RL Sonja

I'm not saying they should neglect crowds. No spectator sport should. They also provide the backdrop quite obviously for the spectacle. However, the crowds won't reach 25% of the total when the NRL receives $2 billion or so from rights.

Thought this was a useful picture in terms of illustrating the current depth of Samoan rugby league at one club - coincidentally the NRL Premiers.

Attendances haven't mattered more than television since about the mid-1990s. Unbelievable how slow people are on the uptake about this. Even if you get 50,000 at an AFL game and 15,000 at a rugby league game, the ultimate thing that pays for each sport is the television audience. The gates are fluff in comparison. Once the advantage of representative football is added in, there is no way AFL can top NRL over the entire course of 2022. There are 2 NRLW comps for instance this year. AFL will be beaten comprehensively this year.

If you want to gauge interest in the Australian codes, you can't look at attendance alone. That is clearly only part of the picture. If you add in NRLW and AFLW, rugby league is dominating Fox and Kayo this year. The AFL have a real problem with the poor quality of their AFLW competition. As a result, rugby league will dominate AFL in TV ratings across this year. Especially once the representative season (including the World Cups) is factored in.

Every Swans fan goes to the game. They rate on TV like a busted bum.

Pretty fair old game to watch. Ending nothing short of astonishing.

Crazy last few minutes. Brilliant stuff.

https://www.zerotackle.com/will-samoa-find-their-potential-at-the-world-cup-114938/ Good article here.

They still tried to make excuses for the whacking AFLW got in the ratings. The panel was constituted by the usual AFL host (Underwood), Nicholson (AFL/cricket, Tasmanian), 1 rugby league person (Fatima Kdouh - always excellent) and a rugby union guy. The host particularly was keen to downplay it given her regular advocacy for AFLW.

The A League Women cannot come close to those ratings. The AFLW has been smashed as well. Super Rugby Women doesn’t even register. Anyone can see how this should work out for rugby league with proper administration. It will become the main domestic sports competition for women in Australia in time.

It was worth it to see that attacking kick from Burton. It could only be described as towering. Lovely torpedo bomb. Everyone refused to catch it simply on account of the height. Marvellous skill from him.

The NRLW has been awesome to date. It is very watchable and the quality is far higher than the AFLW.

Ilias should help Greece in the World Cup. Hard to tell so early but he looks a good prospect after 3 NRL games.

NRL averaging around 22,000 after 3 games.

Those conditions were really, really bad. Well done.

He’s Australian.

It will be a terrible shame if players steer away from Samoa on the basis of Parish (which it appears some might be doing). I think he should step aside for the good of the nation.

It was always something to see batsmen cowering under his remarkable control despite the relative slowness of spin bowling. Definitely saved the art. Priceless contribution.

I thought she was very good.

Great ratings. Hopefully the competition keeps building nicely. North Queensland are ready to go and the Warriors will come back in post COVID.

The standard was still high following expansion of the competition. There has not been a dilution of the playing depth as some feared.

This has been the case for years.

Spot on.

Parramatta 13 Newcastle 12 was an excellent game in front of a good crowd. Field goal to win with 14 seconds left on the clock.

This seems a great choice.