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SANZAAR to cut 3 teams in 2018
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<blockquote data-quote="smartcooky" data-source="post: 847983" data-attributes="member: 20605"><p>The problem is, they simply aren't interested. Rugby Union in Melbourne is a long, long way behind the other three football codes. </p><p></p><p>Firstly, do not underestimate how big AFL is in Melbourne. IT IS HUGE!!! Relative to size and population, it is bigger in Melbourne than the Premier League in England. Ten of the Eighteen AFL teams are in Melbourne, and AFL crowds are averaging almost 40,000 this season. With between five and nine games in Melbourne every weekend, that is a total audience of between 200,000 and 360,000 attending games over the Friday to Sunday period. This does not leave a lot of room for other football codes. Key games such as Hawthorn v Essendon, or Carlton v Collingwood regularly attract around 80,000.</p><p></p><p>Then there is soccer football; Melbourne has two teams in the "A" League; Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. They both draw crowds in the 30,000 to 40,000 range.</p><p></p><p>Next comes NRL, with the Storm drawing about 18,000 per game, and that is with the team consistently performing well, in the top few teams in the competition..</p><p></p><p>Then the Rebels... crowd? What crowd?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And yet, when Australia had only three or four teams and South Africa had only four or five, they performed a LOT better... five ***les between them. </p><p></p><p>The focus for these countries is on international rugby. The Springboks were a joke last year; the writing was on the wall when they lost to Japan in 2015, I think even the most ardent Bokke fans on this site will agree... 4 wins out of 12 games will be absolutely unacceptable to Bokke fans, and losing to Italy... really? </p><p></p><p>And Australia weren't much better... 6 from 15 </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Bruce, people have been saying that since the inception of professionalism in Rugby in 1995/96. Pundit after pundit has predicted the downfall of NZ rugby with all the best players going to Europe for the money... and pundit after pundit has got it wrong. The systems we have in place ensure that there is a steady stream of talent coming through to replace retirements, and players leaving for foreign contracts. </p><p></p><p>I said a few years ago, that players going to Europe didn't bother me from a NZ rugby point of view; that every time a New Zealand player gets signed up to play in Europe, a door closes for a new, young talent in the country they are going to, while here in New Zealand, a door opens for new talent to show what they can do. So far, unlike the pundits, I have been right, and I see no reason to change this view in the foreseeable future.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="smartcooky, post: 847983, member: 20605"] The problem is, they simply aren't interested. Rugby Union in Melbourne is a long, long way behind the other three football codes. Firstly, do not underestimate how big AFL is in Melbourne. IT IS HUGE!!! Relative to size and population, it is bigger in Melbourne than the Premier League in England. Ten of the Eighteen AFL teams are in Melbourne, and AFL crowds are averaging almost 40,000 this season. With between five and nine games in Melbourne every weekend, that is a total audience of between 200,000 and 360,000 attending games over the Friday to Sunday period. This does not leave a lot of room for other football codes. Key games such as Hawthorn v Essendon, or Carlton v Collingwood regularly attract around 80,000. Then there is soccer football; Melbourne has two teams in the "A" League; Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. They both draw crowds in the 30,000 to 40,000 range. Next comes NRL, with the Storm drawing about 18,000 per game, and that is with the team consistently performing well, in the top few teams in the competition.. Then the Rebels... crowd? What crowd? And yet, when Australia had only three or four teams and South Africa had only four or five, they performed a LOT better... five ***les between them. The focus for these countries is on international rugby. The Springboks were a joke last year; the writing was on the wall when they lost to Japan in 2015, I think even the most ardent Bokke fans on this site will agree... 4 wins out of 12 games will be absolutely unacceptable to Bokke fans, and losing to Italy... really? And Australia weren't much better... 6 from 15 Bruce, people have been saying that since the inception of professionalism in Rugby in 1995/96. Pundit after pundit has predicted the downfall of NZ rugby with all the best players going to Europe for the money... and pundit after pundit has got it wrong. The systems we have in place ensure that there is a steady stream of talent coming through to replace retirements, and players leaving for foreign contracts. I said a few years ago, that players going to Europe didn't bother me from a NZ rugby point of view; that every time a New Zealand player gets signed up to play in Europe, a door closes for a new, young talent in the country they are going to, while here in New Zealand, a door opens for new talent to show what they can do. So far, unlike the pundits, I have been right, and I see no reason to change this view in the foreseeable future. [/QUOTE]
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