Welcome to the comp, Redcliffe.

[xe_kilroy]

Fancy a disgruntled dyed in the wool RL fan abandoning the sport for AFL and the Swans. And, hypothetically, not returning to RL after all these decades.

 

[Wb1234]

So despite this forum saying they would be a fail the dolphins are becoming brisbane 2

heck if bennett stayed for longer they would be brisbane 1

 

[Wb1234]

Fancy a disgruntled dyed in the wool RL fan abandoning the sport for AFL and the Swans. And, hypothetically, not returning to RL after all these decades.

Some people are only fans of their club not the game

when norths and south’s were kicked out and balmain merged they got a lot of their fans going to swans games

 

[mongoose]

yeah I could definitely see fans being disgruntled with the sport after Super League and becoming more active supporting other sports. Pretty naive to think otherwise.

That certainly doesn't account for all the Swans fans though, especially today.

 

[xe_kilroy]

Yeah but a RL fan, especially back then, maybe it hasnt changed a lot, hated AFL, called it names, made fun of it. It's like a Christian converting to Islam just because their local parish closed down. Find another club to follow would make more sense (imo).

 

[xe_kilroy]

Not denying it possibly happened, but it could be an exaggeration too. Disgruntled fans saying that or boycotting just to make a statement, for a couple years, but then promptly returned to the sport. Or like people who buy EA video games, constantly conplain about the state of the game, hate EA, swear they'll stop buyihg it, probably spend hours telling everyone not to buy the next FIFA or whatever game, but personally keep buying it because they can't resist

 

[Wb1234]

Yeah but a RL fan, especially back then, maybe it hasnt changed a lot, hated AFL, called it names, made fun of it. It's like a Christian converting to Islam just because their local parish closed down. Find another club to follow would make more sense (imo).

I lost my team

I watched a good year of the swans on tv

I was sick of the bs of super league and what Murdoch did to the game and how no politician stood up to him

you underestimate the passion of south’s and norths fans imo

 

[xe_kilroy]

I lost my team

I watched a good year of the swans on tv

I was sick of the bs of super league and what Murdoch did to the game and how no politician stood up to him

you underestimate the passion of south’s and norths fans imo

Fair enough. I can understand the process. Like, I gradually got sick of NFL because of the way the game is admisitered, the corruption, scandals, the on-field rules making the game farcical.

I guess there are always two avenues. People who abandon a sport when diagruntled, and those who pick up another team. Eg, the amount of religious fervor in English soccer, and there have been teams who folded, relocated, etc, and fans still stayed with the sport, picked up another team, or set up a new team in the area.

SL imo was more boycott than abandon. A year or two, when the NRL happened, gradually wounds healed, and by now people have gotten over it.

The war itself wasn't good, black eye. But the whole thing of a national comp is still right. Teams have to fold, merge, or go back to NSWRL level for it to occur. It's never going to be nice and easy for fans but it still has to happen

 

[xe_kilroy]

So Swans fans increased due to SL, but how many have stayed away from RL? Have those true blue RL fans literally adopted AFL and sworn off RL? I highly doubt it. If you hated the sport all your life.

 

[Wb1234]

Fair enough. I can understand the process. Like, I gradually got sick of NFL because of the way the game is admisitered, the corruption, scandals, the on-field rules making the game farcical.

I guess there are always two avenues. People who abandon a sport when diagruntled, and those who pick up another team. Eg, the amount of religious fervor in English soccer, and there have been teams who folded, relocated, etc, and fans still stayed with the sport, picked up another team, or set up a new team in the area.

SL imo was more boycott than abandon. A year or two, when the NRL happened, gradually wounds healed, and by now people have gotten over it.

The war itself wasn't good, black eye. But the whole thing of a national comp is still right. Teams have to fold, merge, or go back to NSWRL level for it to occur. It's never going to be nice and easy for fans but it still has to happen

It’s 30 years on and I don’t have a regular team lol

if league wasn’t such a good sport and I’d have happily walked away from it

 

[xe_kilroy]

It’s 30 years on and I don’t have a regular team lol

if league wasn’t such a good sport and I’d have happily walked away from it

What club did you follow?

Imo, and i know it's not common, sporting teams aren't really religious-like things. It's more like spouses or partners ...you can fall out of love with them, and fall in love with a new one, pretty easy. It "shouldn't" be hard to do or envision doing for a football team (imo). I've done it. Maybe its just me.

