When it comes to falling NRL crowd figures, the first thing to realise is that the game desperately needs the fans. It needs them to create the atmosphere, the excitement and the tension. Fans make the game.
TV ratings can pay the players and all the hangers-on, but without fans in the stands, the game dies – pure and simple.
But the NRL and the clubs seem to be in a quandary about how to encourage fans to attend. They’re groping around in the dark, but the answer is right there.
The growing sports and events worldwide are the ones that make the fixture an event. They give attendees the ability to express themselves, individually and as a group. They provide a space for fans to make the contest into a spectacle, a party, a meetup.
People flock to Carnival in Trinidad, to festivals in Byron Bay, and to the big football and tennis tournaments. Why? Because the fans get to be part of the action, they make the event.
Rugby league doesn’t seem to get that. They provide more and more game-day entertainments, more loud announcements, more ‘rev-up guys’ shouting at you. Fans sit there cold, physically and emotionally. They pay big bucks to be told to get excited, and then if they do, some monster in a fluoro vest comes over to tell them to be quiet.
The NRL clubs must allow their fans some space to create their own spectacle, to find their own voice, to stand and chant and dance together. Think the Raiders’ ‘Viking Clap’. If necessary, clubs could seed such activity, but in a subtle and clever way. The cricket has done some things to make this happen, although they too have a long way to go.
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Perhaps more important is the draw. The best way to bring back fans is to make each game really mean something. In this regard, less is more.
There is no way we’ll ever have a full home-and-away season again, there are too many teams and too much burnout of players. So the only option is just one full round. Each team plays each other once. That’s it. Next year at your place, this year at mine.
Every game then becomes a battle royale to earn bragging rights for the whole year. The Roosters already have cups for their games against traditional rivals – the Ron Coote, the Foundation and the Anzac Cup, against Souths, Wests Tigers and St George respectively. Make them mean something by being played only once per year.
Fans in the Sydney heartland would also have a great incentive to travel to away games – it’s the only time you can see the opposition’s star players. If I want to watch Greg Inglis play the Roosters, and it’s not a ‘home year’, then I will have to go to ANZ.
Besides, fans are spread all over now instead of being based in their team’s home suburb, so for many it isn’t such a big deal to travel to Penrith or Cronulla to see your team play.
With stadiums being consolidated, there will be regular games at Homebush and Moore Park each week. A Sydney NRL fan can watch their own team at home eight or nine times per year, and then travel just across town to another team’s ground another four times, on average.
That’s a solid 12 or 13 club games a year easily accessible for the Sydney fan, and each one is a packed-out, exciting derby, most of them at big, comfortable stadiums, easily accessible by public transport.
Nothing will ever come close to Anzac Day at the Sydney Football Stadium, but that’s what we should be aiming for.
Travelling to a game will become an activity in itself, like the big travelling fan-bases of English football teams (hopefully without the hooliganism). Social media and informal networks will grow up around going ‘on the road’ to support your club, as they do battle away from home. The home games will be regular and easy – “once a fortnight we meet here, at this ground, to cheer our team on”. No more disorganised and disorderly draws where you’re away for three weeks in a row, then at home another two weeks. Regular but ‘eventful’ footy.
For the teams outside Sydney, there is the benefit of the regular fortnightly home game too, but also the chance that interstate rivals’ fans will make a trip of it to see their one game in Townsville or Melbourne in two years. I wouldn’t usually go watch the Roosters play Brisbane in Brisbane, but if I knew that it was the one game of the year against the Broncos, and that every diehard Rooster in Brisbane would be at the game, and that a fair few Roosters would be flying in too, I’d make it a special occasion – an event.
AAP Image/Glenn Hunt
I could easily do that for three inter or cross-state away games per year. Brisbane or New Zealand fans won’t get quite as many opportunities, but they can still get nine home games, and perhaps more semi-final and representative football, which they are the biggest fans of anyway.
