2026 Crowd Watch

[newc18]

At least after that performance Dogs crowds should increase.

 

[drcmuch]

Season to date now 904k. Will crack the million in record time on Saturday.

 

[Sky_Is_The_Limit]

Hopefully next year Canterbury vs Penrith isn’t scheduled on a Thursday night at Accor for once

 

[Pjf04b]

The crowd seemed nearly 50-50 tonight. Great effort by Penrith fans. Where were all the Doggies?

 

[ouwet]

The crowd seemed nearly 50-50 tonight. Great effort by Penrith fans. Where were all the Doggies?

Good amount of Penrith supporters but 50/50 funny.

 

[Pjf04b]

Were you there?
I was!

 

[ouwet]

Were you there?
I was!

Yeah I was... I gave credit to Penrith a few posts up! But snap out of it if you think it was 50/50.

 

[kurt faulk]

Season to date now 904k. Will crack the million in record time on Saturday.

But the 6 agains?

.

 

[Jpw25111]

Storm will never have access to the MCG on Anzac Day for obvious reasons. But a few 45k blockbusters at Marvel would be good to see.

He's got no idea

 

[Pjf04b]

Yeah I was... I gave credit to Penrith a few posts up! But snap out of it if you think it was 50/50.

40/60 at the worst. The southern corner was totally Penrith.

 

[Sky_Is_The_Limit]

Campbelltown GA is sold out at both ends of the stadium for Tigers vs Knights on Sunday.

Comfortably on track for a sellout.

 

[Dark Corner]

It will be interesting to see what the NRL does with the double header in Perth as the Bears come in next year and Souths will play all home games in Sydney with one at Gosford (If Belmore's still under renovation, maybe the Bulldogs can take Souths spot). I bet they'll try to move the double header to Melbourne, likely the MCG. I wouldn't rule out Geelong as a choice either

It will be interesting to see what the NRL does with the double header in Perth as the Bears come in next year and Souths will play all home games in Sydney with one at Gosford (If Belmore's still under renovation, maybe the Bulldogs can take Souths spot). I bet they'll try to move the double header to Melbourne, likely the MCG. I wouldn't rule out Geelong as a choice either

I would like to see a weekend with Roosters v Bunnies at SFS, Eels v Wests at Commbank and Panthers v Bulldogs at Accor and call it the big Sydney derby round or has it been done before.

 

[Barney Stubble]

Marvel is the go. MCG is no good for crowds under 50k - 60k.

nope, no $ to the ALF thanks

 

[azza29]

Good crowd .. but man 24k still looks shite on TV at accor

It really does, you'd be forgiven for thinking social distancing rules were back.

 

[Speedy Gonzales]

Campbelltown GA is sold out at both ends of the stadium for Tigers vs Knights on Sunday.

Comfortably on track for a sellout.

View attachment 111682

Will be good to see Cambo rocking, a win would be very good for the region seeing as we have an atrocious record there

Don’t think we will see our true fan base potential until a few weeks time when we play Penrith and the Doggies. Hopefully we’re still in good form by then

 

[yakstorm]

Fingers crossed Wests get the win. Next week's game against the Broncos at CSS already has good pre-sales, a win over the Knights would almost guarantee a sellout

 

[stratocaster]

What teams would you need to have consistently in the top 8 to maximise crowd attendance?

I would have instinctually said those big Sydney clubs playing at Accor and Allianz plus the Broncos.

I've listed some teams and what they roughly average when they're doing well or their recent averages (it's just a rough number). I've also listed their current ladder ranking and their 2026 average.

Broncos - 40k+9th - Current: 43.5k - basically at capacity
Bulldogs - 30k+ 5th - Current: 20.5k - lots of room to grow
Warriors - 23k+6th - Current 23.8k - basically at capacity
Knights - 22k+ 3rd - Current 22.2k - basically at capacity
Roosters - 22k+11th - Current 31.8k - room to grow
Storm - 22k+12th - Current 23.2k - some room to grow
Dolphins - 21k+10th Current: 15.4k - room to grow
Cowboys - 19k+8th Current: 18.9k - some room to grow
Rabbitohs - 18k+4th - Current: 49.8k - lots of room to grow
Panthers - 18k+ 1st - Current 21.5k - room to grow at CommBank
Eels - 18k+14th - Current: 27.5k - room to grow
Tigers - 17k+ 2nd Current: 17.4k - room to grow is at CommBank
Titans - 17k 15th - Current: 19.2k - room to grow
Sea Eagles - 16k - 13th Current: 16.8k - basically at capacity
Raiders - 16k - 16th Current: 15.6k - room to grow
Dragons and Sharks - excluded for obvious reasons

3 clubs that typically average over 20k are in the current top 8 - Bulldogs, Warriors, Knights). Of these, the Bulldogs basically have no stadium capacity restriction on their final averages but the other two do.

4 others in the top 8 are Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Panthers, Tigers - are capable of averaging over 20k and are at stadiums that can allow it to happen.

You then then have 5 other clubs with or capable of 20k averages, hovering outside the top 8 - Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Dolphins and Eels - 4 of which have stadiums that can allow them to get 20k+.

If this pattern holds and you have teams with big excess stadium capacities like the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs staying in the 8, you might see a big uptick in club home averages this season and a lot of club records set.

The main thing that could improve it is if the Sharks drop out of the 8 (simply because they have the biggest crowd restriction) and are swapped by a team like Eels, Storm or the Roosters who have lots of room to grow their crowds.

These just feels like a mathematical set up for some big crowds this season.

 

[yakstorm]

Ideally you want clubs who can not only draw well at home when performing, but also can help boost crowds at away games.

Broncos, Bulldogs and Warriors have all shown in recent years that when they're doing well they can bring a big crowd away from home as well, so ideally you'd have them as top performers.

Eels are one we know that when they're performing also can bring the numbers away.

The four above also have decent sized home grounds, so bring the nice benefit of being able to average over 20K at home and away.

From there, it becomes more subjective, Wests Tigers arguably have a large supporter base, but Leichhardt & Campbelltown cap their potential, Souths has a significant supporter base, but don't show up to Accor in big numbers and are more selective with away games. Dragons have a large fan base, but maybe aging out (or are just frustrated by how the club has been run for the past decade), they are also capped by their home ground choices.

Outside of Sydney, the Storm, Titans, Dolphins & Newcastle all have the benefits of being able to draw high 20K crowds at home when they're being successful (and there is no work happening at home), which helps make up for any shortcomings for away matches.

 

[storm1999]

Storm - 22k+12th - Current 23.2k - some room to grow

As a Storm member I'd love the club to play its 3 biggest home games at Marvel Stadium which would enable crowds of up to 50k to become a possibility. However, the club doesn't want to give up its home field of AAMI Park which is understandable.

 

[newc18]

As a Storm member I'd love the club to play its 3 biggest home games at Marvel Stadium which would enable crowds of up to 50k to become a possibility. However, the club doesn't want to give up its home field of AAMI Park which is understandable.

I'm sure the actual Storm fans wouldn't appreciate moving from a stadium with great seats to one where you need binoculars.