NRL Grand Final Today

[Pronto]

Unless you have been living under a rock this week, you will be aware that the NRL Grand Final will be played this afternoon between the Team that Sydney Loves to Hate (Manly Sea Eagles) and the Team that Sydney Loves to Hate Even More (Melbourne Storm).

Now the NRL and 'certain media interests' know that Manly never draws well when they cross the Spit Bridge and what's more, they are playing an out of state team. Hmmm, how do we get the numbers up? Well, we manufacture a really, really big beat-up, that's how.

So we find that the Melbourne Storm, owned by Newscorp, is to pay a $50,000 fine to the NRL, half owned by Newscorp; the Sydney Daily Telegraph (owned by Newscorp) has stirred up heaps of anti-Melbourne hysteria, rebutted by the Melbourne Herald Sun (owned by Newscorp); The Australian (owned by Newscorp) has anti- rugby league identity Patrick Smith spouting anti-Storm hysteria. Fox Sports (half owned by Newscorp) NRL coverage regularly sticks it to Storm as well. Fox Sports of course runs on the Foxtel platform (which is 25% owned by Newscorp).

We can reasonably conclude that Newscorp knows how to beat-up a story to sell newspapers. And also help out the NRL to flog tickets. Even the NRL judiciary (the precious little darlings) have weighed to to do their bit too, although we suspect that its threatened legal action against Storm will just sorta fade away after the game.

Anyway, may the best team win. And may that team be the mighty Melbourne Storm!

 

[Wysiwyg]

Well apart from the kafuffle I`m going for Manly and only because Cameron Smith isn`t on the park.I`m in no way a Manly-Warringah fan but Fatty had a run with them so if the punt was on - then Manly.

 

[son of baglimit]

newscorp runs the nrl just to keep it alive obviously.

and all that only goes to prove what a pointless game it is - i just wish that rumoured union takeover of all the clubs & players would hurry up and, while certainly not my preferred version of football, it certainly leaves that league version in the dust.

 

[Big_Daz]

Conclusion --> The AFL reigns absolute supremecy over the NRL

The way the NRL have handled this is an absolute disgrace...this WOULD NEVER happen in the AFL. This is why the NRL is can't even manage to keep hold of their stars (ie Sunny Bill, Gaznier ect) who defect and go overseas because of the poorly run competition.

Good luck getting 70k spectators to your grand final...AFL had 100K

Enough said

 

[Pronto]

A final score of 40 to NIL. No excuses; the better team on the day won. Congratulations to Manly and all Sea Eagles supporters.

And now the beat-ups and hype can be all put away (until next time!)...

 

[2020hindsight]

what a whippin - poor ole Melbourne going back home to their clubhouse to give a "pants-down salute" for their fans lol. 40- 0 , embarrassing or what !.

sing along ...
http://www.manlyseaeagles.com.au/index.asp

 

[stath]

Conclusion --> The AFL reigns absolute supremecy over the NRL

The way the NRL have handled this is an absolute disgrace...this WOULD NEVER happen in the AFL. This is why the NRL is can't even manage to keep hold of their stars (ie Sunny Bill, Gaznier ect) who defect and go overseas because of the poorly run competition.

Good luck getting 70k spectators to your grand final...AFL had 100K

Enough said

Actually had a crowd of 80K, which wasn't a bad turn up considering that one team was from out-of-town with average home crowds of 13K. The AFL had 2 Melb teams playing. Enough said.

 

[son of baglimit]

stath - trust me - the last thing you want to compare with AFL fans is crowd size - think of other things to compare, cos AFL crowds make NRL crowds look like CWA meetings.

forgetting for now the grand final, which is ALWAYS 95000+, no matter which town the teams are from, then theres the prelim finals, which if again at the MCG hosting melb teams bring in 80000+, and other finals in melb involving MOST clubs 50000+ (yes true if you delve thru the records you will find the odd 30000, but they are rare, and draw scathing press). As a even better comparison, look at your normal home & away crowds - in melb there are only 2 grounds now, that hold max 50000 & 100000 - every week there will generally be 4 games with 40000+ attending, and the other 2 25000+.
there is a 3rd ground down at geelong, capacity 25000, and as such you CANNOT just walk up - its always booked out. the 50000 capacity staium in melb is very often the same.

moving interstate, while sydney and brisbane crowds can be fickle, dependent on a certain level of success for crowds, a moderate season with 50% win/loss will guarantee an average 30000 per game.
and naturally those afl states of WA & SA generally have full houses of 40000+ for every game unless there teams are in the bottom 4, when it drops to 25000+.

and the funny thing is, you go back in history, not 20 years, but try 100 years, and its always been the same. aussie rules in melbourne has ALWAYS pulled huge crowds - why do you think the MCG is so big - it always has been to cater for the crowds - i think they held the world record for ANY sporting event when 100000+ attended a final in the 1920's.

so stath - how big are yours ??????????

