Quoteeels fan="eels fan"South Sydney hate everyone.
.
Manly hate everyone and everyone hates Manly
It's a myth about the working class, RL is followed all over Sydney, don't listen to what certain types from other sports say, it's bs.
Hope that helped, if you want to know anything else, I'll do my best mate.'"
I'd heard that Manly were a disliked club, no coincidence you've just confirmed it. My own team Leeds are disliked and have been for a number of years. Teams can be disliked in England for a number of reasons, dominating the game and taking all the trophies, being a rich club and buying up all the talent, being a big city club and lording it over their small town rivals. Leeds have dominated the super league recently (champions 4 times in 5 years) as did wigan in the 80's and 90's. Both are probably the most disliked teams in superleague. Wigan were guilty of "buying" success in the 80's and 90's when they were the only professional team that had full time players and hoovered up all the most talented stars, while Leeds have always been classed as the big city club and disliked even before our recent successful period when we couldn't win a trophy for years. It would be great to live in a city where Rugby League is as massive as it is in Sydney but Leeds will never have the cross city rivalry that Sydney has due to the demise of the other two Leeds teams. Hunslet were a major force in years gone by and could pull over 20,000 for games in south Leeds, they now survive on crowds of 3-400. Bramley were the other team in Leeds but are now struggling to survive as amateurs. Hunslet suffered unlike any other team because thousands of "slum" houses were flattened in the Hunslet area and people were relocated to other parts of the city, that undoubtedly affected the support for the club. Motorways, industrial sites and shopping centres now occupy the majority of hunslet where the supporters once lived. It would be great to have a genuine big city "derby" match but those days are long gone.
One more question for you, who has the most vocal fans and where is the most intimidating place to play ? In England i'm sure most people would say Hull is the most intimidating place to play whether it be at Hull f.c or Hull kingston Rovers.
Depending on how 'into it' you're getting Leeds Owl, you may also be interested to read up on a few of the clubs who are no longer in the NRL, most prominently Newtown Jets and North Sydney Bears... Also, (sorry if you know this already, but) if you read up on the 'post-Super League' years you will see that South Sydney came very close to joining them in the lower leagues...'"
There was a very interesting article on the Newtown jets in the 2nd of a new monthly magazine in England called 40/20. It described their history and the "bohemian" nature of the club due to the area the ground is in and the people that go to watch them. It said that people watching from cars around the edge of the track and picnics on the grass bankings made for a unusual and homely atmosphere. I'll have a read up on the Bears, thanks for the info.
Quoteleeds owl="leeds owl"One more question for you, who has the most vocal fans and where is the most intimidating place to play ? In England i'm sure most people would say Hull is the most intimidating place to play whether it be at Hull f.c or Hull kingston Rovers.'"
For me it was always Belmore, where the Bulldogs played. Their fans could be a little bit intimidating at times. Nowadays, I can't think of anywhere really.
Quoteleeds owl="leeds owl"Newtown jets in the 2nd of a new monthly magazine in England called 40/20. It described their history and the "bohemian" nature of the club due to the area the ground is in and the people that go to watch them. It said that people watching from cars around the edge of the track and picnics on the grass bankings made for a unusual and homely atmosphere.'"
The Bluebags play at Henson Park. And yes you can still drive in, park there and watch the game from your car, though these days the numbers of fans would mean you would get a seat anywhere. Though they always announce their official attendance as the same at every single home game. It's something like 8,492. The ground itself was actually a velodrome and was used in an Empire Games apparently, which explains it's shape and there's the King George V stand there too.
Quoteleeds owl="leeds owl"One more question for you, who has the most vocal fans and where is the most intimidating place to play ? In England i'm sure most people would say Hull is the most intimidating place to play whether it be at Hull f.c or Hull kingston Rovers.'"
For me it was always Belmore, where the Bulldogs played. Their fans could be a little bit intimidating at times. Nowadays, I can't think of anywhere really.
Quoteleeds owl="leeds owl"Newtown jets in the 2nd of a new monthly magazine in England called 40/20. It described their history and the "bohemian" nature of the club due to the area the ground is in and the people that go to watch them. It said that people watching from cars around the edge of the track and picnics on the grass bankings made for a unusual and homely atmosphere.'"
The Bluebags play at Henson Park. And yes you can still drive in, park there and watch the game from your car, though these days the numbers of fans would mean you would get a seat anywhere. Though they always announce their official attendance as the same at every single home game. It's something like 8,492. The ground itself was actually a velodrome and was used in an Empire Games apparently, which explains it's shape and there's the King George V stand there too.
