What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Calls for NRL to take Monday night footy to the bush

Johnny88

Juniors
Messages
1,195
Calls for NRL to take Monday night footy to the bush to counter dwindling crowds
A PUSH is underway to turn the NRL’s Monday night games into a bush football television extravaganza in country towns across the state.
Wagga, Tamworth, Port Macquarie, Mudgee, Cessnock and Bathurst are among those in line to host several NRL matches from next year.
Fox Sports would send their stars Matty Johns, Nathan Hindmarsh, Bryan Fletcher and Gorden Tallis to the towns beforehand to do skits for their show.
Fox Sports chief executive Patrick Delany says his network could cope with the extra costs to improve the TV experience for stay-at-home fans.
“We have already spoken to the NRL about our preferred venues for Monday night football,” Delany said.
“The atmosphere would be fantastic at packed country venues and it’s definitely something we support.”
The concept has the backing of most of the 16 clubs, Importantly, ANZ Stadium has agreed in principal to release clubs from contracted games.
ANZ Stadium Managing Director Daryl Kerry said there was flexibility in existing agreements with his home clubs to allow a small number of games to be played elsewhere.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/ca...dwindling-crowds/story-fndujljl-1227396299226
 

CC_Roosters

First Grade
Messages
5,221
No no no. So their solution for monday night football is to unload it into the bush where people would have hours to travel on a working night more games in the bush for sure but on a saturday or sunday
 

BuffaloRules

Coach
Messages
14,270
It couldn't hurt to try if for a year and guage the response.

As the article says, it's not just about the game on the Monday, but the weekend before running clinics and promoting the sport..
 
Messages
14,139
No merkin in the cities want to go so dump it on the bush.

Given they have completely failed to deliver on bringing proper games to country areas despite talking about it for years this might be the only hope. However when country people also fail to show up in the numbers they want it will just be an excuse to never bring proper games to the bush again.

And that's exactly what will happen because:
A. Country grounds only hold 8-10k so there is no chance for even sold out crowds to match some city crowds.
B. The travel issues in country regions would limit potential crowds.
C. If they charge $25-30 plus they will limit it further because country people don't pay that for any kind of sport.
D. There's more than 20 Monday night games a year so to do it every week would require that many venues every year and there aren't so towns would have to host games regularly, which means it won't be a rare treat event and interest will wane.
E. Winter night games will turn people off just as much as anywhere else, especially when every country venue has hills and few seats, and that's without considering rain (or snow).

You could actually end up with crowds of 3000 to some games and how long will a reactionary, ignorant and image obsessed admin put up with that?
 

ek999

First Grade
Messages
6,973
Well Wagga doesn't have a ground with sufficient lighting for night HD broadcasts and I doubt any other regional places do either
 
Messages
14,139
Well Wagga doesn't have a ground with sufficient lighting for night HD broadcasts and I doubt any other regional places do either

True. Although they could bring in temporary lights like nein did for city/country. But that's another cost they'd soon get sick of.
 

BuffaloRules

Coach
Messages
14,270
Why wouldn't our rugby league starved country cousins and apparently massive fans of the game knock off from the farm early one Monday and travel a couple of hours down the road to watch their one local game of NRL for the year?

What game are they hoping to see- Origin provided it's on a Sunday arvo at their local ground 5 mins down the road?
 
Last edited:

Flapper

First Grade
Messages
7,825
People need to stop obsessing about Monday night crowds. It is a game specifically designed for people not to go to. Although I would prefer it in the bush if that's what shuts people up.
 
Messages
14,139
Why wouldn't our rugby league starved country cousins and apparently massive fans of the game knock off from the farm early one Monday and travel a couple of hours down the road to watch their one local game of NRL for the year?

What game are they hoping to see- Origin provided it's on a Sunday arvo at their local ground 5 mins down the road?

Farm? Farmers don't watch RL. Not anymore.

And country people are not massive fans of the game anymore. Having been starved for so long people in most places dont care anymore. So to tell them they should take what they get and like it now is pretty rich. There is plenty of support to fill small grounds when games are played at reasonable times but start making it hard for people by playing it at night in winter on a week night and at expensive prices and the years of neglect and apathy will be repaid by lacklustre support.
 

BuffaloRules

Coach
Messages
14,270
Farm? Farmers don't watch RL. Not anymore.

And country people are not massive fans of the game anymore. Having been starved for so long people in most places dont care anymore. So to tell them they should take what they get and like it now is pretty rich. There is plenty of support to fill small grounds when games are played at reasonable times but start making it hard for people by playing it at night in winter on a week night and at expensive prices and the years of neglect and apathy will be repaid by lacklustre support.

Don't you whinge that they aren't doing enough for the game in the country, yet you have already shot this down before it has even been tried and with little details released (FMD you are even whinging about the hypothetical pricing!)

In regards to country areas like Dubbo, Albury, Tamworth and Orange, which scenario is better;

A) No games a year
B) One game a year on a Monday night, after a weekend promoting the game by media figures and players at coaching clinics, junior games and local club fundraisers.
 
Last edited:

TooheysNew

Coach
Messages
1,047
Farm? Farmers don't watch RL. Not anymore.

And country people are not massive fans of the game anymore. Having been starved for so long people in most places dont care anymore. So to tell them they should take what they get and like it now is pretty rich. There is plenty of support to fill small grounds when games are played at reasonable times but start making it hard for people by playing it at night in winter on a week night and at expensive prices and the years of neglect and apathy will be repaid by lacklustre support.
Lol what? How sweeping can you get?
 
Messages
14,139
What is better is the thing they've been talking about for years, which is proper games. Setting this up to fail will be the final kick in the guts because when they get sub 3000 crowds on freezing wet Monday nights the reaction won't be to move games to decent times, it will be to scrap bush games altogether and we'll have f**kwits from Sydney saying "see they didn't support the games". The same f**kwits who whinge about city/country every year but pay lip service to the bush when brain fart ideas like this come up.
 

BuffaloRules

Coach
Messages
14,270
What is better is the thing they've been talking about for years, which is proper games. Setting this up to fail will be the final kick in the guts because when they get sub 3000 crowds on freezing wet Monday nights the reaction won't be to move games to decent times, it will be to scrap bush games altogether and we'll have f**kwits from Sydney saying "see they didn't support the games". The same f**kwits who whinge about city/country every year but pay lip service to the bush when brain fart ideas like this come up.

So what are your ideas then? What games/times do you want to see?
 
Top