Richardson calls for suburban footy to be axed

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Again most people are not suggesting ANZ is the answer, it isn't due to its inappropriateness for club football. What the game needs is a vision to make the SFS and a new 40k Western suburbs ground the main home for RL in Sydney. Won't be easy or quick but that should be the long term goal for the game. It will be a lot easier finding a way to use these two stadiums than clubs trying to find $100mill+ each to get 6 or 7 grounds up to scratch.
Manly are geographically the hardest to accomodate which is challenging as they probably need a new ground the most and looking at the plans the council put out seem a long way from getting one.

Stick to AFL you turd

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Games like the Dragons v Bulldogs, Bulldogs v Eels should never be played at suburban grounds. Fans should become accustomed to these high profile clashes being always played at the big stadiums.

I never want to see another Dogs v Dragons match played at Kogarah.

In saying that, a game like Sharks v Dragons should always remain suburban.

So where do you suggest Dragons play their home game against the Dogs?

Surely not Homebush?

SFS? I don't think so.

Moving these games should only be considered when memberships are close to capacity.

A packed Kogarah shits on both the other options.

Moving a game, losing home ground advantage and diminishing membership advantages for a perceived incremental attendance boost is not the right option right now. No saying it won't happen in he future but not now.

Get a membership, or get your tickets early or TS.

 

[Southern Rooster]

This is an absolutely absurd suggestion that has been made with very little knowledge about Melbourne and the AFL system. The first thing I noticed when I moved down here was out how close all the clubs actually were physically located.

On the eastern side of Melbourne, you have Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood, and Carlton all within the space that would be between Darlinghurst and the City. They are that close together. Not to mention St. Kilda, Melbourne, North Melbourne, and the Western Bulldogs (Footscray).

The two stadium system works for the AFL because you have all these clubs so close together that fans can easily travel to either the MCG or Etihad Stadium and it still be close to the home territory. Note that Geelong plays out of it's own stadium - given that Geelong is 45 mins from the City.

I'm sorry that Richo feels like South Sydney fans should travel to Western Sydney to have a 'home game'. I'm sorry for the supporters of Wests Tigers supporters when they have to travel to the SFS in the city for their 'home game'. This doesn't work in the Sydney area, thus why GWS will be playing out of their own stadium and not the SCG - like why the Suns aren't playing out of the Gabba. These areas are too broad to centralise the games into two grounds like they can in Melbourne.

BTW, I guarantee it is better financially for Cronulla to play out of the ground that they own.

That in essence is why it works in the AFL. Me personally I like going to the MCG Etihad or the SFS. What I'd love to see at SA is double headers. Not every weekend but Super Saturday provides the perfect opportunity.
Parra v Penrith
Wests v Canterbury

For instance I would love to see the Western Sydney teams playing double headers against each other at Stadium Australia. Other then that keep the suburban games. My mate was at Shark Park last night and stated it weas the best night he had EVER had at the footy. He's been going since he was a kid and is now in his 40's.

I go to 15 or so Carlton games in Melbourne each year and miss Princes Park but it is a different game down there. The bigger stadiums suit because people go to the games. Sydney does not go to games as often. So no need for the bigger grounds.

 

[Loudstrat]

Games like the Dragons v Bulldogs, Bulldogs v Eels should never be played at suburban grounds. Fans should become accustomed to these high profile clashes being always played at the big stadiums.

I never want to see another Dogs v Dragons match played at Kogarah.

In saying that, a game like Sharks v Dragons should always remain suburban.

Sharks v Dragons would get more than Dogs v Dragons.

So where do you suggest Dragons play their home game against the Dogs?

Surely not Homebush?

SFS? I don't think so.

Moving these games should only be considered when memberships are close to capacity.

A packed Kogarah shits on both the other options.

Moving a game, losing home ground advantage and diminishing membership advantages for a perceived incremental attendance boost is not the right option right now. No saying it won't happen in he future but not now.

Get a membership, or get your tickets early or TS.

Well said. Besides, it's a great way to alienate the Illawarra half of the Dragons. Given that Brutus wants to cull Sydney clubs and only play inn regional towns, it's an odd thing to say.

Here's an idea. Let the clubs work out what is best for them, and prevent the NRL from f*cking it up.

 

[Brutus]

So where do you suggest Dragons play their home game against the Dogs?

Surely not Homebush?

SFS? I don't think so.

Moving these games should only be considered when memberships are close to capacity.

A packed Kogarah shits on both the other options.

Moving a game, losing home ground advantage and diminishing membership advantages for a perceived incremental attendance boost is not the right option right now. No saying it won't happen in he future but not now.

Get a membership, or get your tickets early or TS.

Homebush.

Dragons v Dogs is a 30-40k game when both teams are in reasonable form.

18k at Kogarah does not do it justice and the Dragons miss out on valuable coin.

Get people used to travelling to the big stadiums for the big potential drawing games.

 

[Brutus]

Sharks v Dragons would get more than Dogs v Dragons.


.

37k for Dogs v Dragons last year or the year before at Homebush.

29k earlier in the year.

I went to a Sunday arvo game between the two teams about 5 years back 33k.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

I don't think it would get that crowd if it was moved to Homebush.

I was at Homebush a couple of weeks ago for the Saints v Dogs game and the crowd was underwhelming.

