2013 Comparison in crowd figures between the Giants and western Sydney NRL teams

[Matchu]

I tried this last season and there was a little of questioning the data provided so I have decided to compare each team individually to see where the Giants truly rank in the western Sydney market. Anything west of Homebush or in Homebush will be included. I will be comparing the home (game played in western Sydney) crowd figures of the GWS Giants, Canterbury Bulldogs, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Wests Tigers*.
* Leichhardt Oval isn't in western Sydney and will not be counted.

Round 1 Eels v Warriors (Sat, 9 March, 7:30pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 13,351
Round 1 Panthers v Raiders (Sun, 10 March, 2:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 10,882

Round 2 Eels v Bulldogs (Thu, 14 March, 8:05pm)
ANZ Stadium: 25,608
Round 2 Tigers v Panthers (Sun, 17 March, 3:00pm)
Campbelltown Sports Stadium: 9,715
Round 2 Rabbitohs v Sharks (Mon, 18 March, 7:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 14,128

Round 3 Panthers v Rabbitohs (Sun, 24 March, 3:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 12,940

Round 4 Bulldogs v Rabbitohs (Fri, 29 March, 4:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 51,686
Round 1 Giants v Swans (Sat, 30 March, 4:40pm)
ANZ Stadium: 23,690
Round 4 Panthers v Titans (Sat, 30 March, 4:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 8,181

Round 5 Bulldogs v Sea Eagles (Fri, 5 April, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 18,563
Round 5 Eels v Sharks (Sat, 6 April, 5:30pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 11,063

Round 6 Rabbitohs v Storm (Sat, 13 April, 7:30pm)
ANZ Stadium: 32,671

Round 7 Tigers v Broncos (Sat, 27 April, 7:30pm)
Campbelltown Sports Stadium: 11,547
Round 7 Panthers v Eels (Mon, 29 March, 7:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 14,211

Round 8 Bulldogs v Tigers (Fri, 3 May, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 23,453
Round 8 Eels v Cowboys (Sat, 4 May, 7:30pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 9,157

Round 9 Rabbitohs v Cowboys (Fri, 10 May, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 15,972
Round 9 Eels v Broncos (Sat, 11 May, 7:30pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 11,005
Round 7 Giants v Crows (Sun, 12 May, 1:10pm)
Skoda Stadium: 5,830
Round 9 Panthers v Storm (Sun, 12 May, 6:30pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 7,803

Round 10 Rabbitohs v Tigers (Fri, 17 May, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 19,718
Round 10 Panthers v Warriors (Sat, 18 May, 7:30pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 9,386

Round 11 Bulldogs v Broncos (Fri, 24 April, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 11,344
Round 9 Giants v Eagles (Sat, 25 May, 2:10pm)
Skoda Stadium: 6,324

Round 12 Bulldogs v Dragons (Fri, 31 May, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 22,958
Round 12 Rabbitohs v Knights (Sat, 1 June, 7:30pm)
ANZ Stadium: 13,225

Round 13 Eels v Roosters (Fri, 7 June, 7:45pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 12,135
Round 11 Giants v Cats (Sat, 8 June, 1:40pm)
Skoda Stadium: 7,809
Round 13 Panthers v Tigers (Sun, 9 June, 3:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 16,231

Round 12 Giants v Power (Sat, 16 June, 1:10pm)
Skoda Stadium: 6,601

Round 15 Bulldogs v Roosters (Fri, 21 June, 7:45pm)
ANZ Stadium: 20,275
Round 15 Tigers v Raiders (Sat, 22 June, 7:30pm)
Campbelltown Sports Stadium: 7,833
Round 15 Eels v Rabbitohs (Sun, 23 June, 3:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 17,077

Round 16 Rabbitohs v Raiders (Fri, 28 June, 7:45pm)
ANZ Stadium: 11,167
Round 16 Panthers v Dragons (Sat, 29 June, 7:30pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 6,271

Round 18 Eels v Panthers (Sat, 13 July, 7:30pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 9,327
Round 18 Bulldogs v Storm (Sun, 14 July, 3:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 16,406

Round 17 Giants v Bombers (Sat, 20 July, 2:10pm)
Skoda Stadium: 10,783
Round 19 Panthers v Knights (Sun, 21 July, 2:00pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 10,240
Round 19 Rabbitohs v Dragons (Mon, 22 July, 7:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 14,571

Round 20 Bulldogs v Eels (Fri, 26 July, 7:35pm)
ANZ Stadium: 23,341
Round 20 Tigers v Manly (Mon, 29 July, 7:00pm)
Campbelltown Sports Stadium: 11,162

