Adam SutcliffeThe National Rugby League?? Why AFL beats NRL in national popularity.
December 23rd 2006 11:53
If the National Rugby League ever hopes to compete with the Australian Football League for the crown of Australia's number one footballing code, than they must seriously consider expanding their competition within the next five years.
The NRL currently encompasses three Australian states and one New Zealand island, but yet still promotes itself as a national footballing league, ignoring the fact that there are four other states that are not represented. While South Australia had the Adelaide Rams, and Western Australia had the Western Reds for a short time throughout the 1990's, the NRL has quite rightly chosen to shore up the games popularity in it's own grassroots regions before expanding nationaly.
With the birth of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007, the NRL have ensured that they have created a local team in one of Australia's fastest growing areas, thus beating the AFL and ARU to the punch. However, the popularity of the rugby union's Western Force in their innaugral season last year, has taken away all the hard work and money that rugby league pored into the previously ignored rugby region in the West, and it now seems that the Force, the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles have all but monopolised this region.
The Melbourne Storm have acheived great on field success in thier limited lifespan, yet still find it hard to acheive recognition in the predominantly AFL state. What is encouraging though for the NRL, is that through their on field success, the Storm crowds are increasingly growing on a week to week basis, and hopefully with a bit more media exposure, more spots mad Melbourne fans will be keen to adopt them as their own.
Figures released last week show that the AFL dominates the NRL in terms of club member numbers by 5:1, and this is because of the AFL expanding into five Australian states. If the NRL ever hopes to catch up, than they must re-establish a team in South Australia, and even captalise on their tentative foray into the Northern Territory.
The NRL should be financially strong enough by 2009 to announce the birth of an Adelaide based club and a Darwin based club, ready for the 2010 NRL season. While Penrith and Melbourne played a trial match in Adelaide earlier this year in front of a modest 7,017 strong crowd, it should be remembered that this was only a trial match, devoid of most clubs stronget players. Adelaide is a big enough capital to sustain another footballing team, so re-establishing a team back in the city of churches is imperative.
As a territory known for it's proficient sporting talent, the Darwin area is so far an untapped resource in terms of a national sporting franchise. Just like News Limited took a gamble establishing teams in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, the NRL need to take a gamble and establish a franchise in one of Australia's abundant sporting heartlands. Just the sheer prescence of a national sporting club would inspire the top ends youth to aspire for sporting greatness.
What are your thoughts?
Cheers,
StephenP
The NRL currently encompasses three Australian states and one New Zealand island, but yet still promotes itself as a national footballing league, ignoring the fact that there are four other states that are not represented. While South Australia had the Adelaide Rams, and Western Australia had the Western Reds for a short time throughout the 1990's, the NRL has quite rightly chosen to shore up the games popularity in it's own grassroots regions before expanding nationaly.
With the birth of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007, the NRL have ensured that they have created a local team in one of Australia's fastest growing areas, thus beating the AFL and ARU to the punch. However, the popularity of the rugby union's Western Force in their innaugral season last year, has taken away all the hard work and money that rugby league pored into the previously ignored rugby region in the West, and it now seems that the Force, the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles have all but monopolised this region.
The Melbourne Storm have acheived great on field success in thier limited lifespan, yet still find it hard to acheive recognition in the predominantly AFL state. What is encouraging though for the NRL, is that through their on field success, the Storm crowds are increasingly growing on a week to week basis, and hopefully with a bit more media exposure, more spots mad Melbourne fans will be keen to adopt them as their own.
Figures released last week show that the AFL dominates the NRL in terms of club member numbers by 5:1, and this is because of the AFL expanding into five Australian states. If the NRL ever hopes to catch up, than they must re-establish a team in South Australia, and even captalise on their tentative foray into the Northern Territory.
The NRL should be financially strong enough by 2009 to announce the birth of an Adelaide based club and a Darwin based club, ready for the 2010 NRL season. While Penrith and Melbourne played a trial match in Adelaide earlier this year in front of a modest 7,017 strong crowd, it should be remembered that this was only a trial match, devoid of most clubs stronget players. Adelaide is a big enough capital to sustain another footballing team, so re-establishing a team back in the city of churches is imperative.
