Aussie Player Exodus

[LeCheese]

Will it? Members have already paid for their seats months back. So when you head out you don’t need to actually spend any money

I personally know a number of groups of people who have not renewed memberships this year as a result of penny pinching - myself included. For many, the actual ticket is only a small part of the cost - food, drinks, transport, etc. all add up. Of course these costs can be limited, but it's the fun social element that makes people actually want to attend - especially the 'casual' fans. At that point, many would prefer to watch at home or in a bar.

There are 1000 free tickets for kids 15 and under this weekend, which will help boost numbers a bit at least.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

How many members do they have? Rugby does definitely ride specator waves depending on success. It is the first game at Suncorp so the crowd hopefully is strong, but Cost of Living is a real factor that will hit sport.

 

[Rebel man]

I personally know a number of groups of people who have not renewed memberships this year as a result of penny pinching - myself included. For many, the actual ticket is only a small part of the cost - food, drinks, transport, etc. all add up. Of course these costs can be limited, but it's the fun social element that makes people actually want to attend - especially the 'casual' fans. At that point, many would prefer to watch at home or in a bar.

There are 1000 free tickets for kids 15 and under this weekend, which will help boost numbers a bit at least.

Look I do agree with you there. The costs have got ridiculous. When I turned 18 it was about $27 for four cups of beer and a tray now it’s $42. What’s more is now they serve it in cans and you know a 30 block of Northerns are $50 or $1.65 per can roughly so they are adding $8.35 per can. That’s outrageous

 

[Rebel man]

NRL expansion is an interesting one.

You saw it go wrong in the 90s alienating fans, a potential win for union.

Also as someone in Melbourne who supports both the Rebels and the Storm I do find the prospect interesting.

The Storm have their zone on the Sunshine Coast and the game while it has picked up at a club level in Melbourne is still weak here.

Now with the Dolphins the Sunshine coast is in their zone now. Surely kids from that part of the world would see the progression of playing age group footy Queensland cup and then NRL where they live as preferable.

If they add a team in the Western Brisbane / Ipswich area you will lock so much more talent into staying in Queensland.

I do in someways fear for the storm and the future they have with this expansion.

But think especially with the number of professional rugby players the Rebels academy is turning out it’s presents a good opportunity to consolidate the grassroots as you can sell them that pathway and I think it is a good opportunity to get the rugby community to engage with the rebels.

As I know from my time playing juniors and seniors so many people down here play Union support the Wallabies or their nation of origin but support the Storm as there club side

 

[PhilClinton]

How many members do they have? Rugby does definitely ride specator waves depending on success. It is the first game at Suncorp so the crowd hopefully is strong, but Cost of Living is a real factor that will hit sport.

Have they published the member numbers the last few years?

I remember during the peak post-2011 championship era they used to have a gauge which was filling up on the website that showed how many tens of thousands of members they had.

Not sure it's anything like that now.

 

[LeCheese]

Have they published the member numbers the last few years?

I remember during the peak post-2011 championship era they used to have a gauge which was filling up on the website that showed how many tens of thousands of members they had.

Not sure it's anything like that now.

I have a vague recollection of them celebrating reaching a membership milestone (15k?) last year or in 2021, but did a quick search and couldn't find anything.

In contrast I found a post of them celebrating 40k members in 2014.

 

[LeCheese]

Have they published the member numbers the last few years?

I remember during the peak post-2011 championship era they used to have a gauge which was filling up on the website that showed how many tens of thousands of members they had.

Not sure it's anything like that now.

Looking further - the 2021 annual report attributes ~$1m in rev to memberships. Obviously can't know numbers without an average cost of membership, but assume the average membership was $150 that year, we're looking at ~6500 members.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Not the old South Sydney form of counting going on here with pet memberships going into the number?

 

[Marce]

If they end up including the Jets then the Reds will really have their work cut out.

