When I was eight years old I watched a Broncos game on TV and saw Alfie Langer play. From that day on I was hooked, I had a hero and become a huge rugby league fan.
Living in country NSW I copped stick for supporting a Brisbane team, but like many other kids, Alfie inspired me.
Later in life I lived in Brisbane and worked with a guy who had a Raiders flag above his desk. He had never been to Canberra but was a huge fan because when he was a kid he fell in love with a big unit named Mal Meninga.
The best thing the NRL can do to increase its fan-base and turn some casual observers into huge fans, members, Foxtel subscribers, and internet forum contributors is to market more of the teams and more of the players.
We need to move away from the supposed surefire ratings winners on free-to-air to having all teams given an equal piece of free-to-air. Each Friday there is very little variation, it is the same players we see running around in the same few teams.
Only 30 per cent of households have Foxtel. My guess is that few households that have young children aren’t also forking out for Foxtel.
The NRL needs to market all the teams and all the players through free-to-air. This will create new fans who stick. Young kids in Queensland probably can’t stay up late enough to watch the inevitable delayed South Sydney game on a Friday night. We are missing the opportunity for young kids to become huge fans of players they just click with.
We watch a game and a player will do something magical, or something brave, or put in a big effort. Even though the player isn’t a genetic freak like Sonny Bill Williams, we become fans of these players.
Please NRL and Channel Nine, show some different teams in your prime time slots, there are people out their ready to become Shaun Johnson fans, or Jarrod Croker fans, and fans of teams in towns they have never been to before.
adelaideWill
Guest
Can you stream it to a TV or do you need to watch it on your Apple watch?
adelaideWill
Guest
For most of the year the games were not shown at all but later in the season the Friday night first game was shown at 11.30pm and the second at 1.30am and the Sunday was not shown. The NRL sent me a promotional email to tell me that the finals series will be shown on FTA at normal times..Yah!
Dogforlife
Guest
Not exactly accurate, Jordan like Gretzky, Bradman, and few others were absolute freaks of their chosen sports and are names recognised well beyond the boundaries of their own domain. By 1990 Jordan did more for Nike shoes in Australia than any single other factor for my generation but I'm that old channel ten was probably still channel 0
The Link
Guest
Great comment 'wot'. Only problem is rugby league is the sport that literally built Foxtel from its inception. Start with 30% and go north and then some. Cheap shots like this might play well in the Rugby forums, but you've got nothing on this one. But hatred of Rugby League is very strong in some.
Dale Chaffey
Roar Rookie
Too right and at the end of the day it is just not fair. Just like in life the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The NRL needs to do something in regards to this before some clubs possibly drift slowly towards dying.
david
Guest
We dont have an even slary because of 3rd party payments. Broncos are paying their players as lot more than the raiders and sharks are.
Dale Chaffey
Roar Rookie
just examples, 88 or 89 it was when I watched the Broncs, they didnt win a grand final till 1992..granted that wasnt a huge time, but they weren't exactly powerhouses in that time. The lesser followed teams is not completely down to performance. Much has to do with marketing and exposure. we have a salary cap so there is an even playing field on salaries, but we dont have an even playing ground in regards to exposure on FTA, so therefore the "lesser" teams don't have a chance to catch up.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
no idea srry
Dale Chaffey
Roar Rookie
thats actually a good reason why some teams should have more saturday night games haha give the broncos more at a cost of some fridays so some people can make it in from toowoomba etc
ranga
Guest
I don't see why ch9 refuse to show Sunday live with the option of a qld team playing, it doesn't have to be bronconight every Friday. Wow, could you imagine clicking on the idiot box on a Friday night and seeing Canberra vs the Warriors or the Sharks vs anyone? They could still have a qld team beamed back each week once as they do now, it's only a change of day. The broncos managed a 44,000 average when they used to play all their games during the day time. Anyway, it doesn't have to be the damn Broncos each week on either Friday or Sunday, there are 3 QLD sides and two are getting screwed royally!
mushi
Guest
Its odd that in the open paragraphs you mention the two power houses of the era as some justification as to why lesser followed/successful teams should be shown to build support.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
So sick and tired of Friday nite broncos, you know soon as the ad comes on its going to be broncos before they say it, time to play titans and cowboys Friday nite in equal measures to the broncos for the qld game, for gods sake give us some relief from the BRONCOTHON!
davey
Guest
Precisely this. I was born in 86 and watched my first game at 5 years old (was a Parra game, all I remember). I became a Knights fan after picking them for their underdog status in the 97 final and stuck with them ever since. In those 5-6 years prior I didn't follow a particular team I followed players and the game more as a whole. Back then you got the friday night game at 8.30 and the sunday arvo game. For me as a kid it didn't matter which teams were playing, I would watch the games and whoever was playing that was good enough for me. I became fans of names, rather than teams. Renouf, Hancock, Nandruku, Daley, Stuart, Pollamounta, Dymock, I could go on for ages just listing the names that I loved watching back then. As a kid, for me at least, it was names not teams. I'm still like that to a degree now, but the Knights are first and foremost as an older fan, when it comes to them I don't just appreciate the players but the affairs of the club are important to me too. Side note: if you want your team to get more channel 9 games then apparently you need to have the NRL take over their affairs, happened to us after Tinkler and suddenly we were on 9 two weeks in a row. Seems to me the NRL might have some power in that regard after all.
E-Meter
Guest
I admit I'm generally computer illiterate, besides basic operations. Have heard a lot about VPN. How do you access this?
Timber Tim
Guest
its why from another sport I support the Portland Timbers. From the antics of Timber Jim to now Timber Joey cutting off a slab of wood after each goal celebration. Plus my name being Tim it rolls of the tongue.
The Barry
Roar Guru
What time were the games shown in Adelaide?
The Barry
Roar Guru
I thought the Cowboys got saturday nights so people in outlying areas could get to the game?
rob
Guest
I agree with everyone here. The broncos need to play on the same level playing field as everyone else.
Dale Chaffey
Roar Rookie
Yeah that is well and good for those of us who are already fans. We know what we want to watch and will figure out how to get it. What we need is to be bringing in new fans and creating new fans and exposing the game and its players to a broader audience so they get on board. It all starts with getting the kids hooked and wanting posters of their faveorite players on their walls.
Roarsome
Guest
Use a VPN and pay access to the NRL International Streaming option for about $80 for the year. All games live and a full catalogue of games for the year. I'm living in Japan at the moment so I don't need the VPN but the service leaves Fox for dead. It's not illegal either.