A big reason we get crap crowds compared to AFL

[joshreading]

I find the blame game a little done - here is a fact. RL Crowds have NEVER EVER been that great, they here about game of the round crowds forty years ago being 65000 and presume that was the average but we hae the highest average EVER NOW!!!

AFL does have a higher core fan base then RL that is a FACT. As a victorian, there are probably more ACTIVE AFL fans there than ACTIVE RL fans in NSW and Qld combined. Sure RL has about the same couch, relaxed, nominal style supporters that go to or watch bigger RL events (like people going to church on easter and Christmas)

RL will continue to grow - yes things need to be done to encourage growth in crowds (I think the conference idea would help actually) and the nature of the game effects the crowds with behind the posts not the most appealing to most unlike better vantage points from most angles in Aussie Rules.

Rugby League needs to stop comparing itself to AFL and simply aim for an average of twenty thousand and that puts it in good company to the WORLD in sport.

 

[mongoose]

have you ever say behind the posts at an AFL game? it is worse than league, trust me

 

[meltiger]

People standing on the hill? this is 2007.

Well besides the fact that there is nothing wrong with standing on the Leichhardt hill, and I'd challenge you to nominate a better spot to watch RL from ... I don't actually recall referring to hills.

Bulldoze 'em all and build 25-30k seaters like what Canberra & Parramatta have & what Melbourne & the Gold Coast are getting. It's not the crowd numbers that matter so much, it's the perception that matters, if they are playing to full houses every week, the fact that the crowds are smaller doesn't matter so much.

Besides which, people overeact a little at times with regards to the AFL's crowds. Take out the two state sides (Adelaide & West Coast) & also the Big 4 Melbourne sides (Especially Collingwood) and you'll find Aussie Rules crowds aren't as much bigger as you think they are.

 

[In-goal]

Guys do you want the truth?

Here it is. AFL has a bigger active fanbase. Simple as that. They get more to theri games for the same reason we get more than NBL. We have more fans than NBL.

Derbies? We have as many. My team have 7 homers V Sydney opposition this year. Nonme have attracted 20,000 people. Seats? homebush and Aussie are NEVER near full.

We are great at lying to ourselves about crowds. Frankly talking about the MCG being bigger than homebush as a reason when even the Dogs are playing to 60,000 empty seats at Homebush every home game is simply absurd. They have more fans than we do so let's be big enough to admit it and move on with developing ourt fanbase and forget them. AFL is big. So what?

Someone had to say it, the truth is above.

Also the TV ratings is a crap way of predicting how popular one sport is, most of the time you will find hame clashes in the AFL on different channels has anyone taken that into account?

The AFL play in all seater modern stadiums, RL dosen't. Aussie Rules is a better spectacle no mater wear you sit? Personally I like being behind the goals in RL as you see the gaps, Sydney siders are lazy that's the only excuse or they aren't really that big on the game!

 

[Kid Dynamite]

Does the NRL have bigger TV ratings than the AFL? Can anyone prove what has the biggest aggregate number of viewers over the whole year, including pay tv. I'd say it would still be AFL.

 

[meltiger]

^^ Aussie Rules is helped out by the fact that they have more games on FTA television than RL.

Personally, it may well be the case, but I'd be very very suprised if the first FNF game doesn't outrate the Aussie Rules FNF game nationally.


I like to tease some of the TFC knobs at times, but the reality is, whoever has Western Sydney and S/E QLD is entitled to feel they are at least equal to any other sport in the country. RL has and never will lose both of those regions.

 

[Cumberland Throw]

^^ Aussie Rules is helped out by the fact that they have more games on FTA television than RL.

Personally, it may well be the case, but I'd be very very suprised if the first FNF game doesn't outrate the Aussie Rules FNF game nationally.


I like to tease some of the TFC knobs at times, but the reality is, whoever has Western Sydney and S/E QLD is entitled to feel they are at least equal to any other sport in the country. RL has and never will lose both of those regions.

No AFL consistantly beats the live 7.30pm League game, mainly due to the fact that it is shown in 4 states compared to 2 for NRL.

Its usually 750k Nationally for the AFL game and about 650k for the live NRL game. (5 State Capitals only)

 

[Perth Red]

I thin it is just that people are more into sport outside of NSW. All you hear people talk about in the other states is sport. Every week is like GF week with the build up to games starting big time on a Monday. Not sure why the people of NSW are not into their sports as much but it seems that the other major states just like watching their teams more.

