According to recent research The Brisbane Broncos have again ‘won’ the annual Roy Morgan NRL supporter ladder with 1.09 million supporters (up 6.5 per cent on a year ago) ahead of a surging Melbourne Storm which increased its support by an impressive 26.7 per cent to 1.05 million supporters. Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says it is Premierships that bring in new supporters as the last four NRL Premiers all increased their support this year.
“The two most successful NRL clubs the Brisbane Broncos (3 Premierships in 1998, 2000 & 2006) and the Melbourne Storm (3 Premierships in 1999, 2012 & 2017) are once again the two most widely supported NRL clubs in 2018.” Levine commented “The Brisbane Broncos with 1.09 million supporters (up 6.5 per cent on a year ago) and the Melbourne Storm with 1.05 million supporters (up 26.7 per cent following last year’s Premiership) are the second and third most widely supported football clubs in Australia behind only the Sydney Swans in the AFL (1.17 million supporters). The North Queensland Cowboys, who this year farewelled their favourite son Johnathan Thurston, are the third most supported club with 640,000 supporters following last year’s Grand Final appearance and a first NRL Premiership in 2015.”

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, July 2016 – June 2017, n=14,544 and July 2017 – June 2018, n=14,836. Base: Australians 14+. *New Zealand Warriors support only includes Australian-based supporters.

Levine explained that the increase in support for the Melbourne Storm came after the southern club won their third NRL title in 2017 with an easy 34-6 victory over the third most supported club the North Queensland Cowboys. North Queensland won their first NRL title in 2015 and this year increased their support by 5.1 per cent to 640,000 in 2018. Levine went on to add that the most well supported club in the Sydney heartland of Rugby League is the Wests Tigers who increased their support by 4 per cent to 419,000 and are now just ahead of the Parramatta Eels with 411,000 supporters. The enduring support for the Parramatta Eels is despite this year’s ‘Wooden Spooners’ having the longest Premiership drought of any NRL club stretching back to 1986. Overall seven NRL clubs increased their support in the year to June 2018 including the four most recent NRL Premiers the Melbourne Storm, Cronulla Sharks, North Queensland Cowboys and South Sydney Rabbitohs. Melbourne, Cronulla and South Sydney are all still in the hunt for this year’s Premiership.