NRL left red-faced after embarrassing finals turnout

I notice London's new Wembley stadium (capacity 90K, opened 2007) was built by Aussie firm Multiplex. Anyone who's watched an FA Cup final in recent years knows it's a magnificent venue. Whether you put it at Homebush or Moore Park, Sydney deserves and should have a 90K (minimum) seat rectangular ground. Shouldn't be a problem for a govt with $1.6 Bn. to spend. Then there would be a world class stadium that could be used for league, union and football/soccer. If the FIFA world cup ever comes here then Sydney would have a good chance of hosting the final, being a rectangular ground as opposed to the oval MCG. I don't think club games should be played there if only 10-15K turn up. It's been stated many times that 20K at Brookvale, Leichhardt etc makes for a much better atmosphere so why not develop the suburban grounds, installing proper covered seating? If the seating and amenities are improved then more people will attend.

If the NRL don't hold games or training, or anything NRL on Sunday, it will succeed in what it is trying to achieve.

They love singing that song though and seeing Matty Richardson on the Big Screen :-) Oh we’re from Tigerland A fighting fury we’re from Tigerland In any weather you will see us with a grin Risking head and skin If we’re behind we’ll never mind we’ll fight and fight and win oh where from tigerland we never weaken til the final siren goes like the tigers of old we’re strong and we’re bold oh we’re from tiger -YELLOW AND BLACK- oh we’re from tigerland

AFL Clubs have more members that NRL Clubs do - Richmond have almost 80,000 /Collingwood over 100,000 /Swans almost 60,000 members for instance - read Souths have 30,000 -apparently the most in the NRL? Seems more of a cultural thing in the AFL 1) To Support a team 2) Be a member of that team 3) attend that teams games. I work with people who have no interest in sport at all and don't watch either NRL/AFL and those that only have an interest in Cricket. My Wife had to do some work down in Melbourne for a few months years ago- first day she was asked which AFL team she followed - none she said - oh which area of Melbourne your staying in - told in that case that her AFL team to follow is the Richmond Tigers.

I have thought the same thing about Sydney for about 5 years and was lambasted continually, i can think of one site and a certain moderator that continually had a go at me, but i think i have been proven right, whether it was Super league that changed things combined with changing demos and sporting tastes etc etc i don't really know, but like a snowball it has been coming and growing. I think we are a point where the NRL cant hide the fact anymore and possibly a changing point in Australian sports history. I guess their is a possibility of every "big' Sydney NRL club having premiership type years, but i think we have got to the stage where that doesnt really matter.

The Swans - when South Melbourne relocated - had a high number of NSW players even then - due to South Melbourne having the Riverina as its country recruiting zone. Coach Ricky Quade was Ariah Park-Mirrool Players Dennis Carroll (Albury), Wayne Carroll (Mangoplah-Cookardinia), Anthony Daniher (Ungarie), Colin Hounsell (Collingullie/Wagga), Max Kruse (Leeton), Brett Scott (The Rock-Yerong Creek), Greg Smith (East Wagga) and John 'Jack' Lucas also from Ariah Park-Mirrool. (and Stephen Eather and Mark Fraser both from Turvey Park finished the year before) Far greater NSW content in the first relocated year than Storm has delivered in 20 seasons now.

Normally filled with disaffected Richmond supporters. No finals wins for 16 years - the Tiges fans have adopted the Storm as their substitute winning team!! (y'never know - might be a grain of truth in this??)

Interesting - looking at the AFL Sat night with both pre game and post game stand alone components. With the 'avg' ratings across the length of the broadcasts - you see the Post Game has the high ratings (for a short period of time). That may be because the extra time push the game into that slot. It does show the difficulty in sustaining the audience over the full stretch of a game. Pre Match of 678K national, builds to 904K national for the average across the full game - but clearly by game end, 1.215 million nationally. And this is where it's often dodgy trying to compare ratings - an NRL match runs over about 2.5 hours and an AFL one pushing 3.5 hours. Friday coming this week - the initial TV guides have AFL 7.30 to 11pm and NRL 7.30 to 10.10 pm. And the AFL also has a 30 min pre-game on 7mate from 7pm to 7.30 before the switch to the primary channel. Doesn't really lend itself to a pure comparison.

