http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ans-to-flood-anz/story-e6frexnr-1225925937795
Cry of the Tiger - Legends call on fans to flood ANZ
David Riccio From:
The Sunday Telegraph September 19, 2010 12:01AM
IT'S a chance for rugby league fans to create history while getting one over the rugby union boys, too.
NRL chief executive David Gallop has joined Balmain Tigers legends Steve Roach and Paul Sironen in calling on supporters of St George Illawarra and the Wests Tigers to fill ANZ Stadium and surpass the record 76,000 crowd of last year's Bulldogs-Parramatta preliminary final.
Last weekend's Bledisloe Cup between the Wallabies and All Blacks attracted a crowd of 70,288, but Roach predicts rugby league fans will surpass that mark comfortably with a record crowd of over 80,000 set to flock to the blockbuster next Saturday night.
"For anyone who loves football they should go and watch the Tigers and Saints and break the record," Roach told
The Sunday Telegraph.
"It's a game worthy of the grand final and one that could easily break the record of last year.
"I still think back to the preliminary final of 2005 when it was just that sea of orange and black in the grandstands."
Tickets for the much-anticipated clash go on sale at 9am Monday and will be restricted to members of the Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra only.
The general public will get their opportunity to purchase their tickets at 9am on Tuesday.
"I reckon we'll see the house full sign," Sironen said.
"It's good to have a couple of Sydney clubs involved - I reckon we'll give the record a good shake.
"It's such a huge game."
Gallop challenged all Dragons and Tigers fans to get behind their team.
"It's quite simply a huge game," Gallop said.
"A chance to play in the grand final is on the line.
"Dragons and Tigers fans should grab the opportunity to show Parra and Dogs fans that they can match the support they showed for their teams on that memorable night last season."
A capacity crowd next Saturday night would cap a memorable season for the NRL after a record 3,151,019 fans flocked to games this year, with crowd figures up by 2.2 per cent and an average crowd attendance of 16,412.
