Let's face it it's a sh*t ground and I'm not the only one who thinks so. The QLD's here
haven't much to criticize here either according to Locky.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23749359-23214,00.html
TWO of Australian rugby league's finest on-field leaders and off-field statesmen believe the game's heartland in Sydney will be lost if the NRL remains at ANZ Stadium.
Australia captains Laurie Daley and Darren Lockyer believe the current financial crisis engulfing several Sydney clubs reflects growing disillusionment with the game throughout its core fan base.
And both men say the problem can be directly attributed to the number of games played at the former Olympic Stadium, with Lockyer pointing to the inability of the New South Wales Rugby League to sell out the ground for the State of Origin opener.
"Everyone seems to be searching for answers and the answer is right there in front of our face," Lockyer said. "TV ratings for the game were higher than they've ever been, which says the product itself is still appealing to watch.
"What's not appealing is how hard it is to get all the way out there to a ground which isn't built for rugby league and doesn't have any atmosphere."
The ground itself has been a long-standing drama, with its slippery surface forcing teams to abandon any creativity and lateral movement in attack. Inevitably, night games at the ground are fought between two densely packed defensive lines, with the winner usually decided by the team with the strongest dummy-half runner.
The Bulldogs, South Sydney and St George Illawarra are all major tenants at the ground, with Parramatta also committed to playing some home games there.
The size of the stadium and the fact its oval shape means spectators sit well back from the action combine to provide an atmosphere for regular season club games that is, according to one player, akin to playing in a library.
Daley said the short-sightedness of clubs in grabbing the money on offer to relocate home matches to ANZ Stadium was coming back to hurt them.
"I think the short-term financial gain of moving games there has been overridden by the falling crowd numbers at the games," Daley said. "We need to find ways to bring our fans much closer to our game than they are at the moment, because we need them to take more ownership of their teams if they are going to survive.
"I don't know that ANZ Stadium feels like home to any team or any group of fans."
Lockyer said the NRL needed to do whatever was necessary to seek government assistance to help get the respective clubs back to their traditional home grounds in the suburbs.
"You go to play the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval and it just has that special vibe, which you only get from local crowds at those sorts of stadiums," he said. "You go there and it's sold out almost every time. There is heaps of noise and atmosphere. People leave that wanting to be part of it again.
"You go to ANZ Stadium, where 10,000 people looks like 20. You leave thinking, 'What the hell was that?"'
Lockyer said Brisbane experienced the same issues at its former home ground, coincidentally also called ANZ Stadium, which also saw fans seated well back from the action.
"We have a great supporter base in Brisbane. We always have, but even they got sick of it after a while," Lockyer said. "They responded with their feet when we went back to Suncorp. We went from averaging 15,000 or 16,000 to more than 30,000."
