Resource The 2016 AFL Crowds and Ratings Thread

[manicmagpie]

42,977 at the G for Hawthorn v WC. Disappointing.

If nothing else it should stop people asking for the grand final rematch to be the opening game of the year.

 

[The_Wookie]

Even without the Blues v Swans crowd, the AFL is up 4% on last year. A crowd of around 30,000 will put it up 8% at the end of round 2.

 

[Tassieboy]

Even without the Blues v Swans crowd, the AFL is up 4% on last year. A crowd of around 30,000 will put it up 8% at the end of round 2.

Looks a good crowd too

 

[The Blue Baggers]

42,977 at the G for Hawthorn v WC. Disappointing.

If nothing else it should stop people asking for the grand final rematch to be the opening game of the year.

Agree , the Hawks "membership" exposed again !!

 

[sverik25]

On a more positive note, the GWS crowd in Canberra was slightly down on last year but still excellent.

 

[The_Wookie]

For anyone with some time - this podcast from mediaweek talks about the accuracy of tv ratings

 

[sverik25]

33,146 for Carlton vs Sydney. Very solid crowd given Carlton's predicted struggles and the timeslot.

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[The_Wookie]

For some perspective

Crowds

• AFL Crowds up 9% after 2 rounds
• Australian Super Rugby Crowds are down 7% after 6 rounds
• NRL Crowds are up 0.1% after 5 rounds, need a crowd bigger than 16,200 to stay +ve tomorrow night (which is entirely possible, the bulldogs averaged 17,000+ there last year)
  
• Aleague Crowds are currently down 1%, and will likely end up down 2% by the end of the round unless 36,000 people pack into nib stadium now.

 

[gopies1981]

Great showing by the Bomber fans.
I thought the Pies game would get 80k plus.

I think Collingwood being uncompetitive against Sydney turned off about 10,000 pies fans from not going!!

First half the crowd was flat but in the last qtr the atmosphere was electric!!!

 

[gaelictiogar]

I think Collingwood being uncompetitive against Sydney turned off about 10,000 pies fans from not going!!

First half the crowd was flat but in the last qtr the atmosphere was electric!!!

Last quarter was as good as it gets. Great result for you. Horror for us but raw and down in the trenches AFL competition producing real genuine fan response.

 

[Rouel_14]

Last quarter was as good as it gets. Great result for you. Horror for us but raw and down in the trenches AFL competition producing real genuine fan response.

Agree the last 5 mins you couldn't hear yourself think!
Best crowd I have been in since 2013 elim rich vs blues final

 

[Rezza Tiger]

Dismal crowd at the G today. Beautiful weather, grand final rematch - what else could you ask for? MCC and AFL members were very sparse and so many empty seats in the Hawks reserved area were very noticeable as usual. Maybe the Hawks have become a bit meh winning the flag every year.

 

[Milang_Panthers]

Dismal crowd at the G today. Beautiful weather, grand final rematch - what else could you ask for? MCC and AFL members were very sparse and so many empty seats in the Hawks reserved area were very noticeable as usual. Maybe the Hawks have become a bit meh winning the flag every year.

I was going to say this but didn't want to sound cocky. When you've had a grand final rematch each year for the last four years it does lose its appeal (that said I still would've wanted more there today). I also think the grand final rematch probably has more appeal to the team that lost, Eagles fans here in Perth seemed very up and about about it.

 

[MattF185]

The crowd at the MCG this afternoon reinforces how Hawthorn are always below predictions in crowd attendances. If they're meant to have 70,000 members, you would assume at least 55,000 would be situated in Melbourne. Not sure how they're always getting underachieving crowds. This trend has been going since they've been dominating the competition in 2012.

 

[blue harvest]

Dismal crowd at the G today. Beautiful weather, grand final rematch - what else could you ask for?

Were you there? There was a cold strong wind, hence the scrappy skills at times.
Disappointing crowd though.

 

[blue harvest]

The crowd at the MCG this afternoon reinforces how Hawthorn are always below predictions in crowd attendances. If they're meant to have 70,000 members, you would assume at least 55,000 would be situated in Melbourne. Not sure how they're always getting underachieving crowds. This trend has been going since they've been dominating the competition in 2012.

Some members only go to a few games a year. Some buy memberships for access to finals tickets.

 

[deck]

The crowd at the MCG this afternoon reinforces how Hawthorn are always below predictions in crowd attendances. If they're meant to have 70,000 members, you would assume at least 55,000 would be situated in Melbourne. Not sure how they're always getting underachieving crowds. This trend has been going since they've been dominating the competition in 2012.

20,000 junior members. Double the next best from memory. There's a reason they call them the 'Family' club.

 

[gaelictiogar]

The crowd at the MCG this afternoon reinforces how Hawthorn are always below predictions in crowd attendances. If they're meant to have 70,000 members, you would assume at least 55,000 would be situated in Melbourne. Not sure how they're always getting underachieving crowds. This trend has been going since they've been dominating the competition in 2012.

I think we need to get off Hawthorn's back a bit.

We all know that the membership figure has many thousands of Tassie members and that the club uses junior memberships to inflate the headline number. If we exclude the Tassies and the excess juniors we have a number of about 50,000 which is probably the "real" mainland membership number.

Add to this the fact that numbers are maxed out because of the remarkable run of success and any objective observer can see that the headline number conceals a real softness in "hard" mainland support behind the immensely impressive membership numbers.

None of what I am saying is arguable. It is simple fact.

Given this it was a perfectly respectable attendance. Perhaps a thousand or two off par but any 40K turnout VS inter state opposition is a decent one no matter what the circumstances. The loss to Geelong as well as a certain "mehness" may have taken the edge off things a bit but anything over 45,000 was always unlikely.

