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Last week’s release of the 2016 NRL draw showed that only nine of 192 games will be taken to new areas this upcoming season with just two of those to be played in regional New South Wales.
Bathurst and Gosford will host the Panthers and Roosters respectively in a bid to keep rugby league alive in the bush, however more Sydney-based NRL teams should be doing the same.
Fans in towns such as Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Griffith, Lismore and Port Macquarie will again miss out this season. Albury and Wagga Wagga have also been denied the opportunity to host a game, even after proving last year they were worthy of housing top-flight rugby league when they hosted an NRL regular season match and City-Country respectively.
Apart from Bathurst and Gosford, the only regional New South Wales towns who will be able to catch a brief glimpse of live rugby league are Tamworth and Orange. They will prepare to host the City-Country Origin and a Raiders-Knights trial fixture respectively.
With fears that AFL will take over much of country NSW and participation levels falling, NRL franchises must do their bit and take home games to regions that currently host no top-flight rugby league.
I have analysed each team’s home game allocations for the upcoming season and decided whether they should change their stadium allocations and take more games on the road or not.
Brisbane Broncos
The Broncos will once again host 12 games at Suncorp Stadium and who can blame them. They have the heartland of Queensland rugby league all to themselves, there is no way they should ever consider taking a game elsewhere when they regularly draw crowds over 30,000.
Canberra Raiders
In recent seasons, the Raiders have failed to pull in decent crowds and even with the whole city to themselves. This comes down to a number of different factors, most notably the cold weather, poor draw, poor performance and proximity of their home ground GIO Stadium to the Canberra CBD.
The Raiders and ACT Government are working together to build a stadium complete with an enclosed roof in the city centre to attract more fans. This would be a great move for the club as they would also be able to shift their headquarters closer to the city.
I propose they play 10 games out of a new stadium in the city and take one game on the road with the remaining fixture to be taken to their traditional home ground in Queanbeyan, Seiffert Oval in a similar move to the Bulldogs’ ‘Back to Belmore’ fixtures.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Bulldogs seem to have found the right balance between home games at ANZ Stadium, Belmore Sportsground and outside of Sydney. The club should stick to their current formula and play nine games at ANZ Stadium, two games at Belmore Sportsground and one game on the road.
Cronulla Sharks
Shark Park will host all of Cronulla’s home games in 2016, which is likely to see them draw poor crowds once again. The Sharks should host only 10 games in Woolooware and take the remaining two on the road to areas such as Adelaide or country New South Wales. By taking games outside of Sydney, the Sharks would be able to expand their supporter base and continue to grow as they loom as a major threat to the established Sydney clubs.
Gold Coast Titans
The NRL must help the Titans to create a fair deal with Stadiums Queensland over Cbus Super Stadium. Unfortunately for the troubled franchise, there is no option to move away from Robina and further north closer to the city’s rugby league heartland.
Ten games seems at Robina seems the perfect fit, with a game against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium and one on the road the best possible allocations for the club as they hope to gain fans and keep rugby league alive on the Gold Coast.
Manly Sea Eagles
Just like the Bulldogs, the Sea Eagles have found the perfect formula by keeping 10 games at Brookvale Oval and taking the other two on the road. It is a model other smaller Sydney clubs should look to emulate. This season they will hope to expand their footprint with games at Suncorp Stadium and nib Stadium.
Melbourne Storm
Again, the Storm are another club who know how to allocate their home games. They will once again play 11 games in Melbourne before heading on the road to gain more supporters. One thing the Storm could consider, however, is the possibility of taking two games to Etihad Stadium including their Anzac Day fixture against the Warriors.
Newcastle Knights
The Knights may be a one-team town but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t take games on the road. Hunter Stadium will play host to the Knights 12 times in 2016. The club could take games further out in the Hunter region to expand their supporter base by playing 11 games in Newcastle and taking one elsewhere.
North Queensland Cowboys
Another example of a team that should take more games on the road. The Cowboys encompass a huge area including the major townships of Cairns, Mackay, Mount Isa and of course Townsville where they currently host all 12 of their home games at the city’s biggest stadium, Willows Sports Complex.
The club should keep 11 games in Townsville and take one regular season match on the road to either of the three aforementioned areas with the club alternating each year. The Cowboys’ proposed move to the Townsville CBD could provide a huge boost.
Parramatta Eels
The Eels have managed to find the perfect balance of Sydney games and games on the road by playing nine games at their home of Pirtek Stadium, two games at ANZ Stadium and one elsewhere. This is the perfect formula for the club, however after the upgrade of their headquarters they should look to move their allocation of Pirtek Stadium home games to 10 or 11 by reducing the numbers of games played at ANZ Stadium.
Penrith Panthers
Like the Sea Eagles, the Panthers have a model which smaller Sydney clubs should emulate. Playing 10 games at their headquarters at Pepper Stadium, and two on the road. They currently draw poor crowds in Penrith, however, and could increase their allocation of games outside of Sydney to three.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs also have the perfect grip on how to allocate their home games by playing nine at ANZ Stadium, one game at Allianz Stadium and two on the road. If the NRL is to expand with a team in Perth and the Cowboys take a game to Cairns, however, we could see them increase their games in Sydney to 11 by stealing the Dragons’ SCG home game so that the Red V can take more games on the road.
St George Illawarra Dragons
The Dragons currently have five home grounds in Sydney with games split between ANZ Stadium, Allianz Stadium, Jubilee Oval, WIN Stadium and the SCG. As mentioned above, the Dragons should give up their SCG game to the Rabbitohs but ensure the match will be played between the two clubs. They should also cut their ties with Allianz Stadium and split 10 matches between ANZ Stadium, Wollongong and Jubilee Oval. The Dragons could then take two games on the road.
Sydney Roosters
They might be one of Sydney’s biggest clubs, however the Roosters should emulate the model for smaller Sydney clubs and play only 10 games at Allianz Stadium with two games on the road. This gives the club the perfect opportunity to avoid embarrassing crowds when playing teams such as the Titans by instead taking these outside of Sydney.
New Zealand Warriors
Eleven games in Auckland and one on the road is perfect for the Warriors. Having a whole country of four million to themselves, the club should try and secure three to four away games throughout New Zealand to expand rugby league. The Warriors could also look at taking a couple of NYC games around New Zealand as well.
Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers must establish a definite home base and split their games similarly to the Dragons. ANZ Stadium seems the perfect home for the joint venture, where they could play six games and see Campbelltown Stadium and Leichhardt Oval host two games each before taking an additional two games on the road.
Moving games shouldn’t be restricted only to the regular season with the 2016 pre-season schedule also failing to share games around the country.
Pre-season matches will be taken to Alice Springs, Bundaberg, Nelson, Orange, Sunshine Coast and Whangarei, however there are five games just waiting to be moved to different venues.
The Panthers will host two trials at Pepper Stadium against the Bulldogs and Eels. And if they wish to turn a profit over the pre-season, the solution is simple. Make Sydney-based fans wait until the regular season for top flight rugby league and move games to regional New Zealand, New South Wales, Queensland and other areas such as Tasmania, regional Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Sharks-Sea Eagles game at Remondis Stadium and Wests Tigers-Sharks game at Campbelltown Stadium also make for good moves to new regions while the Bulldogs-Storm fixture at Belmore also beckons for a venue change now that the Bulldogs have two regular season games at their traditional home ground.
Roarers, should NRL clubs be playing more games on the road? What do you make of the 2016 NRL draw and where would you like to see a regular season game played in the future?
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