[rondeez]

The first test match of the year between the cross-tasman rivals is on next Friday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

VS

Any of you Brisbane guys going? I'll be watching it on telly for sure!

I wonder who will be in the squad. Id like to see Eric Grothe Jnr in there somewhere!

 

[CULWULLA]

^yeah i think young eric should be there.i wonder if thurston or gasnier will be there.
i think we will have strong squad and win test.

 

[Aussie Bhoy]

I'm not sure what sort of crowd they will get to this game, I wonder if they will pick some extra Queenslanders in the Australian team to try and boost the gate. There is quite a belief in Queensland that there has always been a heavy bias towards NSW players by the NSWRL dominated administrators of RL.

I don't know what it is about Brisbane, but everyone here seems so slack about attending sports, last nights crowd (about 23,000 I think), was pretty bad for a one club, one city team. The only time everyone seems to get excited about attending is for State Of Origins, which I guess we do consider as more important than any other game. I'd happily lose to NZ if it meant Qld would win the SOO.

 

[rondeez]

Ive found that the Broncos crowds depend on who they play. If it is a blockbuster against say the Cowboys or the Dragons they draw about 45,000.

If it is a poorly ranked team they draw about 25,000 which most NRL clubs in Sydney could only dream of!

 

[rondeez]

I'm not sure what sort of crowd they will get to this game, I wonder if they will pick some extra Queenslanders in the Australian team to try and boost the gate.

I heard the centre spots are going to be chosen between QLDer Hodges and the Dragons pair of Gasnier and Cooper.

Id prolly pick the Dragons pair. Havent seen a Broncos match recently.. hows Justin going?

 

[CULWULLA]

well thurston made team but start from bench.
looks like the saints combo is centres-cooper & gaznier.

AUSTRALIA has named its team to play the Anzac Test against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on Friday night.

Count ... Minichiello had been in doubt for the Test. Pic: Brett Costello
AUSTRALIA: Anthony Minichiello (Roosters), Matt King (Storm), Mark Gasnier (Dragons), Matt Cooper (Dragons), Timana Tahu (Eels), Darren Lockyer (Broncos, captain), Andrew Johns (Knights), Willie Mason (Bulldogs), Danny Buderus (Knights), Petero Civoniceva (Broncos), Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys), Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels), Ben Kennedy (Sea Eagles). Interchange: Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys), Mark O'Meley (Bulldogs), Steve Menzies (Sea Eagles), Steve Simpson (Knights).

 

[Maroon Grown]

I'm not sure what sort of crowd they will get to this game, I wonder if they will pick some extra Queenslanders in the Australian team to try and boost the gate. There is quite a belief in Queensland that there has always been a heavy bias towards NSW players by the NSWRL dominated administrators of RL.

I don't know what it is about Brisbane, but everyone here seems so slack about attending sports, last nights crowd (about 23,000 I think), was pretty bad for a one club, one city team. The only time everyone seems to get excited about attending is for State Of Origins, which I guess we do consider as more important than any other game. I'd happily lose to NZ if it meant Qld would win the SOO.

theyve already sol 24,000 tickets which is strong selling for this kind of match. last year there was 40,000 there. u could prolly expect the same this time.

as for brisbane crowds, as rondeez said, it depends whos playing. last year when we played the dragons there was 50,000. last nights 23,000 was a 'big sydney' crowd and we played a team who have no crowd drawing ability. the afl have the same thing. less interesting games attract smaller crowds.

SOO sold out 90% of tix before lunch on the fisrt day of sales. wish i could say the same for sydney

 

[Maroon Grown]

I heard the centre spots are going to be chosen between QLDer Hodges and the Dragons pair of Gasnier and Cooper.

Id prolly pick the Dragons pair. Havent seen a Broncos match recently.. hows Justin going?

hodges is in better form then the both of them put together. gasnier has his head in the $$$$ clouds and cooper had a shocker last night. hodges icey relationship with stuart is what didnt get him a jumper

good to see thurston got at least something, but to give minichello the No.1 jumper over bowen when hes injured is downright ridiculous. bowen should have least a bench spot. bloody southerners! this is an AUSTRALIAN team!

 

[renell]

Thurston+Hodges+Kangaroos Selection=More butts in Suncorp. Hodges was red hot against Canberra from what I saw. Many in the papers today were expecting Bowen to be in the interchange, I guess Thurston is there as insurance for Joey, and allows flexibility in the fullback, halfback and 5/8th role. Then we get a REAL rugby league international match. One big advantage RL has over AFL. International Rules isn't really AFL.

Speaking of crowds, the SCG match was a great one, but the empty stands looked disappointing. 19000 was the match attendance, but the match deserved more. But unlike in Brissy where the only NRL is in Suncorp, you can go to Brookvale, Homebush, Penrith, Parra, Aussie stadium, take your pick.

Would be interesting to see how Benji makes an impact off the bench, and how long he'll stay there.

 

[Aussie Bhoy]

No 1 point guys, it's not suncorp stadium, or hungry jacks arena, or bendigo bank dome, or whatever company fronts up the dollars park. It's Lang Park, pure and simple, the media might be forced to play the corporate game, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to sell out.

RL crowds are pathetic in Sydney and Brisbane, there is no other way to say it. Only SOO sells out in Qld, 25,000 crowds for the Broncos are pathetic for a city of 1.7 million. Sydney teams are terrible as well, no wonder the AFL feels in such a strong position. Only Newcastle and Townsville can hold their heads high, the rest are crap.

I'm originally from Glasgow in Scotland, there are 2 major soccer teams in Glasgow, Celtic (62,000 seats) and Rangers (51,000 seats), and they fill those seats every time they play at home, depending on Europe and Cup competition about 25-30 times a year.

