Brisbane a challenging move

EACH weekend The Chronicle sport team looks at pressing issues on the Saturday Soapbox.

Q: Could Toowoomba one day compete in Brisbane Premier Grade Cricket?

Ben Drewe: THERE are players capable of competing at that level who have developed their skills in the Toowoomba competition.

Look at the Western Suburbs team in Brisbane this season.

Former University player Chris Sabburg is joined by ex-Souths prodigies Brendan and Sam Doggett.

Northern Brothers Diggers star Aidan Watterson has also made the move down this season and has earned a spot in the first grade squad.

Bush Bradman Brian May also made the trips down the Range to play in the Brisbane competition for years so there are plenty of players coming through the Toowoomba ranks who could form the nucleus of a team.

But, like many sports in Toowoomba, the costs involved may be prohibitive.

Sports across the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley can produce some quality competitors but the competition in the Garden City for sponsorship is fierce.

It would be great to see a Toowoomba team in the Brisbane Grade competition at some point though.

Madolyn Peters: Having not watched much of either competition I am going to come right out and say yes.

I think it would be great for the region to play against Brisbane teams.

It would give local players more exposure and could possibly raise the standard of cricket in the region too.

And if there was Toowoomba team competing in the Brisbane grade, perhaps players wouldn’t feel the need to move to the big city in order to further their cricket careers like many have already.

Glen McCullough: Sport people usually remain at the standard of competition they are involved in so it stands to reason the quality of Toowoomba cricketers would lift in a more demanding arena, but the transition period would be a long, harsh process.

Q: Crowd numbers in week one of the NRL finals were poor. What can the NRL do to attract more fans to big games, especially in Sydney?

Ben Drewe: HAVE you ever tried getting anywhere in Sydney?

It is pretty exhausting. I think the decision to host finals games at Allianz Stadium contributed a great deal to the poor crowds last weekend.

The ground is about an hour-long commute for Manly and Penrith fans, with there no one-leg public transport from either centre.

The same goes for Cronulla fans.

Throw in being extorted by food and drink vendors, and tickets providing limited value for money and the reasons not to attend add up.

Sydney fans probably need to find some passion as well.

Fans up here often make the trip down to Suncorp Stadium so travel isn’t too bad if you want to support your team.

Madolyn Peters: What more incentive do fans need to go and see their team play than to watch them in a final?

While living in Mackay, we would drive up to Townsville after work to watch the North Queensland Cowboys play, and that was just for season games.

Last weekend, a lot of people would have avoided the public transport debacle and watched the game on television but I think finals is the time to weather that storm and get out to see your team.

There is nothing better than watching your team live, especially if they win.

Glen McCullough: There are heaps of reasons why people give sport events a swerve these days and only one why they choose to go and that’s to experience the live atmosphere.

Topping the list against getting along to games seems to be costs.

A good mate of mine who has attended marquee sport events most of his life even baulks at the sort of money being asked these days to experience the live action.

It’s not that he can’t afford it. He just chooses not to pay. It’s his sort of protest or “up yours” response to prices.

But if costs are keeping Sydney people away from NRL games, why aren’t prices having the same effect on fans in other capital cities?

Supporters in Brisbane and Melbourne are famous for their NRL and AFL fanaticism but why not Sydney? Either they are different or everyone else is.