Adelaide Rams

[undertaker]

Regarding the venues, yes, I love the gradient/slope of those Hindmarsh Stadium grandstands. Would make a great view, but the capacity would have to be expanded to at least 20k in order for it to be considered as a potential home venue for a new Adelaide franchise. However, Adelaide Oval is in a better location and is as centrally located to a city's CBD as you can get (just as much as the MCG/Etihad Stadium is to the Melbourne CBD. Oh, if only Sydney had a centrally-located stadium to the CBD like that!). It's no surprise the crowds for both Adelaide/Port Adelaide AFL franchises have increased dramatically since they moved to Adelaide Oval, as it's pretty much a stone-throws walk anywhere in the CBD to the venue.

In light of Perth getting an Origin match in 2018 at the new stadium at Burswood, a sold-out Origin match at Adelaide Oval would also look and sound great on tv. Has a capacity similar to Suncorp Stadium, of around 53k. Also, time-difference is not an issue as Adelaide is only 30 minutes behind Sydney.

That gold was their away jersey if I'm not mistaken and they only wore it twice. Once vs. Knights and the other time vs. Bears.

Yep, Adelaide wore the yellow jersey vs Newcastle in their final game.

For a time Skinny dweeb piano masher Ben Folds lived in Adelaide. He wrote a song about it.


I also liked it when Tony Vidmar (??) referred to it as "a pissant town" while coaching the A League team.

In terms of pop culture references to Adelaide, still remember the line in John Safran's "Not the Sunscreen Song", coincidentally from 1998: "Never live in Adelaide - it's a hole".

I did go there for 3 days in January 2009 and besides visiting Adelaide Oval, the churches, eating a nice souvlaki there and visiting Glenelg beach, it was pretty boring and very hot (45 degrees on the first day I was there).

Adelaide came in at a bad period for Rugby League.

If a Adelaide team came in now, it wouldn't be a bad thing, but I think maybe play the odd NRL Game there.
.

Yeah, SL year the Rams made their debut, not to mention the 2nd Adelaide AFL franchise (Port Adelaide) was admitted the same year, and Adelaide Crows won both 1997 and 1998 premierships.

Had they been admitted into the comp at the 1995 expansion (when league was getting good crowds for one-off Winfield Cup matches it played there), things may have panned out differently as RL was still getting good coverage there at the time (like Perth pre-1996, they even got the Ch9 Sunday game live in full, and not the edited 6:30pm 1hr highlights NSW/QLD folk were subjected to).

I think Adelaide took a game to Whyalla which attracted just over 5,000.

Correct.

Round 15 vs Illawarra at Bennett Oval, Whyalla.

http://afltables.com/rl/scorers/games/1998/199806201226.html

Got a crowd of 5,153 on a Saturday afternoon.

Several NRL games were taken to country regions in 1998, but the one in Whyalla is impressive when you consider that Whyalla is a small iron ore town with a population of approx. 20k. Considering the Rams only averaged about 7500 at Adelaide Oval/Hindmarsh Stadium that year, 5153 in a town of population only 20k in a strong-hold AFL state (with pretty much no RL presence nor promotion in the media by that stage) 400km away from Adelaide, is outstanding.

 

[ram raid]

Adelaide - 'Yass with poofs" - Doug Mulray . best characterisation ever.

 

[CowboyFuriousFury]

Fact is, the Rams were only a 1k off the Bulldogs who made the GF that year said it all.
http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1998.html

And at worst, the Rams were 3-4k to the other Sydney clubs who had decades to get in together meanwhile both Reds/Rams got cut. It be the equilevent of the AFL cutting the Lions/Swans during there worst in the 90's.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Regarding the venues, yes, I love the gradient/slope of those Hindmarsh Stadium grandstands. Would make a great view, but the capacity would have to be expanded to at least 20k in order for it to be considered as a potential home venue for a new Adelaide franchise. However, Adelaide Oval is in a better location and is as centrally located to a city's CBD as you can get (just as much as the MCG/Etihad Stadium is to the Melbourne CBD. Oh, if only Sydney had a centrally-located stadium to the CBD like that!). It's no surprise the crowds for both Adelaide/Port Adelaide AFL franchises have increased dramatically since they moved to Adelaide Oval, as it's pretty much a stone-throws walk anywhere in the CBD to the venue.

In light of Perth getting an Origin match in 2018 at the new stadium at Burswood, a sold-out Origin match at Adelaide Oval would also look and sound great on tv. Has a capacity similar to Suncorp Stadium, of around 53k. Also, time-difference is not an issue as Adelaide is only 30 minutes behind Sydney.

