THE Roosters are set to cash in on a remarkable 2010 in which they became the third most watched club in the NRL.
The remarkable turnaround saw them erase any lingering shadows from their 2009 wooden spoon season, skyrocketing from 27th to the top five in an annual report for TV audiences across all four major football codes.
The 2010 Repucom survey of TV ratings for the NRL, AFL, A-League and Super Rugby football clubs makes it clear that even superpowers like the Brisbane Broncos are dependent on off-field performance to attract fans.
The high-flying Broncos plummeted from the top spot in 2009 to seventh after failing to make the finals.
Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce said the result was a huge tribute to coach Brian Smith and the exciting football produced by the young Roosters players last season.
Noyce said he now had his sights set on boosting his club's membership from 6000 to 8000 this year.
"Pleasingly we are well on our way to doing this," Noyce said. "Interestingly our revenue forecasts are up as well.
"Last year we were selling a poor season [but] this year there is plenty that we can be excited about."
The news is less exciting for A-League clubs and Super Rugby clubs. Top-rating performers Melbourne Victory (2.2 million total viewership) and the NSW Waratahs (1.1 million) were dwarfed by top- performing AFL club Collingwood, which attracted a mammoth 27,845,000 TV audience in a premiership year.
