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The NRL has revealed what it says is the strongest start to a season in its 115-year history, with more fans attending games through the first four rounds than in any year since the competition began.

Crowds are their highest since the establishment of the NRL in 1998, with 612,093 fans attending the 32 games in the opening four rounds at an average of 19,128 per match.

That number represents an increase of 31% in 2023, with 145,466 more people buying tickets than in the same period of last year’s season.

The inclusion of the Dolphins, who have won three of their first four games, and closer margins of victory have also contributed to the NRL’s strong start.

With 78% of matches so far this season decided by 12 points or less, the NRL has more games within that range after four rounds of any premiership year since 1908.

The largest attendance so far this season came at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Friday, when 51,047 turned up to watch the Broncos narrowly beat the Dolphins 18-12 in the first Brisbane derby. The next-best attendance was in round three, when the Broncos beat the Cowboys 28-16 in front of 43,162 fans at the same venue.

TV ratings have also been strong, according to the footyindustry website, and the introduction of the Dolphins has resulted in a 25% increase in Brisbane viewers, headed by the match against the Broncos, which drew an overall audience of 1.3 million.

NRL Manager of Elite Football, Graham Annesley said the closeness of games, after blowouts marred many games in 2022, were driving fan engagement, commenting “we want to see games as close and as competitive as possible, we want to see fans go to games knowing that their side is competitive, and knowing that their side is a chance of winning all through the game.

“it’s terrific for fan engagement. Of course when you see a blowout, there’ll generally be a bit of a drop-off (in engagement), either at the venue or on television.

“What this does is keeps fans engaged until full time because there’s still a chance that they can win, right until the end.”

Games were more evenly matched in 2023 for a number of reasons said Annesley, including a better distribution of talent in teams and players becoming accustomed to playing under the rules introduced during the past two seasons, such as a full penalty being awarded for offside infringements at scrums.

With 23 weeks still to go in the regular season, Annesley is confident the game can maintain its momentum, adding “we are getting deeper into the season now and although the standard has been incredible since Round 1, we are just seeing the intensity and the competitiveness of our games continue to improve.

“Our games are competitive right to the end this year and that is a significant change over the last few years.”

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