Rugby league returns to its unquestionable home this Friday night as the table topping Manly Sea Eagles take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The SCG has hosted more than 1100 top flight rugby league premiership matches and this Friday night’s match promises to be of the highest quality.
It also offers a possible look forward to September and possibly October, with many rugby league experts tipping both sides to line up against each other in the grand final.
The situation surrounding the match ironically draws a number of similarities with the 1970 and 1971 South Sydney premiership seasons.
In 1970, South Sydney not only finished with the minor premiership but also with a grand final victory over the Manly Sea Eagles. The Clive Churchill-coached and John Sattler-captained side won 23-12 in front of more than 53,000 people at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The following year, Manly would go on to win the minor premiership only to lose to South Sydney in the first week of the finals and again to St. George the following week. Souths went on to win their second consecutive premiership in front of an overflowing crowd of 63,000 people, which until now is their last success in the NRL.
South Sydney fans will undoubtedly be hoping for a similar result this Friday night and in September and October as they look to break their premiership drought.
With the current NRL season being plagued by off-field incidences, poor crowds and refereeing blunders, the match this is shaping up to be of increased significance leading into the NRL finals.
After a poor turnout from Bulldogs and Panthers supporters last Friday at ANZ Stadium, the NRL will be hoping for a large turnout at the newly redeveloped SCG, which hosts a fixture rich in history.
With no other major sporting events taking place in Sydney, a big crowd should flock to the ground to see both teams battle it out. South Sydney will want to keep the pressure on Manly for the minor premiership, while a win for Manly will all but secure top spot and give Geoff Toovey the opportunity to rest some key players leading to the finals.
A big crowd is all but expected this Friday night right? No.
This is where the NRL seems to be struggling in my opinion. Games such as this promise to be of the highest quality and are extremely rich in history. The NRL should be actively promoting the game based on these two criteria.
Don’t get me wrong, the NRL has done an exceptional job this year working closely with clubs to ensure that the crowd average goal put in place by NRL CEO Dave Smith is achieved, but based on the attendances of several matches the assumption that games between two high quality opposition will draw large crowds can all but be dismissed.
Many of the games that have been promoted vigorously by the NRL and clubs this year have been games that the NRL has come to expect small crowds from and thus they have tried to increase attendances.
Fortunately for the NRL many of these matches have attracted larger than expected crowds, but it appears that matches that would normally attract large crowds have been forgotten and ignored in terms of the NRL’s marketing campaign.
Hence, many fans and critics are questioning the NRL’s ability to successfully promote and achieve large crowds.
Last weekend’s match, in which third and fourth faced off, proved detrimental to the game as many fans decided to stay at home rather than travelling to watch a battle for outright second. The poor crowd could be blamed on a number of factors, but none of them were down to the quality or competitiveness. Just two wins separate fourth to 12th on the table and mathematically the top 13 sides could all still make the top eight.
From this it is easy to note that the quality of rugby league being played is not to blame for some reasonably poor crowds so far this season.
Friday proves a huge challenge to the NRL. With the match to be played at the SCG, the NRL will be hoping for a big crowd to try and pave a way to the finals series that is fast approaching.
If a big crowd turns out to watch the match between South Sydney and Manly, you can be sure that Saturday’s back page will be focused on the individuals that created moments of brilliance or that match winning field goal.
Let’s hope the NRL can avoid making the back page of the newspaper for all the wrong reasons, as was evident in last Saturday’s criticism of the turnout to ANZ Stadium. And let’s hope the referee’s can stay out of the headlines for one week too.
What do you think Roarers, will this Friday night’s match at the SCG draw in a large crowd or will the NRL be left scratching its head once more?
