NRL: The frustrated fans must be heard

Players dont want to play in the NSW cup, under 20's is seen as the 2nd grade comp, with nsw cup below that, doesnt that sound ridiculous ??, they televise under 20's games on foxtel, and play them before NRL games, but NSW cup and QLD cup dont get a look in at all, and the 2nd string players play in it, nah the structure is flawed, there is no reason for the NSW cup to serve as reserve, it needs to be under 20's, 2nd grade, 1st grade, its the most realistic option for development, rather then having them play in the under 20's than promoting them into park footy

Too right Arnold. Having a reserve grade instead of NSW and Qld Cup comps would bring no direct benefit and upset a lot of fans in both states. Not mention the cost of every NRL club for an extra 25 players (wages, transport, gear, etc) and having to open venues 2 hrs earlier (ground staff wages, etc) for the handful of people watching. And all done to achieve... what was it again that this would provide which the current structure does not?

Rodney - the average crowd attendance for the Bears in 1999 was 9,217. And also don't forget that at the time the construction of Bluetongue was delayed and the NRL wouldn't let the Bears play out of North Sydney Oval for the first half of the season which resulted in 'home' games at venues like Parra, Suncorp and ANZ which resulted in crowd attendances in between 3-7k. Does that sound like a fair way to judge the success of a team? Also in regards to the Northern Eagles, crowds dropped off in 2002 because it was clear the Manly faction didn't want to be there and the team was divided. The CC community didn't want a team that didn't want to be there. In saying that, the average home crowd attendance of the Northern Eagles for 2002 was still 9,331.

Unfortunately, the reasons you provide for the Bears losing their NRL license are completely wrong. They didn't upgrade their grandstand because they built an ENTIRELY NEW stadium in an expansion area. Because of this, in their last season they had to take a lot of home games on the road because the stadium wasn't finished in time. This accounts for the low crowd numbers you cite. The bears were kicked out because the administration was incompetent (you may remember they thought it would be a good idea to kick out a little club called the Rabbitohs - now the biggest club ins Sydney). Instead of having a team playing in a modern stadium in an expansion area, they decided it was more appropriate to keep smaller suburban Sydney clubs. Their criteria was all wrong!

Well they had just built a brand new stadium on the Central Coast that they planned to move into in 2000.

Totally agree and I've brought this point up before, but have you been to WIN stadium? It's shocking and on the cold beachfront. Woolongong is one of the best suppliers of Rugby League talent in the country and they're mad on the game. Build a better stadium, keep them in Woolongong.

Never thought of it like that AR, Sportsfan go Jump. Not everyone is addicted to thier Mobile and have a life.

WHy is that? crowds in wollongong have never been better than Kogarah, the area could not sustain a club financially and had to be lent money by the st george club which has only now been paid back.

Oh no we cant take league to the west coast...... well i spent 3 years in Perth Wa, League already has a good Junior base in Wa, Canberra just signed a local Wa kid to their reserves... the reason the bears where dropped from the Nrl is because their fans didn't do enough when they needed to. the criteria to stay in the comp. 1: an up graded modern grand stand & field FAILED 2: a good crowed attendance FAILED 3: funding & stability PASS = 1 / 3 the people of the CC had a chance and blew it. they just didnt give a dam.. so whats changed ? and before any one rips me a new one i use to follow the bears... but im a realest and want whats best for the game. And that is for the game to expand into other states, the Afl doses this because they know if you dont grow you die. my house mate from Perth is a Waiting the return of the Reds, he became a fan of rugby league when Brad Mackay visited his school at the age of 9 and has followed League every since this is how the west will be won.

Gallen played 14 games this year, they won 7 of them. In one of those games he played 4 minutes. 50% win rate with Gallen They won a further 7 games without him. 7 out of 10. a 70% win rate. I've often thought he does more damage then good. No good having someone make 200m a game in 50 hit ups, when someone can make the same in 10, but is starved off possession by person 1. But I would like to see a shorter origin period. I would like a national competition (SA and WA) - but believe that another team in Qld and regional NSW should come first. As a dragon supporter (who lives too far away to go to the games) I feel that the decision to play more games at the big venues nect year is the right one. The AFL did this a few year ago and has now got 2 of the best stadiums in the world, whereas we are spreading our money around smaller sydney grounds (I hope Brooky never gets upgraded, not because I hate manly, but because I believe the sydney teams need to rationalise a bit more. I think they wasted money on Kogarah and Illawarra. I also believe that they need to get the public transport infrastructure right first so the big stadiums are accessable. Reserve Grade -no get a 2nd tier competition, with clubs that don't act as feeders. The channel nine announcement last year promised 2 hours of football every nite. They didn't do that. That is a contract breach. Get rid of nine