 

[Kurt Angle]

No AFL consistantly beats the live 7.30pm League game, mainly due to the fact that it is shown in 4 states compared to 2 for NRL.

Its usually 750k Nationally for the AFL game and about 650k for the live NRL game. (5 State Capitals only)

That's not nationally then is it ?

RL has 4 jewels in its crown.

West Sydney, SE Qld, regional NSW and regional Qld.

2 of those areas are not represented in Oztam.

Compare to states like WA and SA, where no one lives outside the capital cities.

 

[In-goal]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thin it is just that people are more into sport outside of NSW. All you hear people talk about in the other states is sport. Every week is like GF week with the build up to games starting big time on a Monday. Not sure why the people of NSW are not into their sports as much but it seems that the other major states just like watching their teams more.

That's something I found when living in Sydney, the people aren't as excited by sport unless it's an event. If you go to Perth, Adelaide or Melbourne the footy/AFL is seen as the most important event every week of the season. This is where alot of RL people lose sight of the importance of SofO; great concept but it's 3 matches not a season of blood sweat and tears.

All RL clubs in Sydney should be attracting no fewer than a 25K average taking in population, but it's not the case there isn't even one club that dominates the rest; in the range of crowd numbers.

Brisbane had 35K or so on the WE yet the best Sydney could offer was 27K for the biggest game in Sydney RL Dogs V Eels, you can't tell me that these crowd figures are acceptable.

 

[In-goal]

That's not nationally then is it ?

RL has 4 jewels in its crown.

West Sydney, SE Qld, regional NSW and regional Qld.

2 of those areas are not represented in Oztam.

Compare to states like WA and SA, where no one lives outside the capital cities.

I think you forget that everywhere south of Wagga recieve friday night Aussie rules on FTA, not to mention other main centers like Albury/Wadonga and the large Victorian country cities/towns.

Victoria has a population of over 5million NSW has a population of just under 7M how many people live in areas of NSW where Aussie rules is No.1. I would say close to 750K if not more when you look at the grand scheme of things so let's all be honest the idea that country NSW is all RL is a dream we share not a reality.

 

[djst]

As an Afl fan,which will probably piss most people off,I have been trying to follow league and get a grasp of the game for a couple of years and have gained alot better understanding and interest in the game.The obvious thing to me is the vast difference in the style ,variety and patterns of play between the two codes.
I have read all these ideas as to why League does not get this or that,and the the coment of The product is Superior,maybe, just maybe the product itself is not Superior.
This will obviously upset alot of people,but maybe one style of game is more attractive to more of the population than the other.

 

[gottabegood]

I think you will find a Rugby split some time ago may have little something to do with it.........

 

[Slackboy72]

Two reasons: The spectacle and the hassle of going to games.

Aussie Rules is a large game which is much better to watch live than on TV. At the game you can see the flowing movements unfold well before you get to see them on TV. League however is better on TV because cameras can get right in and show you the intricacies of the pass and the tackle.

As to the hassle, which is the biggest reason for me, apart from Suncorp Stadium, it is so much harder to get to a game of league. If there was a rail link to SFS we would see crowds of 25k+ every week.

You compare it to AFL, a poor crowd at the MCG is 25k. Most teams except collingwood will draw that. A well performing Essendon or St Kilda or Richmond will draw maybe 40k. People can easily travel to either the Telstra Dome or MCG ($3.30) and get a GA ticket (<$20). Imagine if the SFS were next to central station and every team in Sydney played there.

They need more double headers at SFS and Telstra if you ask me. It would put more value into the effort of going to league games.

 

[Kurt Angle]

I think you forget that everywhere south of Wagga recieve friday night Aussie rules on FTA, not to mention other main centers like Albury/Wadonga and the large Victorian country cities/towns.

I didn't forget to mention it, it's just not important to what is being said here.

The riverina isn't that populated, and all that is left out is regional victoria from Oztam ratings.

However, regional NSW and regional Qld have a combined population nealrly double that of WA and SA combined.

Victoria has a population of over 5million NSW has a population of just under 7M how many people live in areas of NSW where Aussie rules is No.1. I would say close to 750K if not more when you look at the grand scheme of things so let's all be honest the idea that country NSW is all RL is a dream we share not a reality.

:lol:

F*ckwit, the areas of NSW where AFL is more popular is about 250,000 people, no where near 1 million.

