2025 Crowd Watch

[newc18]

Tell us you know nothing about Sydney when you know nothing about Sydney.
Why should fans of Sydney clubs have to travel over an hour away from their team's home ground to travel to the eastern suburbs of the city?
This is not the f**king AFL where 9 out of the 10 Victorian clubs are all within 10-15 mins of each other so playing at the MCG & Marvel works.
Sydney is far more spread out and as I said in here the distance between Cronulla & Manly, heck it's a shorter easier drive down the freeway to Wollongong than it is to get to Brookvale.
Two clubs on completely opposite sides of the metropolitan area playing home games in the eastern suburbs is a nonsense.

I really love all these pathetic excuses some of you Cronulla fans keep coming up with. Meanwhile you have Cowboys fans who will drive hours to see their team play, and Dolphins fans who regularly travel from Redcliffe to Suncorp to see their team play. But instead you decide to kick up a stink because someone mentioned Sharks fans travelling 30km up the road once a year.

Seriously get a grip.

 

[AdelaideSharky]

I really love all these pathetic excuses some of you Cronulla fans keep coming up with. Meanwhile you have Cowboys fans who will drive hours to see their team play, and Dolphins fans who regularly travel from Redcliffe to Suncorp to see their team play. But instead you decide to kick up a stink because someone mentioned Sharks fans travelling 30km up the road once a year.

Seriously get a grip.

Nobody put a gun to the heads of Queensland clubs to join the then NSWRL in 1988.

It was perfectly fine for decades when Sydney & Brisbane had separate competitions.

Personally I wish it was still separate competitions and Newcastle stayed in theirs.

Sick to f**king death of ignorant arsehole supporters of out of town clubs telling Sydney people they think they know their own city better than they do.

Seriously just stfu you have no f**king idea.

 

[Jonty]

Whether it be to agree or disagree. Unfortunately he calls everyone a flog. This is his nature!

He doesn’t do sane and rational debating.

 

[Jonty]

Nobody put a gun to the heads of Queensland clubs to join the then NSWRL in 1988.

It was perfectly fine for decades when Sydney & Brisbane had separate competitions.

Personally I wish it was still separate competitions and Newcastle stayed in theirs.

Sick to f**king death of ignorant arsehole supporters of out of town clubs telling Sydney people they think they know their own city better than they do.

Seriously just stfu you have no f**king idea.

You don’t need to be Einstein to see the problems Cronulla sharks have.

 

[newc18]

Nobody put a gun to the heads of Queensland clubs to join the then NSWRL in 1988.

It's the NRL now, and these clubs are important to Rugby League in this country.

It was perfectly fine for decades when Sydney & Brisbane had separate competitions.

Personally I wish it was still separate competitions and Newcastle stayed in theirs.

Unfortunately for you, we are a national game (well international technically). That means you have to deal with us non-Sydney teams.

Sick to f**king death of ignorant arsehole supporters of out of town clubs telling Sydney people they think they know their own city better than they do.

Why are you on here then?

Seriously just stfu you have no f**king idea.

Probably don't try to silence people.

Edit: We all want to see the Sharks go well off the field. Maybe my ideas are shit and I have no idea, but I'm allowed to express those ideas, just like fans from other clubs can talk about the Knights all they want. I’m going to leave it at that.

 

[AdelaideSharky]

It's the NRL now, and these clubs are important to Rugby League in this country.

Unfortunately for you, we are a national game (well international technically). That means you have to deal with us non-Sydney teams.

Why are you on here then?

Probably don't try to silence people.

Edit: We all want to see the Sharks go well off the field. Maybe my ideas are shit and I have no idea, but I'm allowed to express those ideas, just like fans from other clubs can talk about the Knights all they want. I’m going to leave it at that.

Well stop telling Sydney people you think you know Sydney better than they do.

Simple matter of the fact is forcing clubs to play home games miles away from their home bases would be an absolute joke.

