Serious is it just me..... or

[Foreign Legion]

Anthony Albanese is an Afl turncoat

He's gone the Greenies are moving in lol....God help us

 

[Cumberland Throw]

Lets be honest , we absolutely suck at government relations,

The fact that both candidates for PM attended a Western Sydney forum, and no one from tigers, dogs, eels or panthers attended,

But a delegation of 6 people from GWS attended, goes to show how far off the pace we are,

Why do you think the AFL presidents are all influential captains of industry or ex politicians, ?

 

[Perth Red]

We're a small sport,we've always been a small sport and in all likelihood always will be. It's a great sport though, just a shame it will never be huge.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

In simple terms, rugby league doesn't know how to work its image into something that people can aspire to. It has always just rested on its laurels, never really bothering to drive itself into a better position.

On the Australian level, AFL has always benefited from the isolated mono-culture in the west and southern states, which puts it on solid footing to push into the east. League has always had to deal with a more diverse culture in the east which means it takes more effort just to tread-water, let alone make a dent in the mono-cultures in the west and south.

Money, politicians and media will always flock to the bigger fish in the fishbowl - that's just the way the world works unfortunately.

 

[Wizardman]

Lets be serious....afl will never take over nsw and qld. Rugby league will never take over Australia. Both are major players in the Australian sporting landscape but neither will go significantly.

 

[Cumberland Throw]

We're a small sport,we've always been a small sport and in all likelihood always will be. It's a great sport though, just a shame it will never be huge.

http://www.nrl.com/about/nrlhq/careersatthenrl/tabid/11362/default.aspx

 

[Perth Red]

http://www.nrl.com/about/nrlhq/careersatthenrl/tabid/11362/default.aspx

Worked out well for Dave Smith! Came in with a grand plan to make RL a major player, left with game as is.

 

[Warriors Fever]

He's gone the Greenies are moving in lol....God help us

If they were truly for the people then they would worship the Steden

 

[Warriors Fever]

Why do you think the AFL presidents are all influential captains of industry or ex politicians, ?

Cause they're as bent as a butchers hook

 

[Chook Norris]

Asking OP's question on a league mad forum was pretty much always going to garner the one response ie that of course the NRL is popular and always will be.

I can see where OP is coming from. The NRL is losing the war in the media (player scandals, salary cap dramas, poor refereeing etc). The AFL in Sydney continues to gain positive media coverage. I accept that this difference in coverage may not impact league crazy fans but the impact is mostly in the younger demographic or those who are casual league fans. I'm in the 18-25 demographic and it's a bit sad how many people who followed league in high school have stopped following the NRL and converted their attention to other sports.

I said this in another thread, but the NRL isn't cool right now and we're seeing people switch off. The poor performance from referees and the perception that games are rigged (so what's the point of investing effort into each weekend) is the main thing IMO. Doesn't help that we leaguies are generally the whinging type and Channel 9s coverage is consistently rubbish and negative.

 

[mongoose]

i think the influence of the print and TV media is overstated nowadays. People will seek out whichever sports they are interested in on the internet and through social media. Hence why NBA popularity has exploded in the last few years with barely any media coverage.

 

[hutch]

If people are leaving the NRL in droves as you state why is it the only sport to have held onto its crowds over the last decade? Crowds are actually up this year despite two really poor weeknight timeslots and to viewers are up massively.

 

[Dragon_Taylor6]

I know ratings is big... and that dictates but it annoys how are very own league/media just constantly bags us off and paints a morbid future of the game. Why cant the NRL see that. And why does channel 9 the home of league seem more interested in AFL... our pm is meant to be a easts tragic but goes out and says he rates AFL better..
Wtf?

We do not have a league media. Just the normal media that talks about it.

The AFL use the media in a way that many large corporations do, they pay for it. In this day and age the media will say what ever you pay it to.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

Channel 9s coverage is consistently rubbish and negative.

The quality of Channel 9's coverage and the footy show have a huge influence on the attractiveness of the sport. The sooner the NRL runs their own media the better. It is hard to overstate the importance of this. Ch 9 have got to go.

 

[Chook Norris]

If people are leaving the NRL in droves as you state why is it the only sport to have held onto its crowds over the last decade? Crowds are actually up this year despite two really poor weeknight timeslots and to viewers are up massively.

How much are crowds up though ? I doubt it's up by any significant degree that it's worth mentioning. Even then, crowds fluctuate up and down due to various factors such as scheduling and teams in form.

I don't see how the NRL aims to attract fans to the game. The NRL has continually isolated its fan base by softening up the game; this is all in an attempt to attract women to the game and yet our sport is still plagued by negative publicity from player scandals and unprofessionalism from clubs.

And it seriously needs to be emphasised how bad Channel 9s coverage is and the impact it's having on our fans

 

[Perth Red]

Not leaving in droves but growth is behind population growth so going backwards in reality.

Agree about ch9 but the game has been independent for a few years now and had had massive revenue increase in that time yet doesn't seem to be pulling up too many trees at the moment. RL fans will still love the game, dream of a GF for their club and whinge about referees as they always have. It's new fans or the lack of them and the inability to change latent support into active support that is the concern I guess.

On plus side memberships are up a reasonable amount, crowds have stopped falling hopefully and tv audiences seem to be doing ok. Just doesn't feel there is too much dynamic in the game at the moment maybe?

 

[dogz08]

i think another brisbane team, and maybe adelaide would help