Lost fans to the game

[undertaker]

Just had a look at these stats:

http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/1994.html

20 years ago, the home crowd averages of each team were as follows:

North Sydney: 15,116
Manly: 14,860

TOTAL: 29,976

St George: 12,225
Illawarra: 11,911

TOTAL: 24,136

Western Suburbs: 7,808
Balmain: 6,836

TOTAL: 14,641

Now, regarding the mergers of Wests Tigers, St George/Illawarra and the Northern Eagles....

Since their inclusion into the competition in 2000, Wests Tigers have had 9 out of 14 seasons where they have had an average home crowd of over 14,641, so in the crowd aspect you could say that this merger has been a success. Both Balmain and Western Suburbs had plenty of sub-10k season averages as well.

Manly have been averaging close to 14,860 since 2005. However, the fact that Norths don't exist anymore indicates there's another 15k or so fans that have either moved to another club or have been lost to the game.

St George/Illawarra have been averaging about 14k since 1999 which is about 10k less than St George and Illawarra combined 20 yrs ago, with a season highest average of 17,422 in 2011.

What do you gather about all this info? Also, do you think the admission of the Central Coast Bears into the NRL would also assist in increasing the crowd averages of Sydney teams with the Bears away supporters?

 

[BunniesMan]

Of course merger permanently turns off some fans.

The Swans had 9k average crowds in 1994, 35k in 1997. The Waratahs also broke through in that period to become more prominent. I guarantee that doesn't happen if no SL happens and no clubs are murdered.

Folding clubs and merging clubs will always turn away fans.

We lost 15000 people attending games when the Bears were killed, who knows how many more stopped watching on tv. A lot of those people went to rival sports. Other footy codes are very strong on the North shore.

And to think the Bears were killed because the dickheads running the show thought it wasn't worthwhile giving the annual grant to 1 more team. A measly 3 million a year killed them.

3 million a year almost killed Souths too and now 15 years later we're the biggest team in Sydney. That could have been the Bears too.

All because of the ridiculous shortsighted and selfish decisions made in the mid to late 90s by the scumbags who declared war on rugby league.

 

[bileduct]

I used to work with a proud Norths supporter who hated Manly with a f**king passion. His interest in Rugby League came to an end when they merged.

 

[bileduct]

All because of the ridiculous shortsighted and selfish decisions made in the mid to late 90s by the scumbags who declared war on rugby league.

They let Brisbane into the comp in the 80's, dude.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

They let Brisbane into the comp in the 80's, dude.

And Rugby League has thrived ever since.

Suck it, haters.

 

[butchmcdick]

Of course merger permanently turns off some fans.

The Swans had 9k average crowds in 1994, 35k in 1997. The Waratahs also broke through in that period to become more prominent. I guarantee that doesn't hope if no SL happens and no clubs are murdered.

Folding clubs and merging clubs will always turn away fans.

We lost 15000 people attending games when the Bears were killed, who knows how many more stopped watching on tv. A lot of those people went to rival sports. Other footy codes are very strong on the North shore.

And to think the Bears were killed because the dickheads running the show thought it wasn't worthwhile giving the annual grant to 1 more team. A measly 3 million a year killed them.

3 million a year almost killed Souths too and now 15 years later we're the biggest team in Sydney. That could have been the Bears too.

All because of the ridiculous shortsighted and selfish decisions made in the mid to late 90s by the scumbags who declared war on rugby league.

If only souths could of stayed exactly the way they were before getting arseholed

Piggins could be still running the place and Jesus he was such an awesome administrator

I mean the team was thriving when kicked out

Nobody could understand why souths got cut. They were the pride of the league and all that

 

[juanfarkall]

Just had a look at these stats:

http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/1994.html

20 years ago, the home crowd averages of each team were as follows:

North Sydney: 15,116
Manly: 14,860

TOTAL: 29,976

St George: 12,225
Illawarra: 11,911

TOTAL: 24,136

Western Suburbs: 7,808
Balmain: 6,836

TOTAL: 14,641

Now, regarding the mergers of Wests Tigers, St George/Illawarra and the Northern Eagles....

Since their inclusion into the competition in 2000, Wests Tigers have had 9 out of 14 seasons where they have had an average home crowd of over 14,641, so in the crowd aspect you could say that this merger has been a success. Both Balmain and Western Suburbs had plenty of sub-10k season averages as well.

Manly have been averaging close to 14,860 since 2005. However, the fact that Norths don't exist anymore indicates there's another 15k or so fans that have either moved to another club or have been lost to the game.

St George/Illawarra have been averaging about 14k since 1999 which is about 10k less than St George and Illawarra combined 20 yrs ago, with a season highest average of 17,422 in 2011.

What do you gather about all this info? Also, do you think the admission of the Central Coast Bears into the NRL would also assist in increasing the crowd averages of Sydney teams with the Bears away supporters?

The mob who run the game would prefer that we watch the game on TV rather than attend matches. Costs to attend matches and treatment of fans would tend to back this up.
This is also part of the reason that the game gets much more money from TV now than it did 20 years ago.

 

[seaeagle sam]

If only souths could of stayed exactly the way they were before getting arseholed

Piggins could be still running the place and Jesus he was such an awesome administrator

I mean the team was thriving when kicked out

Nobody could understand why souths got cut. They were the pride of the league and all that

I know what you are saying Butch, Pride of the League - when Souths are going well, league is going well. I can't understand it either.

