Away games in Numbers (Canberra)

[OldSkoolSaint]

I wrote this in the Dragon Army planning thread for the trip to Canberra, and in the spirit of not hijacking a thread (as is common practice on these boards) I have relisted it here for discussion (if anyone can contribute).

In all seriousness, if we can attract 10,000 people to be ticketed members of this club, and with most away matches we particpate in attracting record (season) crowds for clubs, there shouldn't be any problem with getting 50% of these people along to this game. It all comes down to scheduling.

I have an ambition inside of me, I want to see a UK style crowd of away support infifltrate a city. Like when a US aircraft carrier arrives in Sydney, you see soldiers everywhere, it's like (well pun) an army. Rugby League shouldn't struggle to get 5k along to a match of opposition supporters.

Where are these people and how do we get them on the bus?
5k might be ambitious, but 500 would be a brilliant start lol

well its in the AFL, the other week when swans played collingwood and other AFL teams they just overtake our city, and all you see are losers wearing AFL singlets( i refuse to call them jerseys or even Guernsey). its just the away team not advertising enough or even too expensive for people to travel. the club needs to do more!

This is definitely something the AFL do well, if you have ever been to Melbourne for a Saints match, you will know the feeling of being asked if your here for the Swans etc... You also see bucketloads of travelling AFL fans in the city all weekend when their team is in town.

Is it cost of entry or just getting to the match?
Surely with bigger numbers we could reduce the costs of the bus or even have some sort of subsidy for getting a large number to an away match.

Something needs to be done - if we can't get people to attend Sydney matches in good numbers (NRL) we need to get the regular attendees to get to more out of town matches.

 

[CreaghzyMark]

I wrote this in the Dragon Army planning thread for the trip to Canberra, and in the spirit of not hijacking a thread (as is common practice on these boards) I have relisted it here for discussion (if anyone can contribute).





This is definitely something the AFL do well, if you have ever been to Melbourne for a Saints match, you will know the feeling of being asked if your here for the Swans etc... You also see bucketloads of travelling AFL fans in the city all weekend when their team is in town.

Is it cost of entry or just getting to the match?
Surely with bigger numbers we could reduce the costs of the bus or even have some sort of subsidy for getting a large number to an away match.

Something needs to be done - if we can't get people to attend Sydney matches in good numbers (NRL) we need to get the regular attendees to get to more out of town matches.

i have cousins in adelaide and melbourne, and their respected afl clubs do alot of promoting for away games, they dont care about home games becuase they already have a 2year waiting list just to become a ticketing member, so they get all the money to home games already so they then concentrate on away games with bus trips and even plane trips to WA. the dragons leagues club charge quite abit more then what the boys in the army do. with more advertising and then not taking too much of a cut outta the trip they might get more numbers.

 

[Sas2200]

It would be great to get a "travelling army" however the mentality of the NRL clubs as mentioned above differs significantly to the AFL clubs, who, yes do promote away games a hell of a lot more.

I do feel though, over the last few years, our very own "travelling army" is growing. Maybe the success of this season has assisted with this, but if we can keep building, maybe we will get 100 down to Melbourne next year, and a few more buses to Canberra/newcastle. If I recall well, last year, there was 1 bus to Canberra, and 2 to Newcastle (or have i got them the wrong way round) and only a handful flew down to Melbourne. This year we had at least 20-30 Dragon Army regulars fly down to Melbourne (cheers to the Melbourne lads for the after party), and apart from all of us raiding the other thread, it looks like we could have 3-4 buses lined up to Canberra....surely we are on the up?

We also practically took over Parramatta Stadium earlier this season, completely filling the Scoreboard end, as well as a section of the grandstand, which was also noted in the commentary. Next stop is CUA stadium in Penrith, if we can create the same away atmosphere as the Dogs Fans did when they travelled there, surely we can at least lay claim to have the best travelling army......

You can tell im still at work cant you....

 

[OldSkoolSaint]

I agree with what you say, but what is the reason we can get approx 7 - 10k at Parramatta but say 12K at home?

And if that many went to Parra, what is the seller? How do we get these people on a bus going to Canberra or Newcastle or any away game outside of the metro area?

In 1999, we travelled to Melbourne twice, 1st time we had over 30 fly down, then for the semi we got 54 on a bus - that really should have been much higher but the mentality is not there.

scheduling the Canberra match correctly can be the difference between upto 5k Saints fans attending or not, however simply saying Sunday is best etc is not the right answer either.

 

[Sas2200]

I think its a matter of awareness and persistance. Somehow, we need to reach out to all these fans of ours, who come and watch the Saints play at home, and the odd away game, yet think, canberra, pfft too far mission. Maybe they simply dont know that for $30, they can hop on a bus, get a ticket to the game, and enjoy it with people who share the same passion. Last year was our first road trip with the army, and since we have gone to newcastle and melbourne.

Once the draw is released next week, we have 1 or 2 weeks to confirm numbers so the big boys can book the coaches. Its a matter of getting as many as possibly to make the trip, and once you do 1, you always come back for more.

I think the Club needs to do more, especially with the members. Last year, we took 2 coaches, the club took 1...seriously, thats fail. The club should encorporate road trips as part of membership packages, or even advertise at games with a stall, put your name down, pay there and then, that way your booked and ready to go....

 

[CreaghzyMark]

I think its a matter of awareness and persistance. Somehow, we need to reach out to all these fans of ours, who come and watch the Saints play at home, and the odd away game, yet think, canberra, pfft too far mission. Maybe they simply dont know that for $30, they can hop on a bus, get a ticket to the game, and enjoy it with people who share the same passion. Last year was our first road trip with the army, and since we have gone to newcastle and melbourne.

Once the draw is released next week, we have 1 or 2 weeks to confirm numbers so the big boys can book the coaches. Its a matter of getting as many as possibly to make the trip, and once you do 1, you always come back for more.

I think the Club needs to do more, especially with the members. Last year, we took 2 coaches, the club took 1...seriously, thats fail. The club should encorporate road trips as part of membership packages, or even advertise at games with a stall, put your name down, pay there and then, that way your booked and ready to go....

i agree, the club only got 1 bus and we took two and the people from the club said they paid something like 10 dollars more then what we were offered. they should have a club bus and shouldnt be charging for the bus. think about it, yeah you lose couple of hundred dollars in petrol and all but if like mentioned above, you get a travelling membership or army, imagine the amount of people that would be interested because you get more then a game, you get a road trip and then your getting it all for the exact same price so why wouldnt you go if you had the time. or instead of the club trying to make $10 - $15 dollars profit on each person cut the margin down to say $2 - $5 and you will see the difference.