Many will be in much surprise when they glance at the sports section today to see that Melbourne played the Cowboys in Sydney. They could even be forgiven for thinking this was a trial match when a crowd of 16,810, which included 20,000 free tickets, quarter filled the Sydney Football Stadium. Inside sources say that the crowd was a far cry from the quoted figure, but we'll leave that argument for another day.
More disconcerting for Rugby League followers must be the comments of NRL CEO David Gallop. He came out on Friday and declared it was played in Sydney to "ensure the integrity of the game". One can only gather from such a comment that it would have been even further embarassment to play this finals match down in the Southern Capital. This pseudo national sporting competition is trying to pass itself off as a national league, yet to ensure the integrity of the game, finals matches musn't be played outside of Sydney. It's a sad endictment of this code struggling to break through the ever shrinking boundaries of its geographic heartland.
Compare this to the AFL which over this finals series has thrown up a veritable smorgasbord of fierce interstate rivalry, accompanied by unique storylines and twists. This weekend we saw four clubs - four states - and now two AFL behemoths waiting in the wings. We saw sellouts for finals in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, and the only thing stopping sellout Brisbane finals crowds was the fact that the Lions weren't a part of September action.
In perhaps the only unconquered market left by the AFL, the Sydney Swans have enjoyed saturation media coverage as they now command centre stage in the Sydney sporting landscape and bask in the goodwill of this country's most fickle sporting public. This is far beyond even the most fervent Storm fan's wildest dreams.
This Saturday will possibly see in excess of 4 million Australians tune into the AFL Grand Final making it the most watched sporting event in Australian television history. So as the remaining finals play out in spectacular fashion, AFL gets bigger and brassier, whilst the NRL is left pondering 2,500 ticket sales for a sudden death clash between the very teams which help them justify to us that it is a national rugby league.
More disconcerting for Rugby League followers must be the comments of NRL CEO David Gallop. He came out on Friday and declared it was played in Sydney to "ensure the integrity of the game". One can only gather from such a comment that it would have been even further embarassment to play this finals match down in the Southern Capital. This pseudo national sporting competition is trying to pass itself off as a national league, yet to ensure the integrity of the game, finals matches musn't be played outside of Sydney. It's a sad endictment of this code struggling to break through the ever shrinking boundaries of its geographic heartland.
Compare this to the AFL which over this finals series has thrown up a veritable smorgasbord of fierce interstate rivalry, accompanied by unique storylines and twists. This weekend we saw four clubs - four states - and now two AFL behemoths waiting in the wings. We saw sellouts for finals in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, and the only thing stopping sellout Brisbane finals crowds was the fact that the Lions weren't a part of September action.
In perhaps the only unconquered market left by the AFL, the Sydney Swans have enjoyed saturation media coverage as they now command centre stage in the Sydney sporting landscape and bask in the goodwill of this country's most fickle sporting public. This is far beyond even the most fervent Storm fan's wildest dreams.
This Saturday will possibly see in excess of 4 million Australians tune into the AFL Grand Final making it the most watched sporting event in Australian television history. So as the remaining finals play out in spectacular fashion, AFL gets bigger and brassier, whilst the NRL is left pondering 2,500 ticket sales for a sudden death clash between the very teams which help them justify to us that it is a national rugby league.
they would sellout easily!!!! But in saying that i got my tickets 
