WIN Stadium has the best atmosphere in the NRL

[Cooper-Man]

OK...................I think i can say that I am the one who re ignited the issue on the hill. I was the one at the bulldogs game that had a slight biffo with the young steeler chanting blokes. It almost boiled over the following week against the rabbitohs when they rocked up in kilts and dressed like characters from Brave Heart. They had plastic swords and were pointing at me and slicing the knife accross their necks as if to say I was dead. Gee i was pumped that day............had it not been for santa clause intervening, the hill would have looked like a war zone.


Anyway, that is not one of my proudest moments. Last year I met the steeler chanting blokes. and though we still dont see eye to eye on certain issues, we are not at war and we shake hands before and after every game.

I guess my problem with the gong is that we dont see any of those supporters following the team to other grounds or even to kogarah. They didnt even come to ANZ (toilet bowl) last year.

I mean, we all got upset when the teams merged, but the illawarra people need to understand, we gained nothing with this merger. The magority of teams that have won a premiership in the last decade other than brisbane, did it with the majority of their players not being their juniors. So i guess, by saying illawarra supplies the players...........yeah you do but we still dont have a premiership.

The atmosphere at the gong is woefull. The support is limited and the people dont care. But I still have a 12 game package and will continue to support my team. The more the illawarra stop coming the better it is for us i guess becuase when the lease comes up for renewal, hopefully the club will realise that 12 games at Kogarah Jubilee is more profitable for the club and then take us back there FULL TIME.

 

[Kiki]

im With You Kiki, They Shouldn't Be Discouraged At The Football. If They Want To Pay Entry And Sit At The Back Of The Hill, Let Them. Good On Them, Keep It Up Girls.

Thankyou!

 

[steela]

hang on, how many years were there between the last dragons premiership and the merger?
99 was the closest in decades, we all agree we should've won.

we had a bloody strong side for years, full illawarra juniors... critics had us in the top 4 on paper.

buying a premiership winning side isn't that easy, you have to pay huge money for lure the great players, having strong juniors is a huge advantage

 

[Willow]

i'm happy with a 50/50 share, but you gotta admit there's a lot of people who AREN'T happy with that arrangement

From what I'm reading in your posts, the acceptability of this only works one way.

of course not

You don't like the Illawarra name being under the St George name. You aren't happy with their being six games in Wollongong. So if you are not making proposal to have this changed, why did you mention it?

but more could be done for the identity of the illawarra side of the partnership, it's almost non existent.

If there was no partnership agreement, there would be no JV. If there was no JV, the best you could hope in Wollongong would be the occasional trial match. Less TV coverage (believe or not that is the life blood of rugby league), and therefore the sponsorship for Wollongong Showground would wither on the vine. The ground itself would be overlooked for those govt grants and improvements like those which have been enjoyed since 1999. In short, Wollongong would be stuffed.

This is not meant to unsettle, just stating the facts and likely outcomes if the JV was never signed.

It is fact that the Steelers were not going to be able to field a team in the NRL in 1999, they were broke. St George had the money to enable NRL football to be played in the Illawarra.

The crazy thing is that if or when the JV ever dissolves, and you get your wish and the Illawarra name is removed from the badge, and there is no team in the Illawarra to support anymore, some people in the Gong will probably blame St George.

even the red shirt looks too 'illawarra' for a lot of people

You mean people expressing their opinion. Sure, but it's probably because most people prefer the Red V.

i'm not going over the top here i've read such comments at DAF and heard phil gould say it over and over.

I always thought DAF was fairly pro-Illawarra. Once again, people are entitled to their opinions. And Phil Gould...? lol. A once successful coach who spends his media career reinventing himself to cross the mood of his readership. I guess some people still take him seriously.

st george history and the red V has to be maintained, no arguements there at all...

Unfortunately the NRL is trying to take away our history. It's sad but NRL officialdom has wiped it clean. Apparently we are no longer allowed to call us St George, apparently we were formed in 1999, I have been told the club I support never won 11 in a row, we have fight every year to watch games at Kogarah... we can talk about how much we have given up.

Of course the history should be continous, it's not like St George and Illawarra don't have shared heritage.

my beef is the attitude of some st george supporters and the lack of respect for the trace of steel in the side... like I said before i've seen it and read it, from the army boo-ing everyone (including bruce gordon) at a pre-game event to being abused for wearing my steelers jersey (admittedly may not have been anyone from the army, but st george supporters still).
the team didn't lose illawarra's support overnight.