Round 21 Panthers v Roosters (Fri, 2 August, 7:35pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 11,879
Round 19 Giants v Demons (Sat, 3 August, 1:45pm)
Skoda Stadium: 8,308
Round 21 Eels v Sea Eagles (Sat, 3 August, TBD)
Parramatta Stadium: 11,232

Round 22 Eels v Tigers (Fri, 9 August, 7:35pm)
Parramatta Stadium: 12,013
Round 22 Panthers v Cowboys (Sun, 11 August, 6:30pm)
Centrebet Stadium: 6,611
Round 22 Bulldogs v Titans (Mon, 12 August, 7:00pm)
ANZ Stadium: 10,373

Current Bulldogs Crowd Average: 22,044 (198,399 in 9 games)
Current Rabbitohs Crowd Average: 17,350 (121,452 in 7 games)
Current Eels Crowd Average: 13,196 (131,968 in 10 games)
Current Panthers Crowd Average: 10,421 (114,635 in 11 games)
Current Tigers Crowd Average: 10,064 (40,257 in 4 games)
Current Giants Crowd Average: 9,828 (68,802 in 7 games)
(last updated 19.08.13)

I will update this list as the season progresses. So there you have it, the Giants currently sit with the third highest crowd average out of the six teams in western Sydney. They are behind two of the biggest teams in the NRL in the form of Canterbury and South Sydney. This thread was made at the conclusion of Round 8 in the AFL.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Comparisons are a bit stupid but go your hardest, not sure why a Port fan would care that much but hey, I won't stop you. I will say that the Giants don't get any Friday night games (always boost the numbers) and only get to play a local rival once. There's plenty of WS teams vs WS teams in local derby games to boost their numbers too. Are you going to compare Canberra home games? - we play home games there too (and drew a bigger crowd on the same day as the raiders). Also, no rugby league team played AT LUNCHTIME ON MOTHERS DAY (not the 4:40 time your post claims. It was a 1:10 bounce). Apples and bananas. Have fun with it though.

 

[fabulousphil]

Comparisons are a bit stupid but go your hardest, not sure why a Port fan would care that much but hey, I won't stop you. I will say that the Giants don't get any Friday night games (always boost the numbers) and only get to play a local rival once. There's plenty of WS teams vs WS teams in local derby games to boost their numbers too. Are you going to compare Canberra home games? - we play home games there too (and drew a bigger crowd on the same day as the raiders). Also, no rugby league team played AT LUNCHTIME ON MOTHERS DAY (not the 4:40 time your post claims. It was a 1:10 bounce). Apples and bananas. Have fun with it though.

Much easier comparing the Suns with the Titans, as Matchu has done on the Suns page, that makes sense and does give a good crowd perspective for each club.

Much harder in WS, to many variables as you point out, but it does give some perspective.

 

[OrangeDuck]

The only major issue I have with this is the Wests Tigers inclusion would only apply to games at CSS because both Leichardt and Allianz, two of the Tigers home grounds, are not counted.

You also need to consider how well each team is tracking, who the opponents are and how well they can draw a crowd, etc. Still an interesting thing to keep track of.

Ideally, increased crowds in both codes in western Sydney would be the best result overall.

 

[Matchu]

The only major issue I have with this is the Wests Tigers inclusion would only apply to games at CSS because both Leichardt and Allianz, two of the Tigers home grounds, are not counted.

You also need to consider how well each team is tracking, who the opponents are and how well they can draw a crowd, etc. Still an interesting thing to keep track of.

Ideally, increased crowds in both codes in western Sydney would be the best result overall.

Well that's what happens when you merge two teams from different parts of Sydney. It'd be like looking at Geelong home games at Etihad Stadium and claiming it was a true reflection of the interest in Geelong. It skewers the results too much but it is silly to completely leave the Wests Tigers out of it.

It's just the raw data. Clearly the fact that the Giants haven't won a game this year hurts their crowd numbers but that is something that can be discussed in this thread. I think it'll be tough for the Giants for a while and they going to really cop it from the Sydney media but eventually they'll get good crowds once they improve on field. The media in Sydney are so quick to tell you how bad the Giants are going but forget to mention the Swans draw a higher crowd on average than any other NRL team.

 

[Bogan Juniors]

Sydney loves a winner, I remember going to Swans games for free and only having tiny crwds when they first came from Sth Melb.

 

[dlanod]

Sydney loves a winner, I remember going to Swans games for free and only having tiny crwds when they first came from Sth Melb.

The first year I was down here (2004) I'd almost swear there were more Lions jumpers at the game than Swans jumpers.

