A record number of fans have attended matches this year, but seismic problems continue to fester.
Three point six million bodies have passed through the NRL turnstiles this year, and I have been seven of them. Nothing beats sitting in the cheap seats or standing on the cheap grass. You hear, see and smell the vital essence that doesn’t come through the TV set.
I’m only running with the herd. The 3.6 million is an all-time season record, with a month of finals to come. Fans surmounted obstacles to make it so. It’s not as if attending games is a walk in the park. Entering full suburban grounds, buying food and drink, using the toilet and getting home again can be a bit of an odyssey.
This success has many parents, and Peter V’landys can claim his share of the paternity. By being so pragmatic about the rules of the game, changing them ad hoc for entertainment value, the sovereign has prioritised speed and daring in a way that puts the stars of rugby league on a pedestal. It is sensible rule-making from the top that provides the space for Kalyn Ponga or Reece Walsh to perform their magic. If V’landys ran World Rugby, imagine what that code could be.
The neglect of a functional salary cap will also be a blot on the V’landys years. The NRL boasts of its upsets and its ‘even’ competition, until you realise that the bottom six – Wests Tigers, the Bulldogs, the Dragons, the Titans, the Dolphins and Manly – were the widely predicted bottom six back in February.The fans of half-a-dozen clubs started the season with forlorn hopes of making the finals and ended the season with their gloom confirmed.
To see it happening in the seats around you is quite an eye-opener. V’landys’ ambition of turning rugby league into a version of horse racing has been fully realised.
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