We are nine rounds through the NRL season and teams are more likely to win away than at home.
Yes, that’s right. After nine rounds, there have been more away wins than home wins. And its not just an anomaly of the draw.
If you look at the current top four, the Melbourne Storm’s only loss has been at home, St George Illawarra have lost more at home than away while the Sharks have only one home win but are undefeated away.
Only Brisbane seem to be taking heed of the supposed home ground advantage.
Why? I believe it possibly comes down to a few things. First and foremost, I think Shane Flanagan was right when he inferred that Cronulla’s loss to the Titans a fortnight ago was due to attitude.
This early in the season with State of Origin, 17 rounds and semi-finals to still come, it’s not possible for teams to be “up” every weekend. Home fans want to see their team win but maybe the players haven’t got the same drive.
When playing away, you are playing without the majority of support, the penalties are likely going against you and the focus and drive maybe return.
That’s why I can’t see this being a long-term trend, especially for the teams driving for the top four. Having a home ground crowd is great, but a regular two points from home games is even better.
The above is the key reason for this. Another reason for it may be that more away fans are travelling. In away games I’ve attended this year, while still comfortably outnumbered, the away fans fill up the silence if the home team is losing.
After away games, you normally get a chance to get up close to your team, especially if they win. This adds to the “away game experience” and may be why this seems to be an increasing trend.
I then looked at the penalty stats to see if the two referee system was evening out penalty accounts. Unfortunately not, the home team more often than not wins the penalty count so the “get them onside, ref” shouts and boos are still working solidly.
Finally, a large number of teams play at least some games out of ANZ Stadium. While this results in some teams playing at home on away games, having 15,000 people in an 80,000-seat stadium does dilute the noise and take the crowd out of the game.
But, as I said early on, the main reason is attitude and the teams that will be in the top four will need to get this attitude right. Home ground advantage should be real and the better teams will start to demonstrate that.
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