Crowd tonight?

[Twizzle]

says alot about where we are at atm

 

[ParraAds]

There were 19,000 at Homebush for the Swans game last night....

Lowest AFL crowd for a final since 1924 or something?

We would kill to get 19,000 to any game these days....

 

[COACH STERLING]

I was at PS and counted 2,800 spectators. There couldn't have been a further 2,200 sitting in corporate boxes ect..

This has to hurt fitzy more than any off season fiasco, more than any loss this season and more than the fact we could make the semis.

 

[fish eel]

Too right. Way many bro's than Parra supporters tonight. FMD is was a poor effort by the STH's. Freekin ghost town in the Cronin Stand. :roll:

Why?

We've been given piss poor efforts all year? Why should we sit through one more on a cold, wet night? Did they deserve a big crowd?

Personally, I didnt even see the match. Went and grabbed a bite to eat and saw the brilliant movie In Bruges, and got given a much better nights entertainment than a 6-28 scoreline says I would have got if I sat in the rain on the terrace in my usual seat....

 

[COACH STERLING]

Why?

We've been given piss poor efforts all year? Why should we sit through one more on a cold, wet night? Did they deserve a big crowd?

Personally, I didnt even see the match. Went and grabbed a bite to eat and saw the brilliant movie In Bruges, and got given a much better nights entertainment than a 6-28 scoreline says I would have got if I sat in the rain on the terrace in my usual seat....

Can't blame anyone for not wanting to sit through that, especially if you're sitting in the rain

 

[Rogue.9]

I spoke to a fan who said they counted the crowd during the second half and came up with 5,000 they were wondering where the other 100 or so came from.

I thought I heard somewhere that clubs count the players & staff to build the figures up.

 

[bradeel]

There were 19,000 at Homebush for the Swans game last night....

Lowest AFL crowd for a final since 1924 or something?

We would kill to get 19,000 to any game these days....

since 1902 apparently. Just watching the AFL Sun Footy Show right now and they are blowing up deluxe about the 19000 crowd.

Incidentally, if the Eels had not chucked the towel in last weekend against the Dragons, I would have flown up to Sydney to catch the game last night. There was no way in hell I was going to be doing that for a dead rubber. Don't blame anyone for being less than inspired to rock up.

 

[hineyrulz]

5000 is more than the club and the team deserved.

 

[big boppa eel]

Why?

We've been given piss poor efforts all year? Why should we sit through one more on a cold, wet night? Did they deserve a big crowd?

Personally, I didnt even see the match. Went and grabbed a bite to eat and saw the brilliant movie In Bruges, and got given a much better nights entertainment than a 6-28 scoreline says I would have got if I sat in the rain on the terrace in my usual seat....

Spot on Fish, sounded like a good night, these people need to realise that we as fans have had enough and wont cop it anymore, and this is what they will get from now on if things dont change, and this is when Dennis the f**kwit will trot out the merge once again, but in these useless merkins played some footy people would come and watch, end of problem.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Did anyone hear the announcement on the PA, they said were gonna close the car park for 20 minutes until most of the crowd filled out.

:lol::lol: I think most of the crowd was gone anyway by fulltime.

I think that crowd was probably smaller than the crowds in 1999, where Western Suburbs took about 3 games there. If not it would be close.

 

[Snoochies]

Just watching some Sunday afternoon football and the Titans have a good crowd, close to 20'000 I would say. This is a team that is below us on the table too. Broncos pulled in over 35'000 on Friday night. The capital of Rugby League is definately in Brisbane right now, or I should say the state of Queensland own league ATM. Even the Cowboys pull in good numbers even when their team is at the bottom.

 

[TheParraboy]

Just watching some Sunday afternoon football and the Titans have a good crowd, close to 20'000 I would say. This is a team that is below us on the table too. Broncos pulled in over 35'000 on Friday night. The capital of Rugby League is definately in Brisbane right now, or I should say the state of Queensland own league ATM. Even the Cowboys pull in good numbers even when their team is at the bottom.

be interesting if 9 NRL teams were within gold coast and brisbane regions and see how much they get?


we get good crowds in sydney , but its mainly for blockbuster games. Queenslanders will watch anything cause there is nothing else there to do :lol:

 

[hineyrulz]

Queenslanders will watch anything cause there is nothing else there to do :lol:

:lol: Ain't that the truth......

 

[bartman]

The one team town clubs (Brissie, Gold Coast, NQ, Newcastle etc) tend to have done the hard work to galvanise support to decent levels, regardless of performance.

We bemoan Sydney haveing 9 teams etc, but the fact is that in recent years Parramatta appear to have done nothing to galvanise the support of their area (greater Western Sydney) to get behind their team... the club should be absolutely ashamed of the lack of priority and effort (or successful effort) that they have undertaken in that regard. Games at Homebush instead of Parra compound the long term difficulty of facing up to the task that any club needs to do, and that is foster and value it's local support.

The population of our immediate patch of Western Sydney (Parramatta + Holroyd + Hills + Blacktown + Auburn + Fairfield LGAs) is 930,000... higher than that of Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, and Townsville/Cairns/Toowoomba.