As a territory known for it's proficient sporting talent, the Darwin area is so far an untapped resource in terms of a national sporting franchise. Just like News Limited took a gamble establishing teams in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, the NRL need to take a gamble and establish a franchise in one of Australia's abundant sporting heartlands. Just the sheer prescence of a national sporting club would inspire the top ends youth to aspire for sporting greatness.
What are your thoughts?
Cheers,
StephenP
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Comment by The Footy Blog
Nice Post some good points. Currently the Lions get about 30,000 to their games while the broncos get 25,00 and QLD is supposed to be a NRL state. Also the afl grand final was the most watched show on tv in 2006. We get at lease 20 to 25 thousand to each gme not 6 or 7 thousand
Cya
Comment by Anonymous
As much as I respect the history and talent in RL, the core problem is that it's key advantage is also its key weakness - ie is not a National game, but has been partly insulated from this harsh reality by being a Sydney based competition lucky enought to be in a nation where the Media is very Sydney-centric.
This has made it very easy for the NRL and its supporters to overestimate the breadth and depth of its appeal; and to underestimate the degree to which Australian Rules football is ingrained elsewhere.
A mate of mine, a guy from Sydney - told me that when he was growing up that he didnt know that Australian Rules had huge stadiums and 100,000 crowds - the impression in Sydney was that it was some minor regional sport played locally. It was quite a shock when people discovered the AFL had two 70,000 stadiums in Melbourne alone and attendances 3-4 times bigger than RL. (Im just using this as an illustration of the insularity of NRL culture, not to open a debate on crowds etc per-se)
The problem for the NRL - an impossible dilemma is that since the last time it tried to go national the environment has changed. The AFL is genuinely national, its transition (the work of 25 years labour) is complete- and new national traditions established. This was not quite the case back in 1991-96; and RL could at that time compete on a more equal basis. Alas that time has passed; the market is no longer virgin; AFL support in 'expansion' markets is now 'rusted on', and has an increasing sense of its own history and place in popular culture. Its now a much tougher market for RL to enter. You've then got the additional problem of whether the product itself, the game of RL, is actually as good as the Australian Rules product: which any objective observer would have to agree is debatable (just look at any key indicator of interest/support). The only area it competes is in the area of TV ratings- but that again just brings us back to the fact its a Sydney based league in a country that has Sydney based media: its a useful, but ulitmately misleading indicator of RL support nationally.
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Comment by QUACK
Comment by Go the Swans!!
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Comment by Anonymous3
You've hit the nail on the head.
NSW'ers and QLD'ers can think that RL is more popular because of the exposure and lack of AFL in their media...but the sad reality is that RL have ignored the rest of the country for years and their best idea for expansion was to put a team in the AFL heartland?
While in monetary value that may just work out (Vics have an insatiable need for sport and can support more than one code) it has tarnished the game's expansion by ignoring areas like NT and TAS who quite honestly need more national league teams in any sport, but have been avoided by every major code by way of their numbers.
Comment by anonim
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Comment by Anonymous
the NRL is not a minor alternative
Its the most popular sport in 3 states which holds over half the nation's population.
BTW, The Broncos DO get larger crowds then the Lions.
Comment by Anonymous18
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Lets not even mention the fact that the Roosters and Sharks are losing their major sponsors as NRL is gaining the reputation of having shady players who get up to all sorts of illegal and immoral activities...
Comment by topbloke
The question now for the ARL is whether it allows itself to become a minor or second tier sport like soccer or try and regain some market share that is slowly getting chipped away .
Comment by MumbleDuck
NRL alltogether, have had mad more mistakes then AFL over the years. (Even their whole staff group). This has effected them. And by them (NRL) only mainly sticking in Queensland and New South Wales has effected them. I myself find that the style of play NRL has to offer compared to AFL, is worse, no way near as exciting, this could also effect it.
And also the image of NRL, compared to AFL is worse.
