Perth Red said:
Yeh lets drop Canberra as well! Considering the way Adelaide fans were treat (team being ripped away from them and then nothing for 8 years) RL is lucky that many turned up.
My thoughts exactly.
I cannot believe that people are so quick in bagging out the crowd in Adelaide. I heard there was bugger all promotion for the match to start with.
The Rams used to get excellent crowds at Adelaide Oval. They had a Supporters numbering over 700, with many SANFL Cheer squad members opting to swaop codes and help out. Sheesh, Glenelg Cheer Squad disbanded once the Rams came into being. :shock:
Basically you are saying that developing the game in AFL markets is too hard, so you should not even bother?
If the VFL/AFL had adopted that approach when it moved the Swans up north, the club would have been no more & the game of Aussie Rules would have remained wholely & soully a southern-states sport.
Making serious efforts to try and develop an infrastructure for RL in Victoria should be the NRL's NUMBER ONE priority. Making a serious effort to develop a niche market for the Storm should be something they not not only want to do but take pride in doing, for the sake of the game.
Adelaide would not have been easy. But the Rams DID have good attendences given the support they got. The Reds could have developed a nice little niche for themselves, especialy playing at Perth Oval. Now RL is more or less a dead duck in WA & to be honest I think that is not only sad but a tragedy for people who either live over there or have moved over there and love the sport. But sadly BOTH the Rams & Reds were shunted by News Limited because they knew well that having both clubs in those markets would not really have helped much in terms of increased Foxtel subscriptions. Yes, the development & future of a complete code was destroyed because NEws knew nobody was going get Foxtel in both cities. That is a complete and utter disgrace!
Penrith & the NRL should at the very least be applauded for at least making an attempt to develop the code nationally again by having a game in SA. I personally think to be honest that the horse has pretty much bolted. I mean, if you were a keen Rams fan & had your club shunted, would you be horribly keen on going and watching a game between two teams you don't follow 9 years down the track?
JF