The NRL won’t say it publicly but it wants Parramatta in the grand final ahead of any other team. Even better, it wants them to be premiers because of their popularity.
There have been many false starts and dawns – and, as the 2016 salary cap investigation revealed, false invoicing – since their last title in 1986.
Yet their fans remain resilient despite being left battered and bruised over the past three decades.
They have 23,689 members, which is the third best in the league behind Brisbane (33,595) and second best in Sydney behind Souths (27,527). That’s testament to the strength of the club’s history, built by many hands.
No club is more important than the other. Every supporter is equal. But if we start losing rusted-on Parramatta fans, we’ve lost the game.
Imagine, then, the scene outside Gate M at ANZ Stadium at 2.55pm as a smattering of fans waited for the gates to open, waiting for the privilege to pay through the nose for their hotdogs and craft beers before watching the two sides warm up in silence.
The official crowd figure was 10,061. Crowds and ratings across the game have been up this year but that is not good enough for a derby in the West. In the heartland.
The decision to not have a curtain-raiser was Parramatta’s. If their first-grade team keeps playing like this, they might want to reconsider.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/wh...-but-it-s-a-long-way-off-20180408-p4z8f1.html
Expect the referees to give the slime a leg up in coming weeks.