Yep, Adelaide wore the yellow jersey vs Newcastle in their final game.

Adelaide Oval is an amazing ground. Been there twice since their redevelopment, and its amazing how you get the best of both worlds.

I sat there for cricket in 2014, and because it was Day 5, we were allowed to move around to any seat except for the members area. We sat in the stands for most of day but in the final session we decided to give the hill a go. Australia won that thrilling test and it was amazing atmosphere.

The other good thing, as you mentioned its so close to the city, only walking distance from the main train station.

I think Football Park (AAMI Stadium as it was also known) was about 30-40ks out of Adelaide and was a nightmare to get to. Also I think the ground itself was a bit old.

Having a league game at Adelaide would be great. Probably not great viewing being an oval stadium, but still the atmosphere would be great if they get 40,000.

I remember that Knights/Rams game. I think Adelaide led 20-6 at halftime and looked as though a massive upset was on the cards but of course they get run down 34-20.

 

[CowboyFuriousFury]

Rams playing out out of Adelaide Oval was way too big, too soon for them should of play majority of the games at Hindmarsh and make the Oval a 'event' game. Would of been cheaper in rent to go play at Hindmarsh from the get go then the Oval. Same with the Reds and the cricket ground, surely Glory had a football field that could of used instead.

 

[Frank Discussion]

Adelaide Oval is an amazing ground. Been there twice since their redevelopment, and its amazing how you get the best of both worlds.

I sat there for cricket in 2014, and because it was Day 5, we were allowed to move around to any seat except for the members area. We sat in the stands for most of day but in the final session we decided to give the hill a go. Australia won that thrilling test and it was amazing atmosphere.

You are easily amazed.

 

[DiegoNT]

Rams playing out out of Adelaide Oval was way too big, too soon for them should of play majority of the games at Hindmarsh and make the Oval a 'event' game. Would of been cheaper in rent to go play at Hindmarsh from the get go then the Oval. Same with the Reds and the cricket ground, surely Glory had a football field that could of used instead.

NiB stadium, the current stadium that perth glory and nrl teams use wasn't up to standard at the time the reds were in the comp. Perth glory did use it, but the nsl was a shit show at the time. During 95 the atmosphere at the WACA was pretty good, even with superleague happening in the background. But by 97 super league had f**ked thing's over dramatically, the local comp was falling apart and the one time our family did go to a reds game, from free tickets the reds were struggling to give away, the atmosphere was like a funerals

 

[davi]

It states in Alan Langer's book ALF that Allan Langer was finding the media and the pressure of the Broncos fortunes riding on him a burden. He actually asked to be released from his contract so he could sign with the Adelaide Rams, where the media attention wouldn't be so significant and so he could get a much needed change, but Wayne Bennett talked him out of it.

 

[T-Boon]

It states in Alan Langer's book ALF that Allan Langer was finding the media and the pressure of the Broncos fortunes riding on him a burden. He actually asked to be released from his contract so he could sign with the Adelaide Rams, where the media attention wouldn't be so significant and so he could get a much needed change, but Wayne Bennett talked him out of it.

Nice. That would be part of the appeal of Perth, Adelaide or Wellington teams.

 

[CowboyFuriousFury]

It states in Alan Langer's book ALF that Allan Langer was finding the media and the pressure of the Broncos fortunes riding on him a burden. He actually asked to be released from his contract so he could sign with the Adelaide Rams, where the media attention wouldn't be so significant and so he could get a much needed change, but Wayne Bennett talked him out of it.

Marquee signings is what the 95-97 expansion teams needed at the time, in particular in Perth/Adelaide should of being allowed to sign marquee players that would of improve the club on the field. To think if the Storm fail to perform just like Reds/Rams wouldn't of being surprised if they got cut quickly also luckily they made the finals straight away and premiership the 2nd year guaranteeing there existence.

The fact, the admin wanted instant success for the expansion teams and failed to be patient like the AFL with the Lions/Swans. Didn't help the super-league war drained funds from both ARL/News making it hard to financially assist expanison if they did have the funds it would of being paying off today with a true national competition.

The ratings in WA/SA for this year GF show the potential there despite there being no team since 98 and non-existent coverage/promotion of the game down there. It's frustrating seeing rugby league not reach it' true potential.

 

[Canard]

Marquee signings is what the 95-97 expansion teams needed at the time, in particular in Perth/Adelaide should of being allowed to sign marquee players that would of improve the club on the field. To think if the Storm fail to perform just like Reds/Rams wouldn't of being surprised if they got cut quickly also luckily they made the finals straight away and premiership the 2nd year guaranteeing there existence.

