I've said it before, with the trajectory that the NRL is on, in around 20 years, RL will be a shadow of its former self as far as popularity goes. The AFL will at least doubled its overall popularity in the Sydney market and be winning all the ratings and attendance figures by any markers.
League has been losing its luster/appeal for around a decade now and all the missteps come from the head office. Death by a thousand cuts. I've said on here before, this year I'm struggling to watch more the just Parra games. I just don't anymore. I watch bits and pieces at most. But my interest wains fairly quickly and I usually switch over to something else. Small unappealing crowds. Games with no atmosphere. If the game starts slow, I'm out of there. Next.
My loyalty is gone. Geez I wish AFL was a decent sport, I would of been a Swannie ages ago, like a lot of my friends and family. I'm probably the only one of my friends or family that hasn't at least a passing interest in the AFL. That in itself is a telling indicator in where things are heading, because most of the people I grew up with knew nothing about AFL growing up and most of them were RL tragics like me. Well not anymore.
The times are a changing. It won't be that detectable for a while yet, but a decade or so from now it will be undeniable. The AFL have won the war. The nail in the coffin will be when the clubs rejig the NRL constitution and have all the power and life support in perpetuity. With their power they will appoint a puppet/stooge to run the show and the rest as they say is skata.