I can understand a club like say Athletic Bilbao, a team in the Basque region, for Basque people, and you would cry if the team folded, but there are other Basque teams one could take up if you were a gung-ho Basque.

Also....the fans have to blame themselves too. For many decades Souths, Norths, Jets, Magpies struggled with crowds, so when the club folds suddenly they pop up wanting to burn the world down, but where were they before? Since returning, Souths has increased its profile, crowds, but still many of those 60k protestors are back to their ways of not going to the games etc.

 

[Wb1234]

What club did you follow?
Imo, and i know it's not common, sporting teans aren't really religious-lije things. It's more like spouses or partners ...you can fall out of love with them, and fall in love with a new one, pretty easy. It "shouldn't" be hard to do or envision doing for a football team (imo). Ive done it. Maybe its just me.

I can understand a club like say Athletic Bilbao, a team in the Basque region, for Basque people, and you would cry if the team folded, but there are other Basque teams one could take up if you were a gung-ho Basque.

Also....the fabs have to blame themselves too. For many decades Souths, Norths, Jets, Magpies struggled with crowds, so when the club folds suddenly they pop up wanting to burn the world down, but where were they before? And since returning, Souths has increased its profile, crowds, but still many of those 60k protestors are back to their ways of not going to the games etc.

Balmain tigers

if they demerged with wests and joined easts tigers I’d be ok with that

been a bit of a club whore since but nothing sticks lol

soft spot for south’s since they didn’t merge and stuck it out and got back in

 

[xe_kilroy]

Balmain tigers

if they demerged with wests and joined easts tigers I’d be ok with that

been a bit of a club whore since but nothing sticks lol

soft spot for south’s since they didn’t merge and stuck it out and for back in

Ok. You're a good case study. I know people who were mad Magpies and Tigers fans. Some went to the merged club. Some took up Bulldogs or whatever other team they had a soft spot for. I think everyone has a #2 team in every sport, that they could switch to if their #1 folded, relocated, merged.

I know Fitzroy people who stayed on with the Brisbane Lions and some who never took up another team, and some who took up another Vic rival team.

Most -- adopted merged team
Next most -- adopted whole other team
Very few -- abandoned sport, still abandoned.

You don't hear much tho about all those South Melbourne fans who lost their team to Sydney.

How come you didn't follow on to the WTigers? If you could see yourself potentially being a Souths fan, why not WTigers fan?

 

[xe_kilroy]

Why ok with Easts Tigers merge but not Magpies merge? Curious

 

[Wb1234]

Ok. You're a good case study. I know people who were mad Magpies and Tigers fans. Some went to the merged club. Some took up Bulldogs or whatever other team they had a soft spot for. I think everyone has a #2 team in every sport, that they could switch to if their #1 folded, relocated, merged.

I know Fitzroy people who stayed on with the Brisbane Lions and some who never took up another team, and some who took up another Vic rival team.

Most -- adopted merged team
Next most -- adopted whole other team
Very few -- abandoned sport, still abandoned.

You don't hear much tho about all those South Melbourne fans who lost their team to Sydney.

How come you didn't follow on to the WTigers? If you could see yourself potentially being a Souths fan, why not WTigers fan?

West tigers killed my club

I was hoping the cowboys won in 05 so the merger could collapse and tigers come back like manly

I’ve had season tickets for south’s for five years in around 2010

only the roosters and south’s are left from the foundation clubs that’s a lot of heritage lost

and saints merged

that’s why the nrl struggled for ages and why news ltd kept south’s in the comp even after they won the appeal and could’ve kicked them back out

afl and union gained hugely from super league in Sydney brissie and Canberra

 

[Wb1234]

Why ok with Easts Tigers merge but not Magpies merge? Curious

Same jersey colours and logo

plus wests could have an actual identity too out at Campbelltown

the merged clubs represents nobody properly

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The Swans have had zero significant growth in crowds or TV ratings since the SL war.

Average Swans crowd 1994: 9k
<<1995 - 1997 SL War Happens>>
Average Swans crowd 1998: 31k
Average Swans crowd 2008: 32k
Average Swans crowd 2018: 34k
Average Swans crowd 2022: 29k

Hmmm.... I wonder what could have changed in the mid 90's??? It's not a mystery mate

The Swans have been successful on the field since 1996. In the 1980s they had a couple of successful seasons that pulled big crowds.