Glasgow has a population of 630,000. Even allowing for the fans who travel from around the UK and Ireland for the games, it still means that quite often, about 10, or 25% if both teams are playing, of the population are at the games. And the 2 teams hate, despise, loath each other, not just Wests doesn't like Manly hate, but sectarian hatrid of hundreds of years, often leading to murder, so believe me there is no cross support.

That's why when I hear commentators talking about 18,000 at a game in Sydney and saying what a good crowd I shake my head.

With only 3 starting Qld'ers and 1 on the bench (mercy pick) I don't expect many people in Brisbane to be excited about Friday's Australia game. I won't be going.

 

[rondeez]

That's why when I hear commentators talking about 18,000 at a game in Sydney and saying what a good crowd I shake my head.

It is by NRL standards. We've had quite a few 8000 crowd figures [in Melbourne, Auckland, Canberra and for Souths games] this season which is disappointing and a real worry. But they have been counter balanced by a few 20,000+ crowds. Newcastle and Townsville continue to sell out their home games which is great!

I guess the TV ratings are more important and im pretty sure those are right up there!

 

[Maroon Grown]

yeah TV is the big thing. we have bigger t ratings than the AFL but they have bigger crowds.

sydney hasnt got a leg to stand on IMO. Melbourne has the same amount of venues and games a week and they consistently get big crowds. i think sydney needs to stop taking things for granted. i dont think it is unreasonable to get a 40,000 strong crowd to both friday and sunday TV games considering there are over 4Million of yas!

 

[renell]

Karmichael Hunt has been called up to the Australian team as standby to Minichello.

 

[Aussie Bhoy]

I think I got it wrong, it's actually 1 less, so only 2 starting Queenslanders in the side. That is hardly going to excite the Brisbane public.

Karmichal Hunt is a Kiwi, but wants to play for Queensland, so has opted for Australia, he could actualy get on the field for Australia despite never playing a SOO.

I bet the Kiwis aren't too happy about it.

For me this sort of thing is a worry, players play for themselves now, and Queenslands pathetic display against NSW in the 3rd game last year is an example of players with no real heart, not like the Queensland legends of the past. Those guys were immense for Queensland, it really meant the world to them, and despite the fact that NSW had many more players to choose from, more famous players who were better on paper, Qld consistantly won. Last years Qld players looked like the couldn't give a shit about losing, they were looking forward to the after match piss up too much.

 

[Wezza]

Good to see Hunt called in if Mini doesn't play. He's been playing well so far this year. Hodges should've been there, he's the form centre of the nrl at the moment.

 

[renell]

Picked the wrong Queenslander IMO. It only makes smashing Hunt whenever he runs to the Kiwi forwards a delight to Ruben Wiki and his pack. I'm not sure if this was a ploy to rub salt into NZRL or to appease Queensland crowds.

 

[Mr Centrepoint]

No 1 point guys, it's not suncorp stadium, or hungry jacks arena, or bendigo bank dome, or whatever company fronts up the dollars park. It's Lang Park, pure and simple, the media might be forced to play the corporate game, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to sell out.

RL crowds are pathetic in Sydney and Brisbane, there is no other way to say it. Only SOO sells out in Qld, 25,000 crowds for the Broncos are pathetic for a city of 1.7 million. Sydney teams are terrible as well, no wonder the AFL feels in such a strong position. Only Newcastle and Townsville can hold their heads high, the rest are crap.

I'm originally from Glasgow in Scotland, there are 2 major soccer teams in Glasgow, Celtic (62,000 seats) and Rangers (51,000 seats), and they fill those seats every time they play at home, depending on Europe and Cup competition about 25-30 times a year.

Glasgow has a population of 630,000. Even allowing for the fans who travel from around the UK and Ireland for the games, it still means that quite often, about 10, or 25% if both teams are playing, of the population are at the games. And the 2 teams hate, despise, loath each other, not just Wests doesn't like Manly hate, but sectarian hatrid of hundreds of years, often leading to murder, so believe me there is no cross support.

That's why when I hear commentators talking about 18,000 at a game in Sydney and saying what a good crowd I shake my head.

With only 3 starting Qld'ers and 1 on the bench (mercy pick) I don't expect many people in Brisbane to be excited about Friday's Australia game. I won't be going.

BULLSEYE! I think it's crazy that scotland with a population something like 5 million can draw average crowds 5 times bigger than australia with it's 22million! It just proves how unsporting this country is in crowd terms. :sleepy:

 

[kwigibo]

BULLSEYE! I think it's crazy that scotland with a population something like 5 million can draw average crowds 5 times bigger than australia with it's 22million! It just proves how unsporting this country is in crowd terms. :sleepy:

Not to mention minimum adult prices are about double over there. 55 AUD for a celtic game versus 25 AUD for a broncos game.

25 dollars is still too expensive for my liking. Back in the early 90's I had a broncos season ticket for about 70-80 dollars, and we got reserve grade and under-21 games. Now you're lucky if they give you a high school game.

 

[kwigibo]

Picked the wrong Queenslander IMO. It only makes smashing Hunt whenever he runs to the Kiwi forwards a delight to Ruben Wiki and his pack. I'm not sure if this was a ploy to rub salt into NZRL or to appease Queensland crowds.

You got that right. As far as I'm concerned there are half a dozen Queensland fullbacks better than Minichiello (and a bunch from NSW too), and 2 or 3 that at least have seniority over Hunt. Bowen should be there as a utility back if nothing else.

 

[Mr Centrepoint]

But the point is that the stadium is always full at celtic park and the stadiums are quite empty here until finals time.