So its not the Dragon Army, just this broad area of St George supporters. With respect steela, it looks like you just all want people to think and act in accordance with yourself.

Let me know how that goes. lol

were the Steelers finished financially?

Yes.

The fact that Illawarra borrowed $8 million from St George Leagues Club is well documented.

There was a lot of economic hardship in the Steelers club. All clubs, including St George, will cry poor from time to time, but still managed to survive - look at the Sharks for example. But it was made very clear by Bob Millward who said in 1998 that the Illawarra club would cease to exist in the NRL if they tried to stand alone.

Unfortunately the leagues club is in the worst possible location to attract members and visitors, and ian millward's decision to stay loyal with the ARL made the difference...

You mean Bob Millward.

From memory it came down to sponsorship. Millward sided with Optus, the ARL sponsor, more than it being that he sided with the ARL. Happy to be corrected. Of course Telstra were the preferred sponsor of the NRL.

but he had WIN behind us and the team was attracting better crowds than it is today from memory.

From this http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/illawarra.html it looks like there was about four seasons of 10K+ crowd figures. I think it has been a little better since 1999, but not much in it.

that's another point though, I don't see what it has to do with the hugely inbalanced partnership and illawarra being seen as a skid mark on the team.

Your words. I wouldn't be that harsh and I don't think everyone thinks that way. Once again people have their views.

true, but it helps when you have quality youngsters in the side on little money, and first dibs on securing them in the future.

Well we seem to be bringing a few new recruits from outside of the Illawarra this year.

Open market and the ways of the modern game apply.

well then... if graeme said that I should just shut up :lol:
the illawarra should just grab their ankles.

cheers

So yes or no, is Langlands being disrespectful to the Illawarra?

 

[AJ_82]

had to register for this one.

the reason why people say "sit down" is because they can't see, if you would like to stand I suggest you sit on top of the hill... it's simple really.
the people behind you probably get in early for that spot, and wouldn't know a bunch of supporters in front of them will stand up before the main game.

you call THEM wankers? :lol:

and just on crowd numbers, the majority of wollongong doesn't care about the team... we have our name on the bottom of your logo and host 6 games, st george gained one of the best rugby league nurseries in the world and almost everything else is intact.

I have to follow the team because I love what trace of steel is left, but gee the st george supporters make it hard, the disrespect i've witnessed at WIN and on the internet makes me want our name wiped from the logo at times.

at least the players and coach like wollongong, that's why they live there.

I laugh at your first point re people coming early to sit down - because usually the Army are amongst the first people in the door and have a fairly established place on the hill about half way. The same thing happens at Kogarah and everyone respects that is the true place for the Army and it's die hard supporters, hell most people love coming and joining us for that very reason.

I can only support what both Coops and Major have said - the sooner we have 12 games back at Kogarah the better!

 

[OurRedV]

Sit Down!

 

[The Major]

Well we must agree that WIN is a 'graveyard' for visiting teams. Quiet as a graveyard actually, and full of dead shi ts.

 

[steela]

you should ask the old steelers supporters what they think of bob (not ian, my bad) millward

my bad in regards to crowds, my selective memory is a little rosey.

A lot of people refused to support the team, but wollongong was behind it to begin with, it's fair to say interest has decreased ever since.

and on Langlands, that his opintion, I don't think it's disreaspectful... I don't think he was amongst the army

 

[steela]

I laugh at your first point re people coming early to sit down - because usually the Army are amongst the first people in the door and have a fairly established place on the hill about half way. The same thing happens at Kogarah and everyone respects that is the true place for the Army and it's die hard supporters, hell most people love coming and joining us for that very reason.

I can only support what both Coops and Major have said - the sooner we have 12 games back at Kogarah the better!

it'll happen, support has fizzled to nothing :lol:

i'm not saying the people behind get in before you, but maybe they aren't expecting the mob in front of them to stand up... you guys aren't that important, not everyone knows how you roll, suddenly they can't see the ground which would be bloody frustrating

 

[Steel Dragon]

I cant believe people were telling the Army to sit down.
Thats rediculous.

If you cant see - dont friggin sit near the army - who stands everywhere they are!!!!
They sit (read stand) in the same spot everytime we play at WIN and at Kograh.
How would you not know!?
Unless its your first time at a game - and in that case - stand the f**k up too and cheer home the red and white!

