The OP is RL tb don't worry



Was just watching a highlights package of Aussie Soccer from the weekend, Gold Coast where playing at home at the titans stadium, which was nice but fairly empty, as you would expect, then it jumped to Perth v Brisbane.

So 2 things came out of this one.

Firstly, the Aussies giving us grief for not filling stadiums, when RL is probably in a similar position in the pecking order as Soccer in Australia, which is clearly getting crowds like national league 2 RL.

and Secondly, if Aussie soccer can have a team in Perth in front of a couple of thousand why can't the NRL get one there.

That is all.

I must say that is a fantastic point. Rugby league IMO needs to spread from the southern hemisphere!

Another point is why the hell is it on sky when we don't get the NRL?

It's cheaper, if not free (and not live.)

Perth is still in the Southern Hemisphere

Cos that's just what we need!
[size=150More Effin football on TV![/size

Few quick things

I beleive the actual league average attendance is around 12,000... already as the fourth football code in Australia this is not bad at all (you could probably claim it is now #3 surpassing union)

GC United are a farce of a club who have won few fans on the Gold Coast through poor management and engagement with the local community, so they are probably are bad example. Nice stadium that the Titans were instrumental in creating, plenty of clubs should be looking at the Titans success, probably the best example of an 'expansion' club I have seen in recent sporting history.

I beleive the NRL should head to Perth in the coming years, perhaps in 2013 or whenever the next TV deal is arranged.

So what was the point of this thread anyway? Bagging the Aussies somehow through the A-League? Terrible football that is probably on par with lower League 1.

Failed

It's under 10,000 very nearly 5,000 less than what it was at it's highest.

It was a novelty but is struggling now, in some ways they have expanded too fast almost. In the first year teams like Sydney were getting massive crowds but their new teams in Townsville and Gold Coast have struggled to get anything like the same support.

I went to a couple of A-League games when I was there and the standard is poor as is the entertainment value. The supporters are a mix of families and 16-20 year old's trying to act like European football fans. It's all a bit silly really.

the a-leagues crowds are embarassing this year and they cant complain that expansion teams are dragging down the average as every team with the exception of perth has decreased. league av is 9,526 down 21% on 09.

On the subject of Aussie soccer. It was lovely to see in the London Evening Standard last night a piece praising Aussie RL. David Gallop quoted as saying that the NRL would not be happy to see stadiums used for the soccer world cup in 2018 during their season. A view I believve backed up by RU and Aussie Rules. A spectacular own goal by the Australians in their quest to beat us to the WC Finals.

Well it wasn't the cleverist of ideas from FFA to basically threaten all 3 football codes in the country that are bigger than them.

Of course they expanded too soon.

As are AFL and union.

Why? Rugby league.

Indeed.

The FFA confuses soccer's position in the world with its position within Australia.

Not a great move.

soccer crowds here are actually around the 8000 - 10000 mark.

the new gold coast club only opens one side of the ground to save money.

the new club in townsville is getting similar small crowds.

most other clubs all have had massive crowd falls as the euphoria of playing in the WC has worn off

TV ratings are very poor as well

there is an ongoing battle between them and RU for the last spot in our domestic football codes

im hoping soccer wins out and effectively kills off union. there just isnt the market for 4 football codes.

league and soccer can work well together to get RL grounds upgraded

newcastle for example is getting a further upgrade from 26,000 to eventually 40,000.

townsville and wollongong might be looked at in the future, especially now townsville has a soccer team

bingo!

and next time go to more NRL games mike

stick to australias number 1 sporting code rather than also rans like soccer and AFL

It's not just soccer. EVERY prof sports code in Australia has a Perth team EXCEPT RL! Tells you somethign about where the code is at on a national level.

Hopefully the new commision will start getting the game sorted out and within the next decade we will see a more National NRL.

the clubs have said they dont want more additions to the nrl that lost $5 million pa like the storm, clubs need to be sustainable

to this end the CC bears have sponsorship signed up and are raising $8 million in equity

well get a team in perth, but more like 10 years from now

just enjoy the AFL till then mate.

Although he hasn't got the foggiest when it comes to analysis of the game, I do agree with one of JB/WA-er's points: Perth should get a team sooner rather than later.

The inclusion of Perth will assist with a national footprint even if it doesn't pull massive crowds. The pie will be bigger as a result of the inclusion.

Perth has shown, when encouraged (a la late 1980s), it can pull fairly regular crowds of 20,000 for rugby league.

Much of the goodwill that existed at that time will not exist at this moment, but as with any place where the game once existed, it just requires proper encouragement and support.

In my view, every area that has shown interest in rugby league should be encouraged to develop.

450,000 people have moved into Perth since the last time we had a team. Many from RL areas. Getting 17-20,000 won't be a problem. Getting big sponsors will be trickier but we wouldn't need anything like the money the Storm has needed.

Like Melbourne, Perth is an investment for the growth of the game. They also have the potential to be a big team. CC, imo, will just be another dilution of an already over crowded market, and whilst they might be slightly stronger than 1/2 the existing NSW teams they don't add enough to justify using up one of the last remaining expansion places. Keep Gosford for when a Sydney team falls over.

anway this an NRL topic and not in the right place so i'll leave it at that.

Aussie soccer is a muddy reflection of the game played in the rest of the world. In fact it's crap. There's a [ireason[/i most of the Socceroos play in European teams. An example - Robbie Fowler, well past his best, is probably the best player in the comp atm. English RL is much closer to the NRL standard than Aussie soccer is to the Premier League.

Gold Coast only open 5000 seats to avoid additional additional costs, government charges and the requirement to pay a public transport fee.

The reason the game didn't re-expand to Perth is predominantly due to the protectionist, Sydney-centric NSWRL who hold the balance of power in the ARL who have 50% control of the NRL.

you mean the same ARL that put Perth into the competition.

or the same ARL that was helping with the travel costs of the WA team in the JBC,

it was news ltd that killed them off, not the ARL

learn more about the facts before posting rubbish like this

Aussie soccer needs to stop trying to become a 'major' code at the professional level, and stick to what it is good at - junior development and being a sport for kids to play. If they continue trying to push the game the way they have they'll end up bankrupting the sport, which would be a shame.

I've been to a couple of 'Roar' games and they are quite sad. I really think they'd be better off staying as a semi-pro league and just pushing the Socceroos.