Rebels 2017

[daz]

The Tele podcast this week suggested that the ARU will find it easier to pay the Rebels owner to go away (buy back the licence) than get rid of the force. They suggested the silence from the owner over the last few weeks may be down to ongoing negotiations to get a satisfactory number.

I think a Crowd of 6,931 for a big local derby isn't helping their cause

Who knows what is going on behind closed doors? I am quite happy to accept that the silence from the owner is because he has said repeatedly, to the club, players, media and fans, that he is not selling if the intent of the ARU is to fold the club.

The real cause of the silence is the ARU not able to do anything more than curl up in the foetal position and hope SANZAAR don't notice how useless the ARU are.

As for the crowd, current results are obviously not helping, but when the ARU come out and tell people that your club is probably going to be chopped, that may affect your ongoing engagement.

Name me an Oz Super Rugby club that has "healthy" crowd numbers this year? Are the "heartland" Tahs and Reds doing ok?

From the SMH:
The 10,555 fans at the Waratahs match against the Southern Kings was the lowest home figure in the club's 21-year history. Compared to last year, crowd numbers are down 29 per cent at the halfway mark of the season, an alarming statistic for Hore and his NSW administrators.
From the Courier Mail:
Average attendances to Reds matches at Suncorp Stadium have halved since the halcyon days of 2012 when they shook up the Brisbane Broncos by outdrawing their rugby league cousins for the first time.

 

[swingpass]

Do you really think he tried to avoid playing on the EOYT and was made to?

I'd bet he did everything he could to play down his problems and try and get selected and pass fitness tests.

well thats the problem, young bloke, keen as mustard, tough as teak, perhaps given the option of playing or not, when he shouldn't have been. you know, "75% chance of being OK", sounds a lot better than, "1 in 4 chance you'll be buggered for months". in the last test he could barely walk, yet chased after kicks and ran like the young madman he is. i don't know what went on, but he came back crocked and has missed 9 games when his club desperately needed him. perhaps a bit like the management of Izzy also.

 

[GoMelbRebels]

Who knows what is going on behind closed doors? I am quite happy to accept that the silence from the owner is because he has said repeatedly, to the club, players, media and fans, that he is not selling if the intent of the ARU is to fold the club.

I agree, though Mr. Cox is a businessman and while we all want him to have the survival of the club as his main goal, he must also have a price. I don't want him to sell, but I also don't want to get my hopes up too high.

 

[daz]

I agree, though Mr. Cox is a businessman and while we all want him to have the survival of the club as his main goal, he must also have a price. I don't want him to sell, but I also don't want to get my hopes up too high.

Agree John, but while I am sure that everyone has a number, it really just boils down to the initial statement of intent by Andrew, i.e. I am not selling if you (ARU) want to fold the club, and whether he is a man of his word, or not.

It really is as simple as that.

In the meantime, I refuse to believe that the ARU are not also looking into the WF as a stated option.

I am also quite sure that should the ARU make Coxy an offer he can't refuse (and that is the owners right) any "sell" fee is also going to include a large portion of damages and compensation. Hopefully that number is big enough to bankrupt the fuckers.

 

[Rebels3]

At the moment id say the probability of the Rebels going is the same as the Force and the same as the competition remaining at 18. Which with every week that passes, becomes a more likely option.

As for the crowd, there is a massive sense of being disgruntled, we were supposedly told we are safe in confidentiality and therefore the recent weeks have hit us (the fans) and the organisation like a train as there was no sense to bunker down like the Force had the opportunity to.

Another issue was while at the game on Saturday i went with the same 5/6 mates that i always go with, i was talking about the seriousness of the situation and they all laughed saying we are privately backed/ nothing is going to happen/ why would you leave a market like Melbourne. I honestly don't think 95% of the Rebels fans believe there is a serious chance we will get punted, there's a real sense of we are in it for the long hall, nothing will happen, no need to get the pitch fawkes out (aka the Force). Please enlighten me to the situation, am i getting caught up in my bubble here on GAGR (which represent the 1% of fans and are hardcore) and stressing over the situation/reading into it too much or are they right and are they right that it's still more than likely we will be around next year?

 

[swingpass]

At the moment id say the probability of the Rebels going is the same as the Force and the same as the competition remaining at 18. Which with every week that passes, becomes a more likely option.
. Please enlighten me to the situation, am i getting caught up in my bubble here on GAGR (which represent the 1% of fans and are hardcore) and stressing over the situation/reading into it too much or are they right and are they right that it's still more than likely we will be around next year?

well i don't believe that anybody (not Rebels, nor Force, nor SANZARR and certainly not the ARU) has any idea of whats really going to happen. the only certainty is that this situation has enormously impacted on the enjoyment of Rugby by fans right across the nation and has put a significant strain on the well being of the employees of the clubs involved. whatever the outcome, those responsible for this CFARUP should leave the running of Rugby in Australia forever.

 

[KevinO]

So if Colby is fit this week I would like to see Timani play in the second row with Day and than have McMahon, Mafi and Colby in the back row. Will be weak at the line out, but that's nothing new. It should be enough to slow the Tahs down and cause issues that way.

If they want to kick the ball, we need to run everything back.

 

[upthereds#!]

