Clash of the week: NRL vs A-League in Sydney's heartland
The biggest opening round of rugby league in Sydney in two decades will go head-to-head against the A-League's expected sell-out cross-town derby on Saturday night.
For the first time in the NRL's history, seven games have been scheduled in Sydney on the opening weekend of the competition.
The last time Sydney hosted seven rugby league games in the first round of the season was back in 1994 during the NSWRL.
Thompson lock horns during the most recent Sydney derby, last October.However the NRL's return hasn't had an impact on the town's rapidly growing interest in football, with possibly the biggest crowd of the weekend expected to pile into Allianz Stadium for Saturday night's derby between Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC.
A crowd of more than 40,000 is expected for the clash between the A-League's new fierce rivals, gatecrashing the NRL's festival of rugby league smack bang in the middle of the code's heartland.
The NRL has denied the increase in Sydney matches for the start of the 2014 season was a bid to reduce interest in the A-League derby, which attracted a crowd of 40,388 the last time the two teams met at Allianz Stadium back in October last year.
Feast of League: The Roosters and Souths will kick off the NRL competition on Thursday. Photo: Anthony Johnson
Football Federation Australia chief executive and former NRL boss David Gallop insists no thought was given to the rugby league calendar when scheduling the derby, but described interest in the match as a reflection of the growth of the sport in Sydney.
"The Sydney derby is now a must-see for not only football fans but many general sports fans in Sydney," Gallop said.
"It was not deliberately scheduled against anything else that is going on in town. It is a reminder of the competitive nature of Sydney sport. The house full sign will be a symbol of football's steep growth curve and a taste of what is ahead with our finals series, a World Cup campaign and the visit of Juventus all coming up."
While interest in the A-League - especially in competition newcomers Western Sydney - is booming, expected ticket sales for round one show rugby league has come a long way over the past two decades.
It is likely the total crowds will increase by close to 85 per cent from the last time seven first-grade matches were played in Sydney to open the season back in 1994.
In the opening round of the 1994 season the largest Sydney crowd was 18,210 when the Dragons took on the Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium, with the smallest crowd of 6101 at Campbelltown for Western Suburbs' game against Illawarra.
This year the largest crowd is expected to be close to 40,000 at ANZ Stadium when the Rabbitohs take on traditional rivals the Roosters on Thursday night.
NRL general manager of football operations Nathan McGuirk said venue availability rather than the A-League threat was behind the round one scheduling.
"The A-League wasn't a factor in our scheduling," McGuirk said.
"Venue availability did come into play with some of our regional matches. If you look at round two it provides a great launching pad for those regional clubs like the Broncos with their local derby and the Warriors playing their first of three games at Eden Park this season. We did have unavailability issues with both those venues for round one."
The AFL will also play a NAB Cup game at Blacktown between GWS Giants and Adelaide Crows on Friday afternoon.
KICKING OFF THE SEASON IN SYDNEY
1994 Crowd
Dragons v Roosters at SFS 18,210
Tigers v Bears at Leichhardt 8119
Sharks v Raiders at Cronulla 12,850
Sea Eagles v Bulldogs at Brookvale 17,782
Panthers v Seagulls at Penrith 6864
Rabbitohs v Knights at SFS 12614
Magpies v Steelers at Campbelltown 6101
Total 82,540
2014 Expected crowd
Rabbitohs v Roosters at ANZ 40,000
Bulldogs v Broncos at ANZ 25,000
Panthers v Knights at Penrith 15,000
Sea Eagles v Storm at Brookvale 18,000
Tigers v Dragons at ANZ 25,000
Eels v Warriors at Parramatta 15,000
Sharks v Titans at Cronulla 13,000
Total 151,000