I would wager that if we were playing our home game at the Dogs home ground there would be a backlash that resulted in fewer numbers.

Homebush sucks. Changing trains 3 times doesn't help either.

I thought you were talking about changing to the SFS but Dragons playing a home game against the Dogs at Homebush is pie in the sky stuff.

 

[Spanner in the works]

Are we the welfare code? Feels like it. Want handouts, don't aim for the biggest and best, don't run the code like a business, all to defend some misguided notion of the "community" ground. Pfft. Go watch a game at Emirates, White Hart Lane, Old Trafford or a packed MCG and tell me the difference. Far better atmosphere, and far more money.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

White Hart Lane has a capacity of 36k :lol:

FC Bayern are expected to lock out up to 500,000 people for their CL match v Real Madrid. They get a capacity crowd every game. Some of you would demand a 300,000 seater stadium :lol:

NRL can't even sell out the SFS what makes people think that moving games there is the way to go?

Scabs v Wests was a shit crowd in a 40k stadium

 

[Brutus]

I don't think it would get that crowd if it was moved to Homebush.

I was at Homebush a couple of weeks ago for the Saints v Dogs game and the crowd was underwhelming.

I would wager that if we were playing our home game at the Dogs home ground there would be a backlash that resulted in fewer numbers.

Homebush sucks. Changing trains 3 times doesn't help either.

I thought you were talking about changing to the SFS but Dragons playing a home game against the Dogs at Homebush is pie in the sky stuff.

Well SFS then.

Just not 18k Kogarah for such a clash.

 

[Spanner in the works]

White Hart Lane has a capacity of 36k :lol:

FC Bayern are expected to lock out up to 500,000 people for their CL match v Real Madrid. They get a capacity crowd every game. Some of you would demand a 300,000 seater stadium :lol:

NRL can't even sell out the SFS what makes people think that moving games there is the way to go?

Scabs v Wests was a shot crowd in a 40k stadium

The point still stands. Some of us like mediocrity, some of us want the best. AFL kills us in every single way except for the product on the field. Better crowds, better advertising, better salaries, bigger sponsorships, better image - the list goes on and on. The least we can do is aim to play an elite game in the elite stadiums.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

I'm all for the welfare of the code. But the timing has to be right.

Comparisons with well established clubs with massive incomes and even bigger supporter bases is not constructive either. Why not draw a comparison with Dallas Cowboys Stadium? Possibly because it has nothing to do with what we are talking about.

You mentioned atmosphere, putting a Dragons home game in Homebush will not increase atmosphere. The Dragons away game there was not breaming with atmosphere, why would a home game be any better?

If it was a double-header it might work, but just moving a game to a bigger venue does not guarantee larger crowds.

You might get another 10k flushed into the Homebush toilet if you're lucky, you would hardly even notice it. A bit of rain would see this and a lot of people would put a line through it.

22k at Jubilee >>> 30-35k Homebush

Anyone who has walked out of a packed Jubilee would say that the atmosphere there is better for the game than sitting in the cavernous Homebush joint.

It gets people wanting to go again.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Yeah, remind me of the Wests v Scabs crowd last week please. Sydney derby, Sunday afternoon, half full.

The fixture at Leichhardt in 2007 was epic. Massive buzz for that game. Last week was a fizzle piece of crap

 

[Miller was a legend]

I would just like to add my insight into this topic...meh

 

[Brutus]

I thought the atmos at the Dogs v Souths was great with 35k at Homebush.

The SFS was great with 26k the week before.

 

[BranVan3000]

Souths and Dogs put a lot into the production and promotion of that game including free transport. But lets be honest, every major game should get that.

There's no reason a crowd like that wouldn't be sustainable if you had weekly derbies at ANZ or SFS that were heavily promoted by the NRL and the clubs. Put TV advertisements and build the derbies up, and you could easily get a consistent crowd IMO

That Souths Dogs game could be 40k next year, especially if both teams do good this year and early next year

 

[gronkathon]

Fittler actually got it right.

Big blockbusters deserve a big stadium. Games like the WT hosting the Wuzzas will draw at leichhardt because it is Leichhardt and we only get four games there a season

 

[BranVan3000]

Yeah, remind me of the Wests v Scabs crowd last week please. Sydney derby, Sunday afternoon, half full.

The fixture at Leichhardt in 2007 was epic. Massive buzz for that game. Last week was a fizzle piece of crap

26k is half full? Lol guess we can't all aim for the spectacular 10 - 11k Roosters are managing, can we wristy?

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Sorry, it's about 3k more than half full. That's amazing! The NRL is just dying to have these fixtures in 150k capacity stadiums.

Give me a break scab your club claims 20,000 members and barely gets average crowds and we have yet to play a Sydney team at home bar Penrith who only have a dozen fans that travel to away games.

The only time these Sydney derbies are in demand are when it's in a grand final qualifier. Until then suburban grounds are the go.

 

[Brutus]

Yeah, remind me of the Wests v Scabs crowd last week please. Sydney derby, Sunday afternoon, half full.

The fixture at Leichhardt in 2007 was epic. Massive buzz for that game. Last week was a fizzle piece of crap

An extra 5k could fit in.

Had the game been played at the SCG - add another 5k.

Leichhardt should be kept for games against the Storm, Cowboys ect...