The fact, the admin wanted instant success for the expansion teams and failed to be patient like the AFL with the Lions/Swans. Didn't help the super-league war drained funds from both ARL/News making it hard to financially assist expanison if they did have the funds it would of being paying off today with a true national competition.

The ratings in WA/SA for this year GF show the potential there despite there being no team since 98 and non-existent coverage/promotion of the game down there. It's frustrating seeing rugby league not reach it' true potential.

I think it was more politics and money than any "instant success" criteria that did in those teams.


To me it was very short sighted and full of self interest.

 

[Perth Red]

Yep a number of perfect storm factors led to reds demise. The biggest being to sign to SL then let news ltd take over the board from local WARL people. On paper the Reds team wasn't too bad but from what I've heard the attitude of some players was a joke and they did little to endear themselves to the locals.

My uncle said the waca was the worse ground he's ever seen RL at, apparently if you stood at fence level you were below the players due to the curvature of the pitch. Watching that televised game of the Reds beating st George in front of a raucous 18k crowd in 95 gives you a glimpse of what might have been.

 

[Perth Red]

I think it was more politics and money than any "instant success" criteria that did in those teams.


To me it was very short sighted and full of self interest.

Not u usually for RL the leadership,showed a lack of vision and balls in 98 when the comps came back together. If they had gone to a 18 team comp of:
Auckland
Perth
Adelaide
Canberra
Melbourne
Brisbane
SQ Crushers
Gold Coast
NQ
Gosford
Newcastle
And 7 places for Sydney teams

We would have a very different look and feel of the game now. Our talk about expansion would be on Wellington and PNG, how exciting would that be?

 

[magpie_man]

Beautiful city, Adelaide. Love it to bits.

 

[undertaker]

Fact is, the Rams were only a 1k off the Bulldogs who made the GF that year said it all.
http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1998.html

And at worst, the Rams were 3-4k to the other Sydney clubs who had decades to get in together meanwhile both Reds/Rams got cut. It be the equilevent of the AFL cutting the Lions/Swans during there worst in the 90's.

100% agree with you.

Although only Gold Coast/Western Suburbs/South Sydney were the only teams with lower average home crowds than the Rams for 1998, Wests and Souths as you said had been in the comp for decades, as had the Bulldogs that only averaged 8363/home game, which is about only another 900 more fans than Adelaide.

It was a bad decision for the NRL to cut the Rams and unfortunately they will have to wait until the 2nd expansion (from 18 to 20 teams) before Adelaide is in consideration for an NRL franchise.

I feel that had Adelaide been admitted in the 1995 expansion, the Allan Langer coup eventuated and the ARL/NRL persevered with Adelaide, things would've panned out very differently for the Rams. However, the writing was on the wall and the end was nigh once Ch9 Adelaide stopped televising Rams home games after they moved from Adelaide Oval halfway through the 1998 season. With no coverage of the local team on television, Ch9 shafting RL matches into the graveyard slot at the same Adelaide's interest in AFL went through the roof off the back of the Crows first premiership in '97 (and then going on to win it again in '98)...I can now see why ParraFan and others say that the Rams unfortunately came into first-grade at the wrong time. Just like North Sydney's demise, everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Rams (e.g. in the case of the Gosford stadium construction, bad weather forced delays)

Had the Rams and Reds not been cut, the Melbourne Storm may have not formed until much later (as their inaugural squad was predominantly Western Reds and Hunter Mariners players, so in essence, the Storm was pretty much a Super League team). Perth will always go down as a "oh, what could've win" when you look at the inroads Rugby Union made once the Reds were dissolved, immediately playing a Wallabies test match at Subiaco the following year in 1998. All that ground Rugby Union gained since then is what should've belonged to rugby league, which makes it a bitter pill to swallow when you think about it.

 

[DiegoNT]

Yep a number of perfect storm factors led to reds demise. The biggest being to sign to SL then let news ltd take over the board from local WARL people. On paper the Reds team wasn't too bad but from what I've heard the attitude of some players was a joke and they did little to endear themselves to the locals.

My uncle said the waca was the worse ground he's ever seen RL at, apparently if you stood at fence level you were below the players due to the curvature of the pitch. Watching that televised game of the Reds beating st George in front of a raucous 18k crowd in 95 gives you a glimpse of what might have been.

