Would you keep supporting them if they relocated to Parramatta or would you threaten to switch to AFL?
I'm not sure what you're getting at. I live in the Liverpool area. Getting to SFS is a chore and I'm happy with ANZ. With the rebuild of ANZ, members have already been told we're going to WSS and I'm happy with that. New facilities, close to home... However, if we were to return to SFS, then so be it. Logistically, it'd be harder but I'd survive.
Furthermore, as someone who has never supported the AFL, and if you go looking, I spend ample time ridiculing the GWS Giants in the Fight Club, I'm not sure why you'd think I'd move to AFL.
In fact, as a Souths member, I understand the fiscal pressures on all Sydney clubs and the economics of the NRL. I can't blame Souths for moving to ANZ in 2006...and I actually have inside knowledge of the entire move and associated reasons. I too argue that it's fantastic for Souths to have 30,000 members but shite that only 13,000 go to games. There are plenty of reasons/excuses for this - scheduling, post-2014 euphoria and subsequent dissipation...and people have their own reasons for not going to games. I've given up feeling upset, cranky, disillusioned if people don't attend. The average NRL "fan" [not members] goes to 1-3 games a year I'm told...so that alone, when 10-13,000 turn up to ANZ and Souths decide to take 2-3 games to Gosford, Sth Qld or Perth etc makes sense...we can expand our fan base, service fans in those regions and still get 15-20,000 going to those games and be on TV for Sydney fans.
I also agree the NRL get a lot of things wrong with scheduling, stadia etc. I'm also a realist and TV pays the bills. The NRL need to be more aggressive in their arrangements but again, I'm not working for them, so it was it is for now.
In regards to stadia, Parramatta Stadium is perfect for NRL. Having the SFS rebuilt in to a modern stadium is great too, so is a proper re-do of ANZ. I'd love to spend money on Brookvale, Penrith, etc. But don't you think it's sad that after 111 years of RL in Australia only ONE club owns its own ground - and I'm looking at you Cronulla!!!
Until the clubs and NRL put their hands in their pockets, I think the larger stadia should be where investment goes. That's just me. I also think the NRL need to get the Sydney model "right". What "right" is, is open to debate I suppose. But you fish where the fish are. There are regions of Sydney where RL people live and could be considered "heartland" but are not serviced (properly) by a team. Manly could own the entire Northshore Triangle from North Sydney to Asquith to Manly...but they don't. Why? Wests Tigers could "own" Macarthur / Narellan / Camden...but don't. Why? I'm not saying teams don't get it right either...but the NRL needs a focused plan and structure in regards to all their policies. I think they have actually improved in certain areas and do get a lot right. A lot of "quibbles" are latched on to by the same parrots in the media, with axes to grind, with multiple soap boxes - Fox / Nine // radio // newspapers // podcasts - to whinge from. A lot of it is window dressing. The product is fantastic.
Finally, the NRL has plenty of expansion markets available. Perth, Brisbane 2, NZ 2, Central Coast and Adelaide should all be targets. Whatever the correct mix is, that's also open for debate, but having no rivalry in Brisbane or NZ is criminal IMHO. And having two city markets without a team is also nonsense. Sydney is over saturated with content. Natural attrition will see 1-2 die or relocate. Who that is, again open for debate, but the finger of death changes direction every couple of seasons, so "killing" a team is fraught with danger.
When all is said and done, I'm just a nobody who watches and loves the game. What I think and know could be written on the head of a matchstick. I'm not going to be here forever, so I'm enjoying every game and sewing in a couple of threads in to the magnificent tapestry that is Rugby League.