WIN is a beautiful stadium, but I fear that it suffers from the same plague as Canberra stadium - young kids see it as a place to 'go out' in the evenings and socialise, rather than to watch a game of footy. Its a shame the teams dont have patrons support, but at least theyre getting their ticket dollars.

 

[RedVDave]

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:sarcasm:

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:shock::shock: YEAH RIGHT! :lol::lol:

Please, what a joke of situation on the hill this afternoon. A very lack lustre turn out by the army had everyone in a quite mellow mood. Made even worse by the locals who got their bagina's out of joint when we stood up, LIKE WE DO EVERYWHERE WE GO and EVERYTIME WE'VE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS!
Frigging sooks. Come to Kogarah and get all precious like that! And i'm gonna paint all steelers fans with the same brush. You're all a bunch of farkwits. Such a disappointment to share the same favourite team as you. ie, if in fact you really are fans, and not just sitting on the hill hoping to watch Andre Rieu and a game of football breaks out. Wanks the lot of you!

Personally I have nothing against WIN stadium itself, but I am baffaled as to why we should sit down on the hill. There are 3 other sections for seats if people wish to watch the game sitting down then thats what the seats are for, the hill is specifically designed for standing and screaming your lungs out!

 

[steela]

win must be different to jubilee, people have sat on that hill with rugs for as long as I can remember.

 

[The Major]

Simple solution is for us to take 10 steps back up the hill to the top and build our group downwards. That way there is only army members behind us who wont complain. I have to respect every other paying patrons right to enjoy the game and especially to those with young children, as i regularly bring my two young girls. The best is to agree to disagree on all on sundry and get on following our team. We can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. I prefer the latter. I think we need to be a bit more proactive and take a course of action so we dont face these issues in the future, ie moving to the back of the hill. Once our numbers fill up again, we will once more take up half the hill as we've done in the past. That will solve the sit down, stand up dilemma. As far of the other problem with the toss pot lads who wanna man up, then its only a quick size 12 shove down the back side of the hill down onto the sand dunes for them. I'm taking short odds already for the furthest punk i can drop down the hill before he hits the ground!
Giggidy!

 

[The Major]

win must be different to jubilee, people have sat on that hill with rugs for as long as I can remember.

definately not on the halfway line part of the hill, other then the odd couple who plonk down just down near the footpath. Guranteed standing room only from about 5 metres from the footpath up to the back of the hill. Usually tapers towards the goal lines, depending on the opposition and the aura surrounding the match.

 

[SET2JT]

that's why the players choose to live there, right?
woops! :lol:

nothing to do with the fact that houses and rent are 1/2 price compared to sydney

 

[steela]

wollongong can be pricey, I don't think wendell or bennett would be living in government housing
all the more reason to live there still

wollongong is gods country, it's bloody speccy
do you drive down bulli pass on your way to the ground?

 

[Kiki]

i think the gong is beautiful. i used to spend holidays down there with my family when i was growing up.

 

[Steel Dragon]

Are we getting off topic?

Wollongong is a pretty great place and all, but yeah, Kograh crowds are a bit more Dragon friendly I must admit.
Shame that supporters from the gong arent a bit more passionate.
Whats really a shame is that despite 10 years of merging we still see the club somewhat seperately.

 

[Red Bear]

I'd agree to an extent about the hill, i was shocked at how young the crowd was there even tho a few years ago that was me and my mates (altho we'd actually watch the footy).

 

[boxa777]

As for being picturesque, Win is superb. But that's where it all ends.

Trouble has been around that ground for years.. Goin down by the train as a young teen in the late 90s was a battle. There was conjecture regarding signs and flags and it went against every other stadium's mantra at the time in welcoming armies with their big flags and colour.

There was a time (pre-merger) I remember down there where all our flags in the army had to be placed in a pile at the very top of the hill on top of each other. When the boys went over for a meat pie about 10 of us had to rush up there and pick up our poles and wave them. It was a joke. Almost made it not worth bringing them in the first place. Then it even continued to an extent after the merger and as the boys have attested in the posts above, there are still issues.

I don't make it down to WIN much anymore purely for the atmosphere. Teens going to the games (who are disinterested in the game) contribute to the lack of atmosphere like it or not. Guess they don't have much else to do and I can understand that.

If I do make some games at WIN, it's purely to see the boys play. There is zero f**kin atmosphere in that ground. That's no Illawarra bashing. It is the absolute truth!