On a cool Friday night in April, the Rebel Army led the stockade with the “rebels” chant. Thousands filled the stockade, aka AAMI Park. The echo around the stadium was something I’d only heard during a Collingwood game. Feeling part of the Rebel community already, I joined in.
The Melbourne Rebels were playing the Otago Highlanders.
The Rebels were on a winning streak after defeating Perth’s Western Force and New Zealand’s Wellington Hurricanes. This was my first Rebels game and I decided to take my father, a native New Zealander and All Blacks supporter, with me.
While Melbourne may be the sporting capital of the world, many Victorians remain unaware of the Rebels’ existence. Most people would be surprised to learn that the Melbourne Rebels are a rugby team, not a notorious bikie gang.
Victoria, the home of the Australian Football League, is now also the home of Super Rugby’s 15th team. The state was granted the Super Rugby license in January 2010 and the RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels debuted in this years 2011 season.
Don’t be confused; the Rebels are rugby union and part of the Super Rugby 15, an international conference.
Melbourne Storm is rugby league, part of Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL).
There is a difference, one that I am yet to fully understand coming from an AFL background.
The Rebels are privately owned by Harold Mitchell, coached by Rod Macqueen and captained by ex-Wallaby Stirling Mortlock. They are now nearing the end of their debut season in the Super Rugby conference.
Fans believe the team can do what the AFL can’t.
“The Rebels can unite Victoria, not just Melbourne,” said Gavin Norman, co-founder of the Rebel Army.
The Rebel Army is a group formed by the fans for the fans. Norman, an IT professional by trade, cheers on the Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park and marches on to the away games played around Australia.
Rugby union is historically a private boys’ school sport according to Dr Anthony Kerr, La Trobe University Sport Management Lecturer (Centre for Sport and Social Impact). He explained that rugby union was an amateur sport up until 1995.
“If you played rugby union before ’95, it was for the love of the game,” he said.
Rugby league, the state school sport, was the professional rugby code.
Now Super Rugby has evolved and expanded into the Super Rugby 15, an international conference played by South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The Melbourne Rebels are Australia’s fifth team.
“Most supporters are just glad after so many years that they finally have a Super Rugby team to call their own,” Norman said.
CEO of the Melbourne Rebels Ross Oakley said that at last glance the Rebels had 7685 members. He hopes more members sign up for the 2012 season.
The Rebels recruited Oakley in 2010 when founding chief executive Brian Waldron stepped down after the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal. Oakley is a former St Kilda footballer. He missed out on the Saints’ only Grand Final win due to injury, then became the CEO of the AFL between 1986 -1996.
Oakley helped shape the VFL into what we now call the AFL.
Oakley said the Rebels had no history or tradition, so they decided to create their own. He said they had to “borrow a history”.
“We adopted the Eureka Stockade … and the philosophies of the ‘rebels’ from that time,” he said.
The Melbourne Rebels symbol includes the five stars from the Southern Cross.
The Rebels also created a ‘5-Star Engagement’ program. Each player is assigned to a charity, a school and a local rugby club. Its aim is to give balance to players’ lives and for them to engage with communities and share the team’s values.
Respect
Excellence
Balance
Ethos
Leadership.
The Rebels played for the second time the Queensland Reds.
Amid the smoke and colours of fireworks in celebration of AAMI Park’s first birthday, the Rebels came on to the ground. The smoke had barely settled at kick off and although the Rebels came out firing, their spark slowly died as the obvious holes in their defence and tackling let them down.
Scrum-half Nick Phipps told me after the game that their loss to the Reds this time (33-18) was “better than losing 53-3” the last time the two teams met.
Both Kerr and Oakley concede that the Rebels have no hope of making the play offs in late June. Oakley is hopeful the Rebels will finish in the bottom five, where Kerr just wants them to finish fourth in the Australian conference ahead of Perth’s Western Force.
Looking to the future, Oakley is already trying to create awareness in the AFL community by offering discounted tickets to Rebels games on the Carlton Football Club’s website. Oakley and his team have created a brand, a culture and a tribe, which can only continue to grow and prosper.
The Rebel Army aims to increase numbers at home and away games in 2012. Norman has found that the Rebel Army’s presence at away games have made opposition teams co-ordinate against them, something the Rebel Army takes pride in.
Oakley spoke about building an emotional attachment, a sense of ‘tribalism’ with the Rebels. When I put on my blue and white hoops – my Geelong Cats guernsey – I am part of the Cats tribe.
When I attend a Rebels game, I am part of the Melbourne and Victorian tribe that is the Melbourne Rebels. I too have grown an emotional attachment for the Rebels from the persistence, dedication and passion they display.
I think every red-blooded, sport crazy Victorian needs to get behind the Melbourne Rebels. If Victoria wants to keep up their reputation as being the sports capital of Australia, then we need to support the Rebels as much as we support AFL, A-League or cricket.
Come the 17th of June, no matter where the Rebels stand on the ladder, the Rebel Army will again descend on the stockade.
For the last time in their debut Super Rugby season, fans will cheer on those Southern Cross boys in red, white and blue. Rebel fans want their team to win so badly.
We won’t stop cheering until the final siren.
We are the Melbourne Rebels,
We are Victoria.
jus de couchon
Guest
London is at the Centre of Global Sport in it sendlees capacity to provide Lard Arsed Couch Potatoes whove never experienced Sport other the being a spectator. Go to Lords or Twickenham to listen to their Innanities.
