Play Nice Which club has the biggest supporter base? Collingwood, Richmond or West Coast?

[Grin]

And yet Collingwood were first in attendance’s in 2019!

Actually Richmond were 1st in home game attendance, even with less crowd friendly game times.

Sorry. there I go again Completely destroying your argument with very basic facts.
You must get so sick of it.

 

[10571z]

Obviously different in certain areas but in the Northeast where pies drafting zone was the majority is pies fans. At Auskick 50% of kids were pies basically

 

[HTT]

Actually Richmond were 1st in home game attendance, even with less crowd friendly game times.

Sorry. there I go again Completely destroying your argument with very basic facts.
You must get so sick of it.

What do you mean he can’t count crowds against West Coast in Perth as part of Collingwood’s crowd average ????

 

[PetterdHoisted]

And yet Collingwood were first in attendance’s in 2019! Collingwood yet again are the only club to draw 1.2 million during the home and away season 6 times including 1.3 million in 2010!! Have Richmond done this? No

I want the pies to be a truly big club again! This is not BF fan banter.

They are a big club in terms of corporate footprint, but have alienated a lot of the old core working class support in the process, hence they are still trying to get to 80k members when Richmond and WCE are already looking to the future and how to grow to 120k. No way that should be the case.

As I have said, I think it needs McGuire to move on to a new challenge because that relationship is as stale as they come. A new Pres comes in and moves the club back to their heartland in Collingwood again, a refocus on fans rather than generating more cash than any footy club needs or knows how to spend, and we will very quickly see a rise to 100k for the Pies.

how can you get behind a club whose spiritual home is called 'Lexus' or 'Holden' or whatever it is now Centre. Soulless.

 

[ryancash]

Who gives a shit

 

[captain blood 17]

And yet Collingwood were first in attendance’s in 2019! Collingwood yet again are the only club to draw 1.2 million during the home and away season 6 times including 1.3 million in 2010!! Have Richmond done this? No

 

[gopies1981]

I want the pies to be a truly big club again! This is not BF fan banter.

They are a big club in terms of corporate footprint, but have alienated a lot of the old core working class support in the process, hence they are still trying to get to 80k members when Richmond and WCE are already looking to the future and how to grow to 120k. No way that should be the case.

As I have said, I think it needs McGuire to move on to a new challenge because that relationship is as stale as they come. A new Pres comes in and moves the club back to their heartland in Collingwood again, a refocus on fans rather than generating more cash than any footy club needs or knows how to spend, and we will very quickly see a rise to 100k for the Pies.

how can you get behind a club whose spiritual home is called 'Lexus' or 'Holden' or whatever it is now Centre. Soulless.

collingwood had 85 k members last year

 

[Captain_Bender]

collingwood had 85 k members last year

85k how cute

 

[blaisee]

Problem with threads like this is that it brings out all the irrational zealots.

The debate on this issue is dead

There is only 1 club that is Number 1 for , crowds and members

Its also the only club that sign up 100,000 members, year after year, even though no one in Victoria can go to a game.

 

[Kangapirate]

I’m gonna say Eagles, I’d be curious to know a ballpark figure of how many fans they lost to Freo from 95 onwards, I’m pretty sure one of my cousins in Perth switched, and I could swear I recall seeing a freo banner at the 94 grand final that the Eagles won.

Would give the Tigers a slight edge over the Pies but I don’t think it’s significant enough to be noticeable. I could be wrong but it always felt like we use to get bigger crowds at the G in the 90s than Richmond.

 

[underthestars]

it's actually st kilda. most of us are just too embarrassed to admit it, let alone buy a membership.

but the evidence is there - second highest premiership crowd, highest prelim crowd (only the saints and richmond have had two prelim crowds over 100k), highest h&a game at docklands, highest preseason final at docklands. heck i'm even starting to convince myself...

 

[PerthBoy86]

Eagles count most casual footy fans in a state of 2.5 million, Vic is divided among so many clubs, so in terms of casual support WC by the length of the Nullabor.

 

[PerthBoy86]

West Coast are the Man City of the AFL. Lots of money, but a soulless franchise club with no history.

Richmond and Collingwood are the Liverpool and Man United of the AFL. The true powerhouses with prestige, history and tradition.

As for supporter bases, my guess is Richmond, but who knows? West Coast occupy a whole state with only one other club. Their geographical position is another advantage WCE have in the AFL. Imagine if Richmond and Collingwood were the only two clubs in Victoria. Wowee.

Soulless lol. What gives a club 'soul' anyway? Every club began sometime, somewhere. As a lifelong Eagles fan I have many great memories, and we have as much soul as any club. But whatever makes you feel better.

