LAST week we were treated to a host of Magic Weekend games when Sky Sports screened all the Magic matches from both Super League and the NRL.
It was exhausting trying to keep up with them.
One thing that struck me was the size of the crowd at both events.
Suncorp Stadium was almost full for all three days of the NRL Magic Weekend, while the crowd figure for the Super League event at St James’ Park suggested that we filled about 60 per cent of the stadium.
The problem was, however, that whereas the vast majority of the NRL fans appeared to stay in their seats for all the games that were taking place on each of the three days, many of the British fans watched their own club but not the other games. That led to the stadium looking more than half empty most of the time.
The contrast in the fans’ behaviour suggests that British fans put their clubs first and the rest of the game a distant second, while the Australian fans put the game first and their clubs second.
We often point out that Aussie Rugby League fans are less tribal than English fans.
But that characteristic sometimes does have its advantages.
