IF ANY more evidence was needed that Wagga deserves a crack at hosting a premiership NRL match, it was writ large across TV screens on Monday night.
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Billed as a blockbuster clash between two popular, resurgent Sydney sides, the game was lucky to draw 10,000 spectators to the cavernous Sydney Football Stadium.
Every time a high ball went up, it exposed both the bays of empty seats and the unmitigated failure that is Monday Night Football.
Forget a guess the crowd competition, some NRL games have become a name the crowd competition: “There’s Ted, there’s Jenny, there’s Bill”.
Crowds equal atmosphere – the roar of excitement, the deafening silence when thousands hold their breath.
They make an event feel dramatic and worthy and, maybe, tempt you to buy tickets to a future game.
By staging matches at largely empty stadiums, the NRL is doing irreparable damage to its brand.
Like a bad sitcom that needs a laugh track to tell you its funny, Monday Night Football matches rely on commentator hyperbole to tell you it’s exciting.
The fix is obvious, take footy bush.
But do city-centric administrators have the courage to make the leap of faith?
The City Country match in Wagga last month showed how much electricity footy-starved country fans can generate.
NRL heavyweights love to trot out the line about taking the game to the fans.
Here’s their chance to prove it.