New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

[Matiunz]

I suspect super rugby has done to the npc what the broncos did to the Brisbane rugby league comp

There’s also a school of thought by some that the Warriors killed the standard of the Auckland club comp.
The progress of professionalism probably would have done that anyway and without the Warriors despite their traditional struggles the game in NZ would be in a worse state, NZ2 can help elevate it further.

 

[Wb1234]

There’s also a school of thought by some that the Warriors killed the standard of the Auckland club comp.
The progress of professionalism probably would have done that anyway and without the Warriors despite their traditional struggles the game in NZ would be in a worse state, NZ2 can help elevate it further.

League today is in a far stronger position than it was pre warriors

thats the difference

 

[Matua]

I definitely think the NRL could do a much better job running the game in NZ than the NZRL but NZRL would not cede sovereignty easily. Despite the better management you would question the NRLs loyalties in NZ tbf

NZRL is hopeless, but they really have no resources, whereas the NRL will have all the resources so it would be a slam dunk. But we could kiss the Kiwis goodbye if the NRL have anything to do with it.

Only point I’d question there is yes it’s common for a Union fan to also have an NRL side but would you say it’s “often located n Australia”? Yes there were sprinkles of fans of other teams but vast majority of NRL fans in NZ were Warriors fans-80% or so in my experience, unless they’re counting a ‘second team’ that some fans will casually follow if they’re doing well.

Yeah agree, that was a weird comment, pre 1995 definitely, but the majority of fans now are Warriors fans. IN saying that my mate is a Manly member, but he does live within an easy walk of Brookvale.

 

[Matua]

To a degree definitely, rare to have ABs playing for provinces now days plus for a while the base provinces for the Super Rugby franchises benefited greatly by the “lesser” provinces’ players being based in a franchise city for a large portion of the season. Last decade or so has seen a bit of a rebalance back to the provinces. Still well and truely 3rd tier when pre super rugby it was 2nd tier

NPC is in reality a (IMHO top) development comp where three tiers often mix together with the odd AB, a number of established Super and NPC players, and new young talent. Our home province is a good example of it, the Magpies usually have over 12 or so Super players, a few old head NPC players, and a number of good young U20s players.

In all honesty I'd much rather watch NPC matches than Super matches.

The mid 90s with the Lion Red Cup and the Unicorns is the closest we ever had in league to the NPC. Sadly it only lasted three years.

 

[flippikat]

NPC is in reality a (IMHO top) development comp where three tiers often mix together with the odd AB, a number of established Super and NPC players, and new young talent. Our home province is a good example of it, the Magpies usually have over 12 or so Super players, a few old head NPC players, and a number of good young U20s players.

In all honesty I'd much rather watch NPC matches than Super matches.

The mid 90s with the Lion Red Cup and the Unicorns is the closest we ever had in league to the NPC. Sadly it only lasted three years.

One of the problems that league has here is that the provincial scene is so disjointed & low-profile compared to union - and whenever a format is devised for provincial competition, it's sure to get completely restructured - and restructured in ways that change the participating teams (and team identities) after a few years.

How many names, mascots, colour & uniform changes has there been in NZRL provincial competitions? It's head-spinning.

Like it or not, the NPC teams in union have a continuity about their brand - if you took a New Zealander from 1980 in a time machine to an Auckland vs Wellington NPC game in 2023, they'd immediately be able to tell what teams are playing. Good luck taking them to see Akarana Falcons vs Wellington Orcas.

 

[Wb1234]

People on here said if the warriors weren’t making the eight they would stop getting sell out crowds

lmao

Guess who just sold out mt smart again

no it’s not the Auckland blues

 

[Wb1234]

nothing to see here

 

[flippikat]

nothing to see here

Is this just brinksmanship, or could the players actually strike, or (shock horror!) break away & try their own competition?

 

[Matiunz]

People on here said if the warriors weren’t making the eight they would stop getting sell out crowds

lmao

Guess who just sold out mt smart again

no it’s not the Auckland blues

To be fair bulk of those tickets were sold weeks ago before the slump so haven’t really felt any effect from that yet. Warriors also haven’t played in Auckland for a month and after last weekends effort and if they jag a win against the Tits going into the bye they can hopefully keep the momentum going.

 

[Wb1234]

To be fair bulk of those tickets were sold weeks ago before the slump so haven’t really felt any effect from that yet. Warriors also haven’t played in Auckland for a month and after last weekends effort and if they jag a win against the Tits going into the bye they can hopefully keep the momentum going.

That’s the response I expected

 

[final say]

To be fair bulk of those tickets were sold weeks ago before the slump so haven’t really felt any effect from that yet. Warriors also haven’t played in Auckland for a month and after last weekends effort and if they jag a win against the Tits going into the bye they can hopefully keep the momentum going.

Still pretty bloody incredible that a side well outside the 8 is still selling out 10 weeks in ! Still riding the momentum..of getting pumped in the semi finals..the only other club capable of these crowds under these circumstances is the Broncos- the biggest Rugby club on the planet!
The Warriors are easily the second biggest Rugby club on planet earth..and never won a comp.
The Broncos ended up with the Cowboys, Titans and now Dolphins to share Queensland with..
New Zealand 2 is a blindingly obvious addition now.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

That’s the response I expected

It was a fair response. The comments at the time were, if the Blues kept winning and the Warriors kept sliding, it would start to show in both their crowd numbers.

