I know cumulative totals were quoted for the codes as a whole late last year and Aussie rules seems to be in front on that one. I am not sure what they would be if just nrl home and away v afl home and away but given afl has won most weeks I would be surprised. Averages I think are the best measure and with nrl home and away having 8 and afl 9 then it may be closer with nrl in front ... however with there being two afl games on at once it makes it all a bit of a mess really. I do agree that head to head where just 1 game on , like a Thursday night , may be a good measure but even then you are going to get people from both codes arguing of the nuances of what is and isn't fair or correct. I'll leave that to them.
But the nrl in general I do think is no where near as big as adl as an entity. Business wise afl dwarfs the nrl .. afl is by far the biggest sporting code in the country I believe. It is played all over the country with decent numbers and leagues,etc.
Whereas you take soo out of the rl calendar and what Di you have ? The nrl rates well no doubt in nsw and qld but is virtually non existent in other states. Grassroots is really really poor when you compare the Aussie rules in nsw and qld. Even the local leagues get reported in the paper on the Gold Coast and also up and down the qls sea board. That's not saying it is dominant in those areas but it has a presence.
The lack of expansion into non tradition markets has also held the game back. The reluctance of earlier administrations to do so, maybe bruised by super league efforts, has seen the game stagnate. Even the move into Melbourne was tokenistic with no real infrastructure at grassroots level. I really do believe back then there was a Sydney centric view and a thinking that it didn't need to grow outside these areas as Sydney is the biggest market and that's all the cared about. I think that is changing a little but the storm were just plonked into Melbourne when they started. When there are as many Victorians playing nrl as there are qld or nsw players afl then we will know it's changed. The one thing rl does have going for it is that it is popular in the biggest and third biggest markets in the country in Sydney and Brisbane.... something that keeps them afloat and viable.
Crowds are pathetic. In a country where people love to go to sport ... nrl crowds are a disgrace. The goal was set for 20000 average and they can't even reach that. Thank goodness Brisbane draw a good crowd. What is it .. around 16000? I would hate to think what it is for Sydney games alone. The swans are pulling large numbers and the giants growing, so Sydney culture can't be the excuse. And heaps will go to soo... so why aren't they going to the weekly nrl games?
I could go on and on... revenue, membership, sponsorship...
Anyway... please feel free to comment to the contrary. I think I already know the comments but please try and be serious. I'll give a tick when predicted comments are made.
Enjoy
liar extraordinaire 