If NRL don't do anything (which I dought they will), they never will become the 'national' game. I can't see them doing that...AFL is just gonna keep growing.
Saying that, I go for one of AFL's smart choices of moving a team from Melbourne to a NRL city, Sydney!!!! Lol. GO THE SYDNEY SWANS!!!!!!!!!
Even my dad who grew up around Sydney, was a large NRL fan at the time, but after living in WA for a while, he prefer's AFL. "It's a much better game".
Comment by MumbleDuck
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
All nsw, qld state afl rep teams are full of league, union and soccer players lol! shet afl are now buying league players for big money.
I dont care how popular afl gets I will never bring myself to watch that utter boring boys pretending to be men pansie shet!
Comment by Anonymous
soccer, AFL and NRL are all highly skilled sports played by professionals. To call AFL pansies and gayfl just shows your ignorance of what is a skillful and FAR more hard hitting game than soccer for example. and finally wasn't Ian Roberts a legend of NRL openly GAY ???
Comment by Aussie Patriot
Comment by Annon
2010
Brisbane lions afl peak in brisbane - 95,000
Melbourne storm afl peak in melbourne - 203,000
2010
Brisbane Broncos lowest viewers in brisbane - 93, 000 (highest 380,000)
Brisbane Lions lowest viewers in Brisbane - 10,000
Queensland is ALOT more one sided than any of you think.
Melbourne Storm, 2010, made the biggest membership and ratings jump in history, growing 60%
Paramatta Eels 58%, Wests Tigers 38%
Point being all NRL clubs made a membership rise.
AFL 2009 grandfinal, Geelong vs St Kilda (i watched it, and they called it "the game of the century), peaked with 2.7 million viewers, 1.5 million being Melbourne based viewers.
NRL 2010 State of Origin 1 (used as the example as both games were played in all states, live)
Peaked with a massive 6.6 million viewers and just under a million viewers were from Melbourne. Only 500,000 less than the AFL grand final.
(now take into account that State Of Origin has ALWAYS had higher ratings in games 2 and 3)
2010 saw NRL announce 3.6 million dollars worth of new sponsors, and Hervey Norman adding another 1.3 million to it's sponserships in NRL (Victorians may have noticed their June catalouge contained pictures of NRL S.O.O in all the T.V's for sale)
AFL viewings and tv ratings are all mainly higher than NRL, except QLD and NSW. take that into account NRL is not shown live in Victoria, W.A and S.A. There is more add space due to an add every goal kicked and the games being nearly twice as long, so more adds means more money. AFL's bread and butter of cash. So NRL really does keep up with ratings since it's shown to lesser audience.
Isreal howeveryouspellhislastname, has just signed to AFL and will make 4 million in 3 years, making the two NRL players in AFL the highest paid, NRL supporters (and apparently teammates) laugh that isreal will play 3 years, make 4 million, and make a return to NRL at 23 years of age after playing less than 50 games. NRL fans find this hilarious.
Melbourne Storm have 10,000 members signed up for the 2011 season, More than the Melbourne Demons already.
Melbourne unveiled Storms new stadium in 2010, playing an internation between AUS and NZL, in which 38,000 Victorians attended.
NRL played a Meet-an-greet with kids in the 2010 offseason (pre-season) in Adelaide and saw South Australia reviewing financial support for Junior RL.
Basically, for those who think NRL is dying, you are horribly mistaken. Taking into account that NRL is played in Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland, France, P.N.G and other areas in Europe, and AFL's attempted showing in Japan was a horrible failure, NRL remains highest rating internationally.
Gold Coast will fail, i grew up in QLD and now live in Victoria, friends in Gold Coast say everyone loves the Gold Coast Titans too much to care about the AFL team.
Give it time, it's coming.
Comment by Annon
And the Dragons are adding a 36 million upgrade package to their stadium, making it near state of the art to assist how many fans can attend due to higher demand.
