The Rabbitohs' home-ground situation is detrimental to the game

In South Sydney’s 112 years as a club, they have called four different grounds their primary home ground for regular-season games.

Originally, South Sydney called Sydney Showground home until 1948 when South Sydney commenced utilising the club’s spiritual ground (Redfern Oval) as home. Redfern was used until 1988 when the Rabbitohs moved to the newly built Sydney Football Stadium until 2006 when they moving to their current home ground ANZ Stadium.

The Rabbitohs will continue to use ANZ Stadium in the 2020 season, however I am disheartened to mention that in my experience of attending many Rabbitohs home games at ANZ (I have been a member since 2013), the ground is detrimental to the club’s fans and ultimately the game.

If you were to ask any red-and-green bleeding Rabbitohs fan (including myself) where they would like the club to play home games, it is likely that we would yell Redfern. However, knowing the NRL’s policy on grounds and the practical application of Redfern, I am well aware that Redfern Oval is not a valid option for home games in today’s game. However, I am very passionate that ANZ Stadium should not remain our permanent home ground.

Although ANZ Stadium is suitable as a home ground and provides the club with a handy chest of cash each year, a much better future option is available, which will improve the overall experience for fans and will ultimately increase the attendance to games.

ANZ is suitable as a home ground. It has more than enough seating, parking, public transport and external venues around it to accommodate crowds before and after the game. It ticks all the boxes logistically, but in terms of crowd appreciation and enjoyment, it leaves much to be desired.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

ANZ Stadium is designed for big games and it does big games extremely well. In my time attending games at ANZ Stadium, two games spring to mind that left me in awe of the atmosphere provided by the ground. Those games were Western Sydney Wanderers versus Sydney FC (61,880 attended on 8 October 2016) and the 2014 grand final between the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs (83,833 attended on 5 October 2014).

Two key differences are evident in these games. One is the obvious difference in codes and the second is the matter of one game was a grand final and the other was Round 1 of the regular season. The biggest regular season crowd for NRL that I could find hosted 59,708 people at ANZ Stadium in a match between the Roosters and the Rabbitohs. This game was played in the final round of the year and the game had a number of drawcards that didn’t normally happen throughout the regular season. These were the Easts versus Souths rivalry, the final game for the clubs prior to finals and ultimately the game decided which of the two clubs would claim the minor premiership.

Yes, ANZ Stadium is amazing for the games like these, however they do not nearly happen enough during the regular season to have the clubs consistently use ANZ Stadium to host home games through the regular season. During the regular 2019 season the average Rabbitohs home-game attendance at ANZ Stadium was 15,124. ANZ Stadium lists its maximum capacity 83,500 meaning the Rabbitohs’ average attendance does not even fill a quarter of the ground.

Attending a stadium that looks empty is extremely deflating as a fan. Last season I was that disappointed with the atmosphere at ANZ Stadium through the season. I preferred to attend my local pub or watch the game at home rather than attend the game, which I had access to with my membership.

The transport options to access ANZ Stadium are good and suit the reduced crowd numbers. However, the physical location of the stadium makes it less desirable to fans. I live in the CBD with the option to walk five minutes to a train and from there I can get to Olympic Park train station in as little as 37 minutes, depending on the train. If I manage to get an express train from Central this time decreases even further. I am more than happy with this transport situation as if a game finishes at say 9:30pm, I can be home as early 10:10pm. For a single 26-year-old this is fine, however for someone with kids, other commitments or not living in a location conveniently near a train line, getting to and from the game can start becoming an issue and turn off the idea of coming to games.

