Most on this forum would agree that more Sunday arvo games is what is required, but will never happen due to the tv networks. If more afternoon footy was on the cards, it'd HAVE to be on a Sunday.
Saturday 3pm was always going to be a problem with people working, kids sport and historically crap tv ratings. I was never a fan of it being reintroduced. Some of this forum are still trying to hold onto the nostalgia of the days when ABC used to broadcast Sat arvo football live around Australia (it was the only game of the round that pretty much got any tv coverage in the non-RL states). I would take a Sunday 12pm game (during the cooler months, from May onwards) anytime of the week over Sat arvo, but again, the tv networks would never agree to it unless it was the Warriors or a 2nd NZ NRL team playing a home game at that timeslot, which would be 2pm NZ time. Midday Sunday match, especially on a sunny day, would be suited to the suburban grounds in Sydney, such as Leichhardt/Brookvale/Kogarah etc. rather than the larger stadia. I could imagine a real family-type atmosphere for this timeslot.
There is a reason why Fox were very happy to can Saturday arvo footy at the end of 2002 (before being reintroduced late in 2013). The NRL may have got away with it if it was shifted one hour back to 4pm (with the other two Sat night games moved to 6 and 8pm respectively). Nevertheless, 13k or so at Newcastle on a Sat arvo, given the woeful form they are in, is nothing short of outstanding. Non-Knights fans who aren't from the Hunter just don't realise how deadset lucky the Knights are that they aren't getting less than 10k with the crap the team performances and the rubbish the administration/coaching staff/team selection personnel have been dishing out recently. 90+% of that 13k are the absolute diehards who don't want to concede yet that there are very serious problems within the team as a whole, and that continued mediocrity is tolerated. That 13k will soon drop to sub-10k if they don't get their act together.