 

[weirdtim]

"I will update this list as the season progresses. So there you have it, the Giants currently sit with the third highest crowd average out of the six teams in western Sydney."

The thing is, I really don't trust the AFL's "official" crowd counts. I would bet my life that every single Giants game is getting bumped up in the count by the AFL to make themselves look less pathetic. Skoda Stadium has a capacity of 25,000. For there to be 6,324 as the AFL claims there was yesterday, the ground would have to be 1/4 full. Which is most certainly was not. Watch the replay and look at the ground. The entire top level grand stand on one side of the ground is entirely empty. Looking around the ground you would say they were lucky to be 1/8 full. There is no bloody way that crowd reached 6,000. Looked more like a crowd of 2,000-3,000. I know what a 3,000 person crowd looks like. I attend the SANFL and that's the average attendance there. I would bet my life that no more than 3,000 people were at the Giants/West Coast match. And of that number, a significant portion seemed to be Eagles fans. The longer this team is in the AFL, the more it looks like a bloody disaster.

 

[Bogan Juniors]

"I will update this list as the season progresses. So there you have it, the Giants currently sit with the third highest crowd average out of the six teams in western Sydney."

The thing is, I really don't trust the AFL's "official" crowd counts. I would bet my life that every single Giants game is getting bumped up in the count by the AFL to make themselves look less pathetic. Skoda Stadium has a capacity of 25,000. For there to be 6,324 as the AFL claims there was yesterday, the ground would have to be 1/4 full. Which is most certainly was not. Watch the replay and look at the ground. The entire top level grand stand on one side of the ground is entirely empty. Looking around the ground you would say they were lucky to be 1/8 full. There is no bloody way that crowd reached 6,000. Looked more like a crowd of 2,000-3,000. I know what a 3,000 person crowd looks like. I attend the SANFL and that's the average attendance there. I would bet my life that no more than 3,000 people were at the Giants/West Coast match. And of that number, a significant portion seemed to be Eagles fans. The longer this team is in the AFL, the more it looks like a bloody disaster.

Remember that the members are positioned behind the cameras so it does not look good on tele....having said that the crowd looked bigger than adelaide game on TV...but that would not have been difficult.

we are a third of the way thru the season and our two sydney home games have been against two teams who have ZERO interest in Sydney adelaide on mothers day at luchtime and theWC on a day that was forcast bad weather. (yes I know he day was beautiful)

this was never going to work

 

[Bogan Juniors]

I think he powers that be were well aware that this was going to be a long painful road but are hoping that when the team does become truely competive a solid following should come...as it will....TV ratings will also follow and sydney is the biggest market in Aus. Having a Sydney team play every week will be a winfall for the AFL in the broadcast & advertising market

 

[dlanod]

"I will update this list as the season progresses. So there you have it, the Giants currently sit with the third highest crowd average out of the six teams in western Sydney."

The thing is, I really don't trust the AFL's "official" crowd counts. I would bet my life that every single Giants game is getting bumped up in the count by the AFL to make themselves look less pathetic. Skoda Stadium has a capacity of 25,000. For there to be 6,324 as the AFL claims there was yesterday, the ground would have to be 1/4 full. Which is most certainly was not. Watch the replay and look at the ground. The entire top level grand stand on one side of the ground is entirely empty. Looking around the ground you would say they were lucky to be 1/8 full. There is no bloody way that crowd reached 6,000. Looked more like a crowd of 2,000-3,000. I know what a 3,000 person crowd looks like. I attend the SANFL and that's the average attendance there. I would bet my life that no more than 3,000 people were at the Giants/West Coast match. And of that number, a significant portion seemed to be Eagles fans. The longer this team is in the AFL, the more it looks like a bloody disaster.

I was there, not watching the replay. I was shocked at the 6,324 crowd figure - it looked and felt at least a few thousand bigger, and I'm usually within about 500 people with my crowd estimates. The stands looking into the sun (can't think why people wouldn't be sitting there) were pretty empty and these are the stands you're talking about, with their upper level. There were plenty of people behind the goals, and the member's stand (the stand under the commentators' box) was pretty well populated.

Feel free to bet your life, but you'd lose.

 

[fabulousphil]

I was there, not watching the replay. I was shocked at the 6,324 crowd figure - it looked and felt at least a few thousand bigger, and I'm usually within about 500 people with my crowd estimates. The stands looking into the sun (can't think why people wouldn't be sitting there) were pretty empty and these are the stands you're talking about, with their upper level. There were plenty of people behind the goals, and the member's stand (the stand under the commentators' box) was pretty well populated.

Feel free to bet your life, but you'd lose.

Looked far bigger than the mothers day massacre , and i was not there, but from watching on the tele.

