Is there sufficient evidence to overturn the NRL’s finals stadiums policy? I’ve got a decision and I’m going to the boardroom.
Try.
Try contemplating how Manly’s reward, after slogging it out over 24 bruising regular-season matches to finish a creditable sixth on the ladder, was a ‘home’ elimination final at the Sydney Football Stadium, not at Brookvale?
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Try pondering why an underwhelming crowd of 15,408 attended a ground with a 40,000-seat capacity. There’s no benefit of the doubt required – there would’ve been a full house of 22,000 at Brooky.
Try explaining to Manly fans, Penrith fans and indeed all NRL fans why the backdrop of bays of empty seats made it feel like anything but the first week of finals.
Try making home-ground advantage something meaningful. Something worth fighting for. End the season in third or fourth and you get two bites. Finish in fifth or sixth and no one gives a rat’s.
Cronulla were similarly dudded a home elimination final when they were also forced to face North Queensland at the SFS. There’s a fair chance a rabid Shark Park crowd would’ve got them over the line on Sunday. The crowd figure at the SFS was 16,115. Like Brookvale, Shark Park’s capacity is about 22,000.
Try reflecting on why there’s a buzz around rugby league when there’s a packed house at Leichhardt, Belmore, Kogarah and Brookvale. It’s because the ‘burbs are the heartbeat of the game. It’s potentially a notion of romanticism above financial and logistical sense, but surely fairness needs to win out, if only for the first two weeks of the finals.
Try examining why Manly players, fans, coach Trent Barrett and chairman Scott Penn feel this is an injustice – that they can hammer the Panthers in front of a bumper home crowd in Round 26 at Brooky and their prize is what? A trip to the SFS. To get pipped by the same side.
Try wondering how it’s taken this farce for me to show my first sliver of sympathy for Manly in about 30 years.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
It’s madness that under the NRL rules finals matches must be played in the major stadiums in the home cities of the higher-ranked team in Week 1.
NRL finals haven’t been played at suburban grounds since 2010, when thousands of St George Illawarra fans missed the clash at a clogged Kogarah for their qualifying final against Manly.
I’d dare say the clubs affected by this policy – the Dragons, Sea Eagles, Sharks and Panthers – have consistently delivered below-par crowds for finals matches played away from their traditional home grounds.
As the NSW government and NRL negotiate how over $1 billion will be spent on upgrading or rebuilding the major stadiums, perhaps a bit of botox on some of the suburban grounds would be far from the worst idea. Only a nip and tuck here and there, of course, as the charm of those grounds is often in their ruggedness.
Penn isn’t happy now that the defeat will translate into lost revenue given there’s no more finals action for the Sea Eagles. Of course, it’s fair to suggest they stood a much better chance of rolling the Panthers if they were back at Brookvale on Saturday night.
So even though it might make sense financially – often because of the better corporate facilities and hope that a crowd will exceed the 22,000-odd capacity of the home venue – the reality is often starkly different.
Apparently, there was insufficient evidence for the bunker to overturn Tyrone Peachey’s match-winning try for Penrith on Saturday night.
The combined 49,000 empty seats at the SFS is evidence enough for the NRL’s semi-finals stadium policy to be eliminated. And that needs no qualifying.
Rick
Guest
Agree entirely that the state government should spend money on suburban grounds rather than the $1.7 billion they are spending on Allianz and ANZ. Fans want to watch their team at their suburban grounds.
apaway
Roar Guru
Wasn't that 2009? And the Eels, who finished 8th, beat the 1st placed Dragons?
Marco
Guest
So Lucky Eddie, you seem to blame Fox a lot. Why not the NRL for selling out and taking the money. To the AFLs credit, they seem to have firm control of the direction of their game and there attendances are up not down.
Andy
Guest
@Paul The NRL is fully aware of a lot of what you say, they are trying to bring fatigue back into it, as that will help the smaller players over the larger players, things they have done to address that are: - gradual reduction of interchanges, down from unlimited through Super League era to 12, then 10, and from last season 8. - The Bunker, regardless of people's opinions on decision accuracy, on average it is much faster in reaching a decision so less time wasted, and hence less recovery time for players, and fatigues larger players. - Shot clock on drop outs- reduces recovery time for drop outs and hence helps fatigue larger players. - Shot clock on scrum even if game clock is stopped due to one team setting for scrum quickly, again helps fatigue the bigger players. Unfortunately with the shot clock timer on the scoreboard the players now tend to use the entire clock for every scrum/drop out even if not needed, but they can tighten the window if needed in future seasons. Anecdotally I think we are seeing more tries being scored late in games and late in halves that would suggest fatigue is becoming a factor which does help the smaller/faster/clever players over the larger players.
