Going to the Game

[moik]

I flew down from Cairns for a family do and was unable to get to the game. But I went to the post match function at Steelers and cheered out loud for deano and Ben. I hope that makes up for my non attendance.

 

[possm]

as a certain bimbo used to say "Where the bloody hell are you?"

Seriously that was a poor crowd. Good weather for winter, Deano and Horny deserved a better send off. Even Parra can outsell their ground capacity to farewell a couple of their own :x

Crowd attendance is a very serious matter. Not all fans are fanatics like us forum members. It is without doubt the majority of Rugby League fans are positively influenced by success and the level of competitiveness of the team they support.

The Dragons are a professional Club and arguably the best brand in the NRL. Our fans are very much proud of our brand and have an expectation of success. As with most Clubs in the NRL, an increase in success usually equals an increase in membership and game attendance; the opposit occurs for a decrease in success. But with the Dragons, the expectation from the fan base is very high indeed and so the disappointment level can harshly influence game attendance no matter what the theme of an event.

Plainly speaking, fans are now speaking with their feet and so, something must be done prior to the 2013 season to give fans the confidence of success in 2013. Succes can be measured in may ways however, I believe the minimum requirement for the Dragons in 2013 would be to feild a very competitive squad and at least make the final 8. If the fan base believe this is not achievalble, game attendance figures and therefore Club revenue will be in decline for most of next year.

Over to you Mr Doust.

 

[Godz Illa]

Oh STFU possm, please abort this attempt at creating a Doust whinge thread. As Stagger mentioned, Parra had managed to sell-out their farewell game, despite being in spoon contention for three years running. And their retiring players never won a premiership! Last night's attendance figure was embarrassing, and speaks volumes for the fickle, fairweather nature of our fanbase. A bit shameful actually

 

[gypsy]

:lol: absolute gibberish from the possm. :lol:

 

[64 Dragon]

I reckon there will be more Red and White supporters at ANZ next week than there were at Win last night. I couldn't get there but I will be there to cheer the dragons on next week.

I also have tons of respect for Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke burt, two of the gentlemen of the game just like Benny and Deano. Hope there is a big turnout for both clubs.

 

[possm]

Oh STFU possm, please abort this attempt at creating a Doust whinge thread. As Stagger mentioned, Parra had managed to sell-out their farewell game, despite being in spoon contention for three years running. And their retiring players never won a premiership! Last night's attendance figure was embarrassing, and speaks volumes for the fickle, fairweather nature of our fanbase. A bit shameful actually

Sorry to say that I will carry on in hope that change for good of the Club is made. I respect your opposing view and do not seek to close you down; please do the same.

However, you are correct in your Parra example and i only hope this is the case with the Dragons next year; time will tell.

 

[possm]

I reckon there will be more Red and White supporters at ANZ next week than there were at Win last night. I couldn't get there but I will be there to cheer the dragons on next week.

I also have tons of respect for Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke burt, two of the gentlemen of the game just like Benny and Deano. Hope there is a big turnout for both clubs.

Being the last actual game that these 4 great players will play in, I am sure the game will be a sell out and that Dragon fans will turn up in their thousands.

 

[Willow]

11,000 and I reckon half were from out of town.

 

[sass]

would've liked to see a full house for the boys but in context I do understand. with us coming off a run of losses, and parra's recent run of wins, the short notice from Benny instead of a season-long preparation, being in round 25 instead of round 26, plus the number of Sydney people that planned to go to Parra instead of the Gong it wasn't the best set of circumstances.

all I know is the crowd that was there was pretty awesome. the punters still in the Steelers club at 10.30 gave the captain a standing ovation when he went home. there was a lotta love.

 

[Willow]

would've liked to see a full house for the boys but in context I do understand. with us coming off a run of losses, and parra's recent run of wins, the short notice from Benny instead of a season-long preparation, being in round 25 instead of round 26, plus the number of Sydney people that planned to go to Parra instead of the Gong it wasn't the best set of circumstances.

It's unfortunate that Wollongong relies on out-of-town fans to get the crowd figures up. It raises the question as to why we have a home ground in Wollongong.

The losses shouldn't come into it imo. The Parra game is next week, with respect I'm not sure how that affects this weekend.

all I know is the crowd that was there was pretty awesome. the punters still in the Steelers club at 10.30 gave the captain a standing ovation when he went home. there was a lotta love.

It was a great night at the ground, we ended camping ourselves on the concrete slab in the north-west corner. All the second half tries were scored right in front of us. When Morris made his bust down the sideline, we all leaned over the fence and it was like he was running right at us, we had a perfect view of the touchline and BMoz in full flight (yes, he was in. lol). It was a sight to behold.

 

[sass]

well I can only go from the fan feedback! lots of people saying over the last few weeks they want to be there in round 26 for the last-last match, not the last home match.

 

[Willow]

People who are based in Sydney?

If so, it brings me back to the question.

 

[sass]

sorry, didn't mean to accidentally start a Kogarah-Wollongong argument here - after having to read through the comments from a few people from both 'sides' on social media I don't want to encourage any more.

some of them specifically said they were flying from queensland or NZ, but most people don't actually have a location publicly visible on their social accounts so I couldn't say.

 

[Willow]

Not my intention either. Let's just say it's the elephant in the room. lol

The group that I was with included two from SE Qld, two from St George area and one from inner western Sydney. I really don't know how much real support there is for Saints in Wollongong, but it seems that there are more fans spread far and wide outside of Wollongong.

I had a bizarre conversation with two locals who were Easts supporters, they only came to WIN Stadium to heckle the Dragons. They loved Wollongong, hated Saints. I know this is hardly a fair sample for any survey. TBH, I was more amazed to find that Easts supporters actually do exist.

 

[RedVee]

Good to be on the field after the game. I don't know if my son and I from Campbelltown are included as WIN locals?

Good also to catch up with Rexxy (?) after the game.

 

[DragonBuck]

I was at the game and was also a little disappointed with the attendance given that we were seeing to of our greats playing their last home games. I've actually been thinking over the last couple of days as to why such a poor turn out and other than our poor form I tend to think that it comes down to two factors...
1) They were playing the warriors. I didn't really see as many warrior supporters as I have in past seasons at the game. May have a lot to do with the fact that their side has ben playing so poorly as well.
2) In the last 12 months the region down here has taken a battering. Blusecope slashed jobs late last year. The flow on affect is there are many contractors who also had to cut jobs due to the reduced production in the steelworks. More recently the people employed in state government jobs are undergoing restructures and a lot of people have been told their jobs are redundant or they are in limbo not knowing where they stand. I also know a few people from NRMA who have all been told they will lose thier jobs in the coming months.

 

[Happy Old Dragon]

where is the Army sitting (or standing as the case may be...) at homebush on Sunday??

I want to yell my head off.



hod.