Xman
Guest
The gaME WILL get a reasonable crowd because the the SCG only members get their only RL game of the year but Robbie soap opera continues - how did a sook like that become captain...
paul craggie
Guest
The zenith for Rugby League came I believe when the Daily Telegraph featured a copy of an x-ray of Gary Jack's broken arm in the mid 80's. I found it incredulous then as now that a major newspaper would publish it on the front page. AFL had just kicked off north of the border but Rugby League was still the only game in town back then. I knew that professional Rugby would one day change that and so, bit by bit it is but did not anticipate the rapid rise of football as well that came on the back of Australia's record boom in immigration (the fastest in the Western World over the last twenty years) or for that matter the inept administering that has blighted the game since the days of Super League. AFL for the most part is well run. Football has devolved from it's enthnic origin's and threatens to dwarf all before it and Rugby, since it's reintroduction to the Olympic movement is one of the fastest growing team sports in the world. In addition to this competition, the media landscape is evolving as never before providing audiences with an almost endless array of entertainment options. It augur's badly for Rugby League, a game that can neither claim with any confidence to be Australia's game as do the AFL or to have a substantial enough footprint worldwide to maintain the same level of significance in the hearts and minds of Australian audiences, at least north of the Murray, as it once did.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
How are those FTA TV ratings by those sports you say are doing better than the NRL clubs? Clipper, you peddle the same hate. Ive seen you support A league, Union & AFL. You obviously hate rugby league. Do us a favour and just leave it. In 2015 TV ratings in Sydney NRL 1 the rest daylight. Merchandise NRL 1, the rest day light, Social Media NRL 1, the rest day light. Origin crowds 1 the rest 2, 3, 4....Don't tell the full picture will you.
Champ
Guest
Manly fans wont travel and the SCG is the pits for rectangular footy codes - are they serious?? Elevating crowds by running charity games for injured footy players is the pits. In june they said they had a plan to boost crowds post SOO and super heroes and tragically injured heroes seemed to be it...
Epiquin
Guest
Woah. That comment was supposed to say "it would be great if we had a respected journo to talk sip the game instead of knocking it down!" Damn iPhone. People probably think I'm a weirdo.
Flick
Roar Rookie
How can the SCG work for a rectangular game, surely this will have RL people up in arms.
Marco
Guest
Make the players dress up in super heroes outfits again. (Cringe) !
Phil
Guest
Dont you people understand - Its not about getting more people to the game thats important, so long as they are at home in front of a TV set watching the game. Channel 9 and Fox are the real bosses of the NRL
clipper
Guest
Johnno - could the reason you find this year's NRL boring be that all the other sports in Sydney are doing so well and playing with flair. The Swans have had a few exciting games and are getting huge crowds, the Waratahs have starred in one of the greatest super Rugby matches and have played with style. WSW had a great season too. Next year could have the crowd averages with Swans 1st, Waratahs 2nd WSW 3rd and an NRL club 4th - who would've ever thought that was possible in Sydney 30 years ago, such has been the diversity of sport here at the moment.
Epiquin
Guest
It would be great if we had a respected hour I who actually talked up the game, instead if knocking it down.
Epiquin
Guest
Thanks Wabbit. I couldn't quite remember the details. A very respectable crowd indeed however, my article, which was written before the game, was about how little promotion there was in the lead up. The good crowd seemed to be in spite of this.
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Epiquin, that Souths v Melbourne game was in 2012 on a Saturday night and drew a respectable 32 000 +
Football United
Guest
The SCG's time with Rugby League was a fond memory but it's over. There are actual rectangular stadiums in the City now and while it would be a great exercise in nostalgia there was no need to move this away from a clubs home ground.
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Hopefully we'll get a good crowd Friday, but how many Sea Eagle supporters will travel on a Friday night ? Once again, if this game was on a Sunday afternoon in the sun, there could be 35 - 40 000. Johnno, in your post you say crowds keep plummeting. That's not quite right. Prior to last weekend the overall crowd numbers were up slightly compared to last year. The issue is that some games like the Easter Monday's Tigers v Eels game which drew 50 000+ are helping to boost the average, making up for several sub 10 000 crowds. Last weekend was very poor. 3 games which should have drawn 18 - 20 000 each, averaged under 13 000 per game. Last year was similar. Some well attended games boosting the average. I think we need to see how we can make every game, even team 15 v team 16 at least 10 000 + We keep reading how the game should be less boring, how players were much more skillful in the past and the game was much more unpredictable. In 1983 we had teams like Parramatta and Manly among others with exciting skillful backlines, we had shoulder charges, biff, contested scrums and cheaper prices -- all things people say are missing from the game now -- yet crowds for the regular season averaged less than 7 000 ! That's the lowest average at least in the last 60 years. Why ? When even back in 1968 the average was over 12 000.
