and yet parra fans could get nearly 40,000 to their semi... 28,000 for a sydney team in a semi-final is pretty poor...
and plenty of those 245 cows fans probably traveled over 2000 klms just to get to the game... and travel hundreds of klms just to get to home games every week...
and you can bet there'll be thousands more travelling to sydney for the GF...
Pretty easy 2000km, drive to airport, catch plane and then go less than 10 km to game, but yes dedicated as it costs dollars.
Vast difference between a Rooster fan base and Parra. It is known that if there is not a story in the Sydney paper or channel 9 news about Parra then sales / ratings drop.it is why the media kept digging with the Eels salary cap dramas. A bit like the Courier Mail not having aBronco story.
A Parra team going well ( I know a dumb statement) and the fans will come.
My earlier comment about the Roosters fan base has some basis. The inner Sydney and Eastern Suburbs is full of Either Toffs, Greenies or other folk who don't relate to the working class game of league. 28000 to a Rooster's game is a good turn out.
In general most of Sydney couldn't give a toss about the NRL, you need to head out to Western Sydney before you find fans and then the NRL is battling the might of AFL.
When I lived in the mountains you would be lucky to get me to a game, to far, too cold, too expensive and my lounge was comfy. In Brisbane for last 2 years I have had a season Bronco ticket and will say it is easy to get to, not cold, predictable in that it is on every2nd Friday but still expensive.
The NRL has some huge issues to face in the coming years.