Waca wasn't a bad ground to watch rugby, but maybe I'm looking at it through a thick fog of nostalgia glasses.
Players weren't bad. They had Brad Mackay, matt rodwell was a rookie of the year a few seasons beforehand, Julien o'neill came with a bit of fanfare later on. Mark Geyer was there as well, but there was a story about him bashing someone at a taxi rank, and i have my own personal story about mark geyer.
Super league was the biggest problem. The local league community was made up of longterm traditional fans. Most people gave up there old allegiances to support the local team. The atmosphere off that first game against the dragons was amazing and without superleague they could of built on it. But the decision to sign with superleague literally split that support in half overnight. My family was part of a large group that only went to games featuring ARL alligned clubs to cheer against the reds. That atmosphere from the dragons game literally evaporated before their eyes. Then the takeover of the warl happened, clubs died out or had heavy in fighting, by the difference between the grassroots in 95 compared to 97 was dramatic.

 

[undertaker]

Adelaide Oval is an amazing ground. Been there twice since their redevelopment, and its amazing how you get the best of both worlds.

Went there during January 2009 (before the redevelopments) as the gates to Adelaide Oval were opened during the day and lots of people were walking around inside the ground and it had a very tranquil, picturesque feel to it. That old straight boundary from fence to fence was very long (used to be 190m from end to end, now its 167m since redevelopment), the longest cricket boundary in the world before ropes became mandatory. It would take one hell of a big hit to clear that part of the fence with a bat from 20 years ago.

I think Football Park (AAMI Stadium as it was also known) was about 30-40ks out of Adelaide and was a nightmare to get to. Also I think the ground itself was a bit old.

Football Park is 13km from Adelaide Oval, but it was difficult to get there via public transportation. As you said, it was also a bit old, given it was one of the 4 original venues for World Series Cricket.

Since leaving Football Park, Adelaide's average home attendance has gone from 33k to 47k, Port Adelaide's from 27k to 40k.

Having a league game at Adelaide would be great. Probably not great viewing being an oval stadium, but still the atmosphere would be great if they get 40,000.

If atmosphere at the packed-out BBL matches is anything to go by, I believe an Origin match at Adelaide Oval would look and sound great on tv. The opening game of the season and home finals matches involving a new Adelaide franchise would draw a big crowd there as well. Otherwise, regular season matches should be played at a renovated Hindmarsh Stadium (capacity at least 20k)

NiB stadium, the current stadium that perth glory and nrl teams use wasn't up to standard at the time the reds were in the comp. Perth glory did use it, but the nsl was a shit show at the time. During 95 the atmosphere at the WACA was pretty good, even with superleague happening in the background. But by 97 super league had f**ked thing's over dramatically, the local comp was falling apart and the one time our family did go to a reds game, from free tickets the reds were struggling to give away, the atmosphere was like a funerals

Of the Reds home games they played during 1995-97, I remember they did play a one-off game at NIB Stadium (then known as Perth Oval) in 1997, pulling off an upset against Canterbury infront of approx 7k (was mentioned on the Super League show with Debbie Spillaine). NIB Stadium looked very different back then and as you said, was not up to first-grade standard and wouldn't have past the NRL stadium criteria during the 1998-99 team evaluation process for the 14 team competition in 2000.

Oh, and please share with us your experience with big MG!

 

[undertaker]

Marquee signings is what the 95-97 expansion teams needed at the time, in particular in Perth/Adelaide should of being allowed to sign marquee players that would of improve the club on the field. To think if the Storm fail to perform just like Reds/Rams wouldn't of being surprised if they got cut quickly also luckily they made the finals straight away and premiership the 2nd year guaranteeing there existence.

The fact, the admin wanted instant success for the expansion teams and failed to be patient like the AFL with the Lions/Swans. Didn't help the super-league war drained funds from both ARL/News making it hard to financially assist expanison if they did have the funds it would of being paying off today with a true national competition.

The ratings in WA/SA for this year GF show the potential there despite there being no team since 98 and non-existent coverage/promotion of the game down there. It's frustrating seeing rugby league not reach it' true potential.

RL will never reach its full potential in Australia whilst Greenberg is CEO, the ARLC remains the same way it is (when it was touted by the likes of morons such as Gus Gould as the commission that would give the people back the game they deserved..what rubbish) and Origin still remains the pinnacle of RL rather than international test matches.

I agree with your first paragraph, had Perth/Adelaide got marquee signings (especially Adelaide with Allan Langer), that would've gone a long way...