So what about the rest of the weeks of winter if the comp is only 15 rounds of 16 teams? Well for starters you could have Origin on stand-alone Saturday nights, one each in Sydney and Brisbane, and one at a neutral venue to make it fair and bring league’s biggest game to Melbourne, Auckland, Perth or wherever.
Make it a huge weekend event to promote the game, people flocking in from all over. A football festival. They don’t play the Wimbledon final or the World Cup football on a Wednesday night. They make it an event.
With Origin on Saturday night, you can mollify the TV networks with Tonga versus Samoa, Fiji versus Papua New Guinea, and games between the women’s teams, either NSW versus Queensland or Jillaroos versus New Zealand women, as the Friday and Sunday fixtures.
With three standalone weekends, those games could be formed into a meaningful series, instead of just one offs, like a Pacific Cup – perhaps with the winner to play Australia and NZ.
And on those Origin weekends, for non-rep players, bodies could heal, coaches could re-set seasons, football tragics could re-set relationships.
With a lighter draw, players would burn out less. Over time, you could also increase the number of teams to 18, perhaps add another New Zealand team, and another Queensland team, or the Papua New Guinea Hunters, currently playing in the Queensland Cup
Even if you decided against adding teams, less is more anyway. Keep the fans hungry.
With 18 teams, and three rep weekends, you would get to 20 rounds. We currently have 26 plus four weeks of finals.
To make up the last ten rounds you could have an extended finals series of six or even eight weeks. Finals footy is riveting, why not give it a couple more weeks? That’d get you to 26 or 28 weeks.
Add in the Auckland Nines, the World Club Challenge, the Indigenous All Stars game and some mid-season and post-season international series (Four Nations, World Cup etc), and you have easily filled the calendar, and the need for the networks to have games to broadcast.
You’ve tidied up the draw and made it fairer. You’ve invested each game with real meaning – bragging rights for the year, a big crowd watching.
Each game an event. The fans given the space to make it a spectacle. Less is more. That’ll pack the stadiums, and the TV ratings will likely get a boost as well.
Parra
Guest
Why not send games to other areas like the country and non league states to promote the game, especially the 6oclock game and thursdays. Playing these games at venues where people can access the ground from work or home should improve attenances and improve finances. Further, there is no need for expansion if clubs play at least three games away at neutral venues. I think the sydney clubs could play 10 games at home and the rest away. Less is more. I also think games should be played in smaller grounds for atmosphere. As it's a tv product, the crowd is not a factor so play in smaller grounds that require smaller crowds for better atmosphere etc. The NRL needs to think outside the box commercially. 16 teams is ideal for Oz, a strond second tier or even promotion relegation might work (contentious yes) but something needs to be done to reduce the number of games in sydney and increase the games foorprint.
The Fatman
Guest
Bring Rugby League back to the people. Simple.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
AR Our resident AFL spinner, does not read what was stated and loves making assumptions. The code has and will continue to put up with Thursday nights and 6 pm Friday nights.that is a given. The point spelt out Thursday night at ANZ is not a rectangular ground,transport to and from ANZ stadium on a Thursday night for 8pm games traffic wise for families is hardly enthralling.The game is live on ch FTA against the gate. I doubt you live on the outer reaches of the Sydney CBD. The A league and RU are not great fans of ANZ either. Sydney's geographic spread for teams such as Penrith,St George Illawarra,Manly ,Sharks for a start also makes it a journey for away fans. That's my view about Thursday nights and I'm hardly Robinson Crusoe .. With a new stadium at Parramatta and a reconfigured ANZ stadium, the former will attract crowds because it covers most bases,rectangular,close to public direct transport and in the middle of a CBD and central to outlying suburbs. A new ANZ with a better atmosphere and cover will at least provide some sort of inducement to get there. And if teams