NQL Cowboys (who i support) are looking into the same thing within the next 5 years, just not on such a large scale)
I grew up playing AFL in Queensland simply to get out of school on a friday, it was called off after two games due to lack of school interest, and kids not knowing how to play, with every tackle being "too rough" or a "spear" while we hated the fact they were telling us to pretty much mount eachohther with the reach around to do a traditional AFL tackle, some kids were taken off during the game with parents calling it "GAYfl"
NRL will win this war in the long run, like it or not, i guess.
Comment by Anonymous
Record home crowd at ANZ Stadium:
25,065 v the Bulldogs, 15 March 2008.
Record crowd at Cumberland Oval:
22,470 v South Sydney, 26 April, 1971
so in the space of almost 40 years their record crowd attendance has grown by 2595 people, and you say the NRL is GROWING !!
no doubt lots of people watch the games on t.v but why don't you passionate supporters
go to the games if its so good ???? easy to sit on your couch and say your a supporter but then no one goes to the games !!
Comment by Annon
Opened 1986
Owner Parramatta Stadium Trust
Operator Parramatta Stadium Trust
Surface Grass
Architect Civil & Civic
vvvvvvv
Capacity 21,487
^^^^^^
Are you reading capacity?
Are you keeping that in mind?
They've been selling out seats for over 40 years to the extent they're cramming people on the hills?
That's straight from parramatta stadium wiki.
You're saying they've been overselling tickets for 40 years!?
yewwww! eels are more loved than i thought!
Comment by Annon
and the 82,500 crowd at the Grand Final versus Melbourne. (finals)
Also off their website, did you even read it?
Television Audiences:
• The Parramatta Eels had the following “Free to Air” Television viewers in 2009
o Regular Season 4,895,000 (Average 350,000)
o Regular Finals 7,848,000 (Average 436,000)
This was an increase of 44% on 2008 figures.
• Parramatta had the highest overall average viewers per match of all Sydney clubs on free-to-air television.
o The average of 436,000
• Cumulative audience figures for the season across free to air and pay television, ranked Parramatta second highest across all the NRL, AFL, A-League and Australian Super 14 teams for the 2009 season.
(St George Illawarra 1st)
These also off their website, even i'm starting to see how huge NRL is.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Annon
Collingwood Magpies AFL - 11 - 603,881
Collingwood lead the way with fans attending, two teams play each game and over 11 games only 600, 000 attended. That doesn't really impress, with 19 sports in total outranking that. (top 6 are american though, lmao -_-)
AFL has a distance advantage. I'm not 100%, but aren't like 10 teams all within an hour of eachother in the melbourne area alone?
Home games in NRL and you can REALLY tell who the home team is. In AFL it's diffrent.
3,081,849 NRL game-go-ers less than hlaf way through the season isn't bad at all, if that keeps going that will be over 1/3 of the population going to see a NRL game. Add to that the 80-90, 000 stong crowds origin gets, and the 40-50, 000 international games get and NRL holds it's own.
Not to take away from this forum though.
NRL had an exibition match in the 2010 pre-season in Adelaide, and 7-somthing- thousand people went along. Make it an Adelaide team and you may well get 10, 000. I think it's a great idea, and Adelaide are more AFL crazy than perth. Top of the state up in QLD and they mainly support North Queensland Cowboys, so i say throw another two teams in the comp, Adelaide and Perth. Let the fans pick the team name to get them all talking an see how it goes. AFL is doing it's best to get a Gold Coast team and a New Sydney team after seeing how much speed the NRL is picking up. If they wanna play in NRL backyards, i say NRL plays their turf while they're away.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Annon
You're forgetting what i previously said. gah.
AFL has a distance advantage. I'm not 100%, but aren't like 10 teams all within an hour of eachother in the melbourne area alone?
Home games in NRL and you can REALLY tell who the home team is. In AFL it's diffrent.
Each NRL home game is completely biased, it's all one sided. AFL isn't because over half the competition takes place within an hour of each team. NRL has teams in rural areas. where capacity is 22, 000.
Brisbane is averaging 38, 000 a game.
NRL dominates consistancy ratings, lower peak views but more consistant viewers. Meaning NRL fans watch the whole game, not 10 minutes and turn off. Considering AFL is twice as long, NRL is streaming ahead.
