What does it take to make it to the top level of Marngrook footy?

[Fred]

I think ratings are a good measure of popularity... But for soo it is the popularity/interest in that event and dont think we can translate that to rl in general. Racing is big but a lot of people watch one day and bet on that day only. I knowi watched the soccer world cup qualifier a long with a lot of others on tv but i am no soccer fan.. Even got up in the early hours to watch as well. Loved it but no real soccer fan. Watched the nrl grand final .. Well caughr the end at a pub and it was great .. And watch the occasional storm game but not a big rl fan. People will watch marquee events without being fans of the game. That is why it is a bit disingenious to add gf and soo into rating figures if trying to argue overall popularity i feel.

[NRL&NFLweLaughATafl]

I think ratings are a good measure of popularity... But for soo it is the popularity/interest in that event and dont think we can translate that to rl in general. Racing is big but a lot of people watch one day and bet on that day only. I knowi watched the soccer world cup qualifier a long with a lot of others on tv but i am no soccer fan.. Even got up in the early hours to watch as well. Loved it but no real soccer fan. Watched the nrl grand final .. Well caughr the end at a pub and it was great .. And watch the occasional storm game but not a big rl fan. People will watch marquee events without being fans of the game. That is why it is a bit disingenious to add gf and soo into rating figures if trying to argue overall popularity i feel.

Well the same could go for AFL. You can't exactly say AFL is really popular when it is only the number one sport in an area with a population of not much over 10 million people. While being behind other codes in NSW and Qld. And AFL has pretty much zero following outside Australia.

Truths like this give AFL little credability as a major sport globally. They have spent millions trying to change this and still no other nation takes the game seriously.

[Fred]

I never said afl was popular outside of australia. So not sure why that was brought up in response.

What i said was ratings of marquee events such as a grand final or Soo etc should not be used to gauge or argue the popularity of the code in general.

Aflis indeed popular to a limited part of australia. Aussie rules has a large spread at junior and senior levels across the country , sonething rl would love to have. If you look at the number of aussue rules clubs in sydney alone you will see what i mean. Compare that to clubs in melbourne or even victoria. I think there is one comp across the whole state with mabe a club or two uo near the border.

Also look at how many people from qld and nsw play or have played at the highest level. Even taking out southern nsw which is a rich breading ground for afl.

So my point was ratings as a measure of popularity which i agree. Just saying ratings for marquee events do not necessarily transfer to general support in my opinion.

[pussycat]

Origin is a Series of Rugby League matches, More popular than any other sporting event in this country. Your attempts to discredit it or somehow dissociate the two is almost comical. The bottom line Fred is this is Rugby League played by Rugby League players. Your jealousy and envy are laughable.
Just because rep football is not part of the AFL It cant some how cancel out the popularity
of this Rugby League event. AFL does not use cricket bats, that doesn't mean that cricket should be ruled out as a popular sport. And don't confuse quantity with quality. Not just anyone can be a successful Rugby League Player.
AFL has been played in NSW for over 100 years it will never be popular in NSW. Rugby League is a relatively new thing in Melbourne yet Last year Ruby League drew the fourth biggest crowd in Victoria. Bigger than any AFL crowd bar the Grand final.

[AFLcrap1]

It's comical thinking .

We don't have rep games ...so you can't count your rep games .


Yet the fumblefans can't wait to gloat about poorer crowds/ratings during The SOO series .
There's an upside & downside to SOO .
But the fumblers can't seem to see that

[Mal]

I never said afl was popular outside of australia. So not sure why that was brought up in response.

What i said was ratings of marquee events such as a grand final or Soo etc should not be used to gauge or argue the popularity of the code in general.

Aflis indeed popular to a limited part of australia. Aussie rules has a large spread at junior and senior levels across the country , sonething rl would love to have. If you look at the number of aussue rules clubs in sydney alone you will see what i mean. Compare that to clubs in melbourne or even victoria. I think there is one comp across the whole state with mabe a club or two uo near the border.

Also look at how many people from qld and nsw play or have played at the highest level. Even taking out southern nsw which is a rich breading ground for afl.

So my point was ratings as a measure of popularity which i agree. Just saying ratings for marquee events do not necessarily transfer to general support in my opinion.

Gee Fred you're off with the fairies on this one Pal. RL is a three tiered sport - it has a domestic comp. a state based 3 game series and internationals. That combination makes up a RL season. They are what the people watch and the broadcasters and advertisers pay big money to secure.

To say you should not use those ratings to gauge popularity is idiocy. Just because the AFL is one dimensional and has only one tier of sport is their problem. That fact alone cannot strike out any RL games because the AFL has no equivalent.

What it showed last year was that the RL GF was the most popular single event on TV. It also showed that the SOO had massive popularity as a 3 game series and came in 2nd 3rd and 5th. The H & A season then had a very strong following season long.

By your definition you've got to strike out all Socceroos and Wallabies games as well!!!!

[Fred]

I also mention the afl grand final as a marquee game and would caution against using ratings for this to argue popularity of afl. For instance if what did the afl gf rate in brisbane... I would be loathed to say that represents interest.

I also stated that ratings are a good measure of popularity and the ratings for origin reflect thepopularity of origin asan event. I dont think it trends down to mean rl in general is popular. So melbourne has good ratings for origin but i would be loathed to say rl was popular in melbourne.

And indeed i would love afl to have an event like origin. What sport wouldnt. It is great to watch and a big lead up to it hete in qld. Origin is fantastic as a marquee event. But that was not my point.

