We’re going to put another approach under the microscope this weekend: it’s not that Sydney is footy-lazy, it’s just that it loves a winner, a darling, a big personality, a STAR and will turn out if a decent show is put on. (Witness the Wanderers’ sold-out A-League play-off against the Brisbane Roar on Friday night.)

Three rugby league games and a horse race will be our litmus test. Friday night’s NRL blockbuster between the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs is, simply, chock-full of star power. From new chook Sonny Bill Williams, taking on his old club for the first time, to Mitchell Pearce, Anthony Minichiello, Michael Jennings and Bulldogs superstars Ben Barba and Tony Williams.

We’ll also be keeping one eye on the stands during South Sydney vs the Melbourne Storm at Homebush. Take your pick of the superstars on show here: Inglis, the Burgesses, Adam Reynolds, Nathan Merritt, and of course the three biggest stars of the game for the visitors – Cronk, Smith and Slater.

Just before that match, a four-legged star, Black Caviar, will perform in front of a sold-out Royal Randwick. Wow, a packed sports venue in Sydney on a Saturday arvo, who would’ve thought …

The final league match which will test our theory that Sydney will come out and watch if the stars are on show will be the Wests Tigers vs St George-Illawarra showdown at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as part of Heritage Round. This will be OUR crucial game, mainly because the star power here will be less intense as the other matches. Missing for the Tigers will be popular players Lote Tuqiri, Keith Galloway and Benji Marshall, while the Saints, with the exception of Jamie Soward and Matt Cooper, are having a quiet year on the superstar front.

So let’s see what happens. If Sydney flocks to the games (and horse race) with the star power, but not to the SCG game, our lack of passion to go to the footy will be explained. If all games across the weekend are poorly attended, then, yeah, we should be able to conclude that Sydney footy fans are … lazy.