If there was one competetion in Australia, that does not need to lie about crowds, it would be the AFL.

Looked about right to me.

 

[dlanod]

If there was one competetion in Australia, that does not need to lie about crowds, it would be the AFL.

A funny example of judging crowds by TV rather than in the stadium - I was at the Mariners ACL game a few weeks back where they got a crowd of 8,000 and change. In other words, about par for a Mariners game. The funny thing was that they'd shut up half the stadium, squeezed everyone into the open half and then only had cameras on the far side of the field. It would've looked absolutely packed on TV, but there was just no one in a whole stand.

 

[Matchu]

The Eagles game drew 6,324. This takes the Giants season average in Sydney to 11,948. The next two games at Skoda are Geelong and Port Adelaide. Pretty likely the Port game will draw a low crowd but the Geelong game has the potential to draw a good crowd. Anyone think it's possible they'll draw 10k to the Geelong game?

 

[Bogan Juniors]

A solid showing at carlton may help but I thinh a 10K crowd would be an exception result. The Port game may be a winnable one if their form continues to slide so the prospects of a win may help boost that crowd.

 

[Colonial]

Still think people are expecting to much to quickly, this is a long term (20 year) plan, hell the Swans got 25 years. Once we are competitive and winning games we will be avging 15-20k at Skoda with flag seasons being sold out. Garunteed.

 

[weirdtim]

Remember that the members are positioned behind the cameras so it does not look good on tele....having said that the crowd looked bigger than adelaide game on TV...but that would not have been difficult.

we are a third of the way thru the season and our two sydney home games have been against two teams who have ZERO interest in Sydney adelaide on mothers day at luchtime and theWC on a day that was forcast bad weather. (yes I know he day was beautiful)

this was never going to work

I know. I saw the entire ground and took that into account. Even the "busy" side was laughably patchy. Even counting all the people on the members side, it looked to be about 1/5 the crowd that Port drew this weekend. And Port only had 20,000.

 

[fabulousphil]

I know. I saw the entire ground and took that into account. Even the "busy" side was laughably patchy. Even counting all the people on the members side, it looked to be about 1/5 the crowd that Port drew this weekend. And Port only had 20,000.

mate, do you understand that the RAS not the AFL man the turnstiles, if you have a problem and it appears you do, take it up with them.

At the MCG the MCC do the count, at the SCG and the Gabba the respective management do the count not the AFL.

People who actually claim to have been there dispute your claim, but still you persist, do you think that AD himself phones through the numbers ?.

 

[Drezdyn]

*Groan* here we go again.

I really don't get the whole point of comparing NRL or A-league crowds to the giants crowds.

The giants have poor crowds at the moment - we get it. We'll probably have lousy crowds for a while yet - we get it. The giants haven't won the hearts and minds of Western Sydney - no kidding.

What do you expect? we're not winning games, we don't have a long vast heritage - so why on earth would you expect people uninitiated with the game to rock up each week to watch a team get thrashed all the time?

We're a long term project. You don't plant seeds in the ground then wonder why they're not fully grown trees the next day.

What I do see each time I go to Skoda is 4000 or so genuine fans from Sydney (most likely the west) who support the team every week, even though we have no heritage or any on-field success. Now that's bloody impressive in my books.

So do your crowd comparisons if it makes you happy. I just don't think it has much relevance at this stage of our club development.

 

[walhawk]

You guys should play Hawks, Cats, Pies, Bombers, Pies at Skoda.
Would push 10K.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

*Groan* here we go again.

We're a long term project. You don't plant seeds in the ground then wonder why they're not fully grown trees the next day.

This.

 

[dlanod]

You guys should play Hawks, Cats, Pies, Bombers, Pies at Skoda.
Would push 10K.

We've got the Cats in a couple of weeks so it'll be good to see how that goes.

 

[Lebron James]

Not worried in the slightest. It was always going to be short term pain for long term gain.

The AFL isn't looking to poach fans from other sports, it's looking to breed new fans via things like Auskick. I know alot of people (especially mothers) who hate the NRL because of all the bad publicity it's gotten over the years. There are plenty of potential fans out there, will just take time to win them over.

I have 100% faith in the AFL's long term vision. Plus never underestimate League's ability to shoot itself in the foot (Super League lol).

 

[Milang_Panthers]

What was the crowd on the weekend like compared to NRL games on the weekend?

 

[Matchu]

Been really lazy with this but I have now updated the list. The Giants now have an average crowd of 9,828 in west Sydney this year with one game to come against Richmond. Unsurprisingly, the Canterbury Bulldogs lead the charge of west Sydney teams with a crowd average of 22,044 for 2013.