 

[stath]

S.O.B, I wouldn't dare compare crowds between the 2 codes. That wasn't my intention. My post was simply replying to a prediction of the GF crowd today.

Unlike Melb, Sydney has lacked the big ground facilities until the opening of Telstra/ANZ Stad, which has managed 80K+ for every GF it hosted. And while Sydney suburban grounds were well attended in the days when the game was tribal (1920's to 1970's), the new generations of supporters did not share the same passion as their predecesors. Hence, they would only attend the matches when their team were winning, and winning consistently. Plus, there was the damage caused by the Super League War in the 90's.

Having said that, the Sydney press do not have the same paranoia and anti-"anything other than RL or AFL" as what the Melb press have. And does Melb offer choices of recreation other than AFL? Or maybe you need to get past the 25-30 pages of AFL to get to it.

 

[white_crane]

Well, I did pick Manly to win after last week's games. They were quite superior today and all I can say is the best team on won.

Who cares about the media, just watch the game.

 

[son of baglimit]

Unlike Melb, Sydney has lacked the big ground facilities until the opening of Telstra/ANZ Stad, which has managed 80K+ for every GF it hosted. And while Sydney suburban grounds were well attended in the days when the game was tribal (1920's to 1970's), the new generations of supporters did not share the same passion as their predecesors. Hence, they would only attend the matches when their team were winning, and winning consistently. Plus, there was the damage caused by the Super League War in the 90's.

Having said that, the Sydney press do not have the same paranoia and anti-"anything other than RL or AFL" as what the Melb press have. And does Melb offer choices of recreation other than AFL? Or maybe you need to get past the 25-30 pages of AFL to get to it.

good reply stath.
1 question - why has sydney lacked stadiums of high capacity ? did they never see a need to provide a stadium that would consistently draw huge crowds, apart from 1 game a year ?
new generation of supporters - so those that have been provided with new options on a sat arvo have found other pursuits move interesting ? the argument regarding melb doesnt offer anything BUT AFL i have heard before from sydney folk - i wouldve agreed to a point till the 80's (melb has changed a fair bit since then), but the crowds even now ARE JUST GETTING BIGGER EACH YEAR - go figure !!!!
as far as the press in melb, they realised long ago that unless you provide enormous AFL coverage, you wont sell papers, or get viewers.
******
footnote.
******
during the 80's & early 90's, the tv ratings on channel 10 news always spiked at 5.40pm, then dropped away again 10 minutes later. this stalled suddenly in 1993. the boffins who played with those ratings numbers (and not much else) couldnt figure it out - what made so many melb households watch channel 10 news at 5.40, only to see them switch over soon after.
then it dawned on them, onto something melb folk had known for years.
there was a sports reporter hosting the sports news who was the master of the breaking story, who knew the right folk to ask and got all the scoops, just as the other channels were preparing for their news, without the scoop.

his name.

eddie mcguire.

 

[Macquack]

stath - trust me - the last thing you want to compare with AFL fans is crowd size - think of other things to compare, cos AFL crowds make NRL crowds look like CWA meetings.

forgetting for now the grand final, which is ALWAYS 95000+, no matter which town the teams are from, then theres the prelim finals, which if again at the MCG hosting melb teams bring in 80000+, and other finals in melb involving MOST clubs 50000+ (yes true if you delve thru the records you will find the odd 30000, but they are rare, and draw scathing press). As a even better comparison, look at your normal home & away crowds - in melb there are only 2 grounds now, that hold max 50000 & 100000 - every week there will generally be 4 games with 40000+ attending, and the other 2 25000+.
there is a 3rd ground down at geelong, capacity 25000, and as such you CANNOT just walk up - its always booked out. the 50000 capacity staium in melb is very often the same.

moving interstate, while sydney and brisbane crowds can be fickle, dependent on a certain level of success for crowds, a moderate season with 50% win/loss will guarantee an average 30000 per game.
and naturally those afl states of WA & SA generally have full houses of 40000+ for every game unless there teams are in the bottom 4, when it drops to 25000+.

and the funny thing is, you go back in history, not 20 years, but try 100 years, and its always been the same. aussie rules in melbourne has ALWAYS pulled huge crowds - why do you think the MCG is so big - it always has been to cater for the crowds - i think they held the world record for ANY sporting event when 100000+ attended a final in the 1920's.

so stath - how big are yours ??????????

