I must admit I have highly anticipated the draw for the Penrith Panthers between Rounds 21-26 for some time, especially given the improved performance of the Panthers on the field.
The club has also made huge strides off the field in key areas of junior development, sponsorship, merchandising, memberships and crowd growth.
When I saw the draw at the start of the season it appeared the NRL had done us no favours in regards to the allocation of days and times for home games.
To a large extent we deserved our allocation of home game times, given our poor average crowds – we were the worst ranked among Sydney clubs for home game attendances in the past seasons.
I had two problems with the Rounds 1-20.
1) In the warmest footy month of the year, March, we were allocated two games starting at 4:30pm in the afternoon and another at 5:30pm. If you have been to Penrith in March can be quite a task to sit through a game of footy in over 30 degree heat, with relatively little shade available.
The NRL really needs to look allocating these games to teams with cooler climate opportunities – generally those that are located close to the seaside such as Manly, Cronulla and St George Illawarra.
2) Our overall allocation of home games involving Sydney teams was the worst, with just five games versus other Sydney teams. Most Sydney sides have either seven or all eight derby matches.
This is critical from a revenue perspective as statistics of Penrith home game attendances from 2003-2013 suggest that on average Sydney teams bring an extra 2,500 fans through the gates. When you do the maths, it’s not hard to see what revenue opportunities Penrith misses out on versus the other Sydney clubs. Therefore, it gives the Penrith General Manager Phil Gould a sizeable excuse to take more home games away from SportingBet to recover lost revenue caused by unfair NRL scheduling alone.
Then we come to this week’s announcement of the NRL Rounds 21-26 draw. The announcement is an opportunity for the NRL to make a statement to fans in one of rugby league’s true heartlands – that you’re doing well and we want to encourage that.
When I saw we were allocate two Monday night games – both in consecutive weeks against out of town opposition the Storm and Cowboys – and a Sunday night game against the Warriors, I think the hearts and minds of many Penrith fans sank.
The NRL once again has provided terrible time slots that will hardly encourage a family-oriented fan-base, especially in a family area. The NRL yet again has failed to understand the demographics of clubs when making these decisions.
To illustrate the unfair treatment Penrith continues to get from the NRL, I have obtained a breakdown of all NRL clubs home game allocation in 2014.
Unreasonable times – Thursday, Saturday 3pm or 4:30pm, Sunday night, Monday night
Reasonable times – Friday night and Saturday 5:30pm
Appealing times – Saturday night 7:30pm and Sunday 2-3pm
The findings were as follows, which supports my view that the NRL still treats Penrith unfairly compared to other Sydney clubs.
1) Unreasonable times – PEN 8 STH 6 CRO 5 PAR 4 BUL 3 SYD 3 STI 2 WST 2 MAN 1
2) Reasonable times – MAN 7 PAR 6 SYD 5 PEN 4 STH 4 BUL 4 STI 4 CRO 3 WST 2
3) Favourable times – WST 8 STI 6 BUL 5 CRO 4 SYD 4 MAN 4 PAR 2 STH 2. Didn’t see the Panthers – wait for it, they have 0. No other NRL team has zero games in a favourable time slot.
Combine two and three together and you can start to see the revenue issues here for Penrith. This is the reason why the club will continue to look at taking games to Bathurst plus the possibility of Christchurch and Hobart in years to come:
MAN 11 WST 10 STI 10 BUL 9 SYD 9 PAR 8 CRO 7 SOU 6 and PEN just 4
Does the spike in unfavourable games translate to more free-to-air exposure? It should as it does with Souths as they get three Thursday night and three Friday night games shown free-to-air.
This hasn’t translated to Penrith, who along with last-placed Cronulla have just two free-to-air home games. Perennial out of town free-to-air strugglers the Canberra Raiders, despite coming 15th, have four free-to-air games at home in 2014.
All I can say is I hope the Panthers continue to rise in the NRL. If the NRL wants Sydney teams like Penrith to abandon its traditional fan-base for the sake of taking the game to new customer bases like Hobart, like Christchurch, why not just relocate us and be done with giving false hope?a
The RiffMarn Stew Moses
Roar Guru
The Saturday 4:30pm timeslot was designed as a temporary time during March to cater for daylight savings in Qld - that 1 hour difference made a difference to attendances at Penrith games IMO, given warmer temperatures, closure of shops at 4PM, junior sports etc. I would hence rate it as an undesirable timeslot for those reasons. Perhaps if these games were played closer to the coast in March it might be desirable to other club's fans but my view is that it isn't a time slot that is embraced by fans in Penrith. I would suggest that in March, evening games in Penrith would be a far more suitable & comfortable time for fans to attend.
Albo
Guest
As a Penrith fan, I am far less concerned about their game time scheduling than them getting a fair go from the referees in games.
George
Guest
As a Raiders supporter, I wish we were only as disadvantaged as penrith. We don't have their beaches, it's never cold there, and they get some 50/50 calls. Seriously though, the Panthers are well coached and administered and have plenty of good players, without having too many stars that will be taken away during SOO. Be happy man.
