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2019 Crowd Watch

Timmah

Timmah

LeagueUnlimited News Editor
Staff member
Messages
100,985
horrie hastings said:
The game at the Gabba last year against the same opposition on a Sunday afternoon 4.40 pm start attracted only 21,000 so I think it is a relevant point to make seeing it was on a Thursday night, yeah maybe the 3-1 start to the season made a bit of a difference to crowd but really I think the only time the AFL would get big crowds on a Thursday night would be at a game in Melbourne itself, I have to admit I flicked the channels because I was getting peed of with the Cronulla vs Penrith game and was surprised about the crowd at the Gabba, you could actually see people sitting the normally empty coloured seats and it looked pretty full.
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22,000 (21,850 to be precise) for last years Lions v Pies game - which is at the very low end of the scale for clashes between them at the Gabba, which average 29k+. Last year, Brisbane came into that game 0-6 and Collingwood weren't considered a top four team at that point either.

Much different context to this season where Brisbane went in 3-1 and Collingwood are equal premiership favourites.

(It's also worth noting that the Bris-Coll fixture used to be a regular one on Maundy Thursday and the Lions have been campaigning for years to get it back, so it's not surprising it was well received)

Anyway, back to NRL - Cronulla v Penrith had no storyline - Penrith are rubbish so far this year, Cronulla are middling and on a work night I'd argue Woolooware isn't the easiest ground to get to.

Also, would you want to attend a game with Scott Morrison there? :eyes:
 
Timmah

Timmah

LeagueUnlimited News Editor
Staff member
Messages
100,985
DC_fan said:
Even the A-League game last night between Sydney FC and Perth Glory outdrew the NRL. The game played at Jubilee Oval pulled in a crowd of 11,227.
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The Kogarah game was originally supposed to be at the SCG, so it's not surprising it attracted a slightly higher crowd at a better venue, particularly given it was a farewell home game for their captain (although he didn't play lol)

I think the point I'm making about the A-League and AFL comparisons is that these games had some kind of narrative to attract fans. Sadly Cronulla and Penrith doesn't really have one and is a very unimaginative choice for Easter Thursday. With no AFL in Melbourne I'd have suggested MEL-SYD be the Thursday game tbh. Sharks-Panthers to Sat night 7:30 and Dragons-Manly as the Friday night game.
 
Valheru

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,181
Comparing last night's crowd with AFL is really irrelevant.

The A-league getting more than the sharks is f**king embarrassing though considering a good portion of Sydney FC fans come from the shire.
 
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DC_fan

DC_fan

Coach
Messages
11,980
Timmah said:
The Kogarah game was originally supposed to be at the SCG, so it's not surprising it attracted a slightly higher crowd at a better venue, particularly given it was a farewell home game for their captain (although he didn't play lol)

I think the point I'm making about the A-League and AFL comparisons is that these games had some kind of narrative to attract fans. Sadly Cronulla and Penrith doesn't really have one and is a very unimaginative choice for Easter Thursday. With no AFL in Melbourne I'd have suggested MEL-SYD be the Thursday game tbh. Sharks-Panthers to Sat night 7:30 and Dragons-Manly as the Friday night game.
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I see where you are coming from. It is true that with so many other choices of entertainment available, plus family commitments fans are going to be very choosy with which games they will attend. The days of fans going to a game just to see their team play (if those days ever existed) are well and truely gone. I suppose that is where promoting matches comes into play.

As for playing the Storm v Roosters game in Melbourne last night. Not a bad idea. However, I am expecting a good turn up for that game tonight.
 
DC_fan

DC_fan

Coach
Messages
11,980
Valheru said:
Comparing last night's crowd with AFL is really irrelevant.

The A-league getting more then the sharks is f**king embarrassing though considering a good portion of Sydney FC fans come from the shire.
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So that’s where the Sharks fans went.
 
S

Slater1

Juniors
Messages
104
I understand the sentiment behind hosting Storm V Roosters GF rematch tonight in Melbourne because it's an "open timeslot" with no AFL in Victoria tonight as the Vic AFL game is this afternoon.

However I feel that Storm/Roosters would get a bigger crowd (less viewing audience, but bigger crowd) to any other day over the Easter weekend than the Friday.

For those of you that don't know--- Melbourne has the 'Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal' every year on Good Friday-- it does massive tv ratings and is the 'heart beat' of Melbourne during this day. There is often over 20million raised for the Children's hospital on this day.

In the past few years the AFL (since they've started playing good Friday games) the crowds have been disappointing to say the least in compared to expectations.

I personally feel that this is one day that the "average Melbournian" is less interested in sport and therefore the crowd will be closer to an average Storm crowd of 16k-18k than a full house.
 
T-Boon

T-Boon

Coach
Messages
15,854
Timmah said:
I think the point I'm making about the A-League and AFL comparisons is that these games had some kind of narrative to attract fans. Sadly Cronulla and Penrith doesn't really have one and is a very unimaginative choice for Easter Thursday.
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NRL needs to build rivalries with conferences/divisions. That will help crowds.
 
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