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Will 2024 be the best NRL season ever?

Damien

By Damien
in The General Rugby League Forum

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Copa

Copa

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Public transport was free and the Sharks had over 80k at a 2016 GF and 36k against the Cowboys at the same ground as Friday’s match in a preliminary the week earlier.

No I don’t think either of those reasons you suggested are true.

GFs are often full of neutrals too.

So, why did hardly any fans turn out for the Sharks? 

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Pulga
Pulga

The women's game is on an incredible trajectory.

Damien
Damien

Some really great things happening in Melbourne. Obviously we have just had a crowd of 90,084 for SOO game 2 in Melbourne. Then this around the Storm: Origin returns to Melbourne on Wednesday nig

unapologetic pedant
unapologetic pedant

Attracting fans of other sports can vastly expand the RL fanbase. I reckon most Storm fans also have an AFL club. We want more of them. Wouldn't you like to see 30k NRL/AFL fans regularly filling AAMI

Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Copa said:

GFs are often full of neutrals too.

So, why did hardly any fans turn out for the Sharks? 

I was there in ‘16 and the stadium was black, white and blue, apart from about 3k storm fans behind one of the goals.

I’ve written my thoughts on this topic more specifically on the attendance thread if you need to consider and discuss further, which I’m happy to do, just not across two threads.

Copa

Copa

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

I was there in ‘16 and the stadium was black, white and blue, apart from about 3k storm fans behind one of the goals.

I’ve written my thoughts on this topic more specifically on the attendance thread if you need to consider and discuss further, which I’m happy to do, just not across two threads.

I just read your posts. I suspect the awful truth is that the Sharks have got a decreasing number of fans and/or a less engaged fan base. They need to sort things asap.

Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Copa said:

I just read your posts. I suspect the awful truth is that the Sharks have got a decreasing number of fans and/or a less engaged fan base. They need to sort things asap.

Record memberships and a growing population suggests your suspicions are also wrong. 

The club have a good way to go, but they aren’t relocation material.

You’re an old N Sydney Bears fan IIRC?

Copa

Copa

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

Record memberships and a growing population suggests your suspicions are also wrong. 

The club have a good way to go, but they aren’t relocation material.

You’re an old N Sydney Bears fan IIRC?

The Sharks have one of the lowest membership numbers in the NRL.

The number who bothered to turn up for the finals match was extremely low.

If low attendance (when it matters) and low membership numbers occur in a region with a growing population, in a rugby league city, there are problems.

It can be turned around.

I’m not an old bears fan. I’m just getting old.

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Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, Copa said:

The Sharks have one of the lowest membership numbers in the NRL.

The number who bothered to turn up for the finals match was extremely low.

If low attendance (when it matters) and low membership numbers occur in a region with a growing population, in a rugby league city, there are problems.

It can be turned around.

I’m not an old bears fan. I’m just getting old.

Relocation isn’t the answer

Damien

Damien

Posted
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Posted

I certainly think Cronulla have a place in the NRL and it would be foolish to relocate them.

They have though made a balls of their stadium renovation and limited what they can do in future. They should have prioritised improving and increasing capacity of that grandstand as part of the whole leagues club redevelopment. Instead of future proofing and aiming for a tidy 25k stadium they have limited their growth to less than the NRL average. That will inevitably lead to questions about their place as the NRL continues to grow.

Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted (edited)

Prelim Finals this weekend features every GF winner from the previous 8 seasons.

Panthers and Storm are perfectly placed to meet a week later which they did in 2020 with the Storm coming out victors. Sharks and Roosters will need near on perfect performances to stand a chance, but that is the chance available to them and by no means is a Storm v Panthers GF guaranteed. 

Storm host Roosters on Friday night which is a tougher six day turnaround than the eight day turnaround the Sharks have been afforded. With no Melbourne teams in the AFL GF and the fixture being on a standalone Friday night, there should be a capacity crowd for the club which boasts the biggest number of supporters in all of RL. The Storm will aim to repeat a 44/46 completion rate from the fortnight prior and strangle the visitors out of the match.

Then on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium, the two teams which entered the competition in 1967 face off. Threepeat champions will look to make it four in a row, a feat only achieved by two clubs in over 100yrs of NSWRL/NRL history, St George (11 in a row 50s and 60s) and Souths (4 in a row in the 20s). Cleary has returned and has slotted back in from a six week break as if he had never left. The westies will go in as unbackable favourites, while the beach boys to Sydney’s south will go into the match with a favoured underdog tag.