ANZ Stadium holds no meaning to Rabbitohs fans as it has been shared by too many NRL teams over the years. Off the top of my head I can name four teams that have utilised ANZ Stadium as a home ground and at present the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs still use it regularly as a home ground. If it was not for the recent building of Bankwest Stadium, the stadium would be shared by more clubs as a home ground. I’m not completely against the sharing of the stadium as it allows for reciprocal rights for members from both the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs to access an extra game each year, however I think it could be done much better, which will be explained in my solution.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The scheduling of too many games away from Sydney is another gripe that I have, which personally drives me away from wanting to go to games. Taking the game to locations outside of Sydney that don’t normally get games is a good thing. I completely agree that the game needs to be shown off to regions that don’t normally get access to NRL matches.

Last season the Rabbitohs played ten out of 13 home games at ANZ Stadium with the three other games being played in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Central Coast. This year the Rabbitohs will play nine games out of 12 home games at either ANZ Stadium or Bankwest (due to the ANZ redevelopment). While missing out on three home games may not seem like a huge deal, financially it is quite big if you consider the cost of an NRL club membership.

I have a Burrow membership, which costs roughly $300 to access every home game, so that ticket costs me $35 a game. Straight away you can see that for access to the Sydney games I’m not getting my value for money there and honestly I wish that I had downgraded to a general membership prior to my automatic renewal.

Sure, I do get access to the reciprocal game at ANZ with the Bulldogs so now I get ten games so I’m only losing out on $5 with tickets, which is more than made up for with items like the members cap, but should we not be rewarding the bulk of the members who live in Sydney with home games they can attend, especially noting the club is the South Sydney Rabbitohs?

Taking the game to locations outside of Sydney that don’t normally get games is a good thing, however it needs to be limited to a maximum of two games a season, which should include Magic Round, which should be played in Sydney a minimum of every second year if not every year but that’s another matter to discuss. The games need to be in locations within NSW that have a direct association with the club.

The solution to this matter is not perfect but would have immediate results. Once built, the Rabbitohs should move their home ground back to Allianz Stadium and once again share the stadium with the Sydney Roosters. Allianz will be built for watching sports such as rugby league unlike ANZ, which was built for the 2000 Olympics.

The prime example we have for the stadium is Bankwest Stadium. The stadium has received glowing reviews since being built and is widely considered to be superior for watching NRL compared to ANZ Stadium. By reproducing Bankwest Stadium next to the Sydney Cricket Ground and utilising it for two of the powerhouse clubs in the NRL (of which the stadium literally sits in between the two clubs’ territory), the NRL could spark the best regular attendance the modern game has ever had.

(Image: Facebook/Allianz Stadium)

Placing the home grounds of the Roosters and the Rabbitohs at the same venue would inherently add fuel to the already massive rivalry, and noting the smaller venue, would likely pack out Allianz on both occasions when the clubs play each year.

This would also open the door to the Sydney double-header option. If the Roosters and Rabbitohs were to be scheduled to play home games on the same night against two other Sydney teams (as examples, the Panthers and Bulldogs), I have no doubt the amount of fans within that would jump at the opportunity to watch two games at one venue and potentially could pack out the stadium on multiple occasions throughout the year.

The location of the stadium is also much more convenient for the majority of Rabbitohs fans and is even just as easy for fans living outside of the central Sydney areas. Being so close to Central station and with the recent addition of trams to supplement the buses from the stadium to train station, accessibility to and from the ground is more than acceptable for large crowds. Nightlife after the game is also much more accessible with the likes of Oxford Street and Surry Hills within walking distance from the stadium. This in turn would progressively increase attendance of regular-season games and would even breathe life into Sydney’s nightlife.

The Rabbitohs as a club need to give a lot of consideration in the future to which stadium they call home. ANZ Stadium – although being logistically sound – is not a fan-friendly stadium and is way too big for regular-season NRL games.

In order to up-size NRL crowds, clubs such as the Rabbitohs need to down-size their stadiums to build a better atmosphere and make the game better presented through media outlets.

The widest known and best supported club in the league, the Rabbitohs need to take adequate steps to improve their image at games by increasing attendance, which could easily be done by changing their home ground to a place which fans can have a better affiliation than ANZ Stadium.