Some of the ticketed membership numbers for certain teams has been downright embarrassing. I could barely name 4 teams that did well when it came to drawing in members. Only Souths, St Merge and Brisbane have broken 10,000 ticketed members so far, which although is a significant rise from what they were last year, still leaves plenty of room for improvement for the other 13 teams.

As of March 2nd, the Panthers, Roosters and Sea Eagles hadn't broken 3,000 ticketed members. In ascending order in membership numbers, the Sharks, Raiders, Warriors, Titans, Tigers, Storm, Kinghts and Eels had not broken 7,000 members while the Cowboys and Bulldogs were drawing closer to 10k. It shows the fan mentality that plenty of these bottom teams have. I usually hear Sharks, Roosters and Sea Eagles fans view memberships as clubs trying to 'steal' money off you, this would be the same for other teams.

I know some people aren't able to afford these memberships, but as a whole it doesn't look good for your club. A club with 10k+ members will most of the time attract more major sponsorship offers, with the amount of fans they look to have. So who is/isn't a member of their club, and if not, why not?

I'm not and I will become one once I scrap together $160 odd.
However, I'm happy where I am now.

I guess a lot of membership numbers reflect the priveleges a member receives. For Example, if your a Dragons fan you need a membership to get into Kograh if it was a big game since no general admission will work. I'm not too sure about Easts' package, but when I go there I can really good seats when using a general admission pass. I'm pretty sure members sit up the top of the SFS, which isn't as good as the below level...

I'm a proud member since they went on sale. Wouldn't have it any other way. Now let's kick the roosters asses and power on to the 2010 premiership...

Im not a member coz I work early on Saturday mornings (5am) and the majority of Bronco home games are on Friday nights and I wouldnt get home til 11-12 which is ridiculous.
I go along to a few games a year though . We still get the best avg attendance though so only having 10k members isnt all that bad for us .

A few teams have made big improvements on last years totals though...

Parra, Canterbury

Not surprised with Parramatta's membership at all

Storm memberships came out very late, i think just under a month ago so 7,000 is a great start...im sure we will get alot more before round 4 which is our first home game

Any sydney team below the storm really should be embarrassed. And before any AFL goons come on here saying their numbers are higher etc, the fact is that league only started their membership drive a couple years ago due to poker machine tax increase and the smoking ban decreasing the amount of grant money the clubs got from their leagues club that they relied on heavily for so long. And since the drive started clubs have increased their numbers exponentially.. The Bunnies have gone from 3,500 ticketed members in 2007 to breaking the 11,000 ticketed (17,500 all up) barrier this year. So with growth like that I'd say some NRL clubs could be challenging the AFL clubs in say 5-10 years. On a side note, on the back of merchandise sales, memberships, etc, the Bunnies were the only Sydney team that made a profit last year. All this without the Leagues Club grant that most clubs get..

i don't necessarily agree with the fact membership gets a team more major sponsorship - it's more about the exposure the team will have over the course of a year

I mean comparatively the Broncos membership numbers aren't excellent; they will attract more sponsorship $$$ - they attract a heap of FTA coverage and have the most recognisable brands of ANY sporting club in the country - largely because they are regular fixtures on free-to-air TV. That's what mostly attracts sponsors to Brisbane. At best there is a minimal link between sponsorship and membership

Anyway, I received my Broncos memberships today. They are 'el-cheapos' in the corner but i decided that it'd be worth it at $15 a game and i could probably make it to every game.

Should be sweet. Can't wait to check out the members' bar.