AFL crowds trampling NRL’s half-empty stadiums

[Beaussie]

Wow, way to go AFL. The country's undisputed national winter sport

AFL crowds trampling NRL’s half-empty stadiums
The Australian
12:00AM September 13, 2017

The AFL can claim to be the country’s undisputed national winter sport after attendance and ratings records were smashed over the three days of the first week of its ­finals series.

Again, AFL crowds left NRL crowds in their wake to start the ­finals series of both codes, and seriously question rugby union’s decision to kill off the Western Force, the sport’s only presence west of Melbourne.

The AFL’s four matches drew more than three times as many fans to its first week of finals last week than the NRL’s four games.

And to underline the AFL’s national influence, four states — NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia — were left with a total of six teams in the premiership race after 235,328 fans watched the four finals last Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The figure was slightly below the 238,840 that flocked to the first week of last year’s series, where the much higher capacity of ANZ Stadium (60,222 watched the Swans and the Giants) was the venue in preference to a final at the SCG.

AFL general manager of clubs Travis Auld said the attendance for the first week of the finals last week was the seventh highest opening week on record.

“Considering only one game was played at the MCG, it was a phenomenal result,” Auld said. “And in the four games we had other outstanding achievements.”



The SCG contest won by the Swans over Essendon on Saturday, with a near capacity crowd of 46,323, was the best attended AFL match at the venue. The previous top attendance for the code at the venue was 46,168 for a Saturday night round 22 Sydney-Geelong game in 1997.

Next door at Allianz Stadium it was a different story, dominated by empty seats, as just 15,408 ­attended the Sea Eagles-Panthers NRL elimination final.

Friday night’s record qualifying final attendance at the MCG of 95,028 was the highest involving the hugely popular Tigers since the 1982 grand final, which attracted 107,536 to watch Carlton defeat Richmond by 18 points.
Last week’s qualifying final, which Richmond won, was also the highest non-grand final ­attendance since the 2010 preliminary final between Collingwood and Geelong, played in front of 95,241.

Adelaide Oval also played its part in setting new benchmarks for attendances and television ratings. The 52,805-strong throng that witnessed the Crows crush Greater Western Sydney last Thursday was the highest finals attendance at the ground. And a television audience of more than two million peaked during the extra time played between Port Adelaide and West Coast on Saturday night.

Auld said: “Our TV ratings have been strong all year and remained so on the weekend.”

The AFL expects ratings to be high again this week for the semi-finals involving Sydney and West Coast.

After a record home and away season, where attendances reached 6,732,601, the AFL is on target to break its season record of 7,147,052 set in 2010 on the back of two grand finals after Collingwood and St Kilda played a draw.

The league’s 7,000,000th fan will pass through the turnstiles at the MCG in the Geelong-Sydney semi-final on Friday night as it is just 32,071 shy of the seven-million attendance figure. The AFL expects a MCG crowd of between 55,000 and 60,000.

The growth of the expanded AFL competition will be further emphasised on Saturday night when GWS’s home ground, Spotless Stadium, hosts its second final in two years — a semi between the Giants and the Eagles.

The AFL also believes Richmond and Adelaide’s attendance records in the first week of the finals at their home venues could be bettered when both clubs host preliminary finals on Friday and Saturday week, where combined attendances could break 150,000.

Last week’s four NRL finals attracted just 75,361. Only one game in three at Allianz Stadium ­attracted a crowd in excess of 20,000, the Friday night fixture between the Roosters and the Broncos, seen by 21,212.

NRL premiership favourite Melbourne Storm pulled the biggest live audience, 22,626 at AAMI Park on Saturday afternoon, on a weekend with no AFL finals games played in Melbourne after Friday night.

The AFL has had a groundbreaking season in which TV ratings, participation, attendances and memberships were all up in one of the most competitive years on record, where West Coast made the finals cut, just 0.5 per cent ahead of Melbourne.

Two-thirds of its 18 clubs recorded increased home game attendances, and three clubs — Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood — each attracted more than one million fans to their 22 home and away games in 2017.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/a ... 9a3490dbee

[AFLcrap1]

Lol bea comes out of hiding when a fumble journo has a wank over fumbleball .

[leagueiscrap]

Nrlol flogged in the crowds! Even after cheap arsed tickets! Murded in the ratings!

There is one main thing wrong in the article! Half full stadiums! Out side of the Minnowboure storm game only because there was no AFL on in Melbourne that weeken the other game had stadiums only 1/4 to 1/3 full

[Buzz]

Lol bea comes out of hiding when a fumble journo has a wank over fumbleball .

You can't accept Alan Jones player from way back came out and told Australia exactly what the problem was: the promise of big money encourages thugs early in life to knock the shite out of the running talent in their teenage years and they all refuse to play,... except for the thugs of course.

Rugby is a game for thugs: fullstop!

How are you going to avoid what Alan Jones player from years back has already said.... ? You can't: unless you just pretend it didn't happen of course. That's why they're all on drugs on the nightclub door because the game is a total joke.

I heard women don't like it much either....