Agree that people can follow more than one sport, but not sure what this has to do with my post. Swans have shown no significant attendance or TV ratings growth since the SL war

Their revenue from football operations is greater than every NRL club in Sydney. Their membership base dwarfs every NRL club.

 

[xe_kilroy]

Same jersey colours and logo

plus wests could have an actual identity too out at Campbelltown

the merged clubs represents nobody properly

Said it many times before, the whole national comp process was done wrong. Instead of merging, booting, relocating clubs, should've just relegated them all to NSWRL and set up four new Broncos-like Sydney clubs, that the NSWRL clubs all share the financial spoils from. Either three NSWRL clubs affiliated to one new NRL club....or....just all four help keep all 12 alive.

Or, process of promotion/relegation somehow, like English football. Clubs who are popular or strong enough financially, famous, can become behemoths, but no club need die out....Darwinism. Eg, Notts County vs Manchester United.

Anyway.... unfortunately that's the red pill of it all. Newton couldn't stay like Balmain couldn't, like Glebe couldn't. It's not the suburban aspect per se. That's partly a reason, it's market share in a crowded market place. Collingwood massive and wealthy, Balmain not. Tho both had a long proud history of championship success.

On the flipside, it's also silly to have a national comp with 8+ teams from one city, all little suburbs. The one-city club blueprint has potential for long term stability, growth.....NY, LA, Chicago, Sydney Swans, WC Eagles, Brisbane Broncos, lesser extent, Newcastle Knights, Canberra Raiders, etc, but they probably have more longevity than Cronulla, Canterbury, etc.

Meanwhile, St George fans in denial....demanding that StG-Ill has 16 championships, not 1. By merging, they lost the chance to add to their 15. Hugely famous club, around the world, yet not wealthy like Collingwood, tho both suburbs. Relocating to Illawarra as standalone Dragons, with their 15. Or Illawarra allowed to exist standalone like Newcastle, why not? Don't know why they were expendable to a merge. It's actually pretty stupid, StG-Ill....so far apart.

Sorry just rambling on here

 

[xe_kilroy]

Lowering another Sydney club and adding another Brisbane club is probably better (demerging and merging with Easts Tigers).

Rebranding as Macarthur Tigers or Campbelltown Tigers is better than having an Ashfield-Balmain represnetation.

Demerging and having Easts/Balmain Tigers and a Campbelltown Magpies is problematic too. Adding yet another team to the comp, now 18, and still have to find a way to have Perth, NZ-2, Adelaide, Central QLD, Sunshine Coast, maybe Central Coast too.

Ugh, everything so messy

 

[Wb1234]

Said it many times before, the whole national comp process was done wrong. Instead of merging, booting, relocating clubs, should've just relegated them all to NSWRL and set up four new Broncos-like Sydney clubs, that the NSWRL clubs all share the financial spoils from. Either three NSWRL clubs affiliated to one new BRL club....or....just all four help keep all 12 alive.

Or, process of promotion/relegation somehow, like English football. Clubs who are popular or strong enough financially, famous, can become behemoths, but no club need die out....Darwinism. Eg, Notts County vs Manchester United.

Anyway.... unfortunately that's the red pill of it all. Newton couldn't stay like Balmain couldn't, like Glebe couldn't. It's not the suburban aspect per se. That's partly a reason, it's market share in a crowded market place. Collingwood massive and wealthy, Balmain not. Tho both had a long proud history of championship success.

On the flipside, it's also silly to have a national comp with 8+ teams from one city, all little suburbs. The one-city club blueprint has potential for long term stability, growth.....NY, LA, Chicago, Sydney Swans, WC Eagles, Brisbane Broncos, lesser extent, Newcastle Knights, Canberra Raiders, etc, but they probably have more longevity than Cronulla, Canterbury, etc.

Meanwhile, St George fans in denial....demanding that StG-Ill has 16 championships, not 1. By merging, they lost the chance to add to their 15. Hugely famous club, around the world, yet not wealthy like Collingwood, tho both suburbs. Relocating to Illawarra as standalone Dragons, with their 15. Or Illawarra allowed to exist standalone like Newcastle, why not? Don't know why they were expendable to a merge. It's actually pretty stupid, StG-Ill....so far apart.

Sorry just rambling on here

Should’ve merged nswrl and brl (not sure how many teams) then added regional teams and Melbourne and the warriors

mergers don’t work in Sydney

Balmain could’ve made it as a stand alone but their area is kind of covered by the dogs anyway

without the strength of Sydney the nrl wouldn’t last five minutes