The top two have proven this season to be at least one level above any other club, whilst teams three and four have proven to be at least one level beyond the rest, capable of pulling out a match winning performance this weekend, but consistency over the course of the season being their undoing so far.

Will 2024 be the best NRL season ever? Well according to crowd numbers, that question has already been answered with a season average of over 20k for the first time in Australian RL history.

My biased opinion will only potentially see 2024 eclipse the best season ever (2016) should the Black, White and Blue defy all odds and come out winners on the first Sunday in October.

Storyline’s everywhere this weekend. Set your alarms and watch them live, the best NRL season ever has been whittled down to just the four best teams all season.

Enjoy and remember, gamble responsibly 😂 

Edited by Sports Prophet
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John m

John m

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Damien said:

 

 

Awesome crowd for an even more awesome team.

 

i had heard that the capacity was restricted due to the big screen .

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Damien

Damien

Posted
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Posted
Just now, John m said:

Awesome crowd for an even more awesome team.

 

i had heard that the capacity was restricted due to the big screen .

Yeah was sold out wasn't it. They could have apparently sold many more if they had a bigger stadium

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Dunbar

Dunbar

Posted
Posted
On 23/09/2024 at 00:38, Sports Prophet said:

Set your alarms and watch them live, the best NRL season ever has been whittled down to just the four best teams all season.

They kick off at 10.50am, how lazy do you think we are?

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"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

John m

John m

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Damien said:

Yeah was sold out wasn't it. They could have apparently sold many more if they had a bigger stadium

Was completely sold out and like you say could have sold more at a much bigger stadium.

 

I think the storm need to start playing their home finals games at Docklands Stadium which has a 53k capacity.

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Damien

Damien

Posted
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Posted
11 minutes ago, John m said:

Was completely sold out and like you say could have sold more at a much bigger stadium.

 

I think the storm need to start playing their home finals games at Docklands Stadium which has a 53k capacity.

AFL own it though don't they. Doubt the NRL want to use it because of that.

John m

John m

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Damien said:

AFL own it though don't they. Doubt the NRL want to use it because of that.

Yeah, that’s what I believe but I don’t think the AFL would turn down NRL money.

 

I guess it all comes down to money as usual and how much the NRL would potentially make from selling an extra 10k tickets against the cost of hiring marvel stadium.

Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Anita Bath said:

Challenge would be finding dates/times to play at Marvel that satisfies NRL tv contract.

They would be left with dates/times AFL dont want.

I wouldn’t think Marvel would be used by the AFL after week 1 of the AFL finals. Maybe week 2, but I certainly expect anything in Melbourne for week 3 is at the G.

5 hours ago, John m said:

I think the storm need to start playing their home finals games at Docklands Stadium which has a 53k capacity.

It’s a tough one. I can’t imagine it would be the best viewing experience compared to AAMI, which is a AAA+ stadium for watching rectangle sports.

It does usually come down to money though. There would be a lot more corporate spaces than AAMI,  however, I anticipate they will all be tied up with the AFL selling annual, all-event packages and the NRL may not get access to sell many suites or boxes.

Edited by Sports Prophet
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John m

John m

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

I wouldn’t think Marvel would be used by the AFL after week 1 of the AFL finals. Maybe week 2, but I certainly expect anything in Melbourne for week 3 is at the G.

It’s a tough one. I can’t imagine it would be the best viewing experience compared to AAMI, which is a AAA+ stadium for watching rectangle sports.

It does usually come down to money though. There would be a lot more corporate spaces than AAMI,  however, I anticipate they will all be tied up with the AFL selling annual, all-event packages and the NRL may not get access to sell many suites or boxes.

Isn’t the AFL playoffs played around the same time as the NRL’s potentially making them clash?

 

either way it’s great fir Melbourne storm and the NRL to be put in this position as it shows how strong and popular RL is becoming in Melbourne. 

Sports Prophet

Sports Prophet

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, John m said:

Isn’t the AFL playoffs played around the same time as the NRL’s potentially making them clash?

 

either way it’s great fir Melbourne storm and the NRL to be put in this position as it shows how strong and popular RL is becoming in Melbourne. 

Yes, but the GF is a week earlier for the AFL which has been considered with the post I made 

Anita Bath

Anita Bath

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

Yes, but the GF is a week earlier for the AFL which has been considered with the post I made 

It wasnt last year…..brisbane lost both finals one day after the other.

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Dunbar

Dunbar

Posted
Posted

Two decent semi finals.  The scorelines blew out at the end in both but they were competitive without the favourites in each looking likely to lose.

The GF will be competitive, just hope it is a good game.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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