The opportunity is there to match the efforts and crowd figures for those clubs we excuse by way of them being one club towns - if our club (the football side of it, not the intertwined run a building side of it) actually prioritises making that effort to again capture the hearts and minds of its local community.

 

[Delboy]

Bart, for years the clubs you mention have not had massive injection of funds to underpin their football clubs from leagues clubs. In a way , that is the problem that it became a little too easy to fund and run.

Thanks to the incompetent State Govt and their desperate need for money, they took it by a tax grab from the clubs without spending a cent on community sports or such, that greed and incompetence has led to the problems we are seeing, and the need as you say to get the large district to support them.

I questioned a couple of them at the STH, re the lack of involvement with the community, I was told that you will see a big improvement from next year, seeing is believing, as usual I hold the useless State Govt to blame for the changes being undertaken at the club. Point is , the club was set up to fund NRL and junior league for the foreseeable future, and it was taken away without consultation.

As I said elsewhere, as a STH since 1982, I didn't bother last night, and for that you can look our morose and dopey supercoach straight in the eyes, finding it difficult to see a positive having im around mext year, other than the prohibitive cost of sacking him.

 

[bartman]

Mate, I don't go in for the whole State Govt is to blame angle... it's pointless, all Govts of any party seek to raise funds however they can. Biggest red herring in this whole debate about crowds and clubs prioritising reaching out to their locals if you ask me. Other clubs are simply getting on with the job while ours is still stuck in the whole blaming someone else for our short-comings cycle.

Bottom line is the people in the jobs that can make a difference in our club have been behind the times of those in others, in terms of hanging on for too long to the sinking ship of pokie revenue, and not doing enough to maintain and grow the sleeping Blue and Gold Army (the real one that is sleeping out there, not the ones who fork out $35 for an inflatable thumb each season). We've all said it - taking the fans for granted, and focussing (somewhat unsuccessfully?) on marketing and sponsorship instead (rather than as well as).

I hope that big improvement is coming, but like you seeing is believing. I am not filled with confidence reading someone from that underperforming marketing and sponsorship and community, apparently) team has been promoted to footy manager.

 

[Snoochies]

be interesting if 9 NRL teams were within gold coast and brisbane regions and see how much they get?


we get good crowds in sydney , but its mainly for blockbuster games. Queenslanders will watch anything cause there is nothing else there to do :lol:

It seems Melbourne have no problem with the AFL pulling in big crowds week in and week out, and I believe we have a more marketable and exciting game.

And you are also telling me that there's more to do in the Western Suburbs of Sydney than the Gold Coast and that's why the crowds are so low :roll:

 

[oldmancraigy]

5000 is more than the club and the team deserved.

Totally agree.

Most fans are not morons.

We are all aware that the team is seriosly underperforming and a large part of that is due to a poor gameplan (safety first and bomb the corners).
Hagan has no plan B - and since he keeps stating the team is 'close to where it wants to be' when losing by 20, most fans feel they'd rather make a statement, and NOT turn up to support the celebration of mediocrity that is Michael Hagan's mob.

If Fitzy sacks the coach, there are financial ramifications
However, what we (the fans) have been making clear since round 15 that we're simply not interested in having Hagan around as coach.

The Cronulla game where we lost by 2 was in round 15, then 'the genius' drops the props, sacks Tony Williams (say what you like - at least he was making meters) and serves us up a bowl of crap against Melbourne in Round 16.

Round 16 12597
Round 17 14012
Round 20 7235
Round 23 13065
Round 26 5102

Round 16 was where I thought 'screw it' and didn't go to another game. Don't get on your high horse and say 'support the team' --> I feel by not going and reducing the crowd numbers I'm actually HELPING the team to realise they need to put a quality product on the table. The fans want to see effort.

Personally, if I were Fitzy, those crowd numbers would be more than a tad concerning! Marginally over 10k per game - and Round 17 was against the Panthers, Round 23 against the Tigers - games which normally draw really well!

If those numbers are any indication of next years size, it'll be the lowest crowd average since 1995 - and the second lowest EVER at Parramatta stadium.

Bite the bullet.

 

[hybrideel]

Just watching some Sunday afternoon football and the Titans have a good crowd, close to 20'000 I would say. This is a team that is below us on the table too. Broncos pulled in over 35'000 on Friday night. The capital of Rugby League is definately in Brisbane right now, or I should say the state of Queensland own league ATM. Even the Cowboys pull in good numbers even when their team is at the bottom.

I don't think those examples tell the full story though. If the cowboys and titans didn't have long term injuries to their 2 star players in Thurston, Bowen, Prince and Bailey then they would not be in the low position on the ladder. Both these teams play an attractive brand of footy which is entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

Brisbane were playing for a possible spot in the top 4 as well as it being Bennett's last home game in charge of the broncos.

Parra have played crap all year bar a couple of games and 80% of the supporters would have expected us to lose on sat night imo.

 

[eelz47]

if the stadium was a 1/4 full, then i am bloody einstein!