[hayds]

FOR ALL TALK CROWD ATTENDANCE AND THE LIKE
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Hope this thread stays! *eyeballs the mods*

ok...im from WA. I dont get NRL, i admit it.

I've started this thread out of interest, since ive been in Sydney ive noticed this...

According to Wikipedia, the Australian Football League (average crowds of 35,250) attracts a little over double the attendances of the National Rugby League (16,485). The Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions, despite competing in a rubgy league dominated territory attract crowds of 28,448 and 32,877 on average respectively.

Interestingly, apart from Perth Glory all A-League clubs pulled larger crowds than a number of NRL teams! with NSW and QLD having such a large population base, what is the reason for this difference. Why are rugby supporters less interested in watching live rubgy? I dont intend this to be a debate on 'which game is better', I simply don't understood why Rugby League games get such a poor attendence. I don't care whether you like Rugby League or AFL.

 

[hayds]

I asked some people why this was, one answer was "its on TV"
So is AFL, and the A-League and S14 is only on Fox!

Another answer was that the size of the ground in Aussie Rules does not allow tv audiences to really watch the game, whereas the smaller field of Rugby League is perfect for the small screen. Personally i think thats bull. If anything live rugby would be 'better' being closer to the action.

BASED ON 2007 ATTENDANCE FIGURES...

NRL dominated NSW averaged higher AFL crowds than any NRL team.
AFL (swans) -35,632 / NRL (rabbitohs -15,704)

SydneyFC Averaged higher crows than 7 other sydney NRL teams.

AFL dominated WA averaged higher S14 Rugby crowds than any NSW NRL team or NSW/QLD S14 RUgby team.
S14 (force)-27,555 / (warratahs)-22,741 / (brumbies)-17,813 / NRL (rabbitohs)-15,704)

 

[BobDaBuilder]

It is a different culture in Sydney. They are not as into sports as we are in Victoria. The clubs up there do not have the fanatical support our football one's do. People in Sydney have an interest but don't go out of their way to watch their games. I guess they have better things to do like look at the harbour all day and night because it is so pretty.

I don't think putting another team in Sydney or the Gold Coast is particularly wise and will be a source of embarrassment for the league and a personal bluder at the feet of Goofy and his sidekicks drunk with wealth and arrogance.

 

[renell]

According to Wikipedia, the Australian Football League (average crowds of 35,250) attracts a little over double the attendances of the National Rugby League (16,485). The Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions, despite competing in a rubgy league dominated territory attract crowds of 28,448 and 32,877 on average respectively.

No, that's not "despite". Having a one-club per city makes it a lot easier to attract fans, without fear of "losing" them to the cross-town rival. Hence why there is some agreement between MVFC, SFC and the FFA about the one-club per city in the big two until 2012 iirc. And look at the S14 teams - one state, one club - pretty big figures for what's supposedly the 4th or 5th most popular Australian sport.

Anyway how about you show the average crowds per match. I hate doing the maths.

 

[hayds]

No, that's not "despite". Having a one-club per city makes it a lot easier to attract fans, without fear of "losing" them to the cross-town rival. Hence why there is some agreement between MVFC, SFC and the FFA about the one-club per city in the big two until 2012 iirc. And look at the S14 teams - one state, one club - pretty big figures for what's supposedly the 4th or 5th most popular Australian sport.

Anyway how about you show the average crowds per match. I hate doing the maths.

lol i know...had to pull out a calculator. They are all in order though so that table still shows which clubs get the higher average attendance.

Theres only one s14 team in perth, but the force figures dont overwhelm the AFL crowds as the warratahs do the NRL. The Broncos get higher crowds than the Brisbane Lions though, so it seems more of an issue in NSW.

To say that having one AFL club in say NSW or QLD helps attract fans doesnt say much when the figures are SO much higher than NRL teams' which gets virtually all the newspaper and tv coverage in Sydney n Brisbane and essentially is the dominant Code of these states.

You cant deny that theres an imbalance, so im still wondering why!

 

[CULWULLA]

It is a different culture in Sydney. They are not as into sports as we are in Victoria. The clubs up there do not have the fanatical support our football one's do. People in Sydney have an interest but don't go out of their way to watch their games. I guess they have better things to do like look at the harbour all day and night because it is so pretty.

I don't think putting another team in Sydney or the Gold Coast is particularly wise and will be a source of embarrassment for the league and a personal bluder at the feet of Goofy and his sidekicks drunk with wealth and arrogance.

true. im a footy head but never go to games. way to expensive and when you have kids its a drama. so better off watching on tv, especially in winter.
as for new teams, yes no more needed for sydney. we want one up here in central Coast. sprt crazy up here. thats why 99% of coast barrack for mariners.! can only imagine if we had an NRL team.

 

[rondeez]

Yeh Sydney is pretty fickle with crowds.

I mean take a look at the Swans average at ANZ Stadium over the seasons.. 65,000 crowd was guaranteed whenever they played there and they also averaged around that.

The game on Sunday only drew 34 thousand or so. I really doubt if another AFL team in Sydney is a good idea.

Anyway as for Rugby League, i love to go and support my team live, but i got other things to do (I've been to 3 out of 9 Eels games this season). I guess most Sydneysiders have the same attitude.... 6,000 showed up to an 85,000 seat stadium the other day!!!

