47,000!

[BrisVegas]

Forgetting crowds and other excuses, you can't get past the fact that Sydney is and always will be the home of Rugby League. It started here and should finish every season here.

That is a weak argument. Once upon a time TV's were black and white, but they have since evolved to colour, flat screen, Plasma, LCD and now High-Definition. You don't hear people decrying colour TV because Black and White came first. Things change over time, just because something was done a certain way before doesn't mean that it should continue to be said way. Sure back in the 80's it made sense that GF be played in Sydney as that is where all the teams were located, the landscape has since changed with teams all over the country. The Grand Final has been played at a host of different stadiums in Sydney, changing venues as newer became available, where was the cry of "Tradition" then?

No one is saying that the Grand Final should be taken from Sydney permanatly, it should simply be shared around for the greater intrests of Rugby League.

 

[BrisVegas]

Double Post

 

[mattyg]

Yeah...add another 8 brisbane based teams and i'd love to see the broncos still averaging 30k. ;-) All sydney clubs averaging over 15-16k IMO are doing brilliant.

 

[adamkungl]

BrisVegas, the home of Rugby League hasn't changed whereas TV technology has. Weak analogy. And the majority of teams still are Sydney based, or only a couple of hours drive away. Only Brisbane, Nth QLD, and Melbourne are outside this area. Newcastle, Canberra, Illawarra are only 2-3 hrs away, and fans would make the trip if their team was in the final.

 

[JW]

Putting all these other rubbish arguments aside, I say leave the thing at Homebush.

However, I agree with the idea of using Suncorp for Prelims and/or Semis. Would be an ideal alternative to Aussie Stadium, considering the amount of games usually penciled in for that particular ground.

 

[BrisVegas]

BrisVegas, the home of Rugby League hasn't changed whereas TV technology has. Weak analogy. And the majority of teams still are Sydney based, or only a couple of hours drive away. Only Brisbane, Nth QLD, and Melbourne are outside this area. Newcastle, Canberra, Illawarra are only 2-3 hrs away, and fans would make the trip if their team was in the final.

The game has changed significantly in terms of the rules it is played under, how the game is watched and where the top grade teams are located. The majority of grand final tickets are sold before the competitors are known.

Look at the populations - Sydney has about 4 million people, SouthEast QLD about 2.8 million. League is the no. 1 winter sport in both markets by a large margin. Going off those numbers the Grand Final should be held at Suncorp every 3rd year for the greater good of the competition.

Now that money is being accepted for hosting Grand Finals, I'm sure that the QLD premier will throw a huge sum at the NRL when it is time to negotiate the location.

 

[joshreading]

Actually the first Northern Union aligned club in Australia was in melbourne. Just before the turn of the century - long live Melbourne!!! The birth place of Australian Rugby League!!!

Whilst I agree that the Grandfinal should pretty much stay in Sydney (although I could be swayed) this whole Sydney is the heartland is a load of rubbish. Tweedheads and numerous other clubs started to appear very soon after Sydney. New Zealand had Rugby League before Australia maybe because they are really the birth place of Southern Hemisphere RL we should move all Grandfinals to Eden Park.

South East Queensland will eventually need another NRL Team - SQ Dolphins!!!

 

[Sea_Eagles_Rock]

The point is it had another team... The broncos killed it. They also killed their other SE QLD rival on the Gold Coast despite them having money in the bank... Thankfully we now have 1 of the 2 back.

Broncos fans are blind. The amount of NON Broncos fans in Brisbane is huge. And as long as the monopoly in Brisbane continues I will stay away from any game involving the Broncos is SE QLD except my once a year match involving the Sea Eagles.

I went to plenty of games for both the Crushers and the Chargers. I will make my way down to see a few on the Goldie next season too.

 

[Red Bear]

Sydney is the heartland due to spawning the premier rugby league competition in the world, the most famous names and clubs around. Grand final probably will and should always be played in sydney.

Prelim final in queensland would be fine but. Should be the AFL finals system.

 

[lockyno1]

Prelim final in queensland would be fine but. Should be the AFL finals system.

Agreed. Home preliminary finals are the way it should be. Gives the teams that finish top 4 a extra incentive.

 

[Knightmare]

Mate whether or not their broncos supporters or not, wouldnt it be better for QLD to host a GF? I mean, obviously by your method, they are interested in RL as a whole and so why not let them get some of RL's finest hour? Sydney people are greedy. No wonder why every other state hates them.

No, just Qlder's and Victorians. It's pretty easy to hate your superior neighbours when they're better than you. It's called jealousy.

 

[Knightmare]

Believe me i know many many rugby league supporters in Queensland (as i live here) about two in ten actually follow the Broncos. Crowds are so big because it is usually the opposing teams supporters only chance each year to see them live. We plan our year around the Eagles being at Suncorp. The broncos having a huge following is an absolute Myth perpetuated by the Courier Mail who refuses to accept teams from out of state. all of the media is so far up the Broncos asses as they are scarred they will be black listed if they arnt "respectfull". The Broncos are only a medium to be able to see our own teams live..............

......And this all contributes to why so many people hate the Broncos. It still makes me laugh when their fans and people associated with the club think it's jealousy :LOL:

 

[Perth Red]

If you combine the average attendance of Sydney clubs (when they are playing out of state teams and therefore not being boosted by rival Sydney fans) and combine Brisbane, NQ and GC attendances, it will be interesting to see just how dominant Sydney RL is next season?