Melbourne: Your Town!! Your Team!!

[littleduck]

Theoretically, the Melbourne Storm has the 'potential' for a larger supporter base than any of the 10 AFL clubs individually, but certainly not the AFL support as a whole.

The Swans now have the level of interest equivalent to 1 NRL side, so it's quite realistic that the Storm can grow over time (dont expect 2moro) to the level of 1 AFL club.


Also, going off a tangent again, it would be a great thing to turn the Storm into a membership-based structure instead of private ownership.

By getting the Melbourne public to buy Storm memberships as they do with their AFL club, we could more easily see their level of support & more importantly, their growth over time (ie, growth in memberships).

The advantage is that it gives the core supporters more of an attachment to their team.


Also, is there a Storm Leagues Club in Melbourne? If not, why the hell not.

 

[Fire Storm]

I believe they do encourage the buying of memberships, LD. Might be wrong, but the Storm has one of the highest membership numbers in the NRL. I think.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by Mark Rudd
I believe they do encourage the buying of memberships, LD. Might be wrong, but the Storm has one of the highest membership numbers in the NRL. I think.

It's not done in the same way as AFL memberships tho?

Is there a Storm Leagues Club?

 

[Le Rouge]

Originally posted by littleduck
Is there a Storm Leagues Club?

If not. Thats the first thing the NRL/News ltd should help the Storm out with in creating.

 

[cos789]

Originally posted by littleduck


The Swans now have the level of interest equivalent to 1 NRL side, so it's quite realistic that the Storm can grow over time (dont expect 2moro) to the level of 1 AFL club.


.

Your're deluding yourself with your own logic . Depending on your criteria the Sydney Swans Australian Football Club equivalency is debatable .

The Sydney Swans = 1 NRL club if you're talking Broncos .
The Sydney Swans = x NRL average or lower clubs .

Maybe the Sydney Swans only recieve the media attention of one NRL club , but crowds , sponsorhip , ratings , product recognition and value is quite considerable .Taking just crowds alone . There have been times when the crowd at a single Sydney Swans game exceeds the aggregate crowd of NRL games played in Sydney at the same time .

On the other hand the STorm = the lowest ranking NRL club .

 

[STORM007]

Originally posted by littleduck

Also, is there a Storm Leagues Club in Melbourne? If not, why the hell not.

No there is not a Storm League club in Melbourne,

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by Le Rouge
If not. Thats the first thing the NRL/News ltd should help the Storm out with in creating.

Couldnt agree more!

 

[littleduck]

Re: Re: Melbourne: Your Town!! Your Team!!

Originally posted by cos789
Maybe the Sydney Swans only recieve the media attention of one NRL club ,

True

but crowds ,

True, the Swans crowd average of 25-30,000 (?) is higher than the NRL average of 16,000.

sponsorhip ,

Swans sponsorship is the equivalent of maybe 3 weak Sydney-based NRL clubs?

Being the only professional football team of the code in the entire State of 6 millions means the Swans are the focus of all things AFL in NSW. I'm not surprised there are highly marketable.

ratings ,

Swans ratings are not that good & generally pretty poor.

product recognition and value is quite considerable .

Very true. Likewise, the Melbourne Storm have one of the most marketable football jerseys in the country for the same reason.

Taking just crowds alone .

All arguments lead to crowds dont they...

There have been times when the crowd at a single Sydney Swans game exceeds the aggregate crowd of NRL games played in Sydney at the same time .

True, but the aggregate TV audience of those NRL games in Sydney is 1000% higher, at least several hundred % higher. Whats more valuable for sponsors?

On the other hand the STorm = the lowest ranking NRL club .

Not on all criteria. The Storm have one of the most marketable football jerseys in Australia, in fact I once read a study that said the Storm jersey was in the top 5 most marketable jumpers of all codes - the Broncos were #1, and the rest included the Swans, St George & Collingwood - from memory.

 

[dr nick]

the swans easily have more supporters than any sydney based RL club, but given there are 9 sydney based clubs, obviously the NRL has higher overall support than AFL in this city.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by nicko18
the swans easily have more supporters than any sydney based RL club, but given there are 9 sydney based clubs, obviously the NRL has higher overall support than AFL in this city.

Exactly what I was trying to say in reverse. The potential for the Storm to attract a substantial supporter base is huge compared to individual Melbourne-based AFL clubs (Collywood, Essendon etc excepting).