 

[BrizzyChris]

I maybe go to 1 or 2 Broncos games a year - usually big games like Cowboys, Titans, Roosters or Storm.

I will usually try and get to most of the Super 14 games, unless its a really shit team.

AFL, I don't go to unless I get a free corporate box invitation.

A-League, havent' been yet, but I want to go.

 

[Maroon Grown]

Sydney's crowds are a source of embarrassment for the NRL. its pretty clear that one or two team towns draw big average crowds.

brisbane, the gold coast and north qld (townsville) have the top 3 crowd averages in the NRL. the broncos average crowd is 36,000 this year so far (ive been to all but one). the lions and the swans do well because they have a big population base even though support for the AFL is much smaller in those cities. the melbourne storm are getting a new stadium next year so im hoping that the tiny averages of olympic park will really pick up.

as for footy culture, i think that every city in the county, be it either NRL or AFL has a strong support for thier teams EXCEPT for Sydney and maybe even canberra. they are pretty slack in the crowds dept.

 

[Aussie Bhoy]

The problem is that Sydney has too many teams for the supporters that turn up to games.

I'd permanently move St George to Wooloongong, and I'd move the Rabbitohs to the Central Coast (there you go Cul).

Another issue is that Rugby League is a much more watchable game on TV than AFL is, the compact nature of the 2 lines of opposing teams allows the cameras to follow the game well. I like AFL, but for me anyway, I find it much better to enjoy by being in the stadium, when you can follow the ball carrier, and also be aware of the upfield moves developing.

 

[IHaveNoLegs]

collingwood having 11 home games? eeing as these melbourne afl teams don't really have home grounds all their games in melbourne can be considered home games, similar to sydney nrl clubs.
e.g. collingwood plays 2 games in the mcg in consecutive weekends, 1 is officially a home game and 1 is officially an away game. how is that any different to two home games?

 

[renell]

eeing as these melbourne afl teams don't really have home grounds all their games in melbourne can be considered home games, similar to sydney nrl clubs.

uh no. but many club administrators are trying to think like you and are dumping their home games at ANZ. Wearing a Roosters shirt could get you mugged in Redfern (though in fairness you can wear almost anything and still get mugged in south Sydney) but inter-city rivalry remains.

It's been mentioned before, but not in this thread, but afternoon games in local grounds will get so much more crowds - especially families. The Knights-Tigers game had a pretty good crowd (20500) considering it was pre-Origin. Although the Sydney factor did kick in the Panthers-Warriors match, which was also an afternoon kickoff but only had 9500.

Here's a real relevant article - http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/richard-hinds/2008/05/18/1211049070209.html

I'm just starting to accept that AFL and NRL crowds cannot be compared side by side and to determine whether a crowd is big or not is all about relativity.
In talking about western Sydney, the Swans chairman referred to it as "An AFL wasteland," says Colless. "These are people who, by and large, don't have an interest in the game."

 

[CULWULLA]

^of course afl and nrl crowds cant be compared. chalk and cheese.
i think its simple. NRL is made for TV. its all happens in one view, its fast and compact. AFL-you cant see whole game at once. the field is too big. you need to be there.
am i right?

 

[hayds]

NRL makes it easier on the cameramen thats for sure,...but i cant say when i watch AFL on tv its ever "hard" to watch...they tend to keep cameras on the play like NRL,..any sport etc. lol.

Often at the larger AFL venues you can be at the opposite end of the action and end up watching the big screen. If anything watching Rugby on a rectangular stadium youre a lot closer to the players and action, so i cant see the angle youre coming from that its easier to watch on tv.

But besides all of that, regardless of how easy or hard it may be to see at the venue or how much easier it is to watch on tv, isnt it about going to support your team and cheer them on when they are playing?

 

[tic]

^^ I think the point is this. Afl can certainly be watched OK on TV, but it is so much better live because you see so much more of the strategy of the game. NRL translates better on TV because it is more compact with nearly all players in camera shot at any time. That's all.

 

[lozza]

gday

i noticed that at the melbourne storm versus st george game on the weekend at sydney football stadium attracted about 6000 people. Why are NRL Crowds so soft??? Pretty poor effort ey !

Even the North Melbourne , West Coast on the gold coast of all places in a rugby state attracted 6000 people saturday

Lozza

 

[rondeez]

gday

i noticed that at the melbourne storm versus st george game on the weekend at sydney football stadium attracted about 6000 people. Why are NRL Crowds so soft??? Pretty poor effort ey !

Even the North Melbourne , West Coast on the gold coast of all places in a rugby state attracted 6000 people saturday

Lozza

Maybe if you read a few of the posts in the thread it will answer some of your questions?

 

[ryan79]

Its just excuses, its a really piss poor effort.

No matter how good a sport is to watch on TV there is nothing like being there at the game cheering on your team passionately.

Soccer, Basketball, NFL, NHL are all rectangle based sports that are easily watched on TV yet they still attract big crowds all over the world. S14 even attracts reasonable numbers.

 

[tic]

Its piss poor in Sydney (and Melbourne Storm, Canberra Raiders numbers are also pathetic), but the NRL numbers in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville (and to a lessser extent Newcastle)are very strong - in fact they are dragging up the otherwise very very ordinary numbers at some Sydney clubs.

 

[ryan79]

I noticed QLD had good numbers.

Broncos are the only team to beat an AFL team.