Again It's not the AFL where 9 out of the 10 Victorian clubs are all within 10 to 15 minutes of each other where playing at the MCG and Marvel works.

One of the beauties of rugby league is supporting your local team at your local ground.

Playing miles away in a soulless cookie cutter stadium to appease the prawn sandwich brigade isn't rugby league.

I'd hate for rugby league to become the dull, boring sanitised corporatised shitshow that is the AFL.

Telling people they should have to travel an hour plus in Sydney traffic or on trains to watch their team's home game miles away from their actual home is a nonsense.

How about we move Newcastle to the SFS then?

 

[Vlad59]

I really love all these pathetic excuses some of you Cronulla fans keep coming up with. Meanwhile you have Cowboys fans who will drive hours to see their team play, and Dolphins fans who regularly travel from Redcliffe to Suncorp to see their team play. But instead you decide to kick up a stink because someone mentioned Sharks fans travelling 30km up the road once a year.

Seriously get a grip.

Nearly every post you make attacks Cronulla. Give it a rest you flog.

 

[Vlad59]

It's the NRL now, and these clubs are important to Rugby League in this country.

Unfortunately for you, we are a national game (well international technically). That means you have to deal with us non-Sydney teams.

Why are you on here then?

Probably don't try to silence people.

Edit: We all want to see the Sharks go well off the field. Maybe my ideas are shit and I have no idea, but I'm allowed to express those ideas, just like fans from other clubs can talk about the Knights all they want. I’m going to leave it at that.

Endlessly criticising one club, which is what you have done, suggests an obsessive hatred.

 

[Vlad59]

Well stop telling Sydney people you think you know Sydney better than they do.

Simple matter of the fact is forcing clubs to play home games miles away from their home bases would be an absolute joke.

Again It's not the AFL where 9 out of the 10 Victorian clubs are all within 10 to 15 minutes of each other where playing at the MCG and Marvel works.

One of the beauties of rugby league is supporting your local team at your local ground.

Playing miles away in a soulless cookie cutter stadium to appease the prawn sandwich brigade isn't rugby league.

I'd hate for rugby league to become the dull, boring sanitised corporatised shitshow that is the AFL.

Telling people they should have to travel an hour plus in Sydney traffic or on trains to watch their team's home game miles away from their actual home is a nonsense.

How about we move Newcastle to the SFS then?

Vlandys is a big fan of Sydney clubs so what this flog thinks is his problem. My personal view is, given the unprecedented and unexpected lift in crowds it’s a good time to look at strategic responses to capitalising on this growth. And that requires careful planning and collaboration with clubs. And it’s not as easy as some think.

 

[newc18]

Well stop telling Sydney people you think you know Sydney better than they do.

I never once said I did. I stated my opinion and my reasons behind it. That’s all. You guys then got all upset over that and here we are.

Simple matter of the fact is forcing clubs to play home games miles away from their home bases would be an absolute joke.

I’m not forcing anyone to do anything. Cronulla struggle to turn a profit on gameday atm due to their stadium issues. Dino the CEO said it himself.

My whole point was that playing one or two big games at Allianz allows more fans to potentially attend and more corporates which mean more money for the club. Isn’t this a good thing for the club?

Again It's not the AFL where 9 out of the 10 Victorian clubs are all within 10 to 15 minutes of each other where playing at the MCG and Marvel works.

Respecfully, I don’t think you realise how far some of those fans travel to get to games. I’m not a fan of their game, but you can’t deny they actively support their teams better than we do.

One of the beauties of rugby league is supporting your local team at your local ground.

Absolutely it can be, but at the same time the Sharks are losing money playing at Shark Park and it doesn't look like they will be getting any funding for it anytime soon. Do you want your club to survive and thrive?

Playing miles away in a soulless cookie cutter stadium to appease the prawn sandwich brigade isn't rugby league.

Looks like we disagree here. I think the SFS is an awesome stadium, and I’d love the Knights to have something like it.

