Crowd

[Father Ted]

The critical posters in this thread are the disgrace. It was a great crowd. We brought the boys home.

And the crowd was bigger than stated . I'd say 2k bigger.

 

[GT0007]

Didn't get to watch the game or go as I'm away with the family, otherwise no way would I have missed a game at kogarah.. The politics re Wollongong vs kogarah need to stop, we are 1 & the same now....pointless no win argument!!

I do think a lot of families would have gone away this week taking advantage of the public holidays giving you 10 days off work straight only needing to use 3 annual holiday days.. Just a thought this may have contributed to the poor crowd!

Was it the dogs vs bunny game that offered 1/2 price tickets on Thursday, if purchased before midnight?? All the tight arses must of jumped at that telling their kids it's their family vacation

Definately people wouldve gone away for holidays. Shouldve had the game on the Central Coast!!! then I couldve gone lol, actually I'm 100% sure we would get 20 000 here i9f the dragons played one of the other popular clubs in the area.....Tigers, Newcastle? I'm going to the Anzac game so pretty excited about that!

 

[Stagger Lee]

For mine the big problem is splitting the home games between so many venues and so many start times.

People get into a habit of going to home games, at the same ground, at the same time. When the game is a one off it becomes an 'event' that has to compete with all other events that entice a family.

 

[Mr Red]

The critical posters in this thread are the disgrace. It was a great crowd. We brought the boys home.

I think the match was a perfect example of the home ground advantage giving us 2 points. Play that match at homebush and it's won we risked losing...

 

[Twenty10]

Aweful crowd kogarah. Even more disappointing than the WIN crowd. Yes it was Easter but the supporters just don't get out anymore. It's a very hard thing to fix but the club is going broke and I am not surprised.

 

[GT0007]

Aweful crowd kogarah. Even more disappointing than the WIN crowd. Yes it was Easter but the supporters just don't get out anymore. It's a very hard thing to fix but the club is going broke and I am not surprised.

I'm never a fan of devaluing your product but the games we know aren't going to pull a crowd why dont they make $10 ticket days. Run a promo with local radio stations with some giveaways and promote it as Family day or something like that. They might not make anymore money but if you can get some more people involved in the game some of them will come again and again. Better atmosphere for everyone and then it will grow. Or buy 1 ticket and bring a mate for free can be Mates Day. Anything other than hey come to the game so we can take your money! I like the initiatives they are showing with the 18th man etc or handing out the jerseys but I think they are just encouraging members not creating them. Kick some signed balls into the crowd and fire some miniture signed souvenir balls out of a tennis ball machine, have a members kick for cash competition where members kick from the sideline and a new member kicks until someone finally gets it, you put it on the big screen and get the announcer to rev everyone up etc. It could be drawn in the order that members sign up to help encourage them to sign up quicker. Put on a major band before the NRL game starts. Sure it will cost a few $1000 but something needs to be done now while we still have some numbers and can offer exposure to those bands that will attract more people. What about some food market stalls that provide a variety of food from all over the world, these people will pay the club to set up stalls, instead of us whinging about expensive pies or chips we will have good food for around the same price and the club makes money. There is so much you can do to make every home game an event

 

[Willow]

That LU article about saints home games had that quote saying something like 'give us kogarah and we'll give you an army'.

That's absolute bullshit.

Well with respect, you totally misunderstood the crux of the statement. When DaSuperhero2 posted "Give us Kogarah and we will give you an army" in the Jubilee Avenue forum, he was talking from the heart.

And in my opinion, he was absolutely correct.

Did you see last night's game? We played at home, and won... the hill was full and the Dragon Army looked the best they have this year. By comparison, at Homebush and the other neutral venues, the Army is almost invisible.

And make no mistake, DaSuperhero's post was a call to arms. Let's get this straight... the NRL and the club are not doing Kogarah any favours. Poor scheduling is a big part of the problem. But despite these barriers, we still had a good crowd - no freebies and probably equal to the real gate takings that are doled out at the neutral venues.

Either way, it is not the fault of the supporters.

So next time you call another supporter's comments "absolute bullshit", at least try to think about the meaning behind the words.

