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Yes any manly win is a poor result for rugby league, their like collingwood, without the massive fan base.
Manly have a pretty big following on the northern beaches of Sydney, but it is not universal like say St George or South Sydney is, or massive one town teams like Brisbane or Newcastle.
I personally think another Melbourne premiership would have been a worse result for rugby league - as they have no junior base to draw on in Victoria - and crowd figures are poor.
Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA still refer to both Rugby League and Union as simply "Rugby", so it is a pointless exercise trying to explain the difference.
New Zealand are much bigger Rugby Union followers than League, so a victory by the Warriors would have done big things for the code over there.
On a similar related topic, another Queensland victory in State of Origin will start to destroy interest in that series, and that's not just my parochial Blues supporters head talking.
Manly have a pretty big following on the northern beaches of Sydney, but it is not universal like say St George or South Sydney is, or massive one town teams like Brisbane or Newcastle.
I personally think another Melbourne premiership would have been a worse result for rugby league - as they have no junior base to draw on in Victoria - and crowd figures are poor.
Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA still refer to both Rugby League and Union as simply "Rugby", so it is a pointless exercise trying to explain the difference.
New Zealand are much bigger Rugby Union followers than League, so a victory by the Warriors would have done big things for the code over there.
On a similar related topic, another Queensland victory in State of Origin will start to destroy interest in that series, and that's not just my parochial Blues supporters head talking.
North of the Border, Manly are the team practically everyone hates the most, the days of arthurson and quale, still burn brightly up hear. I dont really mind who wins providing its not Manly, thats what i meant by it being bad for league. Im a pretty passoniate league fan and simply refused to watch the game, just being a bad sport I suppose
I agree with you entirely about the SOO, its getting boring watching QLD win all the time.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 10-06-2011 at 12:29 AM..
Manly have a pretty big following on the northern beaches of Sydney, but it is not universal like say St George or South Sydney is, or massive one town teams like Brisbane or Newcastle.
I personally think another Melbourne premiership would have been a worse result for rugby league - as they have no junior base to draw on in Victoria - and crowd figures are poor.
Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA still refer to both Rugby League and Union as simply "Rugby", so it is a pointless exercise trying to explain the difference.
New Zealand are much bigger Rugby Union followers than League, so a victory by the Warriors would have done big things for the code over there.
On a similar related topic, another Queensland victory in State of Origin will start to destroy interest in that series, and that's not just my parochial Blues supporters head talking.
Are crowd figures that poor? I thought they were on par with average league crowds, (but much less than AFL crowds, yes).
If league really wants to compete with Aussie Rules, they've got to invest in these states, just as AFL has pumped millions into Sydney market.
One of my AFL favourite players has come out of sydney suburbs, and one of the greatest players to play the game came from Wagga... I wouldn't be ignoring an entire state of potential future stars...
Are crowd figures that poor? I thought they were on par with average league crowds, (but much less than AFL crowds, yes).
If league really wants to compete with Aussie Rules, they've got to invest in these states, just as AFL has pumped millions into Sydney market.
One of my AFL favourite players has come out of sydney suburbs, and one of the greatest players to play the game came from Wagga... I wouldn't be ignoring an entire state of potential future stars...
Did not know an AFl player was home grown in Sydney.
Wagga Wagga is hardly surprising however, as the Riverina area of NSW is a stronger Aussie rules area than League - the only area of the state where that is the case.
I can't think of any Rugby League players from Victoria, and the only one outside of NSW and Qld is Corey Paterson at the Newcastle Knights.
He moved to Newcastle from Perth at the age of 16 under a sports scholarship, and completed his schooling here, before establishing himself in First Grade.
Other than that in recent history, Frank Stokes who played for Manly in the 90's, came from Darwin.
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Originally Posted by Derek40
Did not know an AFl player was home grown in Sydney.
Wagga Wagga is hardly surprising however, as the Riverina area of NSW is a stronger Aussie rules area than League - the only area of the state where that is the case.
I can't think of any Rugby League players from Victoria, and the only one outside of NSW and Qld is Corey Paterson at the Newcastle Knights.
He moved to Newcastle from Perth at the age of 16 under a sports scholarship, and completed his schooling here, before establishing himself in First Grade.
Other than that in recent history, Frank Stokes who played for Manly in the 90's, came from Darwin.
Some of the Swans players were, but all in all the Sydney area is still a rugby heartland. AFL has penetrated Southeast Queensland to a greater degree, particularly the Gold Coast which has spawned several players of note.
The AFL's expansion into Western Sydney is a bit premature to my mind. The Swans probably cover a city of 4.5 million mostly rugby fans pretty well; I actually attended a Swans game at ANZ Stadium and I wouldn't say it was packed out like an AFL match in Perth would be. Average attendance is slightly less than that for an Eagles games. Being a fan of rugby, league or union, doesn't seem as ubiquitous in NSW as being a fan, even a casual fan, of AFL is in the southern states. I think in the wake of the Swan's recent (not so recent now) successes support for AFL is growing though. It was bizarre seeing rugby pitches all over the suburbs of Sydney instead of the familiar ovals and goaposts.
Did not know an AFl player was home grown in Sydney.
Wagga Wagga is hardly surprising however, as the Riverina area of NSW is a stronger Aussie rules area than League - the only area of the state where that is the case.
I can't think of any Rugby League players from Victoria, and the only one outside of NSW and Qld is Corey Paterson at the Newcastle Knights.
He moved to Newcastle from Perth at the age of 16 under a sports scholarship, and completed his schooling here, before establishing himself in First Grade.
Other than that in recent history, Frank Stokes who played for Manly in the 90's, came from Darwin.
Lenny Hayes is from Pennant Hills. I believe Ryan O'keefe and a few of the Sydney players are also locals.
Wagga not so much... however Wayne Carey hit the peak in the mid 90's, and this encouraged other kids in the area to take notice of Aussie rules;
Some of the Swans players were, but all in all the Sydney area is still a rugby heartland. AFL has penetrated Southeast Queensland to a greater degree, particularly the Gold Coast which has spawned several players of note.
The AFL's expansion into Western Sydney is a bit premature to my mind. The Swans probably cover a city of 4.5 million mostly rugby fans pretty well; I actually attended a Swans game at ANZ Stadium and I wouldn't say it was packed out like an AFL match in Perth would be. Average attendance is slightly less than that for an Eagles games. Being a fan of rugby, league or union, doesn't seem as ubiquitous in NSW as being a fan, even a casual fan, of AFL is in the southern states. I think in the wake of the Swan's recent (not so recent now) successes support for AFL is growing though. It was bizarre seeing rugby pitches all over the suburbs of Sydney instead of the familiar ovals and goaposts.
I think its the right time.
People living in Western Sydney are never, ever going to barrack for the swans. They won't travel across the city to the SCG.
The division of Sydney is a tad unique I suppose.
On a similar token, swans fans are less inclined to travel out to homebush to watch a game (hence the smaller crowds). Considering Western Sydney is bigger in population than Adelaide, I think its something that has to be done, whilst the AFL is flush with cash.
and I agree. Seeing a cricket oval with the goal posts at the ends, is rare in Sydney
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