Now compare that the the higher density areas of pro-RL NSW such as the Central coast, hunter valley, western plains, north coast and northern highlands, it leaves Albury, Broken Hill and Junee a long way behind in terms of population.

 

[JW]

As an Afl fan,which will probably piss most people off,I have been trying to follow league and get a grasp of the game for a couple of years and have gained alot better understanding and interest in the game.The obvious thing to me is the vast difference in the style ,variety and patterns of play between the two codes.

I have read all these ideas as to why League does not get this or that,and the the coment of The product is Superior,maybe, just maybe the product itself is not Superior.

This will obviously upset alot of people,but maybe one style of game is more attractive to more of the population than the other.

Nah, i've never been upset by a Bigfooty blow in.

If you get satisfaction out of watching a collection of the dregs of this country fumbling their way around a cricket oval like a few dozen Filandia clones fighting over a single nut sack, then more power to you champ.

 

[JW]

how many people live in areas of NSW where Aussie rules is No.1. I would say close to 750K if not more

About 51 cards short of deck. Fair dinkum.

 

[Kurt Angle]

As an Afl fan,which will probably piss most people off,I have been trying to follow league and get a grasp of the game for a couple of years and have gained alot better understanding and interest in the game.The obvious thing to me is the vast difference in the style ,variety and patterns of play between the two codes.
I have read all these ideas as to why League does not get this or that,and the the coment of The product is Superior,maybe, just maybe the product itself is not Superior.
This will obviously upset alot of people,but maybe one style of game is more attractive to more of the population than the other.

Rubbish.

If a foreign product was plainly superior, it would surpass the dormany product.

In the same way foreign cars will surpass sh*tty Australian cars, Sydney is not that parochial about its football.

Aussie rules used to be the number one sport in Sydney back in the 1870's, and it was chased out of town for being a poor sport.

AFL had one blessing, it was our super league war. Since then however, even with 2 grand final appearances and 1 AFL title, AFL is slipping off the Sydney sporting radar. The emotional factors that have plagued RL for the past decade are fading, and leaving it a contest of what happens on the field.

This is where Aussie rules will always be shown to be an inferior sport.

Where AFL has obtained dominance is Melbourne is more cultural. melbourne feels AFL is it's contribution to the country. As insular and embarressing it is to every other Australian, that's they way they see things. And one thing they do have is world's best practice in getting crowds to the game.

Melbourne has also been extremely parochial in protecting its game, where up until 10-15 years ago, the only other sport allowed any media coverage was cricket on boxing day and a handfull of hgorse races in late october and early november.

The game of Aussies Rules has a history of being a sport always retreating in popularity in a historical sense.

It used to be followed in NZ, it used to be followed in NSW and QLD. It was surpassed by superior sports in all these places... whereever another sport is played, Aussie rules will always be an inferior sport.

It only expanded again when RL had a civil war.

 

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

That's not nationally then is it ?

RL has 4 jewels in its crown.

West Sydney, SE Qld, regional NSW and regional Qld.

2 of those areas are not represented in Oztam.

Compare to states like WA and SA, where no one lives outside the capital cities.

This may be true but the question Cumberland Throw was responding to was about what the ratings were, not what they should be.

Unfortunately because I'm not at home I don't have the figures I worked out with me but if I recall correctly it works out that the OzTAM five cities figures advantages the AFL states by about 20% because of the larger regional audiences in the NRL states.

 

[the Lock8]

I am a Queenslander who has been living in Melbourne for a long time now, and until I came to Melbourne I had never seen a game of aussie rules. My wife is a born and bred Collingwood supporter and until we got together, she had never seen a game of League. She with my help to understand the game, has become a passionate supporter of league as well as AFL, and I really like the AFL as well as league. The storm have a lot of supporters who go to both games, sometimes on the same day. Most of these people were originally AFL who now follow League as well. I have often wondered why we don't get the same crowds to league, and I still don't know whether it is a weather thing, i.e. Sydney and Brisbane have better weather temp. wise in winter, therefore more options to do besides football, or whether it is a cultural thing, i.e. were there more people of Irish descant here in Melbourne, and because the game is a bit like gaelic football, they were instant converts. I really don't think there is a simple answer. Dedicated fans of any sport are the same anywhere, and will go to any lengths to support their team. Sydney is also a much bigger city than Melbourne, and therefore harder to get to for a lot of people. I think the only answer is to convince all your friends to go as often as possible.