I'd hate for rugby league to become the dull, boring sanitised corporatised shitshow that is the AFL.

What I’m getting from this and please tell me if I’m wrong, but you don’t like the direction that the game is heading?

Telling people they should have to travel an hour plus in Sydney traffic or on trains to watch their team's home game miles away from their actual home is a nonsense.

If the Sharks think they can make more money from having their big games at bigger venues, why shouldn’t they consider it? It’s the same reason the NRL forces them to play their home finals at the SFS.

How about we move Newcastle to the SFS then?

We don’t struggle to pull a crowd and aren’t losing money playing at McDonald Jones Stadium.

 

[newc18]

Nearly every post you make attacks Cronulla. Give it a rest you flog.

If you don’t like what I have to say, ignore me. I don’t try and control what you talk about.

 

[Valheru]

The Dragons only problem is winning. They have been shit for a decade. As soon as they start consistently making the finals again they will regularly fill both Kogarah and Wollongong. Just like they used to.

And that's good enough?

Giving yourself a ceiling of an 18k average is acceptable? They will be left behind by Dogs, Parra, Panthers, Roosters, Souths and wests (if they choose the right stadia) who are going to average 25k plus in their good seasons.

 

[newc18]

Endlessly criticising one club, which is what you have done, suggests an obsessive hatred.

I guess you selectively ignored my opinion on the Dragons.

I don’t hate the Sharks at all. I just think they could do a lot better than what they currently are.

You can disagree with me and that’s fine, but if you think for one second you stop me from talking about them, well you can kindly f**k off you flog.

 

[AdelaideSharky]

I never once said I did. I stated my opinion and my reasons behind it. That’s all. You guys then got all upset over that and here we are.


I’m not forcing anyone to do anything. Cronulla struggle to turn a profit on gameday atm due to their stadium issues. Dino the CEO said it himself.

My whole point was that playing one or two big games at Allianz allows more fans to potentially attend and more corporates which mean more money for the club. Isn’t this a good thing for the club?


Respecfully, I don’t think you realise how far some of those fans travel to get to games. I’m not a fan of their game, but you can’t deny they actively support their teams better than we do.


Absolutely it can be, but at the same time the Sharks are losing money playing at Shark Park and it doesn't look like they will be getting any funding for it anytime soon. Do you want your club to survive and thrive?


Looks like we disagree here. I think the SFS is an awesome stadium, and I’d love the Knights to have something like it.


What I’m getting from this and please tell me if I’m wrong, but you don’t like the direction that the game is heading?


If the Sharks think they can make more money from having their big games at bigger venues, why shouldn’t they consider it? It’s the same reason the NRL forces them to play their home finals at the SFS.


We don’t struggle to pull a crowd and aren’t losing money playing at McDonald Jones Stadium.

We're going to have to agree to disagree here.

The club's stadium issues are all down to shit decisions made by previous club administrations.

 

[newc18]

We're going to have to agree to disagree here.

The club's stadium issues are all down to shit decisions made by previous club administrations.

All good mate.

That is true which is unfortunate. Regardless I hope they can eventually get some government funding to upgrade the joint. I don't want to see them stop playing there.

 

[Valheru]

What fans of Sydney clubs don't get, is that in Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, Gold Coast, etc everybody leaves their suburb to go to the game. Nobody actually lives in Milton, everybody travels to get to Suncorp. So when the idea of playing a few games at Allianz causes Cronulla fans to get their backs up, most of us just shake our heads. A few on here on both sides carry on like mongs about it and it's f**king tiresome.

Fans of Sydney clubs understand this. It's just that people from the shire and northern beaches are a special breed.

I live in the shire and have done so for most of my life and if you don't understand their psyche then you will never understand their position on this. It's a point of pride for shire folk to not leave the shire for anything, not just the footy. People will go to a shop/amenity in the shire even if there is a closer one outside the shire. For example people who live in the western and southern parts of the shire will much rather the shit fight of traffic to Taren Point then going to Bankstown for the same thing which is geographically closer.

