Will 2024 be the best NRL season ever?

[Anita Bath]

13 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

I've heard Cairns is the QLD regional centre where historically AFL has had a presence. If that's true, why? Intuitively, one would expect all parts between Townsville and PNG to be dyed-in-the-wool RL.

 

In my view, NRL expansion strategy should prioritize mounting a stronger challenge in "rusted-on AFL States". As the most effective means of balancing any AFL joy in NSW/QLD. Storm are intrinsically solid, but their operation alone doesn't cut the mustard when juxtaposed with Swans/Lions/Giants/Suns. 

Wider popularity in NZ and PNG won't really help the metrics for Oz media deals and sponsorships. The "National" RL can't afford to be an overall distant second in the nation of Australia.

Agree…A national RL needs teams in more than 3 of the six states. The national basketball league has teams in all 6 states as does sheffield shield cricket. AFL will be truly national once Tasmania has a team in 2027. 

Currently the NRL has a M62 corridor feel about it…doesnt venture too far from the east coast

[The Rocket]

5 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

He’s never heard the idea that calling a black man a “monkey” is racist either, so I wouldn’t put too much thought into two men having no knowledge of an AFL player who retired at a time they were in their early teens living sheltered in the lower demographic, RL stronghold of the outer west.

Are you kidding me, what do you know about what circumstances those two blokes grew up in. patronising nonsense. And btw every knows. like it or not who the sad-sack Adam Goodes is, they`ve very mostly seen him and not cared like the majority of New South Welsh people.

Edited March 14 by The Rocket

[The Rocket]

14 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Wider popularity in NZ and PNG won't really help the metrics for Oz media deals and sponsorships. The "National" RL can't afford to be an overall distant second in the nation of Australia.

Important to remember, as Vlandy`s was bragging the other day, that NRL far outstrips fumbleball on all forms of social media. (that`s where the young`uns are apparently) and as you yourself have noted before our highlights packages leave theirs in the shade and that`s before we even get to the flogging we give them on Tv broadcast viewing numbers. Data coming through is reporting the Storm/Panthers game outrated the fumbleball season opener, so much for "robbing our house" while we were in Vegas.

Going forward we have Indigenous round, the Las Vegas week now, State of Origin and now our International calendar taking shape at the end of every year. Throw in the numerous realistic options for expansion that NRL has and I really don`t think we have to be too concerned about becoming a distant second to any other sport in this nation or region under our current administration. 

Grassroots growth breaking barriers | Storm (melbournestorm.com.au)

Bit more than solid.

 

Edited March 14 by The Rocket

[jim_57]

14 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

In my view, NRL expansion strategy should prioritize mounting a stronger challenge in "rusted-on AFL States". As the most effective means of balancing any AFL joy in NSW/QLD. Storm are intrinsically solid, but their operation alone doesn't cut the mustard when juxtaposed with Swans/Lions/Giants/Suns. 

Wider popularity in NZ and PNG won't really help the metrics for Oz media deals and sponsorships. The "National" RL can't afford to be an overall distant second in the nation of Australia.

There is room for both. Perth should surely get one of the next 3 licenses if it goes to 20, they probably should get 18 but the NRL seems set on PNG. Adelaide needs more work so are unlikely to get 18-20, but if it ever goes beyond that they’re a fair chance.

Assuming for a minute the next 3 teams are PNG, Perth & South Island that leaves Adelaide, Brisbane 3, Wellington, Sunshine Coast & Central Queensland on the table, even Melbourne or Auckland 2 depending how things play out.
 

Comparing to AFL. They will have 20 teams, all from Australia with much larger squads, talent drawn mainly from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia with a handful from the rest. Based on that the NRL having 22-24 teams with 3-4 from outside Australia and drawing talent from across the Pacific with smaller squads isn’t unreasonable.

[Pulga]

Perth and NZ2 could be a knockout punch for Super Rugby and rugby union as a whole in the whole region. I'd love to see it. For me they make sense. Timezones, NZ players, sponsorship money, stadia. It's all there for both. 

The Rebels are dead. A Christchurch team could eat away at the Crusaders even though they're historically the best team. Who would want to watch NZ teams bully Aussie teams until the end of time?

[going for the corner]

5 minutes ago, Pulga said:

Perth and NZ2 could be a knockout punch for Super Rugby and rugby union as a whole in the whole region. I'd love to see it. For me they make sense. Timezones, NZ players, sponsorship money, stadia. It's all there for both. 