I'm sure i don't need to remind you that around 1/3 of AUSTRALIA watched origin, ratings AFL will never in their life time acheive, their "game of the century" didn't even get close to half the origin views.
So really that shows when both games are played live nation wide, it clearly shows which is prefered. AFL may also be slipping....
"NRL games must go live into Victoria.
If Channel 9 or the NRL needed more convincing that Friday night football should be shown into Melbourne then hopefully they have finally got the message following the success of the ANZAC Test.
30,000 fans attended the new AAMI Park for the Australia and New Zealand match which was shown live and watched by 257,000 fans in the city.
I think the old saying that “nobody in Melbourne cares about rugby league” has now run its course and it’s time the administrators finally, after 12 years of the Melbourne Storm in the competition, get serious about
broadcasting the game into the southern capital.
It was a winner for rugby league in the ratings with the match watched by over 560,000 fans in Sydney
and just shy of 400,000 fans in Brisbane. Adding in the Melbourne figure, the match was the third most watched show of the night with over 1.2 million people watching"
(Might i add this was the night AFL pathetically dashed into promo mode, having the pink lady on the field at "one of the games of the year" a week afew South Sydney Rabbithos started wearing the ovarian cancer ribbon imprinted on their jerseys. and NRL announced women of league)
That's a Melbourne paper calling for it to be live, with patitions and channel 9 reviewing it on the success of the rest of the origin games, and the grandfinal.
Ratings have more than tripled in melbourne in the past year. So AFL might not hold onto it's little title for much longer if melbournians keep chosing to switch over to RL. Look it up, it's everywhere.
Comment by Hawkboy
Comment by Aussie Patriot
One thing tho...AFL is recognised internationally in many, many countries..despite the fact they dont care about it and it is still shown proves the AFL's might..countries around the world no about AFL but close to none know of NRL until they visit (or they are poms in northern england)
Oh and NRL converts are not the highest paid..they are paid highly but not the highest..Brendan Fovola earns at least 1.2 mil a year (closer to 1.6 mil) Chris Judd likewise...Gary Ablett has been offered almost 2mill a season..these new teams can offered this cash because they have salary cap exemptions particularly GWS
Comment by Annon
It's all but played in one state of Australia.
I just searched everywhere and i cannot find one place outside of Australia that's big on it.
Since AFL is what, over a hundred years old and doesn't have an international game, how crazy are you to think it's appreciated in other states?
There is nothing i can find about international AFL, sorry.
NRL
Nation 1st Playing Year RLIF Rank
Australia 1908 1st
Cook Islands 1988 14th
Fiji 1992 4th
France 1934 5th
Great Britain * 1908 n/a
New Zealand 1908 2nd
Papua New Guinea 1975 6th
Russia 1991 13th
Samoa 1988 10th
South Africa 1995 23rd
Tonga 1988 8th
GB has the super league, just like the NRL only the england version, and attracts pretty huge crowds. Look it up.
At the end of the season NRL premiers go over and play the SL premiers and it gets crowds of 100k
NRL will never be as big as soccer in england, but the fact it's even there makes a statement.
AFL is dominant in ONE state of ONE country. How can you compare their international status? If you want to debate facts, please make sure you actually have facts.
It's going nowhere in QLD and NSW, TRUST ME! I grew up in QLD and NOBODY want's anything to do with it. How many premierships did the lions win? Still in brisbane it never came close to touching NRL's standards.
Sure, falou got AFL some publicity, but next week it will be forgotten, same as every other media scandal. All it shows is AFL will throw more money at NRL stars than it will at it's own, and living in victoria now, i'll tell you AFL fans are not at all impressed, neither is anyone in any other state.
Comment by Hawkboy
Comment by Annon
SA
Derr, was i not just saying Adelaide is all AFL. I'm pretty sure i mentioned that. Thus saying it is a market NRL should tap.