#sham A few points re Australian Football - and in part, a contrast to RL. First - it (the game) grew with and as the cities of Melb, Adelaide and Perth - their suburbs, their railways and their cricket grounds that became footy ovals. (This was around 1850s on). By this time - convict settlement Sydney was 60+ years on and sprawling in a largely unplanned way. Second - while Syd and Bris clubs new and old were debating - in the 1870s and 1880s - by which code of rules they'd play for the forthcoming season - in the Aust Footy states the 'local' game was entrenched. Third - so while Syd in particular evolved a more multi code landscape the situation was complicated early 1900s with the advent of RL and the Rugby class schism. Nothing like this happened with Aust Footy. Fourth - Aust Footy was at the global forefront of 'community' football in the 1800s. Not schools. It was community clubs with men and youths together and that dictated in part the rules evolution. It also dictated the depth of community attachment to the clubs. AFL clubs vs NRL clubs - the AFL clubs in the main have 20-60 years head start. Let alone - whole of community rather than the Rugby L/U schism. So - on world terms it's actually a very culturally significant provincial sport. Geoffrey Blaney asserts Australia was the first country in the world to give a high emphasis on spectator sports. And it's no coincidence - Melbourne in the 1850s was at the global forefront of the 8 hour day movement. First the 48 hour week and then the half day holiday (Sat arvo in retail/commercial, many of the 'burbs had a Wed arvo off - universally Sat come the 1900s) And the appeal of the game. Firstly - it IS actually great fun to play. A broad skillset - people overseas who get attracted to the game having never before played it acknowledge that whatever sport they played before they usually can bring something to the game while learning other new skills. To watch - it's a dynamic game with few limitations or 'negative' rule structures. It's very 'contested' - 50/50 restarts, true contested play - and egalitarian - the greatest examples are kicking at goal; when a players marks or wins a free kick then that player takes the kick, there's no 'elite' specialists who trot out full of self importance. That's were much of the appeal is. And - the scoring - perhaps just enough to not be too easy (like basketball) and not be too hard (like soccer), and a key element is the 'behind' which allows 'off set' scoring such as a close game where the lead can change with each goal and then back to the centre of the ground for a 50/50 restart. Basically it's a 'real time' game (think computer games) - RL is more like a 'turn based' game.

Even PayTV, NRL's last bastion, favoured AFL. 300k / 274k for NRL, 331, 320 for AFL and Friday was even more convincing - 443 AFL to 307 NRL

The Telegraph today published the Tv viewing figures for round 1 of the finals for FTA plus subscription: AFL 4.9m, NRL 3.3m. When these sort of comparisons are raised there will always be the predictable apologists who'll point out that regional NSW isn't included ... but even conceding that omission, and bumping up the NRL number, there's likely a big gap to the AFL on TV viewers. I raise this fact not to point score. Why it matters is that it is evidence to people in the NRL bubble that AFL IS actually 'a TV sport' - so called. People in the NRL bubble seem to like to trot out the old chestnut that AFL isn't a TV sport but it's utter nonsense. I love watching the game on TV, as do millions of Australians. Millions love watching, and this is why broadcasters pay the AFL top dollar. The 'AFL is not a TV sport' is a truth that exists only inside certain NRL supporter bubbles.

But Sydney has a rectangular field at the SFS. If the government wants a flashy new stadium, knock that one down and build it there. It is close to the city (unlike Homebush). Nobody wants to go to Homebush so why touch a stadium which is less than 20 years old?? What happens if Sydney wants to bid for Commonwealth Games or another Olympics?? Wouldn't you re-use the existing facility in this case?? Parramatta Stadium is being rebuilt so this is clearly not a CBD vs West Sydney thing.

i suggest you put on glasses, NRL is much slower than AFL, it's not slow but it is slower.

Niche market, that 'niche market' is barely bigger than AFL's.

This is not a politics website republican.

What does the stadium size have to do with it, teams have been playing out the MCG since 1858.

They stopped two years ago mr Up to date.

The eligibility system is broken even if what you said was true in any way.

No, they are number 2.