Quoteleeds owl="leeds owl"I'd heard that Manly were a disliked club, no coincidence you've just confirmed it. My own team Leeds are disliked and have been for a number of years. Teams can be disliked in England for a number of reasons, dominating the game and taking all the trophies, being a rich club and buying up all the talent, being a big city club and lording it over their small town rivals. Leeds have dominated the super league recently (champions 4 times in 5 years) as did wigan in the 80's and 90's. Both are probably the most disliked teams in superleague. Wigan were guilty of "buying" success in the 80's and 90's when they were the only professional team that had full time players and hoovered up all the most talented stars, while Leeds have always been classed as the big city club and disliked even before our recent successful period when we couldn't win a trophy for years. It would be great to live in a city where Rugby League is as massive as it is in Sydney but Leeds will never have the cross city rivalry that Sydney has due to the demise of the other two Leeds teams. Hunslet were a major force in years gone by and could pull over 20,000 for games in south Leeds, they now survive on crowds of 3-400. Bramley were the other team in Leeds but are now struggling to survive as amateurs. Hunslet suffered unlike any other team because thousands of "slum" houses were flattened in the Hunslet area and people were relocated to other parts of the city, that undoubtedly affected the support for the club. Motorways, industrial sites and shopping centres now occupy the majority of hunslet where the supporters once lived. It would be great to have a genuine big city "derby" match but those days are long gone.
One more question for you, who has the most vocal fans and where is the most intimidating place to play ? In England i'm sure most people would say Hull is the most intimidating place to play whether it be at Hull f.c or Hull kingston Rovers.'"
That's interesting, I never knew Bramley and Hunslet were that big, but I think you're being kind to Hunslet, I think they're averaging less than 1000 these days... I hear Bramley are coming into Championship One in 2013, still a long way from SL, but positive news none the less...
I know Leeds-Bradford isn't really a derby, but I remember when I first got into SL in 2003/2004, these were arguably the two best teams in SL and there was a great rivalry there... As a neutral, it made for great viewing...
Quoteleeds owl="Rooster Booster"For me it was always Belmore, where the Bulldogs played. Their fans could be a little bit intimidating at times. Nowadays, I can't think of anywhere really.
'"
Yeah agreed. The thing about sport in Aus, compared to Europe, is that there is no unity among fans, they turn up with their friends as though it's a social outing and (many, not all) spend the whole time chatting and barely watching the game. Someone who actually tries to get up and start a chant gets ridiculed for it... Whereas in Europe, the fans are there to support the team and help them get over the line, so there can be intimidating atmospheres for players that have an effect on the result. I know in Greek football for example, home ground advantage is a huge thing because the crowd play such an important role...
That's true what you say too about the Bulldogs, they have a lot of scumbag supporters still today, but this would have no effect on the players at all, only on other fans who are attending the same matches as them...
Quotelangpark="langpark"That's interesting, I never knew Bramley and Hunslet were that big, but I think you're being kind to Hunslet, I think they're averaging less than 1000 these days...
I think you saw too many zeros on my estimate for Hunslets current crowds mate
, i said 3-4 hundred, they'd be well chuffed with crowds of 3-4 thousand. Bramley were never a big team but Hunslet were a major player in the early days of rugby league. They are one of only 3 teams to have won all four trophies in the same season. They were in those days,
Challenge cup winners;
Champions cup winners;
Yorkshire league winners;
Yorkshire cup winners.
They played in front of a then British record Rugby league crowd of 54,000 in the late 30's for the Championship Final decider against Leeds at Elland road. They also appeared in a challenge cup final as late as the mid 60's. Their decline started in the late 60's early 70's and they've never really recovered. I wish they could rise from the ashes to be a big club again but because thousands of people were moved from south Leeds to East Leeds when their houses were knocked down any allegiance to the area has been lost and subsequently their support over the last 50 years.
QuoteRooster Booster="Rooster Booster"For me it was always Belmore, where the Bulldogs played. Their fans could be a little bit intimidating at times. Nowadays, I can't think of anywhere really.
The Bluebags play at Henson Park. And yes you can still drive in, park there and watch the game from your car, though these days the numbers of fans would mean you would get a seat anywhere. Though they always announce their official attendance as the same at every single home game. It's something like 8,492. The ground itself was actually a velodrome and was used in an Empire Games apparently, which explains it's shape and there's the King George V stand there too.
Thanks for the links and information. I wouldn't mind a "2nd" team like that over here in Leeds.
QuoteRooster Booster="Rooster Booster"For me it was always Belmore, where the Bulldogs played. Their fans could be a little bit intimidating at times. Nowadays, I can't think of anywhere really.
The Bluebags play at Henson Park. And yes you can still drive in, park there and watch the game from your car, though these days the numbers of fans would mean you would get a seat anywhere. Though they always announce their official attendance as the same at every single home game. It's something like 8,492. The ground itself was actually a velodrome and was used in an Empire Games apparently, which explains it's shape and there's the King George V stand there too.
oops, you're right! hehe, I guess I was reading through it too fast...
Nice little history lesson there. It's a shame the way they lost those fans, I guess it wasn't really a situation they could have any control over... I suppose you'll have to settle for Leeds/Bradford as a derby these days...
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, i said 3-4 hundred, they'd be well chuffed with crowds of 3-4 thousand. Bramley were never a big team but Hunslet were a major player in the early days of rugby league. They are one of only 3 teams to have won all four trophies in the same season. They were in those days,
