Rex
Bencher
With the Sharks now being forced to seek to take half their matches to Central Coast, and Manly struggling to break even 10k in crowd numbers for the grand final rematch at night, this article gives a perspective on Gallop's direct culpability, and the natural consequences for the game of being figuratively and literally owned by the media:
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NRL bringing Sharks down
By Josh Massoud | May 05, 2009 12:00am
AS THE days grow shorter, time is running out for David Gallop to see the light.
With winter just around the corner, it's fading mighty fast - and nowhere more so than in Cronulla.
The Sharks are like an autumn leaf, decaying from inside out.
This week's annual report is expected to reveal its grip on the branch is more tenuous than ever.
And every time the NRL updates its draw, the Sharks tremble more wildly in the chill gust that blasts through Toyota Stadium.
Like the autumn foliage, daylight is now crucial to Cronulla's survival.
The Sharks pioneered Saturday night football in the 1990s, but officials now get more woozy than the tweenies who once drank themselves to oblivion on the Northern hill every time they are handed that slot.
Toyota Park has hosted four games this year - all at night. Two have been in the graveyard zone of 5.30pm on Saturday, another on Monday night.
None has drawn more than 10,000 people and there's no evidence to suggest upcoming fixtures will. The team is running dead last, and has just been kicked in the guts by two more night matches at home between now and round 18 including the prized local derby against St George Illawarra at 5:30pm Saturday.
The impending 10 weeks are rugby league's version of the perfect storm, a dreaded run in which clubs must somehow promote games against State of Origin and frigid temperatures at night.
Hopelessly down on their budgeted average of 13,000 a game, Cronulla faces a more rapid demise than even the most grim-faced auditor could predict because they simply cannot hope to turn things around any time after sundown.
When it comes to attracting Sydney fans, night football stinks. Especially so when the temperature plummets. Keep an eye on crowds over the next two months - they will drop faster than the mercury.
This annual decline has nothing to do with the standard of football and everything to do with plasma TVs.
What recession-hit parent is going to fork out big bucks to haul their snotty-nosed kids out into the freezing cold, when every second of the action can be viewed on a 106cm high definition screen from the warmth of home at no cost whatsoever?
Afternoons, however, are a much different story. Watching footy in the winter sun is a day out in itself. As such, the cost and effort is justified for a working family.
And guess who lives in the Sutherland Shire? You got it - working families. The Saturday night set who spent more time looking into the bottom of a Bacardi Breezer bottle than the game are no longer Cronulla's target market.
Gate receipts are now Cronulla's lifeblood and if the NRL wants the club to survive, it must make exceptions. The Sharks simply don't have any alternative revenue streams. They don't have a fairy godfather. They've had to move games interstate. The Leagues Club is standing on so much debt, it may as well be built on the sinking surrounds of Towra Point swamp.
With a brand that doesn't extend beyond Tom Ugly's Bridge, Cronulla's future is solely in the hands of the locals. If they desert the team, then the team will die. Nowhere else in the NRL is the equation so simple.
After losing seven straight games, the team can't expect every fan to stay loyal. But it should be able to rely on a bit more support from Gallop, who last year claimed the NRL would not let any of nine Sydney clubs die.
Allowing broadcasters to constantly schedule Cronulla at night is akin to refusing to administer a cure to a life-threatened patient. The TV stations might pay the bills, but the clubs should always come first.
Every Sydney club is struggling for cash. Every Sydney club is struggling for fans. Every Sydney club and all their fans are crying out for more daytime football.
The answer is obvious - even with so few games being played in the cold light of day.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,25428786-5016527,00.html
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NRL bringing Sharks down
By Josh Massoud | May 05, 2009 12:00am
AS THE days grow shorter, time is running out for David Gallop to see the light.
With winter just around the corner, it's fading mighty fast - and nowhere more so than in Cronulla.
The Sharks are like an autumn leaf, decaying from inside out.
This week's annual report is expected to reveal its grip on the branch is more tenuous than ever.
And every time the NRL updates its draw, the Sharks tremble more wildly in the chill gust that blasts through Toyota Stadium.
Like the autumn foliage, daylight is now crucial to Cronulla's survival.
The Sharks pioneered Saturday night football in the 1990s, but officials now get more woozy than the tweenies who once drank themselves to oblivion on the Northern hill every time they are handed that slot.
Toyota Park has hosted four games this year - all at night. Two have been in the graveyard zone of 5.30pm on Saturday, another on Monday night.
None has drawn more than 10,000 people and there's no evidence to suggest upcoming fixtures will. The team is running dead last, and has just been kicked in the guts by two more night matches at home between now and round 18 including the prized local derby against St George Illawarra at 5:30pm Saturday.
The impending 10 weeks are rugby league's version of the perfect storm, a dreaded run in which clubs must somehow promote games against State of Origin and frigid temperatures at night.
Hopelessly down on their budgeted average of 13,000 a game, Cronulla faces a more rapid demise than even the most grim-faced auditor could predict because they simply cannot hope to turn things around any time after sundown.
When it comes to attracting Sydney fans, night football stinks. Especially so when the temperature plummets. Keep an eye on crowds over the next two months - they will drop faster than the mercury.
This annual decline has nothing to do with the standard of football and everything to do with plasma TVs.
What recession-hit parent is going to fork out big bucks to haul their snotty-nosed kids out into the freezing cold, when every second of the action can be viewed on a 106cm high definition screen from the warmth of home at no cost whatsoever?
Afternoons, however, are a much different story. Watching footy in the winter sun is a day out in itself. As such, the cost and effort is justified for a working family.
And guess who lives in the Sutherland Shire? You got it - working families. The Saturday night set who spent more time looking into the bottom of a Bacardi Breezer bottle than the game are no longer Cronulla's target market.
Gate receipts are now Cronulla's lifeblood and if the NRL wants the club to survive, it must make exceptions. The Sharks simply don't have any alternative revenue streams. They don't have a fairy godfather. They've had to move games interstate. The Leagues Club is standing on so much debt, it may as well be built on the sinking surrounds of Towra Point swamp.
With a brand that doesn't extend beyond Tom Ugly's Bridge, Cronulla's future is solely in the hands of the locals. If they desert the team, then the team will die. Nowhere else in the NRL is the equation so simple.
After losing seven straight games, the team can't expect every fan to stay loyal. But it should be able to rely on a bit more support from Gallop, who last year claimed the NRL would not let any of nine Sydney clubs die.
Allowing broadcasters to constantly schedule Cronulla at night is akin to refusing to administer a cure to a life-threatened patient. The TV stations might pay the bills, but the clubs should always come first.
Every Sydney club is struggling for cash. Every Sydney club is struggling for fans. Every Sydney club and all their fans are crying out for more daytime football.
The answer is obvious - even with so few games being played in the cold light of day.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,25428786-5016527,00.html