RandyM
Guest
If you don't watch NRL then how would you even know what happens in games? i'm guessing you just read it somewhere
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Not reallly. Easts played at Allianz, their home ground. So they get a home ground finalas game and the others don't?
valhalla
Guest
this ol' chestnut ...... lets play the game shall we 10 of my mates received freebies to attend the storm final against the eels on the weekend .... 5 of them said pfffft ..... on game day, the remaining 5 that went said they were approached by someone near richmond station offering another handful of freebies see how easy that was
Paul
Guest
Now firstly I am not a current NRL supporter, but I used to be a supporter pre-Super League and Bulldogs Coffs Harbour incident. Now I am an AFL supporter. From what I see (and I only watch the SOO now - sometimes I don't even watch until the end anymore) the defences are too good and it is too difficult to score, and the game is predictable and frankly, boring. All the players are such monsters that at the top level, it is too difficult to score and therefore the games result sometimes comes down to a referees decision. There aren't many clever, quick players anymore (obviously with exceptions like JT) there are just monsters everywhere. So to increase the scoring and stop games being decided by penalties, make it easier to score by reducing the number of players on the field, or reducing the number of interchanges (possibly already done) to give smaller, attacking players a chance or making more "contested" football eg.like lineouts in Rugby. Just my suggestion as an ex-supporter who doesn't really watch much NRL anymore except on the news and some SOO.
Nat
Roar Guru
Steveng, You just made my point champ . I know plenty about the old days but I'm not trying to hold onto them. I know enough to be critical when required supported by fact or evidence and understand things will never be 100%. You spout opinions based on nothing, run down other teams, refs, the NRL and fans. Everyone has noticed this and are calling you out for it. Have an opinion and back it up. This is not 1968, 1978 or 1988. The game is bigger, faster, far more skilled and far better adjudicated then those years. You want a free flowing game but if a decision goes the wrong way you cannot live with that. You say the NRL and I have our heads in the sand but the whole point of 2 refs and the bunker is to get the vast majority of calls right - and they do. Whether you agree with them is personal opinion only so don't accuse everyone and thing for not improving because it is 500% on your Glory Days!
LuckyEddie
Guest
Good points but AFL crowds are down as well, they media just keep in quiet. AFL give out a lot of freebies but once the freebies start it's a slippery slope because people then object to paying in the future. All sports are owned by FOX and all players, commentators and administrators do not have an alliegence to the real supporters, FOX pays them and FOX owns them and if in the future codes fall in a heap FOX will walk.
LuckyEddie
Guest
AFL crowds are down as well it's just that the AFL media mafia want tell the public.
LuckyEddie
Guest
People have to understand that FOX runs the show. NRL does not run league, FFA does not run soccer etc. etc. FOX have bought the 'products' and pay all the lackeys in all the big sports. When big companies buy a product they run the show including in this case time of games, day of games, venues etc. etc. Shame is a lot sit on the couch at home and never go to their sport. Problem is the mugs paying to go, travel, get ripped off for food and drink have had enough and are not bothering either, consequently the TV viewing is even getting bad and the ground atmosphere very poor. No sport can survive with slugs on the coach at home expecting the mugs to front up week after week so they have a better TV viewing experience. If there is no priority given to those that roll up each week those people will just stop going as no one likes to be played as a fool. It's a big problem for all codes but FOX pays them all so they are all bought and will just suck the mugs dry and if it all falls over (see Rugby Union) they'll all just pack up their money and head for the beach. The unpaid mugs will be left to pick up the scraps.
