2024 Crowd Watch

[moffla]

Yep. If they have a run of a few years missing the finals, I think they average like 10-12k.

Based on what, champ?
Bellamy era has helped sure, but there’s now an engrained level of support down here. I’m not sure why people are wanting the game to fail here. Doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Putrid crowd.
And I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask about the gf attendance. It’s a really hard sell when a few Penrith fans might be a bit blasé about their success (this is their 5th gf in a row!) and they don’t have a huge fan base.
Melbourne is obviously an even harder sell cause it’s a Sunday night game with no public holiday in Melbourne on Monday.
Add to that that these two teams have consistently been around the top for at least the past 5 years (since forever for the storm) and it’s really hard for neutrals to get excited, even considering the quality of both teams.
I hope I’m wrong but I think it could be hard to get heaps of fans excited for this one.

Point taken about the consistent success of the two teams, but it's going to be a cracking game

 

[wests1]

Point taken about the consistent success of the two teams, but it's going to be a cracking game

Oh no doubt about that but the best gfs are when there is a team that people get behind. I think the raiders in 19 for example.
I admire both teams here, but I can’t say that I’m invested in either of them winning and that makes it less appealing to be honest.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Oh no doubt about that but the best gfs are when there is a team that people get behind. I think the raiders in 19 for example.
I admire both teams here, but I can’t say that I’m invested in either of them winning and that makes it less appealing to be honest.

Fair point. As a Queenslander, I'm with the Sunshine Coast Storm

 

[SLRBRONCOS]

Based on what, champ?
Bellamy era has helped sure, but there’s now an engrained level of support down here. I’m not sure why people are wanting the game to fail here. Doesn’t make sense to me.

Oop not the Champ slur

Was a bit of a shit post, I don't want Melbourne to fail (I'd be lying if I didn't want you guys to experience an extended period of results pain though), but it's a pretty fair opinion. I mean, you didn't sell out your first final (came close) and you've not averaged 20k yet with a 70% win record under Bellamy.

Thus back to my first point -- if the organisation shit itself results wise -- I'd expect a pretty dramatic fall in crowd numbers (first post).

I know that you've got some engrained supporters, but the numbers are small, imagine what they'd be if you had results like the Titans. That's my point. Made the granny last night and probably 500 seats shifted from the GF map... Anyway, hopefully I am wrong, and it seems like we will never know.

 

[Iamback]

As I said before the game didn't have any appeal to neutrals. Nothing before and weather saw to that

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

Putrid crowd.
And I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask about the gf attendance. It’s a really hard sell when a few Penrith fans might be a bit blasé about their success (this is their 5th gf in a row!) and they don’t have a huge fan base.
Melbourne is obviously an even harder sell cause it’s a Sunday night game with no public holiday in Melbourne on Monday.
Add to that that these two teams have consistently been around the top for at least the past 5 years (since forever for the storm) and it’s really hard for neutrals to get excited, even considering the quality of both teams.
I hope I’m wrong but I think it could be hard to get heaps of fans excited for this one.

Here we go, let`s start talking down this one. This should be an absolute cracking game involving the two best by far teams in the comp. There is going to be magical football galore. Heaps to get Rugby League fans excited.

 

[Billythekid]

It’s a poor crowd but after such a great year of crowds I won’t lose sleep over one average finals crowd.

 

[SouthsCountry]

The rain would’ve stopped a few from going but 33k is pretty bad. Perhaps games need to be played at 6:30/7. Makes it more appealing for neutrals or families to attend

Yeah, the other game's GF was finished by 5:30, could easily have started Ch9 coverage at 6:30 and kicked off at 7.

Interesting that the Victorian game always have a twilight prelim on the Saturday, is it something we could explore to make the game more appealing for those who have to travel?

Just a thought, and we'd lose some TV viewers which are worth a lot as well...

 

[Gobsmacked]

The reality is that Pathers vs Sharks was a tough sell. I couldn't get excited to watch it on TV tbh , although it did end up being a good contest!
Long way for Sharks fans to travel on a miserable evening to watch them get a hiding , they have been ordinary though the finals series and nobody was under the illusion that it was their year, $12 before kick off for context.
The Pathers have seen so much success it's ridiculous and at this point their fans are probably going broke attending finals and grand finals, not to mention the bang for your buck novelty of watching your team in a grand final has well and truly worn off!
If you were keen to attend, you'd save your money for the following week.

So the crowd is not surprisingly at all!

We should all be riding the Storm for the GF , Melbourne teams in the AFL clocked off over a week ago and the Storm get centre stage. Every year the Storm pull a few fans, slowly getting a good following with some good crowds. We have Melbourne's attention and a win by the Storm will certainly win some new fans.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Time to play 95% of Sydney finals at Allianz

Accor is a dump.

33k at Allianz would have looked better.

 

[Senor M]

Yeah, the other game's GF was finished by 5:30, could easily have started Ch9 coverage at 6:30 and kicked off at 7.

Interesting that the Victorian game always have a twilight prelim on the Saturday, is it something we could explore to make the game more appealing for those who have to travel?

Just a thought, and we'd lose some TV viewers which are worth a lot as well...

