010 @ 11:08pm
Morgan said | August 19th 2010 @ 11:08pm | Report comment
so all non warriors games all start up at 9.30pm on sky tv? i think your find most super 14 games in nz start later than 9.30pm and still rates better than the nrl.
August 19th 2010 @ 11:20pm
Sylvester said | August 19th 2010 @ 11:20pm | Report comment
NRL matches on Sky start at 9.30pm on Friday nights. NZ-based S14 matches start at 7.30pm, but the S14 matches in Australia start at 9.30pm.
I personally would rather watch an NRL game at half nine on a Friday, than an Aussie-based S14 game not involving the Crusaders.
August 19th 2010 @ 11:52pm
Morgan said | August 19th 2010 @ 11:52pm | Report comment
i know you canters love your crusaders. other nz super 14 teams played after 9.30 if they are shown live from australia. just like the nrl.
August 20th 2010 @ 12:14am
Sylvester said | August 20th 2010 @ 12:14am | Report comment
“other nz super 14 teams played after 9.30 if they are shown live from australia. just like the nrl.”
I’m not sure of the point you’re trying to make. Isn’t this exactly what I just said?
August 11th 2010 @ 7:13am
ptovey01 said | August 11th 2010 @ 7:13am | Report comment
I think you’ll find I said I was more open to the idea rather than saying it should defo go to Christchurch.
My view is that There are still a lot of things to tick off the list with regard to sustainability etc etc(but that is another topic) but it is clear to me that there are league supporters there and they would love more games.
August 11th 2010 @ 8:40pm
Sylvester said | August 11th 2010 @ 8:40pm | Report comment
ptovey01,
Having lived the majority of my life in Chch and being a fan of both rugby codes, I can see support for a Chch team starting off with a hiss and a roar, then fading quickly.
Canty still has a staunch league following despite our rugby successes, but not enough to get 15K plus to each game.
It was great to see a massive crowd at AMI for the Warriors v Roosters in appalling conditions, but the earlier Tigers “home game” concept was more of a struggle and ultimately tanked.
August 11th 2010 @ 8:18am
macavity said | August 11th 2010 @ 8:18am | Report comment
and yet the rugger buggers on here want union on FTA TV in Oz… haha
the same RU that gets flogged in the ratings by the NRL’s junior comp…..
August 11th 2010 @ 10:21am
rugbyfuture said | August 11th 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
because many are practical people who dont have foxtel?
August 11th 2010 @ 12:02pm
Jay said | August 11th 2010 @ 12:02pm | Report comment
please! the old boys cant afford foxtel now….
August 11th 2010 @ 12:49pm
JF said | August 11th 2010 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
its not about being able to afford it or not, it is the concept of paying for a bunch of crap tv, it does not sit well with many rugby folk.
August 20th 2010 @ 1:11am
Dogs Of War said | August 20th 2010 @ 1:11am | Report comment
I agree. I refuse to pay for Foxtel. I only watch the NRL, some Union, and NFL. Not enough to justify spending the sort of money for foxtel that could be better spent elsewhere.
August 11th 2010 @ 1:59pm
rugbyfuture said | August 11th 2010 @ 1:59pm | Report comment
i agree with JF, the fact is that most of the middle and upper class (except the incredibly rich) are actualy stringent with their money. you’ll find im sure in the demographics of foxtel subscribers that there are more in the lower income brackets than the upper and middle income.
August 11th 2010 @ 2:52pm
Sam H said | August 11th 2010 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Evidently the union types are too tight to attend games these days as well. Or to watch games on FTA. Leaving the plasma TVs for the bogans in the suburbs, I suppose.
Presumably come gametime they are all off in exclusive bars or retreats where their support for the code is incapable of detection by turnstyles, Oztam or the general public.
August 11th 2010 @ 4:08pm
JF said | August 11th 2010 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
There is nothing wrong with Rugby crowds Sam H, what are you talking about?
August 11th 2010 @ 9:56pm
Corey said | August 11th 2010 @ 9:56pm | Report comment
I must say that this shouldn’t turn into a code war. And RF, if the Union was on FTA I would watch it mate. I love both codes, I love League more but I love watching Union. Went to the Reds a couple of times this season and it was awesome. I would watch it over AFL (that’s not 2 say I wouldn’t watch the Lions either), but the truth is Union shows qualities that I love about League, so why wouldn’t I watch it. I love the physicality, the tackling, the line breaks, that’s why I watch both codes, and I think the NFL shows similar qualities and that is why I watch that as well.
Sport should be free 2 watch – all sport!
August 11th 2010 @ 11:11pm
rugbyfuture said | August 11th 2010 @ 11:11pm | Report comment
agreed, just offering an explanation for him.
August 11th 2010 @ 1:49am
bilbo said | August 11th 2010 @ 1:49am | Report comment
I am still impressed by the 22K crowd they got to the Warriors v Roosters in terrible conditions.
After the Perth and Central Coast, I think second SEQ team and second NZ team are musts.
With a second NZ team you would have two derby games per year, which would – if planned and timed right – be a great boost for league.
Unlike Perth, Melbourne or Adelaide, a second NZ team would already have established facilities – stadiums, juniors, and awareness of the sport. And would be a great way to boost the international competition.
Perhaps – and I am not sure of the dynamics of this – if there was to be a team split between CC and Wellington – this would encompass all areas – but I am not sure of whether people would support a team which was not solely their team, and perhaps the cities already have a strong rivalry which I dont know about.
