Hate to be a spoilsport but anyone who believes that league will overtake union in the near future as the most popular sport in nz is living in cloud cuckoo land. Would be great but it just aint gonna happen.

Rugby League fans and Rugby Union fans will all remain the same. There won’t convert to the other code if their favourite player has. Of course there’s some fans that’ll watch both sports without wearing union or league goggles when comparing the sports..

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nah.

last week they got 44,000 to watch the kiwis, many union fans given the warriors only average 14,000 each week

kiwis arent like other union fans, they like good running rugby

most kiwis love the nrl and the more money we have to expand there, the more people that will come over

theyll still support the all blacks but club crowds will keep falling

not in the near future

but league will continue to grow whilst union has peaked and in many cases club crowds are falling

the future of NZ is the S15, a competition which is failing vs the nrl.

If The Kiwi players are anything to go by when it comes to jumping ship (to play SOO & For Australia) then you may have a point. However to say that Kiwi’s aren’t like other union fans is ignorance at its best.

Fandom you’ll find comes in the same forms world over. There are those who are loyal to the end and there are those ‘glory supporters’.

which kiwi players have jumped ship?

fans will go where the best entertainment is, thats in the nrl

you need to know more about how the S15 is going to really comment here

Any Kiwi player whose swapped his native country for Australia so he could play in the SOO.



Aussie Rules Football might have something to say about that. Is that where Israel Folau went?

Lets not get into which is the best entertainment at that side of the world because attendances prove it isn’t the NRL.



I await the day when the NRL gets a South African team. It isn’t the case that I need to know whats going on - it’s the case that your denying what’s going on outside of rugby league. Coming from your mouth, rugby league is a Walter Mitty type delusion to suit your own argument.

This already happens to a lesser extent, as Chrish Ashton showed at the weekend.
However the earnings potential in the NRL in the near future far exceeds that of top line union players in the UK. Who while better paid than RL players are only marginally better paid.
Its been mentioned earlier in the thread that with endorsements, that star NRL players in 2 years time may be earning $1.5million to $2million a season. Thats over a million pounds a year. No British union club can match that salary level. Infact that is getting into premier league soccer territory.

One also has to take into account the fact that union is a completely different sport.
Look at how RL back row forwards Andy Farrell and Sonny Bill Williams are classed as inside centres in Union. Ashton who was a RL fullback plays wing in Union.
Hence a player moving to union is taking a gamble on their success.
This would not be the same with a top class UK RL player moving down under to play RL.

Quote dally messenger="dally messenger"nz doesnt have the money to compete with us in 12 months time we will be decimating their ranks why would nz people want to watch a comp. devoid of all its good players. the fans will go where the players go.'" If Rl had any vision and strategy they would be priming Wellington for a team sooner rather than later. The NRL should have been taking the millions it makes from NZ TV and investing it into growing teh game in Wellington. Quote dally messenger16-04-2010 www.ausleisure.com.au/default.as ... splay=True SPORT - CROWDS - STADIA - SPONSORSHIP A combination of poor crowds, shrinking sponsorship income and a hefty player wage bill resulted in the Wellington Rugby Football Union losing more than $500,000 in 2009, according to its latest annual report reveals. The loss came despite Wellington cutting costs by almost $800,000, cuts that saw $250,000 removed from the funding of grass roots rugby and, according to Greg Peters, the Wellington and Hurricanes Chief Executive the loss of “4.5 fulltime equivalent positions last year out of the administration side of the business." The union has also made cuts to its marketing and representative team programmes. Match revenue fell $502,000 last year, mainly because Wellington hosted the 2008 National Provincial Championship (NPC) final, but Peters accepted rugby fans were staying away. "Over the last three years, Hurricanes crowds are down 38% and Lions crowds are down 24%." Another factor for the heavy financial loss was a "flawed" player payment model, Peters explaining that “the number of All Blacks that we had last year, and Super 14 players (are) an expensive player group.” Sponsorship revenue fell by $286,000, but major sponsors Vodafone and Canterbury have renewed their deals. "When other unions have faced even greater difficulties, we're very thankful that our key partners have stayed with us, largely," Peters added. Peters believes that Wellington remains in a strong financial position, with net equity of $5.5 million and reserves of $2.3 million. '"

Quote dally messenger="dally messenger"nz doesnt have the money to compete with us in 12 months time we will be decimating their ranks why would nz people want to watch a comp. devoid of all its good players. the fans will go where the players go.'" If Rl had any vision and strategy they would be priming Wellington for a team sooner rather than later. The NRL should have been taking the millions it makes from NZ TV and investing it into growing teh game in Wellington. Quote dally messenger16-04-2010 www.ausleisure.com.au/default.as ... splay=True SPORT - CROWDS - STADIA - SPONSORSHIP A combination of poor crowds, shrinking sponsorship income and a hefty player wage bill resulted in the Wellington Rugby Football Union losing more than $500,000 in 2009, according to its latest annual report reveals. The loss came despite Wellington cutting costs by almost $800,000, cuts that saw $250,000 removed from the funding of grass roots rugby and, according to Greg Peters, the Wellington and Hurricanes Chief Executive the loss of “4.5 fulltime equivalent positions last year out of the administration side of the business." The union has also made cuts to its marketing and representative team programmes. Match revenue fell $502,000 last year, mainly because Wellington hosted the 2008 National Provincial Championship (NPC) final, but Peters accepted rugby fans were staying away. "Over the last three years, Hurricanes crowds are down 38% and Lions crowds are down 24%." Another factor for the heavy financial loss was a "flawed" player payment model, Peters explaining that “the number of All Blacks that we had last year, and Super 14 players (are) an expensive player group.” Sponsorship revenue fell by $286,000, but major sponsors Vodafone and Canterbury have renewed their deals. "When other unions have faced even greater difficulties, we're very thankful that our key partners have stayed with us, largely," Peters added. Peters believes that Wellington remains in a strong financial position, with net equity of $5.5 million and reserves of $2.3 million. '"

That Super 14 average includes South Africa and New Zealand teams.

The aggregate in rugby league smashes union: over 3 million compared to bugger all in union.

Union crowds in Australia are nearly all down.