 

[bigleague]

For anyone with some time - this podcast from mediaweek talks about the accuracy of tv ratings

Really interesting, well worth the listen.

 

[DarkFlyer]

New member here from the United States. . .

I want to post about the future of the sport internationally, but I have to wait four days or ten posts to be a full member to create a new thread. . .

So, I visited Australia last year and attended a Swans game on opening weekend in the rain and was absolutely taken by the sport. I have followed it ever since, including staying up until 3:00 AM EST to watch the Grand Final between Hawthorne and West Coast.

I have a few questions: how do fans get the tickets behind each goal? How many total stadiums are there (it seems quite a few Melborne-based teams share the MCG)? What venue is considered the best/newest/most historic? Do a considerable number of fans travel to road games? Is there any club who is considered to have the best fan following (I know this might spark some debate)?

Anyway, please take some time to educate this Yank.

 

[SgtSchulz]

New member here from the United States. . .

I want to post about the future of the sport internationally, but I have to wait four days or ten posts to be a full member to create a new thread. . .

So, I visited Australia last year and attended a Swans game on opening weekend in the rain and was absolutely taken by the sport. I have followed it ever since, including staying up until 3:00 AM EST to watch the Grand Final between Hawthorne and West Coast.

I have a few questions: how do fans get the tickets behind each goal? How many total stadiums are there (it seems quite a few Melborne-based teams share the MCG)? What venue is considered the best/newest/most historic? Do a considerable number of fans travel to road games? Is there any club who is considered to have the best fan following (I know this might spark some debate)?

Anyway, please take some time to educate this Yank.

Come to a Port Adelaide home game at the maaaarvelous Adelaide Oval. Then come back to the oldest training ground in the AFL, Alberton Oval, for a parmi and a cold beer.

 

[DarkFlyer]

Come to a Port Adelaide home game at the maaaarvelous Adelaide Oval. Then come back to the oldest training ground in the AFL, Alberton Oval, for a parmi and a cold beer.

Was that Adelaide/Port Adelaide match last weekend a grudge match (even though it was a lopsided match)? Are they true rivals? I would imagine the west coast clubs have their own special rivalry given the geographic distance???

 

[manicmagpie]

New member here from the United States. . .

I want to post about the future of the sport internationally, but I have to wait four days or ten posts to be a full member to create a new thread. . .

So, I visited Australia last year and attended a Swans game on opening weekend in the rain and was absolutely taken by the sport. I have followed it ever since, including staying up until 3:00 AM EST to watch the Grand Final between Hawthorne and West Coast.

I have a few questions: how do fans get the tickets behind each goal? How many total stadiums are there (it seems quite a few Melborne-based teams share the MCG)? What venue is considered the best/newest/most historic? Do a considerable number of fans travel to road games? Is there any club who is considered to have the best fan following (I know this might spark some debate)?

Anyway, please take some time to educate this Yank.

Welcome, mate! Always good to hear of someone from another country seeing the light!

To answer your queries:

1 - It differs from ground to ground, but there's usually an allocated area behind each goal for each team's 'Cheer Squad', which are 'special' groups fans can join. At many grounds you can easily find tickets near to these areas as well.

2 - There are 15 different grounds that will host a game this year, however 3 will only host 1 game.

The main venues are the MCG and Etihad Stadium in Melbourne (all Melbourne teams and Geelong play home games at these), Adelaide Oval in Adelaide (all Adelaide and Port games), Domain Stadium in Perth (all West Coast and Freo games), the Gabba in Brisbane (all Lions games), Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast (all GC games), the SCG (all Sydney Swans games) and Spotless Stadium (most GWS games) in Sydney, Aurora Stadium in Launceston (4 Hawthorn games), Blundstone Arena in Hobart (3 North Melbourne games), Manuka Oval in Canberra (3 GWS games) and Simonds Stadium in Geelong (8 Geelong games). Melbourne also play a game in Darwin and Alice Springs, and the Western Bulldogs play 1 game in Cairns.

As a general rule the MCG is considered the home ground of Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood and Hawthorn. Etihad is considered the home of St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Essendon. However most play home games at both stadia. Carlton split their games between the 2 almost evenly.

3 - No doubt there'll be a big debate over best stadium, but the majority would nominate the MCG. It's the biggest ground by far (100k capacity), and it's got the most history (almost every Grand Final ever has been played here). The newest ground is also one of the oldest, as the historic Adelaide Oval underwent a near complete renovation before opening back up to football games in 2014. It's quickly become one of the favourite grounds for crowds. There's a new stadium in Perth under construction as we speak.

4 - The amount of travelling fans varies greatly but there's usually a decent smattering of them at games. If the game is big enough or is played at a convenient time (i.e. school holidays, long weekends) then there can be a few thousand. I've been in quite a few huge Collingwood turnouts in Sydney and the Gold Coast, and I've seen big Adelaide and West Coast contingents at our home games as well.

5 - Obviously Collingwood. There is no debate.

In all seriousness we're generally held to have the largest following, with Essendon, Richmond, Adelaide, West Coast and Carlton up there as well. As for 'best' that is way too subjective for anyone to answer. Too many rivalries to get an unbiased response.

 

[Demonoid]

On a more positive note, the GWS crowd in Canberra was slightly down on last year but still excellent.

Was at Manuka and there weren't many spare seats in the house. All you need is a powerful well supported team and the numbers will come. So on that note, I expect a bit less in a fortnight when the Giants take on Port. 10k would be a good result.