The Twilight Saturday AFL Prelim occurs when a team has to fly on the Saturday evening home after the game to ensure sufficient rest before the Grand Final (with clubs having to do media & events prior to the Grand Final)

It isn’t as important with the NRL with the Sunday Grand Final

 

[DIOGENES]

Total Crowds for finals so far: 246,292
Add, give or take 82,000 for GF
Total finals = 328,292
960 less than last year and the 7th highest of all time.

BUT, and this is a big but, it is the second highest final series that did not have Brisbane playing.
The NRL should really consider giving Brisbane a wild card entry to the finals each year, preferably taking the Sharks place

Overall the season total will be about 4,267,000 beating last years record by 180,537
The event average has increased from 19,742 to 20,613 or 4.4%

 

[azza29]

Bit of a meh crowd last night but plenty of Panthers fans would be saving their cash for expected GF tickets so another factor there.

 

[yakstorm]

Oop not the Champ slur

Was a bit of a shit post, I don't want Melbourne to fail (I'd be lying if I didn't want you guys to experience an extended period of results pain though), but it's a pretty fair opinion. I mean, you didn't sell out your first final (came close) and you've not averaged 20k yet with a 70% win record under Bellamy.

Thus back to my first point -- if the organisation shit itself results wise -- I'd expect a pretty dramatic fall in crowd numbers (first post).

I know that you've got some engrained supporters, but the numbers are small, imagine what they'd be if you had results like the Titans. That's my point. Made the granny last night and probably 500 seats shifted from the GF map... Anyway, hopefully I am wrong, and it seems like we will never know.

It's a fair comment to make and pre-COVID I'd agree that the club would take a big hit if performance on the field dropped, though over the last few years definitely seeing a change in Storm supporters.

Firstly, not only have crowds grown over the past few seasons, but the crowd make-up has changed. In the past for big games, either there would have been a significant portion of away fans swelling the crowd (usually Broncos & Warriors) or a significant number of sporting neutrals there often wearing their favourite AFL team's jersey or nothing Storm related. It was often also very few kids/families.

Last few years this has shifted, lot more families, lot more purple, crowd very pro Storm overall.

Season ticket memberships have continued to grow (currently around the 14K mark) and the club has enjoyed total membership numbers remaining over 30K.

Participation in Victoria is at record levels with over 6,000 registered club participants, plus its getting into schools, etc.

Throw in that culturally Victorians are more likely to turn up and support their team when they're loosing & the Storm has 3 crowd boosting games on their draw (Warriors, Broncos, ANZAC) each year, I wouldn't see their averages collapsing to under 10K if they started playing like the Titans.

Honestly I think it would hover around the 14-16K mark these days or at least for the first 5+ years IMO. The core is pretty strong, the club's biggest issue is it does a pretty average job capturing the bandwagon / less fanatical supporters during the season.

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[Steel Saints]

It's a fair comment to make and pre-COVID I'd agree that the club would take a big hit if performance on the field dropped, though over the last few years definitely seeing a change in Storm supporters.

Firstly, not only have crowds grown over the past few seasons, but the crowd make-up has changed. In the past for big games, either there would have been a significant portion of away fans swelling the crowd (usually Broncos & Warriors) or a significant number of sporting neutrals there often wearing their favourite AFL team's jersey or nothing Storm related. It was often also very few kids/families.

Last few years this has shifted, lot more families, lot more purple, crowd very pro Storm overall.

Season ticket memberships have continued to grow (currently around the 14K mark) and the club has enjoyed total membership numbers remaining over 30K.

Participation in Victoria is at record levels with over 6,000 registered club participants, plus its getting into schools, etc.

Throw in that culturally Victorians are more likely to turn up and support their team when they're loosing & the Storm has 3 crowd boosting games on their draw (Warriors, Broncos, ANZAC) each year, I wouldn't see their averages collapsing to under 10K if they started playing like the Titans.

Honestly I think it would hover around the 14-16K mark these days or at least for the first 5+ years IMO. The core is pretty strong, the club's biggest issue is it does a pretty average job capturing the bandwagon / less fanatical supporters during the season.

Another factor for the Storm is population growth in Melbourne. In the early 2030's, Melbourne is projected to have a population of 6 million. It is currently over 5 million. When the Storm entered the comp back in '98, the population was just over 3.3 million. Even in their lean years, I think the Storm will be ok.

Three reasons why Melbourne’s population will overtake Sydney’s within a decade

The Victorian capital is forecast to become Australia’s most populous city by 2032. So what’s driving this shift?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Perth Red]

Time to play 95% of Sydney finals at Allianz

Accor is a dump.

33k at Allianz would have looked better.

When you have arguably the best rectangular stadium in the country available why would you choose a sht hole lIkeAccor? Makes no sense!

 

[Pjf04b]

Last night we got back to Penrith at midnight. If it was at Allianz we would be back at 1:00 am at the earliest. A Penrith game at night at Allianz would kill the crowd coming from Penrith. There was over 20k Penrith fans last night at Accor, there wouldn't be at Allianz!

 

[Warriors Fever]

For people at the game what was the crowd make up like ? Sounded and looked pretty panther dominant on tv