Or, better yet, watch the AFL.
After watching the latest installment of "Leagues greatest rivalry"(TM) I turned over to the AFL and caught Lance Franklin's momentous 1000th goal and the outpouring of affection for the guy from thousands of jubilant supporters sharing the historic moment. I haven't experienced or witnessed anything like that in league since 2010 or, further back, the "Changa"chant in the Brisbane test in 1974(?).
The NRL is a shape-shifting monster - the rules change every four minutes (and even then are selectively applied), a club jersey has become a billboard with a number on it. Everything about the packaging of it rubs me the wrong way. The AFL board seem to actually *like* and *understand* their game, dig the tribalism and know what the punters want - not because they held a survey, but because the game has an acknowledged level of cultural significance.
Last night the SCG - the spiritual home of Rugby League in Sydney, the venue of historic tests and Grand Finals until 1988 - was practically levitating on the buzz of the relocated South Melbourne Swans who are now no longer invaders from the south. They now *own* Sydney. And the NRL only have themselves to blame.