A 4 week NRL break in the middle of the season for Origin....Clubs can freshen up and be ready for the run home.....Players go into camp for a month and games are played on a Friday night.... NSW B and QLd B side are also picked and play before the main game....Good stepping stone for players like Reynolds and would be very entertaining.....NZ play their own Origin series and i'm not to familiar with the land scape but a North V South Island type system that could be played and televised live on a Saturday night.This could work well to grow the game in NZ.....The winners of both origins can play each other 2 weeks after the NRL GF. I hope no clubs fold for the sake of the Loyal fans etc but if the Sharks for example are no longer viable then maybe they could play half their games at the Central Coast,keep the same colours and call themselves the Coastal Sharks....Second Brisbane team is a must.

I somewhat agree with you both above but would add this: The best way to find out what sport is 'making' it at the moment is to check the only state paper, the West Australian. It pretty much replicates what you will find on WA based websites. Its a good barometer to see what importance we place on what sports. For example, Football and the Perth Glory is rarely ever found on the back page. normally you are looking in at least 4-5 pages before you find it. The recent AFL trades.. thats it.. not actual games just trades.. made the back page. Basketball (Both sports pull equivalent crowds) gets a mention and then most of the time thats because of the winning streak the local teams were on. The local media for a while did have an obsession with the Western Farce. That has somewhat cooled off however.

Is this a reply to my post ? If it is then the lack of concrete draw is probably a symptom of the Ch 9 take-over of QLD Cup broadcast from the ABC. They seem to be renowned for a "fluid" draw according to their needs. As for comparing to RU, I don't know, but if yopu are planning your trips based on the QLD Cup then at least you only have to worry about travelling around one state !

we have to be mindful that the competition is so strong at the moment because we probably have the right amount of teams. Throw in a few more and perhaps we find some perennial cellar dwellers to join parramatta, who have recently emerged as candidate for this tag even in the current state of the game.

"The main drama will be getting anything like a fair crack from the WA press, which is utterly AFL-besotted and obsessed." may be true with traditional media formats but the landscape is changing and league fans and others are taking to other forms of receiving their news. In this case, content, content, content will see enough league info out there.

How about releasing the 2014 draw so we can plan our trips.. the season has nearly started...The Rugby Championship draw is out and it starts in August...

Pot Stirrer - You are kidding right? If you enjoy watching replays and delayed coverage then good for you. The consumer of today and future demands everything as it happens be it news, weather, sport etc If you were running a news service providing yesterday's news you would be out of business very shortly, same goes with sport. Don't expect your current customer base to continue putting up with sub standard broadcast arrangements from the 90's, they will switch off as they did this year during the NRL season. Time to update the broadcast model and stop acting like dinosaurs about it.

It is one of the few true real time draw cards on television. We are increasingly downloading and/or recording TV shows, which reduces the value of advertisements shown, but we do watch live sport. You may not worry about delays etc but for the majority of the sports watching world it does seem to be a hurdle

When you're sitting at home and getting live updates, scores & replays popping up on your smartphone, ipad and news bulletin, you'll feel less inclined to watch the delayed version, especially if you already know the score. Delayed telecast used to be acceptable, but mark my words, it will be considered an antiquated relic in a few years' time. "Live" will be the standard.

I don't watch the NSW Cup ( I live in NQ ) but my fav league is the QLD Cup & I think you would have a hard time convincing anyone that playing direct second fiddle (as a reserve grade) would benefit those clubs. They are already affiliated across the board to NRL clubs, yet they operate in their own home areas with their own home fans. The players have a direct line to first grade footy, fans get to see top class action & from what I see & hear, it's all going along very nicely. The comp has adjusted with teams changing over the years, but is going to be part of the vanguard with PNG coming on board as part of their push to eventually be in the NRL. Reserve grade might work better in Sydney, where the teams are closer together etc, & as I don't know, could anyone enlighten us to the strength of the NSW Cup ?