Flashback - 1996

[PARRA_FAN]

I looked at this website with Rugby League stats, players appearances, crowd attendences, and their scoring records.

I came across this crowd figure from 1996 (toggle to Worst Crowds):

http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/1996.html#best

Gold Coast Vs Penrith, 1996, a crowd of just 1,500

Just when I thought there was a crowd of just over 2,000 in 1997 for a Manly v Gold Coast game at Brookvale was a bad enough crowd, I never thought I could find a worse crowd.

I wonder if anyone here attended that particular match and the reason for the low crowd. I can probably understand, given the SL war and the new Gold Coast franchise set up in Carrara just after the Seagulls went broke.

 

[hellteam]

Wow that is horrendous. I used to attend quite a few of those matches, pretty terrible place to watch footy, matched by a pretty terrible team.

But on that night against Penrith it surely must have been raining or something.

 

[gregstar]

super league is only part of the story.

both sides in 1996 were roadkill.

look at the team-lists for that clash. it's a veritable treasure-trove of nevilles, pensioners & "f*ck! i didn't know he played for themers!"

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Wasn't that 2000 game in 1997 the one that was moved from Brookvale due to the state of the ground to South Curl Curl Oval or some other tiny ground?

In 1995 and 96 there were some terrible crowds and it wasn't really because of SL. SL didn't really have an impact until the split competition in 97. Some of the worst were Balmain's because they played their home games at Parra Stadium. They got a few 2 or 3k crowds around 95 from memory, when they called themselves the Sydney Tigers and had that jersey with a purple stripe on it for some reason.

 

[_snafu_]

look at the team-lists for that clash. it's a veritable treasure-trove of nevilles, pensioners & "f*ck! i didn't know he played for themers!"

Yeah. Jeremy Schloss played lock for the Gold Coast in that game.

Was that before or after Julian O'Neill shat in his shoe?

 

[gregstar]

LOL!

league's best story of the '90's!

julian o'neill may well have been a goose. but he more than redeemed himself with that effort.

 

[axl rose]

Wasn'They got a few 2 or 3k crowds around 95 from memory, when they called themselves the Sydney Tigers and had that jersey with a purple stripe on it for some reason.

Back in the day the top 5 or 6 teams were excellent quality and the bottom teams were woeful. Imagine Nth Qld & Cronulla from this year but worse. The talent was stretched pretty thin with 20 teams.

I have a Sydney Tigers jersey with a lovely purple stripe. I figured it was a f**k up from a factory in China.

 

[Chook Herron]

LOL!

league's best story of the '90's!

julian o'neill may well have been a goose. but he more than redeemed himself with that effort.

I only put the shoe-sh*tting incident 3rd on his list. Lighting a dolphin mascot on fire and pissing under a blackjack table at Jupiters casino imo were his other top achievements. He was such a rascal

 

[gregstar]

the casino thing was a bit too rugged.

LOL!

 

[Chook Herron]

He was just marking his territory

 

[gregstar]

giving sam riley a swift knee-trembler is also in his credit column.

 

[gregstar]

He was just marking his territory

true.

case dismissed! :lol:

 

[manly40gimps0]

flashback to 96 ... man those purple dots are still giving me hell.

 

[Knightmare]

Irrespective of SL and how crap the teams were going, still can't believe a Parra- Penrith derby match got under 4k!

 

[gregstar]

attendance was restricted to 1 family only.

 

[BDH]

SL had no impact in a sub standard competition in 96.

 

[docbrown]

SL had no impact in a sub standard competition in 96.

It did have some impact. The focus wasn't on the games, it was on the court proceedings and players going after $$. There were a heap of first round forfeits between the SL and ARL aligned teams going head to head. It was a nervous atmosphere all year round.

 

[Perth Red]

Bet NQ wish it had them crowds this year!

I know at the Reds the News take over had already started early 1996 with a number of the WARL directors and staff booted out and replaced with News henchmen.

 

[pantherz9103]

Irrespective of SL and how crap the teams were going, still can't believe a Parra- Penrith derby match got under 4k!

That would've been a Round 22 match where Penrith won 24-16, sending out John Cartwright a winner. Basically both sides missed the top 8, The Eels hadn't made the finals for 10 years and Penrith hadn't made them for 5, probably why there was such little interest.

 

[beagle]

I looked at this website with Rugby League stats, players appearances, crowd attendences, and their scoring records.

I came across this crowd figure from 1996 (toggle to Worst Crowds):

http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/1996.html#best

Gold Coast Vs Penrith, 1996, a crowd of just 1,500

The official yearbook of the ARL for that year by David Middleton states the crowd for that match as 2,753.