This is a supporter base who completely rejected Jubilee during the rebuild because it's "too far away" despite, as of writing this it being a 17 minute drive from Sutherland opposed to a 16 minute drive to shark park. There are parts of the shire where Kogarah would be more convenient to get to.

 

[Valheru]

Tell us you know nothing about Sydney when you know nothing about Sydney.
Why should fans of Sydney clubs have to travel over an hour away from their team's home ground to travel to the eastern suburbs of the city?
This is not the f**king AFL where 9 out of the 10 Victorian clubs are all within 10-15 mins of each other so playing at the MCG & Marvel works.
Sydney is far more spread out and as I said in here the distance between Cronulla & Manly, heck it's a shorter easier drive down the freeway to Wollongong than it is to get to Brookvale.
Two clubs on completely opposite sides of the metropolitan area playing home games in the eastern suburbs is a nonsense.

The bolded part is not valid

Melbourne AFL teams historical locations 100 years ago have little relevance on where their supporters are based now and Sydney is not much bigger then Melbourne in both area and population. One difference though is the Melbourne CBD is more centrally located compared to the rest of greater Melbourne than the Sydney CBD but that's why any big stadium policy would need to include something in Western Sydney.

 

[Perth Red]

It’s got less to do with the journey time from Penrith to Parramatta, and more to do with:
- Where people work, how they would get to Parramatta, and how they would get home?
- If they work in Penrith, do they need to drive to the commuter car park to get the train?
- If the game is too early, will the commuter car park still be full as people will not have returned from their place of work on the train to pick up their car?

The outer suburbs of Sydney have very different land use and transport characteristics to those in the inner city, or even the middle ring suburbs.

So it actually takes 35-45min to get from Penrith train station to Parra stadium?
Sure if you live a long way west of Penrith it makes it longer but thats just stretching excuses as fans will often live all over, no doubt many Penrith fans live East of Penrith as well.
For me I have to walk 10mins to bus stop, 15mins bus to train, 20min train to city, 15min walk from station to HBF. No hardship and I wont be missing a Bears game and blaming just a 60min each way trip!

Still if clubs want to scrape along in suburban grounds thats up to them, thankfully for Penrith they've been lucky enough to be gifted a stadium so Parra is temp and the fans wont be inconvenienced for too long!

 

[Vlad59]

So it actually takes 35-45min to get from Penrith train station to Parra stadium?
Sure if you live a long way west of Penrith it makes it longer but thats just stretching excuses as fans will often live all over, no doubt many Penrith fans live East of Penrith as well.
For me I have to walk 10mins to bus stop, 15mins bus to train, 20min train to city, 15min walk from station to HBF. No hardship and I wont be missing a Bears game and blaming just a 60min each way trip!

Still if clubs want to scrape along in suburban grounds thats up to them, thankfully for Penrith they've been lucky enough to be gifted a stadium so Parra is temp and the fans wont be inconvenienced for too long!

There is something perverse and wacky about a bloke in Perth endlessly lecturing people in Sydney about travel times to stadiums in Sydney. That’s why this thread has always been a flog fest. Travelling around Sydney is a shit show. Always has been. Melbourne is far easier to negotiate. Always has been. Any way. Continue on. Let the smug ‘I know best’ about travelling to games in cities you don’t live in continue.

 

[Perth Red]

There is something perverse and wacky abut a bloke in Perth endlessly lecturing people in Sydney about travel times to stadiums in Sydney. That’s why this thread has always been a flog fest. Travelling around Sydney is a shit show. Always has been. Melbourne is far easier to negotiate. Always has been. Any way. Continue on. Let the smug ‘I know best’ about travelling to games in cities you don’t live in continue.

Ah the old 'you dont live here you couldnt possibly know about getting public transport ' excuse.

Yeh not like I dont work for UoW and spend lots of time in Sydney, a train ride is a train ride in any city lol