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The Roar

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The NRL must look to the NFL for solutions

Should Jarryd Hayne have tried his hand in the CFL? (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
Roar Rookie
23rd March, 2017
68

As the Roosters versus Rabbitohs slug fest lulled me into an impromptu slumber – the wet weather ruined what may have been a wonderful game made up of of slick running and passing – an epiphany hit me. It hit me hard.

It felt like what I would imagine would happen if Shaun Kenny Dowell’s massive head slammed into my own. The kind of epiphany that hurts.

With the coverage of the game there was one glaring absurdity, and it’s not the first time it’s been there. It’s in fact been the centre of debate for years and years. No solution has ever been found, though many have tried.

Watching this big inner Sydney city derby was, well no one. The stadium was practically empty!

Now yes, it was bucketing down with more cats and dogs than Mitchell Pearce would know what to do with. And it is still a Thursday of course (albeit Thursday’s the new Friday).

Still, this game should have had more attendance than this surely? The Roosters, despite their glamour boy reputation, are flying pretty damn high, but also very low to the ground. People are more wrapped up in the Raiders, the Panthers.

The Roosters though, are hard to push off as favourites for the 2017 crown. And the Bunnies have one of the most die hard fan-bases known in the sports kingdom. Period. There’s more to this deserted stadium than meets the eye.

The NRL has tried many things to fix this issue. Although I don’t think ticket prices has ever been one of those potential solutions. We now have double header games, more half time entertainment, here and there a bit of a shot. Maybe though, America’s greatest sport, the NFL, has the answer?

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It all lies with the amount of games played. Look at the NFL season. They play 16 regular season games before play offs. 16. That’s almost ten less than our boys are grinding through in a season.

And that’s not including those players picked for State of Origin. Or the Test series at the end of the year.

Now of course you can’t scrap these marquee representative games – State of Origin lays an easy claim to being the best All–Star type match for any sport in the world. It actually means something here.

Imagine though that we reduce the amount of games? Every singe match has so much more meaning. So much more intensity. Inner city derbies and grudge matches become a tribal affair that serve up blood.

And more to the point, this decrease in supply massively affects demand. We’ll start seeing way more bums on seats for the simple reason there is just less time to see your team! Watch any NFL game. Rain, hail, snow, fog, there is never a single empty seat in the house. And the crowd and the atmosphere is constantly at State of Origin levels.

The players would have less of a grind, they’d have more energy. More impetus to play every game like it was their last. The stakes are raised. And from a financial point of view, it is much more efficient.

Imagine laying out less cash in a year but seeing the increase of crowd attendance! Rather than being greedy with time, stop working hard. Start working smart.

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Here’s to a smarter, healthier rugby league season!

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