If we had got pumped by Penrith, like 95% of us thought would happen, it would've absolutely shown in crowd numbers at the ground. That wasn't death-riding the team, or even just pessimism; it's our history.

2012 started much like this year, lots of optimism coming off a good season. We kicked off that year with nearly 40k at Eden Park, but we lost to Manly. Next home game back at Mt Smart around 17k showed up... but we lost again. Next home game after that, crowd was down to 13k. By the time we finished the season with 8 straight losses, we were getting 11k-ish.

No one here wants a repeat of that, but if it happens, that fickleness is what the club will once again face into, just as we have for the last 30 years.

It's not a Warriors problem, or even a Blues problem. Its an Auckland problem. People here have short attention spans. 3 years ago we were all fking yachting experts talking about foiling monohulls and bearaway crashes.

 

[Wb1234]

It was a fair response. The comments at the time were, if the Blues kept winning and the Warriors kept sliding, it would start to show in both their crowd numbers.

If we had got pumped by Penrith, like 95% of us thought would happen, it would've absolutely shown in crowd numbers at the ground. That wasn't death-riding the team, or even just pessimism; it's our history.

2012 started much like this year, lots of optimism coming off a good season. We kicked off that year with nearly 40k at Eden Park, but we lost to Manly. Next home game back at Mt Smart around 17k showed up... but we lost again. Next home game after that, crowd was down to 13k. By the time we finished the season with 8 straight losses, we were getting 11k-ish.

No one here wants a repeat of that, but if it happens, that fickleness is what the club will once again face into, just as we have for the last 30 years.

It's not a Warriors problem, or even a Blues problem. Its an Auckland problem. People here have short attention spans. 3 years ago we were all fking yachting experts talking about foiling monohulls and bearaway crashes.

One semi good year for the warriors vs 140 for the established rugby code

wait till the wahs are actually a really good side Eden park will be needed

 

[final say]

It was a fair response. The comments at the time were, if the Blues kept winning and the Warriors kept sliding, it would start to show in both their crowd numbers.

If we had got pumped by Penrith, like 95% of us thought would happen, it would've absolutely shown in crowd numbers at the ground. That wasn't death-riding the team, or even just pessimism; it's our history.

2012 started much like this year, lots of optimism coming off a good season. We kicked off that year with nearly 40k at Eden Park, but we lost to Manly. Next home game back at Mt Smart around 17k showed up... but we lost again. Next home game after that, crowd was down to 13k. By the time we finished the season with 8 straight losses, we were getting 11k-ish.

No one here wants a repeat of that, but if it happens, that fickleness is what the club will once again face into, just as we have for the last 30 years.

It's not a Warriors problem, or even a Blues problem. Its an Auckland problem. People here have short attention spans. 3 years ago we were all fking yachting experts talking about foiling monohulls and bearaway crashes.

I find it interesting that there's these constant references to the past.
It's 10 rounds in, sitting around 14th after a " decent" season and they're still selling out.
Crowds get boosted during good times and dwindle in the bad for every sport in the world.. to not concede that the fickle supporter base has turned a corner is is a very poor observation at best.
Btw St George get 9k when they're going better..

 

[Wb1234]

I find it interesting that there's these constant references to the past.
It's 10 rounds in, sitting around 14th after a " decent" season and they're still selling out.
Crowds get boosted during good times and dwindle in the bad for every sport in the world.. to not concede that the fickle supporter base has turned a corner is is a very poor observation at best.
Btw St George get 9k when they're going better..

People are sick of super rugby

it’s not even arguable

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

I find it interesting that there's these constant references to the past.
It's 10 rounds in, sitting around 14th after a " decent" season and they're still selling out.
Crowds get boosted during good times and dwindle in the bad for every sport in the world.. to not concede that the fickle supporter base has turned a corner is is a very poor observation at best.
Btw St George get 9k when they're going better..

Based on one year? after nearly 30 to the contrary? I think assuming they've turned the corner is a little premature.

To be clear - I wouldn't be upset if you're ultimately proven right. But after 3 decades of ups and downs, it'll take more than one or two good years to convince me that things have turned for good.

 

[Wb1234]

Based on one year? after nearly 30 to the contrary? I think assuming they've turned the corner is a little premature.

To be clear - I wouldn't be upset if you're ultimately proven right. But after 3 decades of ups and downs, it'll take more than one or two good years to convince me that things have turned for good.

Go back through history

what’s the average warriors crowd when they miss the finals

imo it’s 15k tops and more likely less

 

[flippikat]

People are sick of super rugby

it’s not even arguable

RU has reverted to type, and is going back to being years - if not decades - behind the innovations of rugby league.

Case in point, the NZ Super Rugby teams have only just now started releasing heritage jerseys.

 

[Vlad59]

Really? You're using the Saudis as an example in this? I have no idea if that's true, but nor do I care. In case you haven't noticed, there's rather more important things people are missing out on there than RL. Like, an education. Or, the right to have their heads remained attached to their bodies.

You've taken clutching at straws to a whole new level with this one.

Wasting your time with this bloke mate. He’s off his chops.

 

[Wb1234]

RU has reverted to type, and is going back to being years - if not decades - behind the innovations of rugby league.

Case in point, the NZ Super Rugby teams have only just now started releasing heritage jerseys.

You should see how bad their social media is it’s awful