Channel 9 wants to kill of a sydney club

[wittyfan]

9 need to fix their very poor coverage before they tell anyone which teams they want to be in or out.

 

[adamkungl]

Would you encourage your kid to follow Souths instead?

Nah, Perth

 

[TheRam]

Junior set ups take years to build and longer to produce. The fact that there are prospects around the mark is a strong achievement after 20 years.

The Victorian state side was a joke 10-15 years ago so if they are now competing with WA and NT who used to put cricket scores on them is a big leap in the right direction.

Race doesn't matter. Having the numbers available to build a big enough local competition that allows for awareness and opportunity to play RL in Victoria matters.

The reason I mentioned race is because it is a sign that the NRL is expanding its appeal to the larger community of AFL loving Victorians. Not just an insular NZ/Islander concern. To grow and thrive in any market and especially in that one you need to engage as many different groups of society as possible. It can't be seen as a sport for only NZers and Islanders down there or it will never really grow.

 

[carcharias]

Nah, Perth

Ya see.
You’d more than likely discourage them to follow footy purely out of spite.
I would.

 

[Perth Red]

Thanks for the reply. You don't know the actual numbers of registered players though do you? The reason I mention Islanders and Maoris is because RL hasn't actually converted those kids into RL followers/players, it is in the their traditional DNA. But if we have any other race of players coming through then that is a new pickup for the game and a sign that the game is heading in the right direction in that State.

But yes it is a numbers game and we are yet to see any come through at the NRL level, which I find very concerning and a little baffling to be honest.

It's in the 2017 NRL annual report if you want to look it up. For some reason the NRL didnt produce the numbers in the 2018 report.

Why do you find it baffling when you know its a numbers game? If the NRL was investing into Victoria Jnr RL what AFL pumps into NSW AFL then we would see a different picture. No-ones investing significantly in it so its not surprising we arent seeing the 10k kids playing that you need to produce a steady stream of NRL first graders. States like Victoria and WA would have around 1500 kids playing the game. Its not enough.

 

[Perth Red]

It's just so strange that everyone can see the obvious solution - expand to 18 with Perth and Brisbane2 - except for Nine and the ARLC.

There are plenty of young players wanting to step up. People point to how weak the Titans are as an example of the depth not being there, but the reason that the Titans suck is because it attracts players who are more interested in getting on the tiles after the game than digging in and playing good footy.

The depth is already there. Every year half a dozen blokes get found in reserves - guys like Rueben Garrick and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad - and step up when presented with the opportunity. Yes, there will probably be a few lean years whilst they're getting into gear, but that's not a reason to not pull the trigger.

And get the league onto Seven or Ten. Nine is an absolute cancer on the sport.

This. Take the $40mill surplus a year the NRL now has and put it into two new clubs. Keep that extra game for exclusive NRL digital viewing and start to build the NRL's digital subscription platform for future proofing TV deals. Simple really.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

Personally my great love for the game isn't limited to having a top-tier professional club in my backyard.
If my team got punted tomorrow I probably wouldn't follow the NRL, but I certainly wouldn't suddenly be wearing a f**king Swans scarf. Rugby League is bigger than 1 club in 1 comp.

I wouldn’t go the the AFL cos I don’t much like the game. I’d jump on Sydney FC and catch up for ol’ time sake with a few mates at Easts games in whatever lower tier comp they ended up in but NRL can get fugged

 

[Perth Red]

Nah, Perth

Kids love Pirates. We've got this!

 

[Generalzod]

Is Tom Malone on the spectrum or something?

He's made these comments and is reacting with shock that everyone isn't like 'yeah, good point mate, kick my team out because its better for your business model'.

How can a television network sport director be so completely tone deaf to how sport actually works? His comments seem to indicate he genuinely believes that if you punt Manly or Cronulla for some made up Brisbane Bandicoots then all of those fans will just switch to another team too. It's bizarre how poorly he understands it.

Oh well you have to be psychopath or Narcissist to be able to come up with that type of proposal and think that no one would react emotionally about it.

 

[Generalzod]

Kids love Pirates. We've got this!

