I think there's a bit to unpack here with the crowd figure for the Rabbitohs and Roosters:
1. 36,263 is the sixth best crowd for a regular season Rabbitohs and Roosters game in the past 60 years. So whilst, it's a little disappointing that it didn't crack 40k based on our tracking week, it's still a good crowd in the context of this rivalry.
2. 36,263 is the ninth best crowd for any game between the Rabbitohs and Roosters (including finals) in the past 60 years.
3. If you exclude two games in the 1960s, the top 5 regular season crowds in the past 60 years have come since South Sydney rejoined the NRL. This suggests that the rivalry is healthier than its ever been.
4. In the past 60 years, half of the top six crowds for the Rabbitohs and Roosters have come in their past three regular season games (41,906 in R25 2022, 36,639 in R3 2023 and 36,263 in R27 2023). This further suggests the rivalry is more healthy than its ever been.
5. The new Allianz Stadium has seen 3/3 games (R25 2022, Elimination Final 2022, R3 2023) with bigger crowds than tonight's attendance at Accor Stadium. Food for thought.
6. There were apparently two express trains from Central to Accor Stadium tonight (including stops at Redfern and Strathfield). Compare this with Origin + FIFA WWC, where there was an express train every ten minutes for up to two hours before the game, and it doesn't create an attractive proposition.
Dunno about this being the biggest rivalry in the game
Parra vs Dogs got 34k on a Monday afternoon,
If that game was for a place in the semis would have got 45k easy
Add Dragons to the mix (when they are decent) and between them 3 much bigger crowds that this gane
6. I've seen this quote doing the rounds a bit on social media, and there's literally nothing to support it. The Eels and the Bulldogs got their second highest ever crowd (33,866) for a regular season game on "a Monday afternoon" (aka the Kings Birthday public holiday) this year. The best ever regular season attendance between the Eels and the Bulldogs is 34,662 in 2010. That's not even top five for Rabbitohs vs Roosters since 2013. Dragons don't offer much to this equation outside ANZAC Day either.