Crowd Watch 2011 Mk II

[bazza]

Have grounds actually gotten better though? The only ground which seems to have gotten any noticeable increase is Newcastles

I would say the following ground have had improvement over the past 5 years or so

1. Kogarah - increased grandstand capacity and more seats
2. Campbelltown
3. Newcastle
4. Melbourne - brand new stadium
5. Wollongong - coming soon

 

[DIOGENES]

It was Roy's brother Chris

 

[dogz08]

Dragons v Titans 13k
Sea Eagles v Cowboys 15k
Broncos v Raiders 22k
Warriors v Tigers 14k
Storm v Roosters 10k

 

[H.H]

Was the League dying in the 80s?
Roy Masters produced "The Big League" in 1983 for 4 Corners - all the attention went to the last half when he made accusations about Neville Wran and Murray Farquarhe but the first part of the program was interesting.
He claimed that falling crowds, TV ratings and Juniors meant that the League was in crisis for 2 reasons.
1. The 5 metre rule and contested scrums made the game too defensive and slow
2. More importantly the game had kept to its working class roots while the rest of Australia had moved on. His evidence:
a. Over-reliance of poker machines for income
b. amateur administration
c. too much biff
d. badly behaved crowds
e. terrible ground facilities

At the time I was working in an office when an interest in league would automatically label you as a Westie. To get ahead I took pains to pretend an interest in the rivetting clash between Varsity and the Gay Gordons.

The League has got out of a deep hole since then -partly because of the fight between Packer and Murdoch for control of the game and partly because the problems Masters identified have been recognized.

Interesting observations, but I wouldn't agree with all of it.

I'm a born and bred Rooster and areas like Coogee and Bronte (as well as Bondi) where i've lived almost all of my life were very pro League. No westiness at all was associated with supporting the game - I'm talking late 70's and 80's.

The 4 corners program you refer to was actually presented by Chris Masters, Roy's brother and practically brought the game to it's knees and the biggest issue was the amateur administration and the thuggery of the game.

When Cannon and Arko took over after Humphries was forced to step down, average crowds were not much over 6k....think about that.

When they were shunted off as the Super League debacle started, crowd averages were over 14k per game (1994) - talking about outstanding administrators.....if only we had them now.

 

[Raiderdave]

Dragons V Titans 13K
Manly V Cowboys 13K
Broncos V Raiders 28K
Warriors V Tigers 18K
Storm V Roosters 10K

82K

 

[Timmah]

When they were shunted off as the Super League debacle started, crowd averages were over 14k per game (1994) - talking about outstanding administrators.....if only we had them now.

I really detest this sort of attitude - as if the current administrators have been somehow responsible for the current dire straits rugby league (in particular the NRL) is in...

If the NRL is in such a bad position under this administration (and I'm not suggesting they're perfect), then why are memberships and crowds steadily rising? Why are we on the cusp of a (hopefully) historic TV deal?

As it stands every club (bar Manly, I think - not sure the current Quantum/Penn deal actually contributes much in the way of "sponsorship") has a front of jersey sponsor, sleeve sponsor and most have plenty of corporate support - and only one club looks to be in any significant financial trouble.

There's lots to do and plenty of shit the current administrators need to get right but I'd be stunned if Gallop and Co. weren't in the top five of the best administrations we've ever had in this game.

 

[BDGS]

Ok, the merger of Wests and Tigers added more fans....Douche.

how?

 

[Timmah]

Ok, the merger of Wests and Tigers added more fans....Douche.

On what planet?

I've spoken to literally hundreds of people in the last 12 years since the merger and there are people who will never watch NRL again and will remain bitter for a long time.

 

[Chook Norris]

Ok, the merger of Wests and Tigers added more fans....Douche.

lol, if you add two team's fan bases you don't accumulate more fans in the whole 'pool'

 

[DIOGENES]

I think Arko and Quail were a vast improvement on Buckley (who sold the rights for the 1967 GF for $5000) and Humphries but they seemed to be too beholden to Packer (they sold him 5 years of cable rights for $1M) and that certainly contributed to the SL war. I think Gallop has finally turned it into a professional outfit.

 

[DIOGENES]

Another way to look at the crowds is to say that they have virtually trebled over 28 years

 

[Teddyboy]

The state cup was a weekend knockout competition between the 10 Sydney teams and 8 Country divisions in the mid 60s - I don't know how many years it ran for but I was at the game when Newcastle beat St George in 1964. They were runners up against Parramatta the next year and I can't remember it taking place after that, This was at a time when real Country would occasionally beat Sydney - I suspect the changes in RL in country NSW are due to the professionalism of the Sydney competition from the 70s onwards - any worthwhile player realised their future was in the big smoke.

The Newcastle grand final was held at No 1 Sports Ground (which was destroyed during the earthquake) and had a capacity of 25K -it used to be pointed out that on a per capita basis Newcastle crowds were bigger than Sydney.

Ignoring 2005 which seems to have been a rogue year.
Ave crowd 2006 16,484
Ave crowd 2010 17,367
A 5% increase or 1% a year -it would be great if it was higher but at least its in positive territory

Yeah reading about the 1977 grand final with 22000 being there.

 

[BunniesMan]

you sure about that

Balmains average in 1999 was 9710
Wests was 8224

a total of 17,934

Wests Tigers average 2010 was 18,086

its about the same
no new fans have been created out of this merger .. they just all attend the same game now :shock:

Infact, virtually no increase over 12 years is a decline in real terms.

Merger is a terrible idea and anyone who knows what they're talking about wouldn't even consider suggesting it.

 

[Slackboy72]

Yeah reading about the 1977 grand final with 22000 being there.

You sure that wasn't the score you were looking at there?

 

[Brutus]

Yeah reading about the 1977 grand final with 22000 being there.

Good drugs there dude?

 

[BDGS]

Merger is a terrible idea and anyone who knows what they're talking about wouldn't even consider suggesting it.

Like you?

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Yeah reading about the 1977 grand final with 22000 being there.

Yeah, your trolling is pathetic. For the record, there were 2 Grand Finals that year because the first was a draw. The crowd for the first was 65,959 and for the second 47,828.

 

[Red Bear]

Are you sure he didnt mean the Newcastle comp grand final had 22 000?

 

[matrightyeh]

we get smashed in the crowds compared to the afl

 

[nko11]

we get smashed in the crowds compared to the afl

Tell us more, oh Wise Master. On a more serious note; Our great code and league is looking great in the crowd department! The Broncos will again be up around 35K again this year and will continue to grow. The knights will definitely average over 20K and might get as high as 25K next year. The Bulldogs will continue to grow and will hit 25k by 2016. All Sydney clubs will continue to grow with the membership drive really taking affect in the next 1-3 years.

Gold Coast are down and it should be concerning, but they will bounce back in the next 3 years and will be averaging up around 19K again. Other regional teams will continue growth through memberships. We will average over 20k by 2016, exciting times for Rugby League!