jamesb
Guest
Sadly this game may only get less then 15,000, where in fact it should be getting 35,000. The NRL is awful when it comes to promoting its own game.
nerval
Guest
You're right, Epiquin. The NRL not only doesn't promote games but appears to have a large minority among its own journalists who promote other sports at rugby league's expense! And delight in doing so. If only rugby league had a cheerleader such as Peter "Fitzy" Fitzsimons who unashamedly used his "bully pulpit" at the Sydney Morning Herald to drum up support for the Waratahs at the weekend. It was stirring stuff - and it seemed to work. The game's governing body, in association with these two great clubs, should be looking to sell every single SCG ticket. This fixture has everything going for it.
Epiquin
Guest
I just don't know why the NRL doesn't promote games. Clubs have a decent go at it on social media and the like, but the NRL seems to do vee little. Where are the TV adverts or newspaper spreads? Sometimes I think watching from home is purely the default and a little nudge will get the fans to the ground. I wrote a similar article on this last year (or maybe the year before. I'm not sure) when Souths and Melbourne played each other in round 6. Both teams were undefeated and it would be a battle for outright first. But there was absolutely no promotion and nobody was talking about it. What's the deal?
Johnno
Guest
This year has been the worst NRL season ever. Never have i watched so few matches or cared. Only games I watched all season as a Sydneysider was SOO game 1 and 2. I've not watched 1 NRL game all year, I feel like a bandwagon fan now. I watched quite a few roosters games last year, the roosters crowd figures are down 33%. Never seen a year where so many clubs in crisis all in 1 year. Raiders,Sharks,Titans,Manly,Knights,Tigers,Dragons, all have had woes for all sorts of reasons eg going broke, off field woes,coaching,infighting. If the NRL crowds keep plumetting next year, good luck getting a $1billion dollar tv deal. -Bring back the shoulder charge, and don't make a biff automatic -Reward the minor premiers more eg allow them 1 extra interchange player or 11 interchanges per match not 10, but level terms in the "Grand Final" -Make sure the right calls are made on expansion which 2 or 3 clubs get in -Bring back contested scrums, have drop-kick off's like rugby union and the 9's, allow 1 on 1 strips in 2 man tackles, allow contesting for the play the ball, -scrap the 7th tackle if the ball goes dead, just re-start from 40m -Stop letting channel 9 boss you round, man up Just make the rules more exciting, and less predictable, such a boring season, last year had many bad boring games, and SBW saved the season a bit, but this year has been so boring. -Make the marquee players promote the sport more, SBW hardly been sighted all year
nerval
Guest
The SCG attendance record is not for cricket but for rugby league and, with the current capacity being something like 48000, that's the way it's going to stay. South Sydney fans had better start believing that this year could be the one to break their 4-decades drought and turn out in force at this famous old ground. They should be able to fill it on their own - although it would be nice to see some Manly fans there too. I'm sure there can be found plenty of reasons not to go and rather to sit at home and watch the game on the TV but part of watching world class sport on the box is bound up with the setting, the occasion, the atmosphere. Acres and acres of empty seats, in the heartland of the game, between two great and famous clubs doesn't bear thinking about. Watching the reigning premiers, the Roosters, play before so many empty plastic blue seats makes for excruciating television. How can the NRL and its fans ever hope to see the game expand when the people of Melbourne and Perth and Adelaide and, well, even Sydney (with the Swans) see so many (ostensible) rugby league fans not bother to show up for their own game's blockbusters. It sends a terribly debilitating image. Here's what Richard Hinds has to say on the subject - http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/richard-hinds-manlysouth-sydney-scg-blockbuster-the-ultimate-test-of-nrls-spoilt-fans/story-fni3fh9n-1227013175660