Opening round crowds in Parramatta and Townsville disappoint

INTEREST in the opening round of the NRL seemed to be at an all time high but that was not reflected in the attendances in two league heartlands.

NRL Round 1 match between the NQ Cowboys and the Sharks in Townsville, QLD, at 1300 SMILES Stadium.Cowboy's Ethan Lowe sets up the game winning try. Picture: Wesley Monts

RUGBY league has missed out on its customary bumper opening week, with glaringly mediocre attendances in Townsville and Parramatta.

Nine of the premiership’s top 25 attendances for a round came on the opening week of a new season, including the top three of all time.

The best was Round 1, 2011, when the average crowd was 25,039, from an aggregate of 200,312.

This year, the first seven games drew an average of 14,729 from an aggregate of 103,107.

By comparison, the first round of 2015 had an average of 17,765 from a total of 142,124.

One factor rugby league is yet to fully evaluate is the impact of Fox Sports’ live telecasts of all matches and the NRL’s growing social media efforts.

The NRL has shown, on its Twitter account, video of tries within minutes of these being scored.

But theories that there was enormous anticipation about the first game of the Cowboys’ premiership defence and the appearance of the remodelled Eels on their home turf were not borne out at the turnstiles.

There were 17,324 at Parramatta, which is supposed to be Sydney league heartland, and only 15,519 in Townsville, where rain on the day of the game did not help encourage fans to journey out to uncovered stands on three sides of the venue.

Townsville is waiting for Federal Government word on its scale of investment in a CBD stadium to go with a promised capped $100 million contribution from the State Government.

COMEBACK: Reed could return early

DONE: Inglis eyes rep retirement

ARL Commission chairman John Grant said when announcing the new broadcast deal that league was “in competition’’ with itself in efforts to entice fans.

One major difference between the first rounds of this and last season is that the most watched club, the Broncos, played at home last year, drawing 36,057, and started this season on the road at Parramatta.

This week’s aggregate will improve on week one because there are home matches for the Broncos and Rabbitohs, the first and third-best drawing clubs last year.

But in terms of a more steady trend, it is worth noting that the 2015 season does not figure in any of the premiership’s top 25 round aggregate crowds.

Originally published as Opening round crowds in Parramatta and Townsville disappoint