With a 4th team in Qld now and the potential of another 1.5 with the PNG team talked about being based in Cairns there is going to be significant investment in League in Queensland. Meaning that there will also be significant investment in Australian rules to try and not go backwards by comparison

If Tahs could survived against 10 NRL teams, Reds will be fine. Tahs is like the 11th NRL team in NSW so Reds would be the 6th NRL team in QLD in terms of viewers, memberships, budget, attendances, sponsors and all the stuff

 

[LeCheese]

If Tahs could survived against 10 NRL teams, Reds will be fine. Tahs is like the 11th NRL team in NSW so Reds would be the 6th NRL team in QLD in terms of viewers, memberships, budget, attendances, sponsors and all the stuff

The union/league divide in Sydney has always been solid (although that's changing) - Brisbane fans are much more fickle and tend to swing both ways. More teams are a massive threat.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

It's not necessarily about the Reds or Tahs surviving. Yes the team will exist. It's the talent drain that can drag the teams play down and then the Wallaby play down.

 

[Rebel man]

It's not necessarily about the Reds or Tahs surviving. Yes the team will exist. It's the talent drain that can drag the teams play down and then the Wallaby play down.

Exactly, the Reds will always be there same as the Tahs. But we need those teams to be strong for the good of Australian rugby

 

[Ignoto]

Exactly, the Reds will always be there same as the Tahs. But we need those teams to be strong for the good of Australian rugby

It's not just the Reds and Tahs who will be impacted.

If the Reds pathway is compromised and more juniors go to League over Union, there will be a smaller pool of potential young players for the Rebels and Brumbies to recruit from up north.

 

[Rebel man]

It's not just the Reds and Tahs who will be impacted.

If the Reds pathway is compromised and more juniors go to League over Union, there will be a smaller pool of potential young players for the Rebels and Brumbies to recruit from up north.

Yeah I get that, that’s why I said for the good of Australian rugby

 

[lincoln]

As a side note - the total salary cap for the NRL is now around $204 mn, up from around $154 mm last year. The cap for the development players is up to $600 k per team from $248 k. That is a lot of serious money looking for young talent.

 

[Derpus]

As a side note - the total salary cap for the NRL is now around $204 mn, up from around $154 mm last year. The cap for the development players is up to $600 k per team from $248 k. That is a lot of serious money looking for young talent.

A lot of filthy disgusting gambling money tearing our society apart at the seams*

 

[Rebel man]

A lot of filthy disgusting gambling money tearing our society apart at the seams*

The decision back in the 50s for the NSWRL club to get into poker machines after they were legalised in 56 as opposed to the Shute Shield clubs not made a massive difference on the sporting landscape in Australia

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

It's not just the Reds and Tahs who will be impacted.

If the Reds pathway is compromised and more juniors go to League over Union, there will be a smaller pool of potential young players for the Rebels and Brumbies to recruit from up north.

Absolutely.

I wasn’t ignoring the other teams/areas just used the Reds and Tahs as that is the traditional League heartlands. They talk about Perth being a likely expansion team which would immediately put pressure on the Force pathway.

3 new teams is 120 new Professional players at least. NZ and the Pacific nations will be targeted just as hard.

 

[Rebel man]

Absolutely.

I wasn’t ignoring the other teams/areas just used the Reds and Tahs as that is the traditional League heartlands. They talk about Perth being a likely expansion team which would immediately put pressure on the Force pathway.

3 new teams is 120 new Professional players at least. NZ and the Pacific nations will be targeted just as hard.

An NRL team won’t hurt the Force academy. They make little interest to actually grow the game.

After 25 years of the Storm being successful they still haven’t got 10k (9,023) players in Vic. Union isn’t as strong as it has been here but has 11,700 players. That’s down from 16k pre covid.

WA has 12,550 players in union and only 7,900 in league

 

[Marce]

An NRL team won’t hurt the Force academy. They make little interest to actually grow the game.

After 25 years of the Storm being successful they still haven’t got 10k (9,023) players in Vic. Union isn’t as strong as it has been here but has 11,700 players. That’s down from 16k pre covid.

WA has 12,550 players in union and only 7,900 in league

It doesn't matter. The pool of League registered players in NSW and QLD is huge enough to feed teams in other states. They weaken Union grassroots in NSW and QLD, they weaken the heart of RA