Forgive me footy fans, for I have sinned. I only attended two NRL games this year, and I didn’t enjoy either of them.
I have a valid excuse, though. Being a Canberra Raiders fan absolutely blows at the moment.
Particularly when you’re watching your team wave Manly past like they’re directing traffic at a rain-sodden Brookvale Oval, or the Sydney Roosters coasting to victory in neutral at a desolate SFS.
There was a three-game Raiders membership that I had every intention of using, but Ricky and the boys gave me little encouragement to drive three hours down the Hume full of hope, then turn around and drive home from Canberra Stadium wondering how that eight hours of my life could have been better utilised.
I did take in five Newtown Jets games at Henson Park, but that’s as much about the cultural experience as it is a day at the football. Plus you can be guaranteed the home team will turn up, and the choice of establishments to retire to after the final hooter rattles across the field is far more salubrious than Mooseheads in the nation’s capital.
Then there’s State of Origin, Game 2 of which my crew and I debated long and hard the relative merits of attending this year. We’re all working professionals with no dependents, but the consensus was we couldn’t justify spending $110-ish for tickets that were closer to $50 three years earlier.
A hundred-plus clams for a Metallica concert? Sure. For a Pink Floyd reunion? Here, have my wallet. But not to attend an event that rolls through my city 1.5 times a year. (Though given New South Wales winning a series only happens every nine years, perhaps it deserved the special event price tag.)
Now the finals are on, the Raiders are gone, Origin dynasties are shattered, and NRL crowds still have some journos and supporters ready to raise the terror threat levels to High.
I didn’t go last weekend because I was house hunting and working and don’t really care for any Sydney teams. I won’t be going this weekend because I’m moving house and working and all of the people I’d normally drag along to watch the Cowboys school the Roosters have plans.
I won’t be going to the prelims next weekend because I’ll be in Queensland. And I likely won’t go to the grand final unless it’s a Panthers-Cowboys decider because, quite frankly, f**k Sydney teams. (Oh alright, the Bunnies are also tolerable.)
The NRL should be doing more to get fans to games, apparently. I read it all the time so it must be true. But what is this ‘more’ they speak of? Playing games at well-appointed stadia? Adult general admission tickets for $25 and $50 for families? Manly getting mercilessly thumped?
All of this happened last Friday night when the Rabbitohs made my Expert tipping credentials look incredibly shaky – 25,000-odd showed up, and much fun was had by all but Manly fans.
I enjoyed the spectacle all the same, as I did when a roaring crowd of 23,000 and Jamie Soward turned a scrappy affair into a finals classic the following evening.
These crowds are neither here nor there. They’re not stupendous. They’re not a sign the four horsemen have entered the barriers. They’re merely workmanlike – the Dave Tyrrell and Remi Casty of crowd figures – and nowhere near as hysteria-inducing as your average edition of Question Time. Maybe workmanlike is rugby league’s lot in life.
But if I was able to put some meat on the bones of the mythical ‘more’ that the NRL should be doing to get me along to more games?
Dave Smith and his mates at Moore Park could start by conspiring to make the Canberra Raiders a powerhouse once more, playing out of Henson Park every other weekend so I could walk there and back, kick off every game at 3pm Saturday in perfect winter sunshine, serve craft beer in cans and book what’s left of Pink Floyd as the house band, playing Bad and Mean Green Machine in the style of Money whenever a try is scored.
Or they could teleport Lang Park to the centre of Sydney, and my dad, brother and uncle with it, so it could be the hub of our family catch-ups as it was from 1983-2010, with a brief flirtation with QEII in the middle there somewhere that isn’t spoken about in polite company.
Even then, with all of the ‘more’ taken care of, I’d have to consult my calendar. Because going to the footy is just a part of my life, not the entire point of it.
Freddy
Guest
time to admit 2 new teams - a second brisbane team and a team from either cetral qld/nze/perth - 2 groups - one all 9 sydney teams and one all 9 non sydney teams - teams play the other teams in their group twice and the teams in the other group once - 26 rounds- 13 home and away matches - top 4 in each group playing off against the other groups top 4 - either 30 week season - byes would have to be factured in - the comp will need to start a tad earlier in that case - 2 weeks?
ranga
Guest
Yeah but it's ok to put in 10 million + for GWS that play 6 games a season in Sydney and then gets millions to play in Canberra. But Nth QLD deserve nothing even though they have played all their games in Townsville since inception back in 1995. Good one xman, good one.
Xman
Guest
NRL putting $10m into Townsville - I would like to see that for 13 games a season - must be an election soon...
scott
Guest
Yeah, if we sell 30000 pies at every game every week there won't be any entrants left for the Melbourne Cup!