[Buzz]

Nrlol flogged in the crowds! Even after cheap arsed tickets! Murded in the ratings!

There is one main thing wrong in the article! Half full stadiums! Out side of the Minnowboure storm game only because there was no AFL on in Melbourne that weeken the other game had stadiums only 1/4 to 1/3 full

Lucky the game was made for tv

[AFLcrap1]

Lol bea comes out of hiding when a fumble journo has a wank over fumbleball .

You can't accept Alan Jones player from way back came out and told Australia exactly what the problem was: the promise of big money encourages thugs early in life to knock the shite out of the running talent in their teenage years and they all refuse to play,... except for the thugs of course.

Rugby is a game for thugs: fullstop!

How are you going to avoid what Alan Jones player from years back has already said.... ? You can't: unless you just pretend it didn't happen of course. That's why they're all on drugs on the nightclub door because the game is a total joke.

I heard women don't like it much either....

Geez we got a live one here


Firstly my little Homophobic Thug thug thug thug spam nutter
Our game is called Rugby League
Rugby is Rugby union .
& Alan Jones NEVER played RL

You're not very bright are you .


& care to show where RL players bash their children
Lol I'll wait

[leagueiscrap]

Lol bea comes out of hiding when a fumble journo has a wank over fumbleball .

You can't accept Alan Jones player from way back came out and told Australia exactly what the problem was: the promise of big money encourages thugs early in life to knock the shite out of the running talent in their teenage years and they all refuse to play,... except for the thugs of course.

Rugby is a game for thugs: fullstop!

How are you going to avoid what Alan Jones player from years back has already said.... ? You can't: unless you just pretend it didn't happen of course. That's why they're all on drugs on the nightclub door because the game is a total joke.

I heard women don't like it much either....

bahahaha
thats so funny but true
after all nothing skill full in throwing and catching the ball from 6 meter passes and running with it under your arm! league is classed as a game of football but the average meat head will only ever kick it a few times in their playing career

[AFLcrap1]

So the new forum nutter is cheered on by the older forum nutter .
Lol,
Comedy Central

[leagueiscrap]

So the new forum nutter is cheered on by the older forum nutter .
Lol,
Comedy Central

http://leagueunlimited.com

That is Comedy Central! With out a doubt!

Now back on topic! League is a simplified dumbed down version of union aimed for the unskilled stupid people

[AFLcrap1]

So buzz or link
Any chance of posting something about Alan Jones
No rants
No deflections

Just something to back up the bizarro rants

[Buzz]

So buzz or link
Any chance of posting something about Alan Jones
No rants
No deflections

Just something to back up the bizarro rants

Former coach Alan Jones wants Wallabies to persist with running game
Nick Walshaw, The Daily Telegraph
September 19, 2014 9:00pm
ALAN Jones has urged the Wallabies to persist with their progression towards running rugby, hailing it far superior to the old model that saw our young backline stars “driven to drink”.



..With the Wallabies embarking on a European Spring Tour next month, Grand Slam coach Jones says the ARU should continue pushing the mantra of his 1984 heroes - who made history by going undefeated against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Speaking with The Daily Telegraph this week, Jones said Aussie stars like Israel Folau and Kurtley Beale must be given as much space, freedom and footy as Mark Ella and co. three decades ago.

“You look at Michael Cheika, he’s done a brilliant job taking the Waratahs halfway to where we should be,” Jones said. “But we still have work to do.

“And it will take work because Eddie Jones ruined the game in Australia with his pick and drive. What he started was continued for some time and, even now, everyone runs with the ball as far as they can - then we go to ground.

“That was always our biggest problem. We had people saying how Kurtley Beale was on the drink, how James O’Connor was on the drink. But let me ask you this: If you were that gifted and no one would give you the football, wouldn’t it drive you to drink too?

“We had guys standing in the backline asking themselves ‘what am I doing here? I only see the ball when the forwards don’t want it’. Ridiculous.”

Under current Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, the side now averages three tries a game. This is up markedly from the Robbie Deans era, when the Green and Golds averaged only one.

Under Mckenzie, Australia are also kicking the football much less, preferring to put it through the hands of their backline stars.

“But we need to keep going,’’ Jones insisted. “We’re playing an entertainment sport so your style has to be one that brings people back.

“In ‘84, we were dedicated to playing a style people remembered. That made them say ‘Oh, my God, did you just see that?’


“It was all about going to where the space was; going to where the people weren’t. Today they all prefer to run into each other.

“You hear the coaches now talking about 17 phases. Jesus, after 17 phases I’d expect to have three tries, wouldn’t you?”

source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 7c9cdbee12

[AFLcrap1]

Lol
RU is not RL
You're just not very bright .

[Buzz]

Does anyone actually care what you say?

[AFLcrap1]

Does anyone actually care what you say?

Probably more than when you post .
I'm not a southern racist hick .
& im smarter than you .
Not a big achievement but still smarter .

[Buzz]

Does anyone actually care what you say?

Probably more than when you post .
I'm not a southern racist hick .
& im smarter than you .
Not a big achievement but still smarter .

You're a total **** !