Onlooker
Guest
seriously, how many Union players actually understand the rules of Rugby. It's a big book filled with a lot of "Do Nots", well, I remember when All Black player Grant Fox lamented the size and negativity of the rule book. Anyway, half the time the Ref is the only one who seems to understand the technicality he is enforcing (that said, I also ponder in AFL how many of the players truly know the rules, let alone spectators.).
Carl Unger
Roar Pro
Nice article. Perhaps then the rebels should be called the Victorian Rebels? Great to see you have realised the difference between Storm (NRL) and Rebels (Super Rugby). Must have been hard to hard to understand the rules of rugby coming from an AFL background.
Al
Guest
They both have a common enemy, Rugby League, doesn't mean that they like each other or even remotely consider the other to be a viable sport. Most Aussie Rules die-hards in Victoria would not even know that league and union are different games, in NSW the rugby union toffs seem to tolerate and even embrace the AFL purely because their enemy is Rugby League (ie: the game of those unrefined, working class bogans).
simon
Guest
This is really interesting. I’m use to seeing AFL and Soccer fans fighting, or league and AFL, or Union and League (although these two seem to be getting on better these days), but I’m not use to seeing AFL and Union having a go. Usually they seem to have nothing to fight about. I hope this article doesn’t ruin a good “relationship” between the two. So far, it seems OK. Good work everyone.
jason
Guest
don't know why you put NT in there, they watch nrl
Redb
Roar Guru
I think your article is a victim of a poor title. There was no need to include AFL suggesting the game is unable to unite Victorians. At a communtity level I would argue there are few sports in the world that have been embraced by the people of one State as much as AFL footy. Yet again the AFL has the 3rd highest average attendance in the world, it is up there with impressive company as a domestic sporting competition and Melbourne/Victoria is the engine.
Onlooker
Guest
FYI - 'world' is fine. Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Melbourne retains its position as the Ultimate Sports City (2008) ahead of Berlin, Sydney, London, Vancouver, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid and Hong Kong. “Melbourne’s year round major sporting events calendar includes the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Australian Open Tennis, Boxing Day Test, Spring Racing Carnival, AFL Grand Final and the Socceroos World Cup qualifiers,” he said. The Ultimate Sports City results, published in the SportBusiness International magazine, profiled 25 cities from all parts of the world, with a review based on the importance of international and annual major sporting events hosted or awarded between the period 2004 – 2012. A competitor analysis based on a number of criteria and extensive industry surveys was then compiled on each of the 25 cities for comparison. Based on the analysis, the Ultimate Sports City ranking system used points and weightings to position the cities. The company provided a definitive list of the top 10 sports host cities with Melbourne clearly emerging as the winner to claim the title of ‘the ultimate sports city, scoring in excess of 500 points ahead of Berlin and Sydney with less than 450. November 12, 2009 Melbourne is officially the best sporting city in the world. Melbourne got the nod ahead of Berlin and Doha at the SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards, held at Lord's Cricket Ground in London today. Melbourne's sports calendar over the next two years include the Socceroos' last match on Australian soil in June before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the UCI Road World Cycling Championships next October and the 2011 Presidents Cup golf tournament, to be played at Royal Melbourne. April 28, 2010 MELBOURNE has been named the world's Ultimate Sports City for the third time, despite some tough competition from 25 other international capitals. Sydney, Singapore, Vancouver and even 2012 Olympic host London couldn't match the Victorian capital when it came to our sporting credentials. Melbourne claimed the title for the third time at the SportAccord awards ceremony in Dubai overnight.
Redb
Roar Guru
Have no problem with that.
Onlooker
Guest
watched by most aussies outside Victoria,. good ratings in WA, SA, NT and Tassie?? Just wonderin'. ;-)
jus de couchon
Guest
AFL and league have no global exposure/recognition.Australian Tennis is a fading memory as are their Cricketers new found fallibillity.Apart from Surfing and womens beach volleyball the Antipodean Shackledraggers may have to resort to Rugby.
Gab
Guest
Hi Aubrey, Interesing article and comments. Provides some good insight for the uninformed. Regarding the issue of uniting Victorians, this has proven a hurdle too big for several other sports due to the size of Victoria and the range of demographic. I am more than happy to discuss further if I randomly sit opposite you on the train home again. :)
jason
Guest
It's a bit hypocritical saying NSWelshman expect others to watch their sport but won't watch "our countries code". That's the thing, AFL isn't seen as "our code" not in NSW and certainly not in Qld. Your statement contradicts itself, assuming people should watch AFL because it's "ours".
jason
Guest
Really? I didn't know they had mines in Victoria!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
ah, well, they are indeed good judges!
The Word
Guest
Do not entirely disagree. Our own game utterly destroys either of those Rugby school invented games for entertainment. You get more action in approximately 5 minutes of our own football compared to an entire half of the rugger bugger pursuits. Having said all that I don't mind rugby union for the tactical, brutality and international honour reasons. Rugby league on the other hand is just a complete waftam. With NRL games surely you could save coin by losing the meaningless ball they use. They should look at introducing nets, ropes and the such like in Roman times.
p.Tah
Guest
I believe it was a poll conducted in The Age and the Herald Sun... :)
The Word
Guest
And not every American gives a stuff about English ball games either. In fact, the vast majority do not and see it as foreign muck.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Very well put FEAF
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
Really KOG, if you think this thread has been 'destroyed' then you clearly haven't spent much time on The Roar! This is one of the more tame, civil, inter-code debates I've seen for some time. Overall there is respect for the rebels and what they're trying to achieve, just bemusement at claims they are 'uniting' Victorians.