With all those statistics, you must work for the marketing department of the AFL.

Actually, my brother-in-law works for AFL- Football Operations and I am aware of the more professional running of that code.

However, I do rib him with this one - " what other sport do you get a point for missing".

 

[nomore4s]

With all those statistics, you must work for the marketing department of the AFL.

Actually, my brother-in-law works for AFL- Football Operations and I am aware of the more professional running of that code.

However, I do rib him with this one - " what other sport do you get a point for missing".

lol, when you think about it. The AFL has a superior scoring system, because of the point for "missing" the AFL has very few draws.

There is no doubt the AFL is run alot more professionally. The NRL is a bit of a joke atm imo, they have some serious issues which need addressing.

Anyway well done to Manly, destroyed the Storm today.

 

[trading_rookie]

newscorp runs the nrl just to keep it alive obviously.

You’re wrong baglimit, Newscorp ruined the game when they poached players and clubs to form their breakaway comp – Super League from the then named ARL. You are now talking about a new body called the NRL that has deep divisions at both board and club level. Most think the sooner Newcorp and their henchmen leave the better. In other words, politics has ruined the game.

This, the centenary year of the game, where 100 years ago donny brookes were breaking out in the now inner-west and city suburbs of Sydney where it was blasphemy for union players to consider playing the rebel game from the north of Britain that a marque poach from union Clive Churchill would see league overshadow the ‘game they play in heaven’. How ironic then to see Sonny Bill Williams cause controversy 100 yrs on with a defect to union…albeit French union.

Politics from a forced competition merger and the poaching of players to England, France and Australian Rugby Union is something the AFL doesn’t have to concern itself with - I’ve yet to hear of any AFL star wanting to go play Gaelic football. And to top it off, with both the NRL and AFL imposing ‘communist’ like salary cap restrictions the NRL will always be a target from other countries and similar codes.

To think if it wasn’t considered a sin to be paid for playing sport on the weekend centuries past, a rebel Northern league would never have formed nor likely have reduced the number of players from 15 to 13 and more to make their game more attractive to the punters than union. Hell, the game was very popular in the UK in the 60’s.

and the funny thing is, you go back in history, not 20 years, but try 100 years, and its always been the same. aussie rules in melbourne has ALWAYS pulled huge crowds - why do you think the MCG is so big - it always has been to cater for the crowds - i think they held the world record for ANY sporting event when 100000+ attended a final in the 1920's.

No one would ever deny drizzle city is the sporting capital…for us in Emerald/Sin city it doesn’t faze us one bit…we’d rather be at one of the many ‘surf’ beaches from up north to down south that cradle our great city, havin’ a surf, enjoying a beer while watching the ladies walk past trying their hardest to keep them ‘puppies’ from spilling out of their bikini tops than be sitting at the MCG picking splinters out of our backsides…I guess our priorities are different

 

[justjohn]

lol, when you think about it. The AFL has a superior scoring system, because of the point for "missing" the AFL has very few draws.

There is no doubt the AFL is run alot more professionally. The NRL is a bit of a joke atm imo, they have some serious issues which need addressing.

Anyway well done to Manly, destroyed the Storm today.

dont start throwing stones at the NRL,What Ben Cousins not a serious issue

 

[nomore4s]

dont start throwing stones at the NRL,What Ben Cousins not a serious issue

lol, been dealt with, eventually

And if you want to raise those sort of issues - Greg Bird & 3 broncos players?:

 

[trading_rookie]

At least Greg Bird stood up and, err blamed his mate...as opposed to leaving your mate Didak style to take the wrap for crashing into parked cars while missing a possum ;-)

 

[stath]

good reply stath.
1 question - why has sydney lacked stadiums of high capacity ? did they never see a need to provide a stadium that would consistently draw huge crowds, apart from 1 game a year ?
new generation of supporters - so those that have been provided with new options on a sat arvo have found other pursuits move interesting ? the argument regarding melb doesnt offer anything BUT AFL i have heard before from sydney folk - i wouldve agreed to a point till the 80's (melb has changed a fair bit since then), but the crowds even now ARE JUST GETTING BIGGER EACH YEAR - go figure !!!!
as far as the press in melb, they realised long ago that unless you provide enormous AFL coverage, you wont sell papers, or get viewers.
******
footnote.
******
during the 80's & early 90's, the tv ratings on channel 10 news always spiked at 5.40pm, then dropped away again 10 minutes later. this stalled suddenly in 1993. the boffins who played with those ratings numbers (and not much else) couldnt figure it out - what made so many melb households watch channel 10 news at 5.40, only to see them switch over soon after.
then it dawned on them, onto something melb folk had known for years.
there was a sports reporter hosting the sports news who was the master of the breaking story, who knew the right folk to ask and got all the scoops, just as the other channels were preparing for their news, without the scoop.

his name.

eddie mcguire.

