League unfashionable in Sydney?

[t-ba]

c_eagle, Brisbane's extended population is nowhere near that. If you say that, then we're including the Central Coast and down to the Gong for Sydney's population FFS.

Now, onto another hypothetical - would you really go to a game every fortnight if the Roosters were the only Sydney team and you hated them?

Rubbishing the only league team to smash the 30K attendance average in a season for a long while is ridiculous.

The City is 1.81 million. Add in the Sunshine and Gold Coasts and you've got 2.5 million. Remember that Sydney's population as an agglomeration includes the Gosford Council Area. Add In Wyong, the Blue Mountains and Wollongong and you'd probably get 4.8 million tops...

 

[JW]

Up to 1.81 Mill already? f**k me.

Bloody Victorians.

 

[t-ba]

Up to 1.81 Mill already? f**k me.

Bloody Victorians.

Crazy Hey? :crazy:.

I've heard 3 million by 2025 from a Government Source. Biig City soon enough.

 

[dubby]

Actually, there is 2million is Brisbane. THey cracked it earlier this year.

Dont be fooled though. ALOT of them are Victorians who come up and support the Lions. There are alot of Sydneysiders, but they HATE the Broncos. The arrogance created by the crew of Ribot/Morgan has alienated alot of people up here. I'd say that the Cowboys have alot of support in Brisbane as evidenced by the crowd figures.

QLDers are different to Sydneysiders in a alot of ways. A big factor for larger crowds in Brisbane is that it doesnt have the percieved problems of Sydney and the antics of some supporters there. You can go to SUncorp (which is an awesome stadium BTW), watch your footy in a smoke free and low grog environment,and watch every part of the ground with your mates and family in SAFETY.

YOu cant say that for some Sydney grounds.

Another reason for the big crowds is due to the success of SOO, Brisbane winning the NRL, and Lockyer being in such fine form. QLDers are very patriotic and love to support their state. Even more than NSW.

 

[t-ba]

Actually, there is 2million is Brisbane. THey cracked it earlier this year.

Not quite...I haven't seen 2 million quote anywhere, though mine is the 2005 ABS estimate.

QLDers are different to Sydneysiders in a alot of ways. A big factor for larger crowds in Brisbane is that it doesnt have the percieved problems of Sydney and the antics of some supporters there. You can go to SUncorp (which is an awesome stadium BTW), watch your footy in a smoke free and low grog environment,and watch every part of the ground with your mates and family in SAFETY.

They're not that impressive...If there where two sides pulling the Broncos crowds, Maybe. As it is, Sydney Draws substantially more punters on a per capita basis just with its H&A fixtures compared to H&A, Rep and Final Matches in Brisbane.

Brisbane Drawing 42,000 when the Town had about 1.2 million people back in the early 1990's and the Sydney Clubs were drawing jack sh*t was very impressive though.

Brisbane needs two more clubs imo. I'd Go Ipswich (For the Solid Regional Identity) and Redcliffe (Traditional club that can grow a supporter base in Growth areas like The Rivers, Caboolture and the Sunny Coast). The Broncos monopoly doesn't allow for the substantial growth in Brizvegas.

 

[JW]

Regarding the Broncos crowds, if you throw all the statistics of populations, etc, out there then yes, crowds are capable of going much higher. But you could apply this logic to most places, including Sydney clubs.

The main thing I look at, however, is not so much the Broncos actual figure but the way in which it's been increasing each season. You only need to look back a few years to see that Broncos were well down on what they are now which were pretty awful looking compared to their previous and current standards.

2001 - 20,035
2002 - 20,131
2003 - 24,326
2004 - 28,667
2005 - 30,331
2006 - 31,208

There's no denying how encouraging that trend is, and I see no reason why it won't continue into a sixth consecutive season. 35,000 is definately possible.

Brisbane needs two more clubs imo. I'd Go Ipswich (For the Solid Regional Identity) and Redcliffe (Traditional club that can grow a supporter base in Growth areas like The Rivers, Caboolture and the Sunny Coast). The Broncos monopoly doesn't allow for the substantial growth in Brizvegas.

I tend to agree, t-ba.

