It’s time to stop playing at Homebush

Regular season club matches cannot be played at Homebush anymore. It’s time to fix this. It is a farce and it is embarrassing for the game. I understand there are significant financial implications, but it is just untenable. Here are just a few of the reasons:

Regular season games at this ground rarely attract a decent crowd.  Why? Well, for starters, the ground is in the middle of nowhere. There are limited nearby attractions to ‘make a night’ of it. If you’ve ever been to major sporting complexes in Melbourne, you will understand the difference.

Secondly, the ground is not designed for rugby league. The closest seats are 10 metres from the action and, if you get tickets behind the goal line, you’d better bring your binoculars.

Unfortunately, as a result of these factors, the atmosphere is almost non-existent. So it becomes a cyclic situation – fans know that the ground will be nowhere near capacity and that creates a poor experience, so why would they go and spend their money when they can watch it on the big screen?

Rugby League is an outstanding TV product. The game needs to do everything it can to get fans to attend matches. I know I’d prefer to sit at home or in the pub where I don’t miss a second of the action. I also save a lot of money. So what can the game do to keep spectators coming? I’d love to hear your comments…