NRL 2015 - Cleary gone! Mx tears ensue

[t0mby]

I've only seen a handful of finals in my time (Benjis back flick will always stay in my mind) but that game last night is hands down one of the best matches I've seen. I nearly dropped baby Tate in my excitement when the Cowboys scored bang on the 80th minute. I even said to my missus before at 79.20 that stranger things have happened. The pressure Thursten must've been feeling setting up that conversion. So glad I managed to catch the game.

[Candy Arse]

Yep - hell of a way to win your maiden premiership. I doubt we'll see a Grand Final like that for another 10-15 years.

[jizzlobber]

Question for QLDers.

Now the game has finished, and was such a great event in front of over 80,000... Would you have preferred if it was played at Lang park?

I think last night showed the G/F needs to be played at a massive stadium like that.
QLDers did very well to fill out mind you, I thought it would be half full.

[Candy Arse]

You would have to schedule the GF at Lang Park well ahead of time. Changing it there because two QLD teams make the GF is too much to ask. I know the Broncos took their home final against the Cowboys to Townsville in 2004, but the logistics of a GF change would mean it has to be announced before the season begins.

I don't think it matters where they have it. It was always going to be a full stadium since it's a Grand Final and when you involve QLD teams you know people will turn up. If it was a pair of jabroni teams like St George and Manly you know there'd be lucky to be 40,000 people there since NSWers refuse to turn up to live games.

They announced a new record for finals attendance last night - what do you expect? Two games at Lang Park, one in Townsville and one in Melbourne; locations where fans turn up.

[jizzlobber]

Raiders would've been a much better example... but I get your point.

[Candy Arse]

Nah the Raiders would also have packed the place out since they haven't played in a Grand Final since 1870.

[jizzlobber]

I'm going to bust a myth here.

Broncos crowd average for 2014 was 33k odd, population was 2.2 million.
Sydney has 9 teams, ago if we divide that number by 9 you get 3.66k... Sydney had a population of 4.8 million so double that plus a bit and it's about 8k.

The team with the lowest average crowd was the raiders worth 9.3k... Sydney teams are spread from the panthers with 11k to souths with 20k. EDIT - average is around 15k

So per capita more people watch NRL each week in Sydney than in Brisbane.

[Candy Arse]

If there were 9 teams in Brisbane all 9 teams would sell out.

When it comes down to it, QLDers have heart and love going to see sport. Victorians are very similar in that regard.

In conclusion, NSWers are the worst fans in the country.

[Candy Arse]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... b3ca622137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As we reach the halfway point of the season, NRL crowds this year are the lowest on average in more than a decade.

In fact, NRL crowds are down a significant 134,043 over the first 12 rounds compared to 2014.

NSWers just don't turn up anymore.

[jizzlobber]

Raiders and titans need to list their game.

Even if Sydney shoulders that number, it's 10k per round, share that between the 9 teams and that 15k average I mentioned from 2014 comes down to 13.8k or something... Still well above Brisbane per capita.

Seriously... Lang park should be full every home game
Hey lets stick another team there to dilute it some more!!

[Candy Arse]

I read last week or the week before, talk about a second team in Brisbane being next on the agenda. Bring back the Crushers!

[t0mby]

Couldn't be worse than the Titans

[Candy Arse]

Quiet thread! It was so active last week

I'll be in charge of the NRL thread for 2016. This thread under Bronco administration flopped harder than the ball when it cannoned off Hunt's chest.

[Megaman]

I heard Madmya missed his flight out of Sydney...

[Candy Arse]

Nah he caught the flight with JT.

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[Madmya]

yes, well done.

It's been silent because I've been busy congratulating Cowboys fans, commiserating with Broncos fans, driving 2000 km in 3 days. I'm not going to lie, I was devastated. To lose like that. For that to happen to Hunt.

The day itself was glorious. Going to ANZ stadium and seeing a flood of Broncos and Cowboys jerseys in the enemy's territory. The feeling was great, everyone cheered on the Jets, there was no segregation between clubs. The most disappointing thing for me is that I won't look back at that with the level of fondness it deserves. On the plus, many of my best mates are Cowboys fans and they're on cloud 9. It would be a much harder pill to swallow had it been against anyone else, that's the only positive I have about the match.

[Madmya]

Question for QLDers.

Now the game has finished, and was such a great event in front of over 80,000... Would you have preferred if it was played at Lang park?

I think last night showed the G/F needs to be played at a massive stadium like that.
QLDers did very well to fill out mind you, I thought it would be half full.

I think it should stay in Sydney permanently. There's no doubt Lang Park is better, and its connection with Caxton Street and the city is excellent. But I'm a traditional guy and I enjoy the pilgrimage to Sydney if it happens. It makes the occasion more special.

[Candy Arse]

I think it's a character building experience for you Bronco fans - so accustomed to winning Grand Finals (or having them handed to you)...it really does seem poetic to have your team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Madmya]

We've had our devastating losses. I think this is more about everyone wanting Brisbane to lose one rather than this being good for us in some way.

[Candy Arse]

Nothing is as devastating as losing a Grand Final, particularly a close one. Brisbane has had a few gut-churning losses (2008 finals v Melbourne instantly comes to mind, as does the 1994 semi-final vs Norths where Alfie tossed his mouthpiece in disgust) but this is on a completely different level.

I think the Iraqi information minister has been officially retired.

[mxlegend99]

We've had our devastating losses. I think this is more about everyone wanting Brisbane to lose one rather than this being good for us in some way.

Just imagine how fucked it would feel if the club was even half as low as some other teams have been. Atleast Broncos fans can feel confident they will have another shot in the next decade, if not several shots.

Hard not to back them to be even better again in 2016. They shouldn't have been this good so quickly under Bennett.

[Madmya]

Nothing is as devastating as losing a Grand Final, particularly a close one. Brisbane has had a few gut-churning losses (2008 finals v Melbourne instantly comes to mind, as does the 1994 semi-final vs Norths where Alfie tossed his mouthpiece in disgust) but this is on a completely different level.

I think the Iraqi information minister has been officially retired.

As I said earlier, because this was done by the Cowboys it's really lessened the blow than if it were by the Roosters for example. But it's probably been the most emotional, rather than the most devastating, loss I've experienced.

[Madmya]

We've had our devastating losses. I think this is more about everyone wanting Brisbane to lose one rather than this being good for us in some way.

Just imagine how fucked it would feel if the club was even half as low as some other teams have been. Atleast Broncos fans can feel confident they will have another shot in the next decade, if not several shots.

Hard not to back them to be even better again in 2016. They shouldn't have been this good so quickly under Bennett.

Yeah true. Cowboys are peaking and their fans know it. They needed to make the most of it and you could tell by the pre-game tension compared to Broncos fans. Losing Hodges sucks, but he was a long way off his best this year and the rest of the group looks very good. There's been talk of Te'o coming back today too.

[mxlegend99]

I was confident for the first time in years we could be a top 8 side and premiership threat. Never again. Even with a gun roster god just likes to shit on us and keep our best players from playing.

I just pray we make some serious changes to our medical and/or training practices. Somewhere along the chain we're doing something or employing people who are not as good as the elite clubs. It's just not possible that one team can have so much bad luck with injuries year after year without contributing to it somehow.

As we see every year. The last 2 teams standing are usually the ones with the least injuries and what injuries they get are usually minor injuries or to non important players. In 2003 I'm pretty sure our spine played every minute of every game and we had no serious injuries.

[pilonv1]