I do see the point raised about it all being rl as having merit though and agree on a certian level and see where you are coming from. I just think soo does not reflect peoples interest in rl but moreso the event ... Well it gets the rl people plus those who have limited interest or never watch rl home and away.

But all good. I like to watch soo .. I do flick however if not close. And the nrl gf was a cracker.

[ParraEelsNRL]

Why shouldn't the rep games be counted, I know a few people who don't have an NRL club for one reason or another yet they love SOO and getting behind the Kangaroos.

There have always been supporters of the game of Rugby League itself without any allegiance to any club who just like to watch the big games, shouldn't any of these people be counted as fans?

[ParraEelsNRL]

The people watching the biggest games of the year in those numbers just reflects the numbers that get into the game during the year watching at certain times when their team or something of interest is on. You don't get a heap of people watching a sport they don't like just because it's a final, I never watch the afl GF.

[leagueiscrap]

Why shouldn't the rep games be counted, I know a few people who don't have an NRL club for one reason or another yet they love SOO and getting behind the Kangaroos.

There have always been supporters of the game of Rugby League itself without any allegiance to any club who just like to watch the big games, shouldn't any of these people be counted as fans?

Lol you are thick, thickshit no1

Soo is a prime example of this! 90% of people that watch it cannot give a crap about league, it's just one state vs another state. This is backed up with every other game of league played, in the lack of interest behind it

[Fred]

Why shouldn't the rep games be counted, I know a few people who don't have an NRL club for one reason or another yet they love SOO and getting behind the Kangaroos.

There have always been supporters of the game of Rugby League itself without any allegiance to any club who just like to watch the big games, shouldn't any of these people be counted as fans?

I woukd imagine that would be a small amount and really is not addressing what i said. The olympics is coming up and their will likely be large ratings for sports we generaly care little for.

Or take my example of watching the soccer. I will watch a world cup qualifier and be as passionate as the next guy. I am hardly a soccer fan however but i do like big events particuarly when my country is playing. Do ratings for these games count to argue the general popularity of soccer? Or when an english club playing here sells out stadiums. You may argue it does which is fine and we would just have to agree to disagree. Which is fine.

[Xman]

Origin is a Series of Rugby League matches, More popular than any other sporting event in this country. Your attempts to discredit it or somehow dissociate the two is almost comical. The bottom line Fred is this is Rugby League played by Rugby League players. Your jealousy and envy are laughable.
Just because rep football is not part of the AFL It cant some how cancel out the popularity
of this Rugby League event. AFL does not use cricket bats, that doesn't mean that cricket should be ruled out as a popular sport. And don't confuse quantity with quality. Not just anyone can be a successful Rugby League Player.
AFL has been played in NSW for over 100 years it will never be popular in NSW. Rugby League is a relatively new thing in Melbourne yet Last year Ruby League drew the fourth biggest crowd in Victoria. Bigger than any AFL crowd bar the Grand final.

your measure of popularity is one dimensional, it's based on TV ratings only. Using that measure only we all have to concede that athletics is the most popular sport in Australia.

[NRL&NFLweLaughATafl]

Why shouldn't the rep games be counted, I know a few people who don't have an NRL club for one reason or another yet they love SOO and getting behind the Kangaroos.

There have always been supporters of the game of Rugby League itself without any allegiance to any club who just like to watch the big games, shouldn't any of these people be counted as fans?

I woukd imagine that would be a small amount and really is not addressing what i said. The olympics is coming up and their will likely be large ratings for sports we generaly care little for.

Or take my example of watching the soccer. I will watch a world cup qualifier and be as passionate as the next guy. I am hardly a soccer fan however but i do like big events particuarly when my country is playing. Do ratings for these games count to argue the general popularity of soccer? Or when an english club playing here sells out stadiums. You may argue it does which is fine and we would just have to agree to disagree. Which is fine.

Fred you really have no idea if you think soccer is not a popular sport.
Soccer has 3 times the participants as AFL in Australia alone.

As for ratings, the Football world cup is the most watched sporting even in the world.
But yeah rating don't count for popularity with Fred.
=D> =D>

[NRL&NFLweLaughATafl]

I never said afl was popular outside of australia. So not sure why that was brought up in response.

What i said was ratings of marquee events such as a grand final or Soo etc should not be used to gauge or argue the popularity of the code in general.

Aflis indeed popular to a limited part of australia. Aussie rules has a large spread at junior and senior levels across the country , sonething rl would love to have. If you look at the number of aussue rules clubs in sydney alone you will see what i mean. Compare that to clubs in melbourne or even victoria. I think there is one comp across the whole state with mabe a club or two uo near the border.

Also look at how many people from qld and nsw play or have played at the highest level. Even taking out southern nsw which is a rich breading ground for afl.

So my point was ratings as a measure of popularity which i agree. Just saying ratings for marquee events do not necessarily transfer to general support in my opinion.

Fred your still trying to justify AFL as major sport. Your a big fish in just a puddle whichever way you look at it.
Soccer has 3 times the junior numbers in Australia as AFL.

You can talk about Rugby Leagues limited following in Southern States. But we can also talk about AFLs zero following in places where Rugby League is popular like Northern UK.

Do you think AFL is'nt envious that Rugby League has a whole other professional competion in the UK. Something AFL will never have.

[Fred]

No i don't think they are envious. I was just talking australia anyway and didnt give a thought to other countries. It is great for league they have that.

Point taken re soccer participation. My point however was that here i am as a non soccer person watching a marquee soccer event. The sport is really irrelevant in the example.