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Opinion
In recent weeks it feels as though Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan has been itching for a fight and lapping up the publicity such a stoush brings, whether it’s publicly airing his wish list of NRL superstars that rugby is aiming to entice or calling out NZ Rugby for not sharing their broadcast riches.
McLennan and his administration seem determined to fight hard and fight publicly for a bigger piece in the ever-crowded Australasian sporting market.
However, it would be a far better use of McLennan’s time to drive west this week and check out the excitement or possible hysteria that has engulfed everywhere west of Homebush Bay Drive in Sydney town.
Driving around Parramatta on Saturday morning after the Eels’ courageous preliminary final victory over the North Queensland Cowboys really was a sight to behold. Flags adorned cars and buildings, every second person seemed to sport the blue and gold in some manner and every shop that sold Eels apparel was brimming with happy excited customers, some with long lines that snaked around the block.
It is no secret that the Eels have one of the longest premiership droughts in Australian sport, so the fact that they have so many dedicated fans left is something of a miracle, yet the level of passion and fandom in Parramatta this week has so far been best demonstrated by the almost 5000 fans who came to watch the team in an open training session on Monday.
By any metric the Parramatta Eels have had a successful 2022 season. They have 35,000 members and an average home crowd of 20,015, and Friday night’s preliminary final will reach nearly two million viewers after streaming numbers and regional viewers are counted.
Penrith, who have enjoyed their own parochial scenes in the town centre recently, are an even better benchmark for sporting success. They’ve got teams in the grand final in the under-18s, under-21s NSW Cup and of course the NRL. This sort of success is unmatched by almost any other franchise in Australian sport and points to the riches of talent in the Nepean area and beyond.
The Panthers do recruit heavily out of the central west, but names like Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and Brian To’o are all homegrown talents. Their network of development officers and junior talent identification is a thing to behold, and the fact that the NRL team is about to contest its third premiership with a large portion of local juniors in what is regarded as the toughest league competition in the world is evidence of the fruit that this area produces.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
All that begs the question: why has Rugby Australia been so reluctant to have even a meagre presence in this talent and resource rich area?
If you look at the growth and success of the two clubs contesting this weekend’s grand final, it points to a huge failure on the part of rugby union. In recent times many have pointed to the fact that the demographic is just too far from the target market of traditional rugby union audiences. With an average weekly income of sometimes $500 less than the lower North Shore and the eastern suburbs of Sydney, the residents of Greater Western Sydney just do not seem appealing to a sport that attracts the most luxury brands in Australia as corporate partners.
Yet Penrith and Parramatta partnering with recognised international companies such as Hertz and McDonalds proves that the fans of these teams are willing to spend their money to support their teams, and their sheer number makes their clubs appealing to corporate partners. So while it appears that rugby union has little to gain by targeting a non-traditional audience in a more working-class and diverse area, the reality is it could be costing them greatly.
To its great shame Rugby Australia has let one of Australia’s fastest growing areas slip further and further out of its grasp. Last year when the Shute Shield cut the Penrith Emus from its competition, Rugby Australia stood by and let it happen with absolutely no offer to help the struggling team in a talent-rich area.
The Wallabies played no games at Stadium Australia or Western Sydney Stadium this year, two world-class arenas in Western Sydney. The Waratahs have also given up on Parramatta as a second venue, choosing instead to play home games at the new Sydney Football Stadium in the city’s east even though their membership in that area has been decimated by the Sydney Swans AFL club.
But the biggest failing is the lack of any sort of development programs or junior academies in Western Sydney when the rosters of both the Eels and especially the Panthers boast multiple players who would walk into the current struggling Wallabies team.
Rugby Australia blame the inaction in the west on a lack of funds, yet Hamish McLennan is more than prepared to pay seven figures a year to lure established league players across to the Wallabies, blind to the fact that with a little more investment he could have a team of superstars in the west.
The recent Rugby Championship proved that there is still an appetite for union in Australia, with the series experiencing strong crowds and ratings, yet the team underperformed, and when the sport went up against the NRL finals in the prime-time Saturday night slot, it was decimated in the ratings.
Yet the greater tragedy lies in the athletes and fans that rugby refuses to sign and interact with – athletes are supremely talented and fans who are immensely passionate who despite their upbringing in rival territory. You only have to do one lap around either Penrith or Parramatta this week to be convinced that any investment is worth it for rugby union.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.