The Rebels are dead. A Christchurch team could eat away at the Crusaders even though they're historically the best team. Who would want to watch NZ teams bully Aussie teams until the end of time?

Exactly,

super rugby in Australia is dead and the NZ fixtures will/are becoming repetitive.

[Sports Prophet]

6 hours ago, The Rocket said:

Are you kidding me, what do you know about what circumstances those two blokes grew up in. patronising nonsense. And btw every knows. like it or not who the sad-sack Adam Goodes is, they`ve very mostly seen him and not cared like the majority of New South Welsh people.

The odds highly favour me being correct, but I couldn’t call either player a family, friend or associate so there is a chance I am wrong… albeit a small one.

[unapologetic pedant]

8 hours ago, The Rocket said:

 and that`s before we even get to the flogging we give them on Tv broadcast viewing numbers. Data coming through is reporting the Storm/Panthers game outrated the fumbleball season opener, so much for "robbing our house" while we were in Vegas.

Have to take your word for that. I've given up looking at the super-duper new TV ratings data.

Incoherent, indecipherable, deficient, deceptive. And that's being extremely generous.

Reach?

[JonM]

11 hours ago, Pulga said:

Who would want to watch NZ teams bully Aussie teams until the end of time?

I could certainly get used to it, in rugby league and cricket at least

[going for the corner]

The NZRL need to be all over deine mariner especially with Manu leaving for union at the end of the season.

[Damien]

Certainly one of the best finishes anyway:

 

[Damien]

The Broncos become the first NRL club to have over 50,000 members, 53,672 to be exact:

 

[EggFace]

Just read on another forum that Roosters v Souths derby tickets are slow....how's that.

[going for the corner]

3 hours ago, Damien said:

The Broncos become the first NRL club to have over 50,000 members, 53,672 to be exact:

 

What exactly is a member?

it can’t possibly be a season ticket holder because the broncos don’t always sellout their home fixtures and the capacity of suncorp is 52k I believe.

[going for the corner]

2 hours ago, EggFace said:

Just read on another forum that Roosters v Souths derby tickets are slow....how's that.

Could be a combination of the day/time and souths being 0-2 so far this season but even then the roosters are playing well and are fancied as one of this year’s contenders and it’s a derby.

also heard that there’s quite a few NRL games in Sydney this weekend which could lead to a little saturation.

[Damien]

A great round of attendances is on the cards with various sellouts:

 

 

[Sports Prophet]

On 18/03/2024 at 23:03, going for the corner said:

What exactly is a member?

it can’t possibly be a season ticket holder because the broncos don’t always sellout their home fixtures and the capacity of suncorp is 52k I believe.

It can be a three game member, six game member or any sort of member which the club has for sale. Members are certainly not restricted to those with full season memberships like they would have been many years ago.

[Copa]

On 19/03/2024 at 02:03, going for the corner said:

What exactly is a member?

it can’t possibly be a season ticket holder because the broncos don’t always sellout their home fixtures and the capacity of suncorp is 52k I believe.

Have a look: https://am.ticketmaster.com/brisbanebroncos/#/

[Damien]

Some more membership figures:

 

 

[Dunbar]

12 minutes ago, Damien said:

Some more membership figures:

 

 

7 out of the 10 published 2024 figures down on 2023.  Is this worrying, I don't know enough about the ecosystem?

[Damien]

Just now, Dunbar said:

7 out of the 10 published 2024 figures down on 2023.  Is this worrying, I don't know enough about the ecosystem?

Not finished yet though and still increasing. The Broncos for example are confident of cracking 60k.

[Copa]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

7 out of the 10 published 2024 figures down on 2023.  Is this worrying, I don't know enough about the ecosystem?

They’ll be selling 3 and 6 match memberships well into the season.

[Anita Bath]

1 hour ago, Copa said:

They’ll be selling 3 and 6 match memberships well into the season.

as well as non ticketed memberships that gives you some sort of team gift and discount on individual game tickets.

[Sports Prophet]

5 hours ago, Damien said:

Some more membership figures:

 

 

That is some pretty poor reading for Newcastle last year. For a one team RL coty like that, I feel like the club is failing with anything under 35k members. 

[EggFace]

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

That is some pretty poor reading for Newcastle last year. For a one team RL coty like that, I feel like the club is failing with anything under 35k members. 

Lets kick the NRL while its having a boom time...and I can tell you after the Super League ###### the NRL has been doing very well since 2002 to present and long may it continue unlike the newer yet dead Super Rugby.