I'm from Queensland originally, i lived in brisbane for 10 years, then out up near Rocky. AFL was not big there, and with cousins in Cairns who are all heavy NRL and say AFL isn't big there either, well, yeah. lived there for 18 years, Regardless, the ratings don't lie. I stand by the fact that QLD is an NRL state, if you choose to like it or not, because you are sadly misinformed.
W.A
Once again, it's obvious it's not played live there, nor are there any NRL clubs, ofcourse it's AFL heavy.
So i retract saying it's dominant in one state, mind-blank. But as for calling AFL international, yeah, that's a load.
Oh boy, don't tell me NSW is AFL dominant too, are you american or somthing, wow.
If you're talking about small rural teams, maybe, but for all i knew NRL was big there too. Regardless, NSW is the home of NRL, especially Sydney.
No, i don't belive that at all. Geelong Cats came out saying they have the highest club membership count at around the 35, 000 mark. Last i checked, if they're the biggest, 1 in every 38 is not a member. Either check your facts, or check the Australian population.
As for 1 in every 38 PLAYING, you also are incorrect, very, incorrect.
Hunt & Foleau are simply puppets, and amongst the NRL world, people laugh that Foleau will play less than 50 games, make 6.6 million and make a comeback to leave by his 23rd birthday. I really hope your stars, like Ablett and Judd and Franklin are in disgust at the sums of money AFL are throwing at NRL player. But it shows AFL needs to pay mega bucks to get publicity like that. WIth NRL fans hating it, parents will be furious, and kids will follow that lead.
I'm not against it, not at all. I'm against this Anti-NRL media driven market in Victoria. I'm against pig-headed people like you calling it a truely Australian game. Cricket is our national sport. The phrase "nothing like backyard cricket and a bbq" should be abandonded simply cause we didn't invent it?
Take that up with the Australian population mate. I'm against codes with deep pockets stealing away players who make the game better simply as a publicity stunt. Hunt & Foleau are both talented players, and AFL is happy for them to waste away simply so they can try convert people to their code. It makes me sick. I'm sick and tired of AFL fans who cannot accept anything else but what they like. AFL games get played live in QLD. NSW and N.T, where regardless of what you say, are NRL dominant states. Yet, NRL isn't given a chance in Vic, Adelaide or W.A.
But strangely enough, one thing is..
30,000 fans attended the new AAMI Park for the Australia and New Zealand match which was shown live and watched by 257,000 fans in the city.
NRL 2010 State of Origin 1 (used as the example as both games were played in all states, live)
Peaked with a massive 6.6 million viewers and just under a million viewers were from Melbourne. Only 500,000 less than the AFL grand final.
(now take into account that State Of Origin has ALWAYS had higher ratings in games 2 and 3
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^
(though i've seen stats saying 3.8 mill watched, 8.8 mill watched. ectect. I only trust this as it was directly from WIN)
I state this in my words as i can't recall where i saw the stats, but somthing like 200, 000 people from each Adelaide and Western Australia watched Origin aswell.
In closing, if AFL is so dominant, why does it get these figures yet Victoria ignore it?
My guess, AFL probably pays them not to air it. Like Andrew D-somthing said "the AFL has very deep pockets indeed"
Also, how heavily did you get dissed at school being an AFL fan in NSW haha?
Over half of NSW watched origin, and 1/4 tunes in every weekend to the Footy!
Comment by Hawkboy
Adelaide 48354
Brisbane 28512
Carlton 43294
Collingwood 56981
Essendon 40601
Richmond 41535
North Melbourne 28518
Hawthorn 53138
Melbourne 33047
St Kilda 40009
Geelong 39353
West Coast 54201
Port Adelaide 31388
Fremantle 43666
Sydney 29562
Western Bulldogs 33978
Overall total 646137 paid up members
divide that into Australias population of 22000000 equals one in 34 Australians are members of an AFL club not 1 in 38 as previously stated my apologies!!
Also the 2010 world club challenge was attended by 27697 at Elland rd against the Leeds Rhinos score 18 to 10 dont know where the other 72000 were!!
