'Super Rugby' 2021
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@Kiwiwomble said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
@shark i think a lot has changed in the last 17 years, we're talking about a time when Aussies teams we're up there, the brumbies won it in 2001 and 2004 plus obviously the WC so i bet there was a bit of hype
the A-League has started since then and now had three teams in melbourne, one of which is the comps most successful team so that draws off a bit of winter support too
i think short of the Rebels actually being a contender...marketing might not be enough nd even
This and, like I said above, getting a decent crowd to watch the Wallabies during (a) a World Cup on home soil when they are defending champions or (b) a once every 12 year Lions tour, is a very different prospect to watching the Rebels week-in, week-out during the AFL season.
Also, things have moved on massively in 17 years @shark. There just isn't the same level of interest in sports other than AFL anymore, particularly for unsuccessful teams.
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I have to defer to the opinions of those who have lived in Melbourne more recently than I, but I still maintain a Rebels team performing at a high level against all-comers would create a lot of interest. Whatever happened to the old saying that they could pack the MCG out for the opening of an envelope?
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@shark never heard that saying...but i imagine its easier with club memberships over 100k like Richmond (reported).but i will concede thats what they have to do if theyre ever to win over the crowd, real contenders onto of first class marketing and probably some clever scheduling so as not to go head to head with games at the G
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just to removed any doubt, these are the reported memberships for the AFL clubs last year
im sure there is some creative accounting but that is the size the the beast Rugby is trying to compete with in Melbourne even before you looks at the A-League and the Storm and hell, the VFL gets some ok crowds, i go to watch Port Melbourne more often than anything else
there were multiple games last season that were mid table, mid season, so not playoffs or teams on a great run of form...and we're over 80k in the ground...they love their clubs
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@Kiwiwomble said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
i dont know if i agree with that, lots aren’t 100% that they are different sports, not with the people i talk too, I think they identify with the club approach like the nrl rather than the region approach or rugby
even if they did i dont know if international sport is an attraction...Melbournians love the AFL even thought its barely followed outside Melbourne let alone aus
@Kiwiwomble said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
i dont know if i agree with that, lots aren’t 100% that they are different sports, not with the people i talk too, I think they identify with the club approach like the nrl rather than the region approach or rugby
even if they did i dont know if international sport is an attraction...Melbournians love the AFL even thought its barely followed outside Melbourne let alone aus
AFL has a big foothold in Qld now, AFL pick up the best athletes in QLd,cricket .is finding it hard to compete
Being in the QLd cricket system we always lose top athletes to AFL it has a great marketing strategy. -
@Kiwiwomble said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
just to removed any doubt, these are the reported memberships for the AFL clubs last year
im sure there is some creative accounting but that is the size the the beast Rugby is trying to compete with in Melbourne even before you looks at the A-League and the Storm and hell, the VFL gets some ok crowds, i go to watch Port Melbourne more often than anything else
there were multiple games last season that were mid table, mid season, so not playoffs or teams on a great run of form...and we're over 80k in the ground...they love their clubs
Yet more proof that the GC is where sporting teams die.
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@antipodean will be interesting if it changes next year, the Suns have had some good results
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@Kiwiwomble said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
@antipodean will be interesting if it changes next year, the Suns have had some good results
Won't change a thing. The GC is where sporting teams die. The AFL has been here before with the Bears. They'll be propping up this team forever unless they can find another Melbourne team to merge with it and relocate.
It's the same with basketball, rugby, league, soccer, tiddlywinks. The GC isn't interested.
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@Stargazer said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
Brutal Super Rugby Aotearoa opens door for Rugby Australia in trans- Ta$man negotiations
So we are saying that we need some soft cocks to fill in the gaps? Bring on the Force? Dilute the competition so that it is not worth watching? FFS.
What happened to quality? Less is more, etc? Quality over quantity? Bigger crowds and more TB viewers.They have a chance to get this right, even if it means more bye weeks and fewer games for player recovery time.
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@Stargazer said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
Brutal Super Rugby Aotearoa opens door for Rugby Australia in trans- Ta$man negotiations
That's the weakest weak shit I've read so far about this new comp.
Can boil it down to "rest your players against our shit standard". Unbelievable.
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@Snowy spot on. This feels a lot like the glory days of Super 12 rugby, where there were massive tussles every week. Loving the comp.
If you get the quality, the crowds and funds follow. The Super 18 can fark off, less is more.
I note that the NFL is a 16 game regular season - and that's it. Wonder why we can't do a proper 12 team comp, accept its' going to be 11 weeks, and then there is international rugby to fill the gaps. I'd rather focus for three months, than suffer through 4-5 months of meaningless competition where you can be out of contention before the cricket sesaon finishes.
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Agreed. The very best thing about this competition is that the winless Chiefs could beat the Crusaders this week, and fuck everything up for them. You can't miss a game.
I can't believe that the powers that be haven't worked out that having two shorter competitions would be better than one long, crappily designed competition.
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@nzzp Because money. It's fine if you're the NFL and can pull a TV audience of 16m each game. But we aren't the NFL.
Unless we can find private equity money, both the NZRU and RA are reliant on TV revenue. And to get that revenue, we to provide more than 11 weeks of content.
It's a shitty situation to be in, because we are forced to choose (somewhat) between quality and quantity. Both in terms of how many rounds and how many teams in the comp itself.
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@barbarian said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
@nzzp Because money. It's fine if you're the NFL and can pull a TV audience of 16m each game. But we aren't the NFL.
would love to know what the vieweing numbers were for Super 12 when it was running. Also, remember there are internationals as well -- so you get a 14-15 week comp (depending on byes), and then another 3-6 top tier international games (plus all the overseas ones). Then you can run an amateur or semi-pro comp internally before an end of year tour
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for comparison, from 2005 (still Super 12)
https://www.allblacks.com/news/rugby-viewership-and-match-attendances-rise/
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I just want to watch a couple of good games of rugby each weekend, like we are getting now. I don't believe that reducing the quality increases the viewership.
So the TB networks will have to play replays or find other content rather than playing cripple fight, no contest, matches.
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We've been down the road of "more teams, more fixtures, more money" and we've seen what has happened to a competition that used to be the best in the world.
If I wanted to watch a weekly dirge that never seemed to end, I'd watch NH club rugby.
It's all well and good looking for more fixtures, but selling advertisement space for declining viewership makes no sense.
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There's a medium that can be found between bloated Super 18 and super intense but not sustainable Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Let's say they look at 10 teams - 5 Aus 5 NZ - for 2021 where everyone plays everyone once and then you play 4 teams twice.
I'd like to see the 4 teams twice be 2 teams from NZ and 2 teams from Aus so that it's somewhat fair.
It then ends up being a nice balance between extra NZ derbies/Aus derbies and fairness.
Of course it's not perfect - some teams will draw Crusaders twice and others will draw Force twice - but it's heading in the right direction.