If I was to start a team in WA I would name it the Spartans, Gladiators, Pirates sound to carnavile for me, bit like PIrates of the Carribean.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

Kids love Pirates. We've got this!

I think of Peter Fitzsimmons when I think of Pirates. Yuk

 

[greenBV4]

Keep that extra game for exclusive NRL digital viewing and start to build the NRL's digital subscription platform for future proofing TV deals. Simple really.

Could get Telstra to pump in even more money if that were the case, seeing as their customers get free access (does anyone actually pay for NRL digital access? I found it cheaper just to change my phone plan to Telstra)

 

[siv]

If the NRL doesnt have a club in my suburb im gonna follow the AFL which only has a club in one suburb

They must have been huuuge RL and Bears fans to follow a completely different sport instead of continuing to follow their club that still exists in second grade.

People won't just follow another team

I have seen the same occur with other Bears fans

I am also not aware of any Souths fans who followed other team either

 

[adamkungl]

I wouldn’t go the the AFL cos I don’t much like the game. I’d jump on Sydney FC and catch up for ol’ time sake with a few mates at Easts games in whatever lower tier comp they ended up in but NRL can get fugged

I'm not gonna start supporting another club to the same level.
I'd probably still catch a game on TV. I'd still go to local games and Cup games and international games.
And my kids probably wouldn't give a shit about who I used to support.

I'm not saying anyone should be cut, but if circumstances forced such a situation, the game would move on.

 

[adamkungl]

For what its worth I know former Bears fans that now support Melbourne and Penrith

 

[Perth Red]

People won't just follow another team

I have seen the same occur with other Bears fans

I am also not aware of any Souths fans who followed other team either

This is partly true, as we saw in the mergers, probably only 75% of the two fanbases of the clubs followed the new merged entity. However what that did was arguably make the one club more sustainable. The economic rationalisation argument is that if you replace like for like in terms of customer base then there is no net loss but if the new club is more valuable to the competition then you get a net gain. So if you lose Manly but gain Brisbane2 then the fan loss is negligible but the value to the competition is greater.

But of course we aren't talking about McDonalds franchises we are talking sports clubs which have strong emotive customer bases so its never going to be that black and white in decision making.

 

[siv]

I wouldn’t go the the AFL cos I don’t much like the game. I’d jump on Sydney FC and catch up for ol’ time sake with a few mates at Easts games in whatever lower tier comp they ended up in but NRL can get fugged

What you see is the effect of a sports fan who also has interests in other sports

Ask most Sydney RL fans they probably have a VFL team they have a interest in

Same goes for a RU team or soccer team. Even if it's only the Wallabies or Socceroos and most follow cricket, ESL or NFL as well in the off season

So to abandon the NRL if they dump your team is not hard

 

[Dave's mate]

What you see is the effect of a sports fan who also has interests in other sports

Ask most Sydney RL fans they probably have a VFL team they have a interest in

Same goes for a RU team or soccer team. Even if it's only the Wallabies or Socceroos and most follow cricket, ESL or NFL as well in the off season

So to abandon the NRL if they dump your team is not hard

No way most have AFL teams. I'd say 1 in 4 at best

 

[Timbo]

I'm not gonna start supporting another club to the same level.
I'd probably still catch a game on TV. I'd still go to local games and Cup games and international games.
And my kids probably wouldn't give a shit about who I used to support.

I'm not saying anyone should be cut, but if circumstances forced such a situation, the game would move on.

This is true for sure.

The game may not completely lose me if the Raiders got the chop, I'd still check out games when I'm at the pub and whatnot, but my financial interest would decrease to nil.

I know plenty of old Balmain and Norths fans who will still casually follow the game, watch if its on, but their passion for the code has fallen dramatically.

 

[Generalzod]

This is true for sure.

The game may not completely lose me if the Raiders got the chop, I'd still check out games when I'm at the pub and whatnot, but my financial interest would decrease to nil.

I know plenty of old Balmain and Norths fans who will still casually follow the game, watch if its on, but their passion for the code has fallen dramatically.

Well it will lose me if the Sharks ever got terminated.