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NRL blasted for ugly Melbourne Storm and Rabbitohs scenes as fans lead calls for change

Viewers were left gobsmacked at the images during the NRL's Thursday night game.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·6-min read

NRL fans have called out the ugly scenes during Thursday night's clash between the Rabbitohs and the Storm with the mid-week game played in front of a dire crowd at Accor Stadium. Ryan Papenhuyzen - reportedly on the cusp of a contract extension - produced one of his best games for the Storm in 2024 with the away side winning 28-16 to maintain top spot on the ladder. The Rabbitohs' NRL finals footy chances are all but over with doubts remain over whether Latrell Mitchell will return in 2024.

Craig Bellamy was left unimpressed with his team's performance and warned the Storm they will be blown away against the Panthers next week. While the Storm and Rabbitohs put up eight tries in an attacking-minded contest, viewers couldn't help but point out how poor the crowd looked at Accor Stadium.

Latrell Mitchell watches and Ryan Papenhuyzen celebrates a try.
NRL fans have slammed the scenes at Thursday night's clash between the Rabbitohs and the Storm with Ryan Papenhuyzen's (pictured right) masterclass played out in front of a poor crowd at Accor Stadium. (Getty Images)

The Rabbitohs hosted the Thursday night game against the Melbourne outfit at the 83,000-seat stadium, but numbers from officials confirmed there was fewer than 9,000 people at the ground. The average crowd for an NRL game this year at Accor Stadium has been 17,000. While the Thursday night game didn't help the image of large areas with no fans close to each other stood out for supporters watching on television.

Even fans at the game posted videos of the crowd as they were confused with the turn out. This has led to calls for games not to be played at the huge stadium and only reserved for NRL finals footy.

Fans have been left dumbfounded the NRL opted to schedule a game for the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on a Thursday night against a team from outside of Sydney. Fans are less likely to travel for a mid-week game and the fact the stadium looked so dire prompted questions from viewers over why the Rabbitohs games are not played at Allianz.

Some argued NRL games should not be played at Accor Stadium, unless it is the grand final or for State of Origin. Regardless, the image of poor crowd did nothing for promoting the Thursday night spectacle.

Papenhuyzen was one of the Storms' best on Thursday night having glided around the field with perfection against the Rabbitohs. The fullback scored a try having backed up a Tyran Wishart line break as the Storm ran through the middle of the Rabbitohs defence time and time again.

The 2020 Clive Churchill Medallist was then able to provide winger Grant Anderson a four pointer. Papenhuyzen took the ball on the Storm's 30-metre line before bursting through Richie Kennar and Jacob Gagai. He then passed it on the out wide to Anderson to extend the lead.

The fullback has endured a nightmare run of injuries over the last two years, shattering his kneecap in 2022 before fracturing his leg twice in the last 12 months. But the injuries haven't brought him down, and he's managed to make a successful return every time. And with reports he is set to resign with the Storm, Melbourne fans got a further glimpse of the 26-year-old's talent as a No.1.

Ryan Papenhuyzen runs the ball.
Ryan Papenhuyzen (picture) was at his best at Accor Stadium against the Rabbitohs.

Bellamy lauded Papenhuyzen's form, but admitted the fullback is developing as a player having gone through so many setbacks. "I'm not quite sure if he was at top pace," Bellamy said.

"With all due respect, he's had a lot of bad injuries and he's never going to be at that pace because they've all been leg injuries so he's not going to have that pace that he had four or five years ago. With his footy smarts and his experience, that makes up for it. It was nice to see him striding out again, and hopefully he can continue on that line."

While the players managed to complete the 12-point win over the resurgent Rabbitohs, not everyone was thrilled with the performance. Bellamy cut a frustrated figure in the coach's box throughout the game as a number of handing errors from the Storm set them back.

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The Storm play the Panthers next week, which could go a long way in deciding the minor premiers, and Bellamy was ruthless in his assessment of his team's performance. "If we do that next week, the bloke up in the scoreboard is going to be busy on one side," Bellamy said. "And it won't be our side. We're just lacking some consistency at the moment, and it continued again tonight."

Damien Cook reacts after a try.
Damien Cook (pictured) and the Rabbitohs played their Thursday night game in front of a meagre crowd at Accor Stadium.