I believe that over time we need to look at having around 3-4 clubs based in SEQ. It's important to come up with the right number too as we don't want to undersupply the region like it has been with Brisbane being the lone club, and at the same time not creating a Sydney-like problem (although this was unavoidable for Sydney as it was the NSWRL who expanded their competition nationally).

North and west of Brisbane are definately the areas i'd be looking at, particularly considering the huge growth rates in these areas.

 

[t-ba]

There's no denying how encouraging that trend is, and I see no reason why it won't continue into a sixth consecutive season. 35,000 is definately possible.

Indeed, but It's still a shadow of the 42k (Admittedly a fair whack of (Freebies) in 1992 or the combined 55k of 1995 (Again, Freebies). Work with what you've got and all that I suppose.

believe that over time we need to look at having around 3-4 clubs based in SEQ. It's important to come up with the right number too as we don't want to undersupply the region like it has been with Brisbane being the lone club, and at the same time not creating a Sydney-like problem (although this was unavoidable for Sydney as it was the NSWRL who expanded their competition nationally).

Indeed. Three teams for a city of 3 million people in 2025 is good imo.

North and west of Brisbane are definately the areas i'd be looking at, particularly considering the huge growth rates in these areas.

Yep. The Western Club can possibly try and grow a profile in Toowoomba and the Downs, the Northern Club can look as far North as Bundaberg for Support and the Titans can compete with the Broncos for fans in Logan City and the Redland Shire.

All contingent on the leadership at the Broncos accepting that competition is good and healthy for them though...

 

[dubby]

A team on the Sunny Coast or in Caboolture would be a very bad idea. There is a lack of commited support (everyone has there own team) and no major local business could afford to sponser a team, a large number of retirees (esp. Caloundra and Bribie Island), and a large % of Victorians and other states moving here.
Our population also has a % of surfers/holiday makers/overseas immigrents.
Yes we have a big population (275k) compared to 10 years ago but we are not ready yet.
If the Falcons gain entry to the QLD Cup that would be a huge boost for the code here, as it would provide incentive for the local players to play in a statewide comp with large exposure and a chance to get into the NRL while living in a wonderful place. We would hardly be ready for the NRL in the next 5-10 years

 

[***MH***]

I have lived in Sydney all my life and its true that some people look down at rugby league.
It is up to us to stand tall and say "I am a league man" with pride. Challenge them on their snobbery, point out the history and courageous elements of our game.
The main problem is that Sydney has a high immigration from other states and countries who bring their own preferences.
League has been here 100 years and we will not just roll over for some newbies who just arrived.
Tell them to give league a go...encourage them...you know they will love it.

You could say that the homosexuality rate is rising in Sydney as well... thus more supporters for AFL and A-League and less supporters for NRL...

Statistics can be used to prove anything these days.

The main thing that we can see from 2006, especially from the Tri Nations, is that Sydney doesn't care anymore. That final should have sold out.

 

[Knightmare]

Another reason for the big crowds is due to the success of SOO, Brisbane winning the NRL, and Lockyer being in such fine form. QLDers are very patriotic and love to support their state. Even more than NSW.

:roll: Yeah right, because NSW people will never be as passionate about our team as you Queenslanders. We don't have a clue what "spirit" is. Do you work for the QRL marketing department by any chance?

 

[Choppies]

I believe that once people start full time work they move into OzTag

OzTag is growing rapidly and that is because of RL and its popularity

Yeh I hears a report on the radio a coupld of weeks back that Oztag is making an impact in the US.

 

[Brutus]

Was rugby league ever unfashionable in Brisbane when the Victorian Lions were winning all those premierships in the flog ball?

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Was rugby league ever unfashionable in Brisbane when the Victorian Lions were winning all those premierships in the flog ball?

Even in the years when the Lions dominated there was more coverage of the NRL than AFL in the papers/tv/etc.

 

[dubby]

:roll: Yeah right, because NSW people will never be as passionate about our team as you Queenslanders. We don't have a clue what "spirit" is. Do you work for the QRL marketing department by any chance?

I am NSW born and bred. I have lived in QLD for 10 years. I have been on both sides of the fence, and I support NSW.

YEs, QLDers have much more spirit and pride than NSW. Yes, it bugs me that they do. But without their spirit and passion, SOO would never have been a success.