In regards to Queensland it is proping up the NRL But have you ever heard of Cazalys Club in Cairns or Southport Sharks on the Gold Coast ? Tell them that there is zero interest in AFL in Queensland. Also check out attendances at games between the AFL and the Irish Gaelic teams at Croke park usually 70000 people there who dont know AFL !! Check out the TV rights deal if nobody watches AFL why are they currently paid 780 million with one billion tipped for the next rights deal And in regards to my personal preference II played union as a kid for 4 years in Melbourne before playing AFL no good at either game but know AFL is hrader to play and more skilled
Comment by Aussie Patriot
I'll repeat what I said not what you interpreted..International rules is a mickey mouse compition just as rl is internationally...all those countries that supposdly have rep sides in rl are aussies and poms with decendants from these countries...it is no more prestige playing for Aus in rl than it is international rules..AFL is also number one in little nation Nauru...
10k for lions tv ratings I find that very hard to believe that is lower than attendences..you probably got that from the daily telegraph the same paper that printed the nrl final outrated the AFL one and you probably still believe that..this paper has got to be the one that has the most appearances on media watch...
Read my posts I never said AFL was bigger than rl in QLD I have only suggested it is bigger than sydneysiders claim it is..AFL is more advanced in QLD than it is in most of NSW
Also the new stadium the storm use was built for the demands of the A-League team the storm were simply in the right place at the right time..you wanna talk about giving other codes a chance just look at most rl followers who dont watch anything else and hate football without giving it real go!!!
Comment by Annon
I just tried to cross what's been going on between 2009 vs 2010 AFL/NRL ratings.
It's seriously messed up ahah.
This year they've added..
Fox ratings, Free-to-air, this set top box/hi-def chanels, but only within massive citys, can you believe that? Being somewhat in a country area myself, i am offended.
As for your question about where i get my stats.
NRL.com, AFL.com, talkingfooty.com, and various newspapers, not articals.
Why? because all of them are lisenced by the two codes to give stats, insuring they are correct or they can get sued.
It's too hard to start a ratings debate.
AFL has more games played, more areas, blah blah blah!
NBUT, GENTLEMAN!
NRL is now being played on teh television in S.A, W.A and VIC!
RD one had 6, 000 viewers in perth and adelaide a peice and melbourne had 20,000
(the fox ratings aren't included for nrl :c )
those games are played after midnight, (bving a victorian now, i was up until 5am wacthing the games yesterday, lol'd when jarrad hayne headbutted billy slater and billy punched him and then it all went off ahahha)
but that's good, it's getting it's props
That was this weekends game, and melbourne ratings are "TBA' (BULLSHGITTTT!)
adelaide 7, 000 and perth 17, 000
so their ratings sure are picking up for like half a year later!
AFL brisbaneeeeeeee
Man, look it up, they really do only hit between 10-12, 000 views, highest is 85, 000 and lowest is 1, 000 (NAB CUP, so who cares)
Member the hawks at NAB in tassie? ahaha it looked soooo odd it was like, where is the crowd? O_O
UMMMM, SUPERLEAGUE!
I WAS NOT INCORRECT! 100, 000 FANS AT THE GAME, but i was looking at soccer HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!
but all the same lads, all in the detailsss!
heres somthing you guys will like
NRL ratings are up in melbourne, perth and adelaide
AFL ratings are up in sydney and brisbane
It's liek, switching places ahahahaha.
Cazalys Club in Cairns or Southport Sharks., never heard of them, ever, is one a bar and one like, the junior cronulla team?
None of us give eachothers codes a go, wer're loyal and passionate,,regardless of figures and stats we stand by our codes and teams, and that why australia is great. Face to face we'd probalby forget stats and throw windmill punches. we no l0onger hae the ashes, so atleast these two codes we can rightfully say "we are sustralia, and we will kick the shit out of you on the scoreboard!"
I just bought a wicked pair of attack attack shoes on line, BRILLIANT!