LuckyEddie
Guest
Yes FOX has destroyed Union, is doing a job on NRL, not helping soccer and even the AFL give out freebies to get people to season games. Cricket, well the Ashes might help, but no one really cares to much about that greedy sausage factory. All players, officials and administrators in all of the above have one major priority, keep FOX happy. They all line their pocket, while real wages stagnate, but only care about their inflated wages via pay TV. If it all falls in a heap most of the above will retire to the beach with little or no regard to what actually happens to their sport. It's all about one thing - GREED, and sucking money out of the punters and workers, sad really. The media will not help the debate because they are part of the 'system'.
LuckyEddie
Guest
Yes FOX has destroyed Union, is doing a job on NRL, not helping soccer and even the AFL give out freebies to get people to season games. Cricket, well the Ashes might help, but no one really cares to much about that greedy sausage factory. All players, officials and administrators in all of the above have one major priority, keep FOX happy. They all line their pocket, while real wages stagnate, but only care about their inflated wages via pay TV. If it all falls in a heap most of the above will retire to the beach with little or no regard to what actually happens to their sport. It's all about one thing - GREED, and sucking money out of the punters and workers, sad really. The media will not help the debate because they are part of the 'system'.
duecer
Guest
I have often talked about immigration being the enemy of RL, but haven't equated the departure of the RL demographic due to rising housing costs and the effect this has. You're losing fans which aren't being replaced as the majority of immigrants will support soccer, or if they come from the southern states, AFL. This ends up being a double whammy and has the snowballs. I don't know if this decline in Sydney is irreversible. They do have a fair bit of money coming in and a long history. Resources need to be focused on this city to try and get it to where it was before super league and the shenanigans that followed. Snowballs start slow, but which year passing year, get faster. If action isn't taken then you will be in the same situation that England faces and further down France. If that happens it may well be terminal. The first action they need to take is stop focusing on AFL in Sydney - it's no threat to RL (Rugby is the one that's losing out there) - soccer is where you're losing juniors and fans, who may also share a NRL team, but you need these fans to put RL first.
mickyo
Guest
Its not a joke, its more than possible we are witnessing a changing of the guard, not to say that the AFL or soccer will take undisputed top spot in Sydney sporting circles but the demise of RL in Sydney now appears irreversible and it is no longer top dog. If you look at soft TV viewing figures, changing demos, traditional RL fans moving out of Sydney, less kids playing the game and add that to extremely weak crowds that could not even be propped up by free tickets to anyone who wanted them then you have to surmise that. It appears that the NRL just cant hide the state of the game in Sydney any more. Just on the weekend, these are the stats. "The AFL had a bumper 235,328 fans pour through the turnstiles at its four matches last weekend, completely dwarfing the NRL’s 75,361 fans who attended three Sydney games and one in Melbourne. The television figures weren’t any better for the NRL as their total combined average of 3,332,000 was well behind the AFL’s 4,974,000. The numbers shoot down the argument that rugby league fans are staying at home because it’s easier to watch it from the couch." That is from RL scribe Dean Ritchie.
Big Daddy
Guest
Birdy, Agree entirely. Would much prefer to go to game than watch on TV. Today's kids are tomorrows players and fans. NRL executives are paid a lot more than you and I to sort out the games problems yet no solutions.
Big Daddy
Guest
Manly had their opportunity north of the hawkesbury years ago with the northern eagles but opted out of that. Newcastle have tried desperately to grab central coast but roosters have shown some foresight in picking up that area so they really should be promoting that area. If NRL had shown match between roosters and Brisbane at gosford which would have been a sellout and created more atmosphere and also help promote the game.
Fix the scrums
Guest
Seriously, it's a bit of a joke. Today the Telegraph says the finals should be in the suburbs. They've been pushing for bigger and better stadiums for the last few years. What the?! Does anybody really know what to do? I mean they've pretty much tried everything. This must be a great big laugh in AFL circles.
Big Daddy
Guest
TBH if manly and cronulla are serious about holding home finals they seriously need to upgrade their grounds to an acceptable standard to hold these finals. A few years ago this was one of the NRL requirements but it has obviously been on the back burner. Leichhardt is another ground that needs major refurbishment to meet NRL standards. I believe both Penrith and Canterbury and st George have made attempts to upgrade their respective grounds but that's where it has stopped. Once parramatta is finished that may go some way to relieving the problems. But really apart from ANZ and allianz there is not much to offer. If they could transport Central coast Stadium to Sydney that would be great or play more matches there