Son of B,

It beats me as to why we have to draw crowd comparisons between the codes, and furthermore, why the AFL people keep bragging about how big their crowds are over the NRL. A crowd of 25K-30K for a RL comp game at a suburban ground is considered a big crowd, and you know what, I’ve got no problem with that. Why on earth would I want to compare it with an AFL crowd?

The sports cultures of both cities are different, which are reflected in their respective media outlets as you’ve mentioned. Sydneysiders have long been, and still are quite blasé and fickle-minded when it comes to attending RL games on a regular basis. The attitude of the majority of fans is why go to a game when you can watch every game on pay-tv. An attitude that is also reflected in the recent healthy TV ratings for the code. Refer: http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/new...-in-rights-deal/2008/07/16/1216162958657.html

In answer to your question regarding high capacity stadiums in Sydney, the SCG has long filled that role as the premier and traditional venue. It was not uncommon through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s to draw around 30K, and sometimes more (depending on the choice of game) to the SCG Match-Of-The-Day on a Sat arvo. And whilst the ground’s 60K-65K capacity (which was trimmed down to 45K in the 80’s with the replacement of “The Hill” by another grandstand) may seem minimal by AFL standards, it’s the memories that we cherish far beyond any need for a bigger ground. We are certainly not complaining. When the 40K SFS came along in 1988, it was better suited to RL because of its rectangular shape, unlike the oval shape of the SCG which became more suited to AFL. I went to a semi-final there in 89 between two traditional Sydney clubs that was sold out, and the atmosphere was fantastic. But to this day, it remains the only semi-final (non-GF) held at the SFS/Aussie Stadium that has reached a full house of 40K. So, a lot depends on which clubs are playing because some draw crowds better than others. And considering that most suburban grounds hold 20K-25K, but rarely reach it, why would there be a need for higher capacities? It is good when that club is going well and is reflected through the turnstiles, but if they’re at the bottom of the table, the fans stay away, and a big near-empty stadium home ground would look like a big white elephant. It would be embarrassing.

A question to you: Was it perhaps the 1956 Olympics in Melb that provided the impetus for the development of further high-capacity venues? Obviously, the 2000 Sydney Olympics sprouted the 80K Olympic Stadium, which later became Telstra/ANZ Stadium. Major world sports tournaments like this create the demand for large stadiums, which is evident in every host city of the Olympics.

I cannot vouch for AFL club administrations, but let me tell you, that RL club administrations have for a long time remained stale and stuck in the dark ages. Their rather amateurish “chook raffle”-like operations saw them neglect important ground facility upgrades, and membership provisions and incentives, especially over the long term. And don’t forget, that RL in Sydney is also competing with RU (through the Super 14’s) as well as the Swans, and more recently, soccer.

The administration of the old main governing body – the NSWRL, was not much better. Made up of officials with allegiances to certain clubs showed with their biased decisions, and weak attempts at progress. This put the code in a rather precarious position, and opened the door for the Super League invasion of the 90’s. The game was ripped apart in this period, as the ARL (with the traditional Sydney clubs) and SL (with the money and “vision” of Rupert Murdoch and News Ltd) fought for supremacy of the code. When a truce was finally called, the NRL was formed (with News funding and part-ownership). However, many supporters remained sceptical and disenchanted by the new chief organisation (which continues to pay $6 million a year to News for legal costs incurred during the SL war), and have turned away from the game. Many of these people have since become part of the growing Swans membership. Who can blame them?

Now, you may say well, the AFL is a strong enough and well run organisation to prevent such a situation from occurring. Well, I would hope so, because no-one would want to see their favourite game been torn apart by greed and let down by weak administrations, off-field scandals, and player exodus chasing the greed of a rival code. We’ve had our game screwed and torn apart, and it is not by any virtues of an untrustworthy NRL/NSWRL that the game has survived for 100 yrs, but by the support shown by the fans who’ve forked out their hard-earned to become members, and become part of the crowds, whether they’d be 15K, 30K, or 80K. And we certainly don’t care how many the AFL get to your games.

 

[Wysiwyg]

The big day has arrived. Passionate to see the never-say-die N.Q. Cowboys win though Melbourne Storm are clinical and have the best hooker ever living and leading the team. Tough love.