But either way, a move to NZ seems a much smarter choice than Central Queensland, Adelaide, second Melbourne, pacific Islands etc.
August 11th 2010 @ 6:18am
Billo said | August 11th 2010 @ 6:18am | Report comment
Christchurch so far has been a one code (of football) city.
But with a population of 370,000 that isn’t going to last, and I can see both the A-League and the NRL looking to establish clubs there, given the good attendances they have had for the Phoenix and Warriors respectively.
The old days of one code towns of any significant size is probably gone forever.
Whether the other codes could make a team work there is debatable, but you would think that both soccer and league would have a fighting chance.
I still would expect rugby, and the Crusaders, to be the biggest game in town, though.
August 11th 2010 @ 6:49am
GT75 said | August 11th 2010 @ 6:49am | Report comment
Go to Christchurch for a holiday you will soon find the answer is no!
August 11th 2010 @ 7:03am
allblackfan said | August 11th 2010 @ 7:03am | Report comment
Rugby would pose a dual threat to the NRL: not just the All Blacks but also the ITM Cup (formerly NPC) as well.
It’s worth noting that NZ provincial rugby is played in a similar style to RL so you’d have two similar products vying for the public’s dollar.
Face facts. NZ is a small country; rugby overload is a real problem even now. The Warriors have one of theworst home crowd averages in the NRL; do you think a CC team would perform better?Or worse?
The historic rivalry Bilbo talks about would be between Canterbury and Dunedin (nothing like a local derby) or with Auckland (Auckland vs everyone else)
August 11th 2010 @ 7:46am
Beowulf said | August 11th 2010 @ 7:46am | Report comment
I think the NRL would only look at NZ after fixing the holes in Australia first…..Central Coast, Perth, and other SEQ side. Either CQLD or a 2nd NZ side to join the SEQ entry in the second phase of expansion…..I personally think they’d go for CQLD first.
August 11th 2010 @ 7:55am
Chris said | August 11th 2010 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Surely getting 21,000 to the Roosters v. Warriors game there earlier in the year should answer that question. Much prefer having a Christchurch team to the Sharks (no fans, no money, no results, no members). Should surely be considered for the next round of expansion (after Perth and the Central Coast Bears).
Of course if we kicked the the Sharks out we could let three new teams in right away.
August 11th 2010 @ 8:21am
macavity said | August 11th 2010 @ 8:21am | Report comment
Central Coast isn’t a “hole” – it is a very well served market with a couple of hundred noisy Norths fans agitating to further crowd the NSW market.
What possibility a “Southern Orcas” team, splitting games between Wellington, Christchurch and maybe even one or two in Dunedin?
The Auckland v the rest rivalry is pretty big in NZ I’m told.
August 11th 2010 @ 8:35am
ptovey01 said | August 11th 2010 @ 8:35am | Report comment
I heared a term last weekend in Christchurch which I had not ever heard with regard to Auckland. In heated debate about who the man of the match should have been in the rugby One of the locals said to his North Island brothers “you stupid J.A.F.A. expletive” (Just another F(expletive)ing Aucklander) I think this sums up the rivallry between the rest of NZ and Auckland.
I think that this is Much the same way people in Country areas of NSW feel, and why some will go for Queensland over NSW at S.O.O time. I heard one rather prominent country fan say “NSW stands for Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, the country doesn’t matter”
Anyway back onto topic….
August 11th 2010 @ 12:37pm
Richierich said | August 11th 2010 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
This term was originally used when referring to our cousins across the ditch however over the last 40 years or more at has taken on the Aucklander meaning through and through. Most Kiwis would not even realise that JAFA originally referred to our ANZAC comrades
August 12th 2010 @ 2:56pm
ptovey01 said | August 12th 2010 @ 2:56pm | Report comment
Interesting. I shall pass on the knowledge.
August 11th 2010 @ 11:13am
Beowulf said | August 11th 2010 @ 11:13am | Report comment
A couple of hundred noisy Norths fans and so far over 2,000 Central Coast residents have financially put their hands in their pockets to support the CC Bears bid. Memberships are running at about 80% from the Central Coast, 20% from northern Sydney, rest of Australia & overseas. This was the only concern from David Gallop – would the Central Coast support the bid? Yes they are!
Memberships will soon surpass those of Manly. So by your reckoning, we could eliminate Manly and let the CC Bears handle the peninsula, as it would be a ‘well served market’. Has a sweet irony to it, don’t you think? Given the Sea Eagles can’t refurbish Brookvale, and are starting to bag the Bears bid, pretty obvious Manly is getting worried abouth the strength of the bid and want to keep Gosford as an option to play a few games there every year. Shame they blew away all goodwill on the Coast with the Northern Eagles fiasco. Karma……
Its only Manly admin however, most Manly fans want the CC Bears up so they get the rivalry back and two local blockbusters per year.
August 11th 2010 @ 8:38am
oikee said | August 11th 2010 @ 8:38am | Report comment
Sometimes i think it would be better just to take games to places where a team would become another burden on rugby league.
The Sharks and Manly could do this easily. The Christchurch game was a beauty, the teams made the game i think. The Roosters and the Warriors battling it out, what happens if you have a team where they are getting flogged every week.
You need to have supporters screaming out for a team, like the Bears, to even be considered. Perth will take awhile to bed them in, unless we support them over the cap for a few years. Lessons need to be learned. The cowboys crowds have been declining steadily this year, if your not winning, then your in danger of losing hundreds of thousands each year. Just ask the sharkies.