Also, the Storm's future was under threat for the most part of 2001-06. Crowd attendances declined sub-10k and despite their 1999 premiership, tv and media coverage in Melbourne was nearly non existent, Olympic Park was a crap run-down venue, AFL had a much bigger stronghold in Melbourne and monopolised the sports media (they've lost a bit of that stranglehold over the past few years, starting with the Storm premiership in 2012 and regular matches in Melbourne on at a decent time). It was only during the second half of 2006 when the Storm's crowds were back on the rise.

 

[DiegoNT]

Oh, and please share with us your experience with big MG!

It was during 1997, when the local rl scene was dying out, the reds come up with an idea to send players to local junior matches to create good publicity and what not. Our club was lucky enough to get MG. He rocked up to junior rugby, either Saturday or sunday morning, drunk and made the club rope of a little area for him so he and his mates didn't have to mingle with anyone. He then spent the next few hours heckling the players on the field. Him and his mates were calling kids useless and hopeless whenever they made a mistake or missed a tackle. Laughing and telling his mates how hopeless these perth people are. Went on for hours and everybody at the club were in shock over it. On the way out of the ground we drove past MG in the parking lot, and my Mother being the fiery type yelled out ' you're a merkin of a bloke Geyer, super league deserve people like you'. He chased after our car picking a plank of wood up on the way, and when he caught up he started smashing our car up with the plank (was an old beat up HQ anyway)
He then went to my mother's window trying to throw punches and grab her, but she maced him and was able to drive off. In the paper the next day MG had a big sob story about how a car full of men tried to attack him (me, mum and my 3 siblings, all im primary school at the time) and how he has asked the club to provide him with a body guard. Nowdays MG is a moral crusader for getting players kicked out of the game for misbehavior, can't help but think what a massive hypocrit he is

 

[undertaker]

It was during 1997, when the local rl scene was dying out, the reds come up with an idea to send players to local junior matches to create good publicity and what not. Our club was lucky enough to get MG. He rocked up to junior rugby, either Saturday or sunday morning, drunk and made the club rope of a little area for him so he and his mates didn't have to mingle with anyone. He then spent the next few hours heckling the players on the field. Him and his mates were calling kids useless and hopeless whenever they made a mistake or missed a tackle. Laughing and telling his mates how hopeless these perth people are. Went on for hours and everybody at the club were in shock over it. On the way out of the ground we drove past MG in the parking lot, and my Mother being the fiery type yelled out ' you're a merkin of a bloke Geyer, super league deserve people like you'. He chased after our car picking a plank of wood up on the way, and when he caught up he started smashing our car up with the plank (was an old beat up HQ anyway)
He then went to my mother's window trying to throw punches and grab her, but she maced him and was able to drive off. In the paper the next day MG had a big sob story about how a car full of men tried to attack him (me, mum and my 3 siblings, all im primary school at the time) and how he has asked the club to provide him with a body guard. Nowdays MG is a moral crusader for getting players kicked out of the game for misbehavior, can't help but think what a massive hypocrit he is

I'm sorry to hear about what he did to your mum. Completely 100% unacceptable, as well as turning up drunk to a local junior match. Must've been very embarrassing for the people that day that were trying their best to salvage RL in Perth at a time when the SL war was kicking it to the kerb. Considering the stories the Sydney Morning Herald and Telegraph journos dish up today over many non-issues with NRL players, they'd have an absolute field day if that Geyer incident happened today. Players like him got away with those sort of rubbish back then, as the Sydney media was still RL-dominated and AFL/soccer/union were only a small microcosm compared to today where they have a lot of influencial people in the media. Also, technology wasn't as advanced. Now, you misbehave in public and all someone needs to do is take out their mobile phone and record the incident and then upload it onto the internet or send it to the media.

Yeah, I agree he's a hypocrite for wanking on about player misbehaviour on the Triple M Grill Team morning program. I find it hilarious he is painted in the media these days as a tough guy on the field during his playing days and a gentle giant since retirement representing the 'voice of the people', but when I see interviews such as the one he did with Sterlo this year, I know it's nothing more than a PR stunt to try and keep that persona alive. I would love to see you call the Grill Team program and mention that incident next time he gets on one of those 'voice of the people when it comes to player misbehaviour' rants and hear him crap his pants live on air while Matt Johns and Gus Worland try to make you look like the bad guy and say some 'men will always be men/it was just a joke/it's not his go' rubbish.

My only memory of MG at the Reds was getting a 10 week suspension and heavy fine for eye gouging (nearly $100k IIRC). If he was playing today the way he used to, he'd be the Dermott Brereton/Mark 'Jacko' Jackson dropkick who's always getting suspended or in the news for getting into some form of trouble off the field.