Did you sign the petition?

 

[Willow]

For mine the big problem is splitting the home games between so many venues and so many start times.

People get into a habit of going to home games, at the same ground, at the same time. When the game is a one off it becomes an 'event' that has to compete with all other events that entice a family.

Yep. The feedback I was getting yesterday had plenty of people saying they didn't know when or where we are playing. Any consistency has been tossed out the window, thanks to the so-called 'strategy'.

And... many people were very keen to vent their feelings. I spoke to a couple of hundred people - long term supporters, newcomers, former players and even a former coach - and the vast majority were disgusted by the scheduling of games and have lost a lot of faith in club management. "Too many accountants", one well respected fellow told me.

The club is totally wrong if they think the dissenters are in the minority - imo, the accountants are driving their 'customers' away.

 

[Mr Red]

I hope dousty saw the raiders v storm match... Perfect example of how the home ground advantage can get the team 2 points and make the difference between a win and loss. The crowd really got the raiders home today.....

 

[Willow]

Is it just me or is anyone else really looking forward to hearing what Dragonboyd, Twenty10 and others have to say about tonight's crowd after this thread?

10,559 on Easter saturday, with perfect weather and the first game at Kogarah.

Must've been heart-breaking to be playing for the proudest club that gets 10000 on a saturday night. In the future bring these games to Wollongong on a saturday night, no doubt.

And Maximus. I really felt for you when you made this post.

IMO, the OP's level of vitriol in attacking Wollongong was wrong, and lacked maturity.

It's not a good look when someone starts a grass fire, but then cuts and run when the wind turns.

But equally, no good comes from getting into the same trough. After all, we are all fellow supporters... at least I hope we are. Let me know if that's not the case.

And if I may ask the same question that I asked earlier, did you sign the petition?

 

[TruSaint]

Here we are talking about our support.

I really want to know, how many signed the petition?

It looked like more than 10k yesterday IMO.
Irrespective, if we give a f.. , why dont we get behind the team and voice our opinion?

R2K and Co. are worthy of praise and respect.

I notice on the thread from R2k... saying thanks, not too many responses.

 

[saint.nick]

Well with respect, you totally misunderstood the crux of the statement. When DaSuperhero2 posted "Give us Kogarah and we will give you an army" in the Jubilee Avenue forum, he was talking from the heart.

And in my opinion, he was absolutely correct.

Did you see last night's game? We played at home, and won... the hill was full and the Dragon Army looked the best they have this year. By comparison, at Homebush and the other neutral venues, the Army is almost invisible.

And make no mistake, DaSuperhero's post was a call to arms. Let's get this straight... the NRL and the club are not doing Kogarah any favours. Poor scheduling is a big part of the problem. But despite these barriers, we still had a good crowd - no freebies and probably equal to the real gate takings that are doled out at the neutral venues.

Either way, it is not the fault of the supporters.

So next time you call another supporter's comments "absolute bullshit", at least try to think about the meaning behind the words.

Did you sign the petition?

Yeah, I signed it online today; unfortunately couldn't make it last night.

I did look at the meaning for a few moments before I posted my opinion (sorry for sounding a bit harsh), and I concluded that he was talking about an army i.e a big, good crowd (at least 17000). Otherwise, the argument about the dragon army on the hill as an incentive to give more Kogarah games IMO is irrelevant, as I don't think the club really cares if they actually get the specific 'dragon army' or not. Don't get me wrong, I love the dragon army on the hill, I've stood in it a few times this year, but the administration seem to view everything with a financial perspective, and I don't think they see much financial value in having the dragon army there on top of the fact they paid for tickets.

So I doubt that the administration give much care about the dragon army, as long as there is a great crowd every week better than the figure last night (10559 or 12559). To them, the dragon army would be a bonus on top of getting good crowd figures.

 

[Willow]

Yeah, I signed it online today;

Good job :thumn

unfortunately couldn't make it last night.

Well that kind of ends that debate.

No offence, but the rest of your post seems to way off the mark in a number of areas.

Let's not forget that virtually everyone who attended the game last night paid to get in. As opposed to neutral venues where there are some payers, plenty of freebies (freebies usually to the opposition supporters). If anyone here is able to work out the economic sense in all that, then they're definite boardroom material.