AR
Guest
I get that no fixture can be perfect, but some of this article makes no sense... Saturday 5:30pm is "reasonable"...but Saturday 4:30pm is "unreasonable"..?
Dufeyz
Guest
For the last few years i recognised that we were playing poorly, so of course having a crap team in prime time doesnt make sense for the broadcasters, or whatever. However, considering that Penrith is in the Top 4, and has been for a very long time, you would think the Draw organisers would show some brains, and organise games that are suitable for that area. As highlighted in this Atricle, many people in the Penrith Area work in the City, and often struggle to make the earlier timeslots on weekdays. I read the draw for the final 6 rounds and thought, what a shame. We don't get other Sydney rivals tigers, Manly, Roosters?(not sure about that one) at home, which obviously draw a larger crowd than out-of-town teams like Melbourne. Penrith has been dudded yet again, and if the NRL is serious they should accomodate matches for the people that attend them. All of this talk about them trying to improve crowd numbers, but apparently are powerless to do so because of TV broadcasters. Also, on another note, ANZ is too far a drive from penrith, again to make it there from work. Until Penrith Park is packing out stadiums each and every week, i wouldnt take a home game there. The Penrith District Footy Club puts a large amount of resources into the local area, and is a vital component of the community. Ask the kids in Mount Druitt how much footy means to them, and they will probably tell you its one of the only things they have. There is nothing better than going to the footy with your family, and not having to worry about school tomorrow. Or the long drive home. Hopefully next year the draw is much more reasonable, and fair across all the teams. I doubt it will happen. Apparently we all love manly, roosters and bulldogs and broncos.
Mark Ferguson
Roar Rookie
If you paid a billion dollars for the rights to telecast the NRL I am sure you would want it organised to your liking as well.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I am not sure Cowboys fans would be able to maintain a straight face when reading the line about Penrith being disadvantaged by lower away fan attendances than the other other Sydney clubs.
TheRiffMarn
Guest
That's easy to say when your club gets 7/12 Sat 7:30pm games at home a year - can Penrith have just one of those ? FYI thru my association with the game I attend between 30-40 games of NRL / NSWCUP a year - but thanks for the read / reply thou :)
TheRiffMarn
Guest
Very trivial ? Coming from a supporter whose club actually has had 4 not 1 FTA game in 2014 despite coming 15th on the ladder - I'd be happy to have your R26 5:30pm game if that time is such a shitty time slot for Raiders fans
Kingcowboy
Guest
Why is everything a problem? I watch my team play whenever they are on. What do people want? If it isn't the weather, it is the time or something else. Maybe it is all Abbot's fault? Just support your team and stop complaining about everything.
Damian
Guest
Yes this kind of thing sucks. Im so sick of watching the broncos nearly every fri night id love to end the week from work and sit down with a beer and watch the warriors play :)
Luke M
Guest
What a ridiculous idea. Let's put your Raiders at the SFS too.
turbodewd
Guest
Riffman, quality matches are 100 times more important than quantity. Penrith need to start playing some games at Homebush - Penrith Park is just too small and pov. Its not a proper stadium. Lets see how many fans the Panthers have, their next Parra game shud be at Homebush. Overall, your complaints about the Penrith draw are trivial. Very trivial. My Raiders get all the shtt timeslots like saturday 530. Also, we get about 1 FTA TV game per year. The NRL refuses to focus on quality and that is why crowds are down on last year, which in turn were down on 2012. The NRL is going sideways fast unfortunately.
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
The draw is a disgrace. It provides clubs with a better chance to win (the spacing between games, such as playing Monday and then Friday night) and a better chance to increase gate takings. How can the NRL possibly justify this. Take into account the fact that as a suburb out West half of Penrith is in a car travelling home from work on Mondays and you have managed to remove 33% of the home games from a Penrith fans schedule if they work in the city. Who did the draw? The Parramatta CEO?
MJ
Guest
On another matter, I almost fainted when I read the Broncos home game against Newcastle was scheduled to be a 530 Saturday kickoff....
ozbard
Guest
I know I am being a tad selfish but here in the U.S.A. on the west coast,the earlier time slots is the difference in watching the games live or not at all, unless of course you subscribe to the fox channel that shows replays via live stream, which incidentally cost around $130 per season. The time difference means that the later time slots of 7.30pm in Oz is live on the west coast at 2.30am. which I guess is fine for the night owls. Even at the earlier time of 5.30pm is still 12.30 am PST, not concluding until 2.30am. So my thoughts are that, even though it is my choice to live here, the earlier time slots of 2pm or 3pm suit me just fine and I am sure that applies to a lot of expatriate Aussies living here in the U,S. Personally I wish they would show more Penrith games in the earlier time slots on the weekend especially now that the weather is getting cooler over there now.
Pat Malone
Guest
Pretty sure channel 9 and fox control the draw not the nrl