Truthhhh be told, i'd be dissapointed if either codes went out, i put on the AFL yesterday over a moive, damn chick flicks, answer me thjis, will any of us EVER get the cxhance to do a slow walk away? you know the one i mean, you pull like a one liner and slowly walk away with sad music playing, dammmint@
bahaha, i work at a bar fellllow gentleman, andmy boss said if he put me on an extra three hours he'd let me choose betwen pay and a slab of jimmy, i went with the latter!
ahh, AAMI statium, incoorect lad, it was built for the melbourne rebels, the new union team. new dude is also a melbourne storm fan and let tghem use it too. soccer was at the right place at the right time
i had a really good joke to telll you and ai just forget it :c
an aussie point, i am too scared to go to nbed, my fiance hods it against me for weeks if i get held back late and crawl intobed at an early hour, thats horrible right?!
OH SPORT!
kay, in sumary, NRL will always be around and so will AFL, neither is going anywhere, this i s an unwinnable war
Oddly, AFL and NRL ratings are both up by about 100k a year ontop of last yearr. maybe immagrants or somthing or yeah.
PEACE OUT HOME-DIDDLYS!
Comment by Hawkboy
Comment by Annon
Well, regardless of anything, both sports are really getting more people behind them. Hey, maybe one day we'll just play them all live and we can flick between ads and halftime to watch them both. I still think AFL is gayFL but there are DEFINATLY worse things to watch, like masterchef and so you think you can dance.
Stats are undenyable and both codes have gotten massively bigger, NRL RD 1 was up 400k on last year and AFL was around the same, attendance and membership too. Whoever mentioned Gaelic footy is a genius, that game is like, amazing, it's boxing, AFL, soccer and RL all mixed into one.
Also, i must add it's amazing that people can debate on a forum without steeping to questioning ones sexuality and immature insults. sall in good fun!
My step dad is a massive hawthorn fan and the rest of my family comes from QLD, so the good old' AFL/NRL debate runs through my veins. I'm in desperate need of cigarettes and maccas brekky, have a good one ladskies.
Comment by Aussie Patriot
Well AAMI park is sorta right on both accounts..I looked it up in more detail..the vic gov confirmed it should be made after loosing the bid for the last super rugby franchise to perth because the stadium was one of the deciding factors...it was originally gonna be a 20k stadium but the Victory would not be a tennant unless it was at least a 30k ground cause they get over 20k average since 2006. So the storm is the only freeloader at the moment...as for the new Melbourne Heart team well we will find out in due time
Comment by Aide
Comment by Anonymous
Goldcoast afl will need constant interstate funding. 4 rl teams failed in gc, brisbane teams played there once or twice there was more ppl on the field than in the stands.an afl teams got no chance. But afl will probably bail it out annually to save face.and tell everyone in Vic that qlders love afl. Laughed my ass off @ 35000 ppl in south africa play afl. i never knew there was so many vic's ova there.
Comment by Hawkboy
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
I live in Adelaide and it's crazy over here; we love our footy. Western Australia is just the same. Both states average 38,000 per week.
Now, about Isreal Folau and Karmichael Hunt. They aren't getting paid 4 million for skill and knowledge of our game. The AFL are using them for public relations and as a lure to get bums on seat's and guess what, they did it!
They converted. And the game will continue to grow. Now, granted; there are a few stadiums in the NRL that seat about 25,000.
But you have a fantastic facility called ANZ stadium that no one goes to. I remember flicking through the channels at 2.30 in the morning and on came an NRL game. It looked empty. So I looked up the crowd figures on the internet. I think it was about 14,500. In an 80-85,000 seat stadium.
But outside the State of Origin games, who has drawn the biggest crowd at ANZ Stadium this year? The Sydney Swans vs Collingwood with about 45,000. They've had two other game's there with around 35,000 and they host a final at ANZ Stadium next week which will pack to near capacity.
I can't be bothered typing much else at the moment, but you rugby league fans should just give it up. This isn't even a debate. A debate is a formal dicussion with two comparable topics, and this is a no brainer. Rugby League doesn't come close to the AFL. Australian Football has been; and always will be, the biggest game in the country.
Rugby League fans are in denial.
So much so, that I feel sorry for them and the outlook for the future of their code.
All the best.