And you will never see a QLD paper stick the knife into a QLD team, unlike the Telecrap does to the NRL teams in Sydney. If Rebecca Wilson did that in a QLD paper she would be tarred and feathered. (even though that would make an improvement)

 

[Lockyer4President!]

If Rebecca Wilson did that in a QLD paper she would be tarred and feathered. (even though that would make an improvement)

Honest question, how has she kept her job for so long? Even Naomi Robson has quit, surely Wilson's time has to end soon.

 

[Knightmare]

I am NSW born and bred. I have lived in QLD for 10 years. I have been on both sides of the fence, and I support NSW.

YEs, QLDers have much more spirit and pride than NSW. Yes, it bugs me that they do. But without their spirit and passion, SOO would never have been a success.

And you will never see a QLD paper stick the knife into a QLD team, unlike the Telecrap does to the NRL teams in Sydney. If Rebecca Wilson did that in a QLD paper she would be tarred and feathered. (even though that would make an improvement)

If Qld have so much more spirit and pride than NSW, how come they haven't won a series back to back since 1988-89 when Meninga, Miles, Fatty and the boys were running round under Wally's guidance? I agree that in the early years of Origin the Maroons took it more seriously, but the turning point came in 1985 when Turvey led the Blues to their first series victory and NSW finally realised Origin was no longer the pre 1980 cakewalk it was. The reason you don't hear the Qld papers stick the knife into their team is because Queenslanders won't take a stick of critiscism about any player past or present. They're too narrow-minded for that. This was made evident this year when some observant Queenslanders (rightfully) dared to question the Maroons' selection policy, and Choppy Close fired back by calling them "New South Wales like." I actually took that as a compliment, because in NSW we want to see our best players representing our state. We don't still believe the fairytale that you can take an average 1st grader and suddenly wearing the State colours will make him grow 10 feet tall and other magic powers. The vast majority of Queenslanders still think like that (and clearly the selectors do too), and I believe this goes a long way to explaining why NSW have held the ascendency since 1990.

 

[Perth Red]

Stop diverting the attention away from how uncommitted to supporting the national RL side the Sydney RL fans are! With (in the region of) 80,000 RL fans turning up to Sydney club games week in and week out you would think more than 35% would turn up (and that is without taking into account the large amount of Kiwis and smattering of poms in the crowd!)

 

[Lego_Man]

QLDers are different to Sydneysiders in a alot of ways. A big factor for larger crowds in Brisbane is that it doesnt have the percieved problems of Sydney and the antics of some supporters there. You can go to SUncorp (which is an awesome stadium BTW), watch your footy in a smoke free and low grog environment,and watch every part of the ground with your mates and family in SAFETY.

YOu cant say that for some Sydney grounds.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I think the biggest reason that NRL crowds dont match the AFL is because of the "bogan factor". Casual fans, particularly those of the middle-upper middle class, or those with families, are far less likely to go to games because of the perceived unsafe or unsavoury environment. The general perception is that league crowds are hostile, alchohol fuelled, and boorish (particularly the suburban grounds eg shark park). Tie this in with all the bad publicity of violence from Dogs games etc and you put people off. Personally i think alcohol should be banned from all stadiums, that would go a long way towards fixing the problem.

 

[Mr Saab]

If Qld have so much more spirit and pride than NSW, how come they haven't won a series back to back since 1988-89 when Meninga, Miles, Fatty and the boys were running round under Wally's guidance

but the turning point came in 1985 when Turvey led the Blues to their first series victory and NSW finally realised Origin was no longer the pre 1980 cakewalk it was.

NSW have held the ascendency since 1990.

Dubby was talking about the fans and their "passion" in turning up to the games, not in relation to the players and who has "more passion"

Yeah, NSW won in 1985 and 1986, but it was no real turning point. They lost the next three series. The turning point was when Wally stopped playing origin after the 1991 series.
The combination of Gould and the loss of Wally meant NSW kicked QLDrs backside from 1992 to 2005.
However, NSW have lost "their" Wally in Johns, so lets see what the results are the next 3 yrs. I am confident of winning the next 3 series as NSW have nothing in the way of halves.

 

[Knightmare]

The only positions that worry me for NSW are the halves I agree. As for the poor crowd for the Tri-Nations final, it does puzzle me. Usually such events are well-attended in Sydney.