I'd suggest this is more a symptom of the current ARU fuckadoody and breathtaking incompetence than just a sheer indifference to Rugby from the good ol' Melbourne folk. sure, we're not having a successful season, but nor is anyone in Australia. And it's showing n the crowd numbers across the country too, not just in Melbourne.

how are force crowd numbers- they seem to be out there in defiance of the ARU, supporting their team. I wish the Melbourne crowd had the same reaction.

 

[oztimmay]

how are force crowd numbers- they seem to be out there in defiance of the ARU, supporting their team. I wish the Melbourne crowd had the same reaction.

I think last home game was about 7500, so not hugely different from ours.

 

[Slim 293]

how are force crowd numbers- they seem to be out there in defiance of the ARU, supporting their team.

They had a good crowd of around 14,000 for one match after they rallied some support, but it doesn't seemed to have carried over in the weeks afterwards so their crowds have overall been quite poor too - second smallest of the Aus teams (Rebs on the bottom)..........

 

[Rebels3]

So if Colby is fit this week I would like to see Timani play in the second row with Day and than have McMahon, Mafi and Colby in the back row. Will be weak at the line out, but that's nothing new. It should be enough to slow the Tahs down and cause issues that way.

If they want to kick the ball, we need to run everything back.

I agree, we saw how much of an impact having people who can beat the gain line is for a team on Saturday (once McMahon came on).

I'd go

Smith
Hanson
Lomax
Day
Timani
McMahon
Fainga'a
Mafi
Meehan
Hodge
Koribete
Inman
English
Naivalu
Maddocks

Sad thing is, this is the best team we would of put out all season. Just need Jack Deb back and we'd get a few wins.

 

[Highlander35]

Not confident enough in Hodge at 10.

No disrespect to Maddocks, but he drops out.

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[upthereds#!]

They had a good crowd of around 14,000 for one match after they rallied some support, but it doesn't seemed to have carried over in the weeks afterwards so their crowds have overall been quite poor too - second smallest of the Aus teams (Rebs on the bottom)....

yeh right, sucks all round.

 

[Rebels3]

Not confident enough in Hodge at 10.

No disrespect to Maddocks, but he drops out.

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I just don't see anything in Volavola that makes the team better. At least with Hodge at 10, defensively we are better, he can kick the crap out of it, a running threat, someone who can get over the gainline and then we actually have someone who is a decent link player at fullback. Don't get me wrong, Hodge ain't a 10 but Volavola is a liability in most aspects. Volavola can't win a game, but he can sure well lose one.

 

[blues recovery]

I agree, we saw how much of an impact having people who can beat the gain line is for a team on Saturday (once McMahon came on).

I'd go

Smith
Hanson
Lomax
Day
Timani
McMahon
Fainga'a
Mafi
Meehan
Hodge
Koribete
Inman
English
Naivalu
Maddocks

Sad thing is, this is the best team we would of put out all season. Just need Jack Deb back and we'd get a few wins.

I'd go with exactly that team .
And I'd have Sinclair as the bench lock with Miller as the bench backrower
I'd have neither Cummins or Retallick anywhere near the team and never again unless forced to by injuries . Useless plods

 

[blues recovery]

They had a good crowd of around 14,000 for one match after they rallied some support, but it doesn't seemed to have carried over in the weeks afterwards so their crowds have overall been quite poor too - second smallest of the Aus teams (Rebs on the bottom)....

What was the Brumbies crowd vs Lions . Did I read about the 8k mark .
This is a nation wide walk out on Super Rugby and given the Reds, Tahs and Brumbies are not under threat and actually all have a chance of making the finals (ridiculously), and given their supposedly heart land teams , their crowds should be a bigger concern than either the Rebels or Force

 

[Rebels3]

I'd go with exactly that team .
And I'd have Sinclair as the bench lock with Miller as the bench backrower
I'd have neither Cummins or Retallick anywhere near the team and never again unless forced to by injuries . Useless plods

Yes Miller and Sinclair from the bench. For 2nd row, i'd go Cummins over Retalick. Weekes, Siliva and Sa'aga to provide a useful reserve front row option. Placid and Jackson Garden not Bashop on the bench.

 

[daz]

What was the Brumbies crowd vs Lions . Did I read about the 8k mark .

Brumbies vs Lions Attendance 12 May, 2017 8,034

Yet the big story is that the Rebels, a team cut adrift, not a chance of finals and in mass confusion, only managed to get approx. 7,000 seats filled.

Circa 1,000 seats difference, this weekend, between the conference leaders and the wooden spoon team.

 

[Highlander35]

NZ teams are our best attended games I think too, because of the NZ expat population.

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[Proud Pig]

A group of the guys I usually go with did not attend Saturday night because they are resigned to the fact that we will be cut and can no longer be bothered with Rugby. None of them are getting Wallaby tickets as this whole process has soured rugby for them.
I can't say I blame them.
I continue to go as I feel that we are not quite dead yet and may well be back for another year or two. However, I truly believe that the ARU are planning to oust both us and the Force by the end of 2020. That is possibly why focus has switched to us over the Force. Axing the Rebels will cost the ARU big either now or in 2020, where as the Force may cost them now but may cost bugger all to axe come 2020.