My dream for the Storm would be to work with Rugby Union & Soccer and build (or upgrade Oly Park) a 25,000 all-seater world class football stadium, eg something in the mould of Canberra Stadium, JJB Stadium etc.

Furthermore, there should be a "Storm Leagues Club" located at the ground or very near by.

I think that would be a recipe for long-term success.

 

[dr nick]

absolutely the storm have so much more potential for growth than any current NRL club, so if its frustrating for a sydney based club fan like myself, imagine all the storm supporters pulling their hair out at the lack of assistance they get given from the NRL. Makes it worse when a precedent has already been set (and shown to work) in Sydney and Brisbane with AFL.

 

[honkagorn]

Some pretty good and encouraging comments here.... the thing (old prejudices and SL battles aside) is the absolute lack of real sympathy for Storm by most RL factions in NSW.
Hell guys we are trying to expand a great game but the throat ripping comments out of Sydney are mindboggling. Masters SMH article touches on this today. Why is it so??????? no help no grow.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by honkagorn
Some pretty good and encouraging comments here.... the thing (old prejudices and SL battles aside) is the absolute lack of real sympathy for Storm by most RL factions in NSW.
Hell guys we are trying to expand a great game but the throat ripping comments out of Sydney are mindboggling. Masters SMH article touches on this today. Why is it so??????? no help no grow.

Sydney only cares about Sydney.

If Melbourne are feeling snubbed, then rest assured Sydney administrators don't even care that much about Brisbane & Queensland!

The greatest inhibitor of growth in our great game is the Sydney mentality... nobody can convince me otherwise on that topic...

Indeed, expansion in the eyes of Sydney administrators is 60 minutes up the highway to Gosford!!! That's bloody ridiculous!!! It shouldn't even be an option, but it is only because there is a super dooper white elephant stadium sitting idly by..

 

[dr nick]

you really need to look beyond the square and realise its because the bulk of Sydney clubs and their administrators are from the ARL side of the fence, and lets call a spade a spade, Storm = News Ltd.

but people get so hung up on their sydney bashing that they put it down to being a sydney mentality, and i thought the squealing from Melbourne was bad whenever the S word was mentioned.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by nicko18
you really need to look beyond the square and realise its because the bulk of Sydney clubs and their administrators are from the ARL side of the fence, and lets call a spade a spade, Storm = News Ltd.

Almost half the teams sided with Super League, including Canterbury Penrith etc.... you cant single out Melbourne as having to carry baggage other Super League clubs dont.

but people get so hung up on their sydney bashing that they put it down to being a sydney mentality, and i thought the squealing from Melbourne was bad whenever the S word was mentioned.

I believe the Sydney mentality that Sydney is the be all & end all is the primary reason our game hasn't grown as well as AFL. From what I see, Melbournians now retain an inferiority complex with Sydney because the Harbour City has outgrown them, become more internationally recognised, etc. Following on from that, Melbournians know that to get 1-up on Sydney they had to successfully expand their game - and they have.

 

[dr nick]

so you think the melbourne based AFL clubs are pro expansion?? go onto the main board and ask the melbourne based club supporters.

 

[Hurbie]

Canterbury, for all their foibles administratively and player wise, is probably one of the most forward thinking clubs in the NRL. Don't put them in the same boat as the other Sydney clubs. They have always been at the forefront of the games expansion (i.e-Good chance they'll be playing 2 games @ Hindmarsh next year and 1 in Darwin) and Peter Moore was the reason the NSWRL accepted all 4 bids for the 1995 season. Sure, they turned pure evil when they backstabbed close confidants during super league, but that particular club has never had problems with the games expansion and still doesn't.

As for the Other Sydney clubs-Wimps afraid of expansion.

 

[LebaneseForces]

Originally posted by Hurbie
Canterbury, for all their foibles administratively and player wise, is probably one of the most forward thinking clubs in the NRL. Don't put them in the same boat as the other Sydney clubs. They have always been at the forefront of the games expansion (i.e-Good chance they'll be playing 2 games @ Hindmarsh next year and 1 in Darwin) and Peter Moore was the reason the NSWRL accepted all 4 bids for the 1995 season. Sure, they turned pure evil when they backstabbed close confidants during super league, but that particular club has never had problems with the games expansion and still doesn't.