As for devaluing the importance of a loyal supporter (customer) base, I doubt even the worst company bean counters would put up such an argument. Unless you are suggesting that we have a front office with absolutely no bloody idea.

 

[saint.nick]

Good job :thumn Well that kind of ends that debate.

No offence, but the rest of your post seems to way off the mark in a number of areas.

Let's not forget that virtually everyone who attended the game last night paid to get in. As opposed to neutral venues where there are some payers, plenty of freebies (freebies usually to the opposition supporters). If anyone here is able to work out the economic sense in all that, then they're definite boardroom material.

As for devaluing the importance of a loyal supporter (customer) base, I doubt even the worst company bean counters would put up such an argument. Unless you are suggesting that we have a front office with absolutely no bloody idea.

Correct!

I would have gone to the game, but I had uni commitments unfortunately. So you're saying that they offer next to none freebies at Kogarah, and therefore made more revenue than from e.g. SCG and ANZ?

 

[Willow]

There were no freebies at Kogarah that I know of. We usually hear about them.

Re comparing to the neutral venues:

Our hard working bean counters don't release such figures. But I point to the SCG game as an example, the revenue was shared (in theory, 50% of the gate, sponsorship and broadcast revenue). We also lost the catering share we'd get at Kogarah and W'gong (0% at the SCG and ANZ), plus the loss of Leagues Club revenue... and there'll be more.

But it's difficult to calculate due to the lack of public release and transparency. Heck, we don't even know the breakdown of the membership packages, we just get a total figure.

By the way, media reports say that the NRL is experiencing a 15% drop in crowds this year. So it's understandable why the promoters are trying to entice fans in. I'm just wondering why Kogarah wasn't afforded such generous promotion... in addition to the better scheduling and the drawcard visiting teams.

By the way again, I question the crowd figure at Kogarah. Apart from the northern seating, the place was fairly full. I know Kogarah very well and I couldn't see how they'd get another 10,000 in there. No explanation or accusation... just saying.

 

[saint.nick]

Don't worry mate, I believe you. It really didn't look like 10559 on television.

 

[FlameThrower]

"By the way again, I question the crowd figure at Kogarah. Apart from the northern seating, the place was fairly full. I know Kogarah very well and I couldn't see how they'd get another 10,000 in there. No explanation or accusation... just saying."
I agree we sit on Northen Stand just a few seats away from the covered grandstand, looking across to the hill it looked pretty full. The Northern stand towards gate C entrance, looked sparse. In my mind I figured about 12k at least. Still had the traditional 20 minute walk from the car spot!!!!!

 

[Saintsified]

And that is why we moved to ANZ.
1/ so far proven to attract a bigger crowd and 2/ kogarah and gong is shit. Fact i hate going to suburban training fields give me major stadiums any day of the week.

 

[Willow]

It proved nothing of the sort saintsified. Only your opinion. Did you read any of the opposing posts in this thread?

 

[Mr Red]

Good job :thumn Well that kind of ends that debate.

No offence, but the rest of your post seems to way off the mark in a number of areas.

Let's not forget that virtually everyone who attended the game last night paid to get in. As opposed to neutral venues where there are some payers, plenty of freebies (freebies usually to the opposition supporters). If anyone here is able to work out the economic sense in all that, then they're definite boardroom material.

As for devaluing the importance of a loyal supporter (customer) base, I doubt even the worst company bean counters would put up such an argument. Unless you are suggesting that we have a front office with absolutely no bloody idea.

I think the logic behind the freebie tickets is as follows...
1. They still spend money on food and drink or merchandise.
2. Those freebie customers may next time become paying customers if they liked the experience
3. Those paying customers experience a great atmosphere of a bigger crowd, adding to the enjoyment of the night and therefore are more likely to be return customers
4. Those freebie customers "may" head back to the leagues club after the match and spend some money there...
5. You may "jag" a few extra memberships with some match day promotions

Just a few thoughts on the value free or cheaper tickets can add.....
I say give it a go for a few games, the bean counters should be able to see if it works financially or not