The Roar
The Roar

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Our stadiums are empty, but does it matter?

Is an empty ANZ Stadium indicative of a code in crisis? (Image: ANZ Stadium)
Expert
21st August, 2017
134
3198 Reads

Two games on consecutive days at ANZ Stadium last weekend each saw crowds of fewer than 7000 people.

On Thursday 17 August, just 6826 saw the Parramatta Eels beat the Gold Coast Titans 30-8.

The next day, Friday 18 August, 6213 people watched the South Sydney Rabbitohs get over the New Zealand Warriors 36-18.

Many were surprised that two teams boasting among the largest supporter bases in the NRL, Parra and Souths, would have such low crowds heading into the business end of the season – particularly when the Eels are pushing for finals for the first time since 2009.

There were also headlines about how poorly these attendances reflect on the game. How they suggest that rugby league is in trouble and how the game is losing ground to the likes of football and AFL.

I’ll be the first to admit that these crowd numbers were disappointing, but I’m certainly not concerned about rugby league’s position in the Australian sporting landscape.

There are plenty of reasons for the poor attendances.

Thursday night at 8pm is a difficult timeslot for families who need to get kids off to school the next day, while Friday at 6pm isn’t easy for people who finish work at 5pm.

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The football can be expensive (despite plenty of clubs offering discounted ticket prices at various points throughout the season), plus it was cold and windy.

Then there’s that the Eels and Rabbitohs were playing teams based out of Sydney, so very few of the away supporters travelled to the game. And with Souths being out of finals contention, some of their fans might have clocked off to focus on next year.

We can talk about how disappointing crowds are and try to fix the issues I’ve set out above, but it doesn’t address the fundamental issue.

Rugby league is a television sport.

[latest_videos_strip category=”rugby-league” name=”League”]

I love being able to cheer on my team in person. I love the sense of community I feel when I go to my home bay every week. Most of all, I love singing the team song at the top of my lungs after a win.

But in terms of actually watching the footy, I don’t get much out of it when I’m there live. I’m one of those people who mainly watches the screen, because it’s too hard for me to follow from my seat. In fact, I’m so easily distracted by the people around me and what’s going on up and down the sidelines, that often I go home to watch the replay of the game that I’ve just watched live.

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Contrast this to the AFL, which I struggle to watch at home on the couch.

On television, AFL is a mess. It looks like a bunch of men piling on top of each other. It’s disjointed and sloppy, and I have no idea of the bigger picture.

But a live game, when played correctly, very much looks like a dance with the players in perfect unison, making their way towards the goals.

Is it a problem rugby league is a television sport?

Yes and no.

We know that the TV deal brings a significant amount of money into the game, which is why the broadcaster currently has so much of a say about which games are played when.

While players and teams do not want to play in front of an empty stadium, hopefully next year, when the NRL has greater control over its schedule, it will give real thought about where and when games should be played.

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Thinking such as when big venues like ANZ Stadium should be used – perhaps for big games, between clubs like the Eels and the Bulldogs, on a Saturday night? Or where the Friday 6pm game should be played – maybe in an area where many fans live close to the stadium, like Pepper Stadium, Suncorp Stadium or the new Parramatta Stadium once built.

An empty ANZ Stadium with rugby posts configuration

Image by Chuq, Wikimedia Commons

There’s also been plenty of complaining about the current scheduling. But I have learnt in my time as a rugby league fan that no system pleases everyone. Some fans hate the 6pm fixture, because they are not home in time. Others hate Thursday night football and miss Monday night football.

Amongst the negativity, I’m putting my hand up as someone who likes the way that games are currently scheduled and to remind everyone that no matter what, there will be fans who are disappointed about when and where games are played.

I hated the scheduling last year.

I would come home tired on a Friday night and have to avoid social media, because two games were happening at once. Not only did I then have to watch a game on delay, I also had to stay up until 11:30pm to see them both.

The Monday night game was challenging too. It was always tricky to get away from work early enough to get there live, and it didn’t feel right starting off my week watching the footy.

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Now my weekend starts on a Thursday night, when the footy kicks off. My weekend progresses knowing that I can watch all the games live and that I no longer have to worry about friends spoiling the results for me.

There are issues, but with the NRL having more control over when games are played next year, I’m sure we will see some improvement.

But just because our stadiums aren’t packed every single week does not mean our game is in dire straits.

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