like Bulldogs and Souths get off their backsides and play well, instead of the current dross, they will get better crowds at yes ANZ.,and yes on a Thursday night. Memberships for the majority of Sydney clubs are at record levels, so interest is there. You love throwing in the Swans. LIve FTA TV in Sydney ? NO . Purpose built stadium next to reliable public transport and near pubs and decent food outlets Yes. Close to where the vast majority of their fans are domiciled ? Yes Do many watch the Swans in Sydney on TV ? No. Have they ever been down the end of the ladder in the last 7 plus years? No. You're playing here once a fortnight . How many Thursday nights are the Swans given each year compared to NRL ? You fill in the blanks.How many 6pm games? You guys answered your own swipes,by admitting Swan's fans hated the ANZ stadium.Why is this so? Transport? Stadium unfriendly? Away from where your fans live? Or the West too low class for you? Your last para is just plain ignorant.If the NRL wanted to change the scheduling,they could only do it ,with the Tv stations chopping the TV monies.So they can'f full stop. The position the NRL is in now, is to maximise the better games in the better time slots If fans preferred to watch the game on telly,there would have been ordinary crowds at Brookvale and Penrith last Sunday.Yes the game is better suited to TV and probably should be getting more than it does from the Tv stations. While you're at it AR tell your GWS man Shepherd to pull his head in ,wanting ANZ retained just to suit him and his little band .
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
That's your constructive contribution? Very funny AR Perhaps I should stagger your anti rl comments on this and prior rl threads aligned with those of Clip,and we';d be here forever. Have to report you and Clip make it so obvious as a tag team. Ni the answer is to have the major one or two games on a Sunday afternoon . And to get the new stadiums up and running, just like your mob have your stadiums up and running and have only been here for a short time.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Funny lad read my point.Next.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
That's why the NRL is spending a motza for their digital dept and has increased substantially their non broadcasting income. People are not watching TV like they used to .
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Looks like rl has an untapped fan base in Adelaide,which the Roosters are going to tap into. Proving my point once again Clip thank you.The North Shore and Eastern Suburbs is where your mob in the main resides and some from the Hills.Yes even some expats I know from the Shire. But the overwhelming majority within comfortable commuting distance to the all seater ,oval purposed SCG.Great to have two such purpose stadiums.Rail NtH Shore to Central. Is not Sydney to ANZ change trains with little in the way of decent eat and drink venues.. Tell me mate ,how many 6pm games have the Swans had this year at the SCG?And how many would turn up from the Hills? The NRL has had heaps more Thursday night games than the Swans have. The Sharks have had 3 against the Broncos,Cowboys and Storm.How many of their fans trotted over to Shark Park for a 8pm game? I'll tell you not many families. Plus the NRL fans have it on TV live. At least the Swans fans had a Stadium more suited to their code at ANZ,rather than rugby league/union/soccer.The crowds have shown it. BTW there are rl clubs in the Nth west of Sydney,and they don't; think they are the North Shore .Talk about presumptuous.
AR
Guest
That's right. 8 games per wknd - all of them on Sunday. You could stagger the kickoff times: 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm ...
AR
Guest
So Crosscoder submits that: - Thursday night live sport in Sydney is especially difficult (despite the Swans proving this is not true); or alternatively - ANZ is especially difficult because it's the wrong shape and difficult to get to (despite SFS and Shark Park also suffering a halving of crowds on Thursdays, so that debunks the ANZ theory). The real issue is not with Thursdays, the issue is simply that NRL fans (esp in says) prefer to watch the game on telly. And if the NRL wanted to change the scheduling, it would. It would absolutely scrap Thursdays and 6pm Fridays at the negotiating table.
mushi
Guest
Um so you'll petition the state governments to double pokies?