As for the Other Sydney clubs-Wimps afraid of expansion.

I agree! It great that we will hopefully be playing games at Adelaide... Darwin??? First i heard of that!
BUT other clubs have to follow!!!!!!!

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by nicko18
so you think the melbourne based AFL clubs are pro expansion?? go onto the main board and ask the melbourne based club supporters.

Deep down I think all Victorian AFL supporters are overjoyed at how well the expansion into NSW & QLD is going. Deep down I think they love knowing that NSW & QLD are slowly being exposed to & experiencing (mostly for the first time in recent years) some of what they have for the past 150 years.

However, you're right, if they are lifelong supporters of a battling club then its only natural that they don't like what's happening to their club... but that doesnt mean deep down they are against northern expansion.

There needs to be a balance and I believe that balance is all 10 Victorians clubs with 1 club each from Bris & Syd.

If the AFL suddenly see 10 Victorian clubs as the future of AFL, then all those issues will go away overnight because all Victorian supporters will know that the competition exists to keep them, rather than outgrow them and move on.

At the moment the AFL seem to be having a bet each way, as their major strategic policies are too often conflicting.

I see no reason why the current 16 team competition cannot exist indefinitely for decades to come. It seems to strike a perfect balance between tradition & national expansion.

 

[Hurbie]

the NT government wants to play a game of AFL and NRL on the same weekend. The Bulldogs sounded out the idea last year.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by Hurbie
the NT government wants to play a game of AFL and NRL on the same weekend. The Bulldogs sounded out the idea last year.

excellent idea as NT is split in allegiance between AFL & NRL.

 

[Richoagain]

The NT's interesting - the white community is split between the two (seeing as practically everyone arrived sometime during the 20th century bringing their own code with them), whereas the Aboriginal community is 99% Aussie Rules. If RL wants to make a fist of things in the top end, the Aboriginals are the market they need to crack.

The AFL are planning quite a few more matches in Darwin and Cairns - they get somewhere in the vicinity of 15k to Darwin matches and around 10k in Cairns pre-season.

One question though - why all the noise about games in Darwin for the NRL? Why not Perth or Tassie? Hobart, for all that it's tiny, has still got a lot more people within a couple of hours drive than the entire of the NT.

 

[littleduck]

Originally posted by Richoagain
The NT's interesting - the white community is split between the two (seeing as practically everyone arrived sometime during the 20th century bringing their own code with them), whereas the Aboriginal community is 99% Aussie Rules. If RL wants to make a fist of things in the top end, the Aboriginals are the market they need to crack.

The AFL are planning quite a few more matches in Darwin and Cairns - they get somewhere in the vicinity of 15k to Darwin matches and around 10k in Cairns pre-season.

One question though - why all the noise about games in Darwin for the NRL? Why not Perth or Tassie? Hobart, for all that it's tiny, has still got a lot more people within a couple of hours drive than the entire of the NT.

NT have traditionally had strong attachmetns to the QLD CUP (and its predecesors) Rugby League comp in QLD. NT is split between RL and AR I;ve always believed, but only concede NT to AFL in arguments elsewhere bcoz the AFL types are so desperate to claim as many states & territories as they can to create the illusion of being more national.

Your comment about the Aboriginal population overwhelming favouring Aussie Rules I'm not too sure of... more info would be nice.

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by littleduck
Deep down I think all Victorian AFL supporters are overjoyed at how well the expansion into NSW & QLD is going. Deep down I think they love knowing that NSW & QLD are slowly being exposed to & experiencing (mostly for the first time in recent years) some of what they have for the past 150 years.

However, you're right, if they are lifelong supporters of a battling club then its only natural that they don't like what's happening to their club... but that doesnt mean deep down they are against northern expansion.

There needs to be a balance and I believe that balance is all 10 Victorians clubs with 1 club each from Bris & Syd.

deep down hey.... oh yeah if you say so.

must be just a sydney thing

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by littleduck
I see no reason why the current 16 team competition cannot exist indefinitely for decades to come. It seems to strike a perfect balance between tradition & national expansion.

wouldnt that be considered "a sydney thing" by opting to stay with these 10 clubs as opposed to growing into further markets, like a 2nd Qld or NSW team? You seem to have drifted against your very argument.