Kepu
Guest
Mushi from NRL Central Masters has written about this confection before but your over-reaction suggests that I have struck a nerve...Both sets of commentators said it was blatantly forward and Hayne still gets a game...work it out for yourself - imagine a GF being decided by incompetent refereeing or worse...
clipper
Guest
Ranga - yes, apologies - it was the way Roadkill Madge typed it 'and NZtv lost 3.6 million viewers' - reading it again, I can see that there should be no comma after channel 9 - still the link does say 'whopping 21%, which can't please those that want a second NZ team.
ranga
Guest
Clipper, you need to read it again because you are making things up again or you can't read, which is it? http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-suffers-another-hit-as-tv-ratings-down-for-the-second-year-in-a-row/story-fnp0lyn3-1227054536927 3.6 million across Australia and New Zealand in 2014 And in New Zealand, where the Warriors failed to make the finals for the third straight season, ratings were down a whopping 21 per cent from 12 months ago. ......................................................................................... No where did it say the ratings in New Zealand were down 3.6 million. More wishful trolling.
ranga
Guest
The NRL lost no one roadkill. Lost no one at all, in fact they actually gained people instead of so called TV ratings. Last year over 2 million downloads, I bet it's around 3.5 million this year. That's actual money the NRL gets because of the GOOD contract they worked out with Telstra that allows the NRL to not only get $150 million from Telstra, they get a share of whatever it is they make when the millions, and I mean millions of people have downloaded their app! Nice aye? Now trolloff!
Birdy
Guest
What is wrong with NRL crowds has become NRL verses ther rest. I've only just got onto this site (roar) and really enjoy it . My first venture into social media . All the facts and figures , stats , quotes . It seems like most of you on this subject have only just discovered your google. So how about we all move onto the next topic , and leave your googles alone
ranga
Guest
http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/sport/digital_deal_scores_with_nrl_fans_CQwsOpbSTLIAvKxhnLbZXJ Traffic to the National Rugby League’s website and mobile phone and tablet apps has surged in the first year of the sport’s joint venture with Telstra. The Australian Rugby League Commission signed a $150 million five-year deal with Telstra late last year that included the establishment of the NRL digital media unit. Under the terms of the joint venture, the NRL and Telstra broadcast at least six NRL games live each week and up to two on delay – those broadcast by Nine Entertainment Co – on mobile phones and tablets. The digital media unit also produces editorial and video content for the NRL website and some club sites. There have been more than 2 million downloads of the new NRL Live app on smartphones and iPad, and more than 1 million video views on the app alone. Video views on NRL.com have more than doubled to 1.6 million compared with the same time in the 2012 season, and the site is averaging 600,000 unique browsers every month. The time spent by individual users on the website is up 27 per cent in 2013 compared with last year, while time spent on the NRL’s relaunched mobile site network has increased by 40 per cent. The NRL’s director of commercial and marketing, Paul Kind, is satisfied with the figures but believes there is significant room for improvement. ................................................................................................................................................................. Just in case you missed it Roadkill Madge.
ranga
Guest
LOL conchie, isn't north melbourne the same team the swans played in a final at anz years ago and got 18,000? Yeah, it was.
ranga
Guest
Hey roadkill, this is from last year. http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/sport/digital_deal_scores_with_nrl_fans_CQwsOpbSTLIAvKxhnLbZXJ There have been more than 2 million downloads of the new NRL Live app on smartphones and iPad, and more than 1 million video views on the app alone. Video views on NRL.com have more than doubled to 1.6 million compared with the same time in the 2012 season, and the site is averaging 600,000 unique browsers every month. NUMBERS TIPPED TO RISE NEXT YEAR However, Kind says the site and the apps should prove more popular next year, the second of the five-year contract with Telstra. .................................................................................................................................... Roadkill Madge and your mates in here and every other RL thread, can I just say I'm glad we finally sorted out where channel 9 and fox sports viewers have gone, yes, all 3 million of them out of 140,000,000 total viewers for the year. Some people, well Millions as from last year are watching RL on other things besides their TV's :)
mushi
Guest
I struggle to see your cruise ship analogy carnival cruises return what 5% on capital and airlines are hampered by competing with government sponsored entities that care about secondary benefits
mushi
Guest
I've re read you post 7 times and see nothing of relevance as to why the evolution in meeting modern needs should be focused on in person attendance rather than more widespread consumption.
ranga
Guest
There are Four NRL clubs out in West Sydney, who do you suggest will the Giants be bigger than conchie? LOL
conchie
Roar Rookie
yep, lets see how the Swans go over last 18 years, half of GWS membership ( or a significant portion) is in Canberra, a bit much to ask them to consistently turn up to Spotless stadium. IMO in 5 years time GWS wilol be on par with the NRL teams out west and in some cases bigger and stronger.
Davo
Guest
I wonder how many of their memberships were for full season ticket holders. Easy to claim big membership numbers when you include 3 game passes.. Just look at their averages. They claim to have sold more than 13k memberships but avg only 9k per game. So either a large proportion of their members couldn't be bothered to attend their games or they sold no single ticket games nor had walk ups. What will it be?? It's normal to think that a club at home will get 80% of their members turning up plus a reasonable % of single game tickets sold. Neither is the case with the Giants. Unless their true membership figures (the one's that count ie full season ticket holders) were closer to 4k which is being reported. Let's see where $200m will land them in 18 years time. So far the first 2 years have been a joke.
mushi
Guest
So is this an annually determined ammount with consideration given to how far off the average wage they are? If not it is BS
mushi
Guest
Though you have a point - I've been watching every single second of rugby league since 1908 (it did take a hefty investment in a flux capacitor and tracking down a burnt out delorian) and never in the history of the game has a referee not deliberately trying to alter the outcome of the game missed a forward pass. I concede your monumental weight of evidence of the conspiracy has overwhelmed me.
mushi
Guest
Well if "john" said something at 9:31 it must be right everyone knows john is a 9:31pm oracle... Just it as well it wasn't pete, because we all know we can't trust pete