Meet the Invisibles
IN 1982, Kangaroos coach Frank Stanton tagged the undefeated Australian team "The Invincibles".

Now, 28 years later, the Australian team are in danger of becoming The Invisibles.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that just 6000 tickets have been sold for Australia's opening clash of the Four Nations tournament against Papua New Guinea at Parramatta Stadium next Sunday.

Capacity at the ground is 22,000 and the match is Sydney's only chance to see the Kangaroos play in the competition. They face England in Melbourne and the Kiwis in New Zealand and the final is at Suncorp Stadium.

Despite the chance to watch captain Darren Lockyer further his claims to become an Immortal, or witness first-hand the wizardry of Billy Slater and the passion Paul Gallen has for the green and gold jersey, only a small section of league fans seem prepared to support their national team.
Yesterday, at an open training session at Parramatta's home ground, just over 100 fans showed up.
"It's hard to say how many [spectators] we'll get, but we're certainly below where we'd want to be at the moment," NRL director of commercial and marketing Paul Kind said.

"We certainly would have liked to have been ahead of 10,000, and we're not.

"But Tonga and Samoa brought 11,000 on their own in the World Cup, so we remain confident.

"The whole purpose of playing at Parramatta - with three teams from the Pacific Islands and the Kangaroos - was to show the support of the cultural diversity to western Sydney and the idea of turning this Sunday afternoon into a celebration of the game out there.

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5939591064

Meet the Invisibles
IN 1982, Kangaroos coach Frank Stanton tagged the undefeated Australian team "The Invincibles".

Now, 28 years later, the Australian team are in danger of becoming The Invisibles.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that just 6000 tickets have been sold for Australia's opening clash of the Four Nations tournament against Papua New Guinea at Parramatta Stadium next Sunday.

Capacity at the ground is 22,000 and the match is Sydney's only chance to see the Kangaroos play in the competition. They face England in Melbourne and the Kiwis in New Zealand and the final is at Suncorp Stadium.

Despite the chance to watch captain Darren Lockyer further his claims to become an Immortal, or witness first-hand the wizardry of Billy Slater and the passion Paul Gallen has for the green and gold jersey, only a small section of league fans seem prepared to support their national team.
Yesterday, at an open training session at Parramatta's home ground, just over 100 fans showed up.
"It's hard to say how many [spectators] we'll get, but we're certainly below where we'd want to be at the moment," NRL director of commercial and marketing Paul Kind said.

"We certainly would have liked to have been ahead of 10,000, and we're not.

"But Tonga and Samoa brought 11,000 on their own in the World Cup, so we remain confident.

"The whole purpose of playing at Parramatta - with three teams from the Pacific Islands and the Kangaroos - was to show the support of the cultural diversity to western Sydney and the idea of turning this Sunday afternoon into a celebration of the game out there.

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5939591064