mushi
Guest
Come one Matt everyone knows that people that go to games take 15 TV's with really long extension cords, enough coaxial cable to tie up cirque du soliel and particpate in the Neilsen
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Young fans go with parents, many are at work til 5.30pm.That is a dumb statement from Greenberg.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Not really AR. I'm proposing Greenberg chat to the Tv stations(who would be aware 6pm Fridays do not bring in the ratings nor the crowds),,so why not look at a better one that improves both, and assists advertising income You will note I have stated the code is currently locked in to the current time slots, but the NRL has a much better control over those slots. In fact as I stated .more so with new infrastructure in Parramatta and a reconfiguration.ANZ,Thursday could still remain in place.But if ANZ stays the same way, just to suit one GWS/SCG?Westconnex guy and once a year perhaps ,Thursday nights will continue to be a disaster. Continuing in this vein is not going to help TV ratings or crowds, if that isn't obvious to both the NRL or Foxsports,they'd better let a work experience kid do the job. It's up to the NRL honchos Greenberg/Canavan.King(you now the latter two?,to work on the best matchup for the best crowds,distance/convenience wise for the Thursday and Friday 6pm slots.It will still have some ordinary ones, but instead of Dragons v Souths on 6pm Friday,any one would suggest a Warriors v...... at 6pm as an obvious example.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Exactly and I've mailed him my views on the rubbishy 6pm slot, blaming Foxsports,and got as expected no reply. Greenberg is caught by the short and you know whats.The NRL with this sport has to schedule on the basis of having the best matchups at this time.eg Auckland.
clipper
Guest
The Swans have a sizable fan base on the North Shore and Hills area, and they seem to manage to get down for Thursday and Friday games. The fans hated going to ANZ as it was out west and even though the hills is out west, they think they're the North Shore.
clipper
Guest
So the answer is - make sure all games are played Sunday afternoon, make sure sun shines every Sunday Afternoon. There - problem solved.
clipper
Guest
In the short term they probably can, but in this fast changing digital age, the code that puts all their eggs in once basket will suffer. The aim should be to only rely on TV rights for 1/3 of your income. At least they (and increasingly, the AFL) have the pokies, although that may change as well.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Think Big Daddy it's more to do with weak Tv negotiations.Too much looking at the $2bn on the want list and giving in to the Tv stations to get near it, and we get this.Grant has to take some of the blame The TV ratings are down,surley the Tv stations realise 6pm Friday night is a dumb time spot for fan and viewer alike. The Eagles and Panthers grounds were packed on the Sunday afternoon,
Big Daddy
Guest
Its very obvious the NRL don't understand their own market by playing matches on Thursday nights and Fridays at 6. If you look at recent matches roosters against sharks at gosford on a sat afternoon - sold out. Even last Sunday Penrith against tigers - sold out. The public want matches on nice Saturday or Sunday afternoons not cold evenings at a time which is convenient to general public. I think the tigers v eels was on a Sunday and crowd was above 30k.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
They have had 8 Thursday night games! And how many has the NRL had already nearly double? The facts are Thursday nights at ANZ are out of the question :- @ because the stadium is user unfriendly in its current config, ask any rl fan not just my view. b) getting to ANZ and home on a Thursday night with a family is a debacle. c) Even the Swans hated ANZ stadium shown by their drop in numbers and the bulk of their fans live within reasonable proximity to the SCG and their scheduling is most of the time ,user friendly d) Comparing the facilities and transport infrastructure of Sydney and the geographical spread of NRL clubs with those of AFL in Melbourne/Adelaide/Perth, is chalk and cheese.Interstaters continually bag our transport set up. e) So based the above of course people will opt for live TV against the gate at this point in time.The real test will be known when these stadiums are completed. Give them a decent Parra stadium, and a rectangular ANZ and that will change ,just like having all seater oval specific stadiums for Sydney AFL teams who arrived only in recent times.Problems will still exist for teams spread to the four corners of Sydney with poor scheduling. It's nonsense to suggest the NRL isn't interested in changing it.It's the bleeding Tv stations who have the contract (written in)and wanted the Thursday night slot ,to make up for Monday nights.It is the individual clubs who wanted the $2b TV deal to feed their star players.That is the reality. If the NRL had its way we'd be getting a slab of Sunday afternoon games,