 

[BranVan3000]

A lot of those supporters would have been locals. I think Wests Tigers and St Merge retained a good deal of supporters. But you are naive if you think many of the Bears supporters stuck with Manly

There are a lot of Bears supporters around Souths forums now

 

[Danish]

You can't just take the crowd averages of the pre-merged teams and assume they would average the combined total afterwards. Plenty of people only travel to their local ground to watch footy.

Not many steelers fans from the gong driving up to kogarah, for example, or balmain fans driving out to Campbeltown.

Norths are the only fans that were truly lost, as they hates manly.

 

[BunniesMan]

They let Brisbane into the comp in the 80's, dude.

I'm as Sydney centric as anyone when it comes to rugby league but even I don't think expansion itself is a bad thing.

I just think it was disgusting for News to force themselves into running the game when they weren't wanted, and then kill about 500 years worth of combined history just because they weren't willing to pay a drop in the ocean to give them just what every other club was getting.

I'm for expansion but I think it is and was wrong for any team to be killed if they can survive on the same grant that every other club gets. If a club needs more on top of that to stay alive then that is another matter. But Souths and Norths (and Balmain and Wests and St George and anyone else) should have been allowed to survive if they could get by on what every other club gets by.

If only souths could of stayed exactly the way they were before getting arseholed

Piggins could be still running the place and Jesus he was such an awesome administrator

I mean the team was thriving when kicked out

Nobody could understand why souths got cut. They were the pride of the league and all that

I didn't say everything was going well then. But they had no right to kill us or any other club.

Just a few short years after the attempted murder of Souths we are #1 in members, #1 in sponsorship, #2 in home crowds, #1 in away crowds, we rate extremely well on tv. All that wouldn't have existed if News got its way. Who is to say Norths wouldn't have gotten to a similar position, or any of the other clubs that were folded or forced into merger.

 

[The Eagle]

I see Manly's average crowd has dropped about 1.5k since then too

I was lost to rugby league until Manly became Manly again,i never watched a single NE game and i don't believe i missed anything other than seeing one of the games great's careers end in the wrong colors (Geoff Toovey)

 

[oikee]

I posted in the troll cave. You got rid of me as well.
Not only fans are lost,a s crowds show, but viewers as well. Nobody watches the Cows in Sydney anymore.
I posted a reason for all this in the cave.
You can all ignore it and continue your blogging ways, as you have all done for years.
What has changed. Games dying if you ask me.
Death is near.
Its alright, i wont be posting here anymore, i will stick to the cave. like a hermit, like a spider waiting for prey.
Dont you turn up springs, you keep peddling your same boring crap here.
I want a new fresh positive type of blogger for the Troll-cave. cheers.

 

[newman]

I posted in the troll cave. You got rid of me as well.
Not only fans are lost,a s crowds show, but viewers as well. Nobody watches the Cows in Sydney anymore.
I posted a reason for all this in the cave.
You can all ignore it and continue your blogging ways, as you have all done for years.
What has changed. Games dying if you ask me.
Death is near.
Its alright, i wont be posting here anymore, i will stick to the cave. like a hermit, like a spider waiting for prey.
Dont you turn up springs, you keep peddling your same boring crap here.
I want a new fresh positive type of blogger for the Troll-cave. cheers.

Nobody asked you.

Games dying? Please.

 

[georgesnmith]

its a real shame what happened to Rugby League due to the Super League war.

not sure how old most people are but up to 1995 the game was going from strength to strength.

had murodoch not ambushed the game wed still have a club in perth, never lost a lot of the good sydney clubs, have a second brisbane team going for 20 years.

not only have we lost fans in sydney, but look at the crowd drops in the former super league clubs like canberra and broncos, they went to rival sports too.

lucky the game is actually such a good product or wed be close to dead now ie like union is here.

 

[Parra]

I know Wests, Norths & Illawarra fans that now follow Souths. So the Rabbitohs gains will have been in part to the loss of these clubs. I know of other fans, Norths in particular, that have just been lost to the game. This was known at the time though, I assume that enough people in that part of Sydney already had foxtel subscriptions.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

I posted in the troll cave. You got rid of me as well.
You can all ignore it and continue your blogging ways, as you have all done for years.
Its alright, i wont be posting here anymore, i will stick to the cave. like a hermit, like a spider waiting for prey.

That's all that's necessary for anyone to know.

Thanks for coming, now f**k off.

 

[Diesel]

Tigers need to play all games at ANZ, the Dragons need to play all games at WIN except for ANZAC Day/Bulldogs/Eels and Rabbits which should be at ANZ.

It can't be healthy having 2 sets of fans in two different places, WIN is struggling due to a lack of quality games and LO & Campbelltown look like a dive. Perhaps they could use LO/C'town once a year for a rival game but seriously, there's a divide in the fans when the team lays at 2-3 home grounds a year

 

[Diesel]

Double post

 

[RedVee]

I know Wests, Norths & Illawarra fans that now follow Souths. So the Rabbitohs gains will have been in part to the loss of these clubs. I know of other fans, Norths in particular, that have just been lost to the game. This was known at the time though, I assume that enough people in that part of Sydney already had foxtel subscriptions.

I know of a couple myself, but I don't get it. I'd have assumed that they wouldn't want to follow another Sydney team, maybe they weren't old enough to have the rivalry thing.

I have known of ex Newtown supporters that switched to Canberra due to not being able to support another Sydney team, but 1 I know follows Cronulla due to moving into the area after marriage.

I suppose the Norths-Souths thing is due to the NSW Cup tie in.