The past two seasons, the Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans have been woeful. Their numerous hidings have seen crowd numbers drop, and led to calls for these clubs to move elsewhere.
This is a horrible idea. The Gold Coast Suns AFL franchise is averaging over 17,000 fans because they are doing well. The Gold Coast Titans are averaging 13,000.
The Suns are doing well and could make the AFL finals for the first time in their four-year history. When the Titans were doing well in 2009 and 2010 they were averaging 20,000. But they didn’t have the Suns breathing down their neck.
If the Titans do well in 2015 will they get crowds back over 20,000? Can they keep the Suns from stealing too many fans? If they can perform well and attract a couple of big name players for their spine then they will go well. But at the moment the likes of Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Daniel Mortimer, Matt Srama and Will Zillman aren’t cutting it.
The first step is signing a good coach. But another way is to get the fans out there to stop the AFL taking over NRL territory.
The Canberra Raiders this year have been a joke. They have conceded 50+ on several occasions including back-to-back matches.
In 2013 they punted Dave Furner in favour of Ricky Stuart – a step in the wrong direction. They got rid of a coach who was getting some wins to sign a bloke who won a wooden spoon. This has resulted in the lack of big name signings and crowd figures of just over 9000 this year.
This is not helped by the fact that the GWS Giants play three games a year in the nation’s capital, with the Giants getting better as the Raiders get worse. Furthermore, the Raiders have to contend with the high-flying Brumbies in the Super Rugby.
Low crowd figures are leading to calls for the Raiders to move elsewhere. This is utterly moronic.
There needs to be a cost of living allowance, similar to the AFL’s. The Raiders also need a decent coach to attract some big name players.
Then they will become successful and get crowds to over 15,000 on a consistent basis.
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