It has not "taken long" for National Rugby League side South Sydney's crowd numbers to "go south," according to Adrian Proszenko of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The "darlings" of the NRL when the club won a "breakthrough premiership" three years ago, the "Pride of the League" has "suffered an alarming decline in attendances" and is now ranked last in the NRL. Average NRL crowds have "fallen to below the 15,000 mark for the first time" since '04, but the "most dramatic drop has been at South Sydney." The team is "ranked 16th in the league with an average home attendance of just 10,903." That figure represents a 23.9% decline on the previous season and is "almost half the number of fans that went through the turnstiles" during the team's premiership season of '14. The NRL and its clubs are "attempting to reverse a decrease in attendances." The "introduction of unfriendly timeslots," such as the Thursday night and 6pm Friday fixtures, has "had an effect, although a range of other factors have also contributed." Chief among them are "poor stadium infrastructure, a raft of transportation issues in getting to them and the prohibitive costs of taking families to the footy, particularly when food and drinks are added to the bill." In South Sydney's case, a "decline in results has been met with an equally sharp downturn in game-day attendances." When it won the competition in '14, South Sydney "attracted an average of 19,889 punters through the gates at home ground ANZ Stadium" (SMH, 8/30).