 

[PerthBoy86]

West Coast are better supported than freo because they are an older club and the club was set up to draw fans from the entire “west coast” not just one city (Fremantle)

west coast didn’t build that support base they merely inherited it

it’s the same reason Melbourne Storm have such a big following in Melbourne or the swans in sydneybecause there is simply no other team to go for if you want to support a local based team

The big Victorian clubs built the clubs and its supporter base over long periods of time

Membership numbers is absolutely relevant because it shows how many supporters are willing to financially support the club and match attendance can be poor indicator since west coast home games are only played in a prime time spot on either Friday or Saturday night (the easiest time to get to a game) as I established in an earlier post

Guess you've never been to WA. Fremantle is a small city that's basically part of the Perth metro, not a separate conurbation like Geelong. It's like St Kilda or Williamstown. Freo fans are spread throughout the state, but concentrated a bit more south of the Swan River. West Coast is just the name, They're really the Perth Eagles, but both sides have decent support in regional WA.

 

[PerthBoy86]

West Coast are relatively small outside WA.
Collingwood are big Australia wide.
Richmond are the biggest club in Australia though.

I'm an Eagles fan who moved to Melbourne 7 years ago. At away games there are PLENTY of Eagles fans. If it's vs say the Dogs at Etihad it feels like a third of the stadium is Eagles. Plenty of WA expats in Melbourne, I think we're well represented here.

In contrast a WC home game is at least 95% Eagles no matter who's playing aside from the Dockers of course.

 

[Numero Uno]

Eagles have just reached 100k members...not one for any pets in sight

 

[Black white]

I want the pies to be a truly big club again! This is not BF fan banter.

They are a big club in terms of corporate footprint, but have alienated a lot of the old core working class support in the process, hence they are still trying to get to 80k members when Richmond and WCE are already looking to the future and how to grow to 120k. No way that should be the case.

As I have said, I think it needs McGuire to move on to a new challenge because that relationship is as stale as they come. A new Pres comes in and moves the club back to their heartland in Collingwood again, a refocus on fans rather than generating more cash than any footy club needs or knows how to spend, and we will very quickly see a rise to 100k for the Pies.

how can you get behind a club whose spiritual home is called 'Lexus' or 'Holden' or whatever it is now Centre. Soulless.

Lexus, Holden, Jeep whatever its called

 

[Tackle Bag]

WC were established to represent an entire football loving state. Fremantle have eaten into that but not to anywhere near the same extent that the 10 Melbourne clubs cannibalise each other.

They are on another level financially and I think if you lined them up against a wall, WC would come out in front for supporters as well.

You could argue that their supporter numbers should be even bigger given they have a whole state and only one local competitor.
Perhaps their penetration into Perth culture is not as deep as AFL is in Melbourne?

Id be looking at a 3rd Perth team in time which may reduce the Eagles base a little bit would provide more derby like rivalries.

The fact that the big Melbourne clubs have grown to the size they have in a shared town of 4.9 million is extremely impressive by any standard also. Without searching for supporting evidence, I’d imagine AFL crowds and membership per capita stack up very well against any other comp around the world.

Even west coast fans would have to admit they were given a dream platform to establish a following and to their credit they have become a powerhouse.

Its disappointing that the new stadium was only built to house 60k. A 100k stadium would have been a real statement.


If I was a Crows fan I’d be asking why my club isn’t in just as strong a position.

 

[Corkintheocean]

Richmond have the greater supporter base than Collingwood and West Coast though.

Not if you measure it by who puts their hand in their pocket.

 

[Corkintheocean]

What do you mean he can’t count crowds against West Coast in Perth as part of Collingwood’s crowd average ????

You guys certainly can't because you always welch on coming over here.

 

[megadeth92]

And yet Collingwood were first in attendance’s in 2019! Collingwood yet again are the only club to draw 1.2 million during the home and away season 6 times including 1.3 million in 2010!! Have Richmond done this? No

I grew up in Perth and I don't count those West Coast fans as real fans because they all abandoned their WAFL clubs in Round 1, 1987.

 

[megadeth92]

You guys certainly can't because you always welch on coming over here.

I grew up in Perth and I don't count those West Coast fans as real fans because they all abandoned their WAFL clubs in Round 1, 1987.

 

[Coaster2012]

The only answer is West Coast, any objective empirical deep dive will come up with that answer. The rest is just white noise: 100k members, the richest club in the league by a mile, and its a split between them and Hawks for the most successful side in the AFL era. There isn't a box that isn't ticked.

 

[jakson68]

Not if you measure it by who puts their hand in their pocket.

Also not if you measure it by who has hands, instead of paws.

 

[dave10]

Eagles have just reached 100k members...not one for any pets in sight

Are Richmond supporters aware of this?