QLD new home of Rugby League
May 2nd 2008 05:52
Rugby League crowds are always good in QLD
It is a shame that NSW has lost its traditional aura as Rugby League's spiritual home.
Over the past couple of years, Queensland has dominated the NRL in terms of player talent, crowd attendances and passion. This trend has been evident for a while now.
Why do you think the NRL's sixteenth team had to come from the land of the cane toads, despite strong opposition from clubs such as the North Sydney Bears and areas of the Central Coast?
The answer is fairly simple. Qld fans just seem to acknowledge their league more than their southern counterparts.
After just one season in first grade, The Gold Coast Titans are riding high on top of the NRL ladder, their team full of confidence and enterprise.
But if you were to ask them what gets them pumped up for a game every weekend, your answer would certaintly come in the form of the way their supporters cheer and cheer for glory.
It is these very fans that inspire players such as Scott Prince, Darren Lockyer and Johnathon Thurston to entertain all those that watch them.
That is why Qld teams, at this very moment, seem to be dominating the competition. The Titans have lost only one game this season and are yet to lose at home.
Likewise can be said about Brisbane who are playing a brand of football that looks set to serve them very well come September. Their fans are loving it with average crowds this year well over the 20,000 mark.
Even the Nth Qld Cowboys can take heart from their loyal fans. After such a disasterous start to their campaign, their crowd figures remained strong and this has now paid dividends in the transformation of their season.
Qld fans in the end just seem to embrace their football team much better than NSW fans at the moment.
The only loyal fans at the moment seem to be coming from Newcastle and Manly with both their average crowd attendances well over 18,000.
Other than that, there seems to be very little support for other NSW teams in general. Crowds in this part of the world generally pick up when their team is riding a roller coaster full of emotion and success, which is remiscent of Penrith's run in 2003.
However if teams such as the Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels, South Sydney and Sydney Roosters continue to struggle, crowd numbers will falter into nothingness. Fans in NSW just hate watching a team that consistently misfires in games. They really do not tolerate failure.
But like it or not, fans of these great traditional clubs will always experience moments where they would rather just watch the game on tele.
It is in this time that true supporters of our game go out and support their club because, in a way, there is no more empty feeling for a player than to play a game of football in front of empty stands.
These great players of our game really thrive on the added energy they get from a packed stadium. It means that they will ultimately try harder and harder for victory. It is the only fuel of energy they have on the field.
And this is where Qld teams, especially in Origin football, have reigned supreme.
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