2026 Crowd Watch

[storm1999]

What other professional competition in the world has most of its teams sharing stadiums like that?

It happens all the time. Stadiums aren't cheap to build so why wouldn't you maximise their usage?

• SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles): Los Angeles Rams (NFL) and Los Angeles Chargers (NFL).
• MetLife Stadium (New York/NJ): New York Giants (NFL) and New York Jets (NFL).
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta): Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Atlanta United FC (MLS).
• San Siro (Milan): AC Milan (Serie A) and Inter Milan (Serie A).
• Stadio Olimpico (Rome): AS Roma (Serie A) and SS Lazio (Serie A).

 

[i0Nic]

It happens all the time. Stadiums aren't cheap to build so why wouldn't you maximise their usage?

• SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles): Los Angeles Rams (NFL) and Los Angeles Chargers (NFL).
• MetLife Stadium (New York/NJ): New York Giants (NFL) and New York Jets (NFL).
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta): Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Atlanta United FC (MLS).
• San Siro (Milan): AC Milan (Serie A) and Inter Milan (Serie A).
• Stadio Olimpico (Rome): AS Roma (Serie A) and SS Lazio (Serie A).

Yeah a maximum of two teams sharing a stadium not 9 even in the nrl a couple teams share a stadium here or there.

Now show me which professional league has 9 teams in the same city sharing 2 stadiums?

also show me which league owns multiple of its sporting clubs over decades and gives them unfair advantages over other teams in the comp?

 

[nko11]

Hills have sold out for Campbelltown. The request to stand hasn't put off people. For the club's Thursday night game at Leichhardt the following round, there are currently only the hill and 12 seats left in the ground.

It's not unrealistic that ANZAC Round might end up with 8 sell outs. Cowboys v Sharks at 6pm on a Friday is possibly the hardest ask, but with the three ANZAC Day games well on track, Broncos v Bulldogs down to the hundreds of seats left, and Newcastle & Manly both successfully selling out all their home games to date, it's a real possibility.

Highest aggregate round ever was last year - round 7 - total attendance = 218,833

Somewhat conservative predictions:
Tigers v Raiders - 16.5k
Cowboys v Sharks - 20k
Broncos v Bulldogs - 45k
Dragons vs Roosters - 39k
Warriors v Dolphins - 33k
Storm v Rabbitohs - 26k
Knights v Panthers - 23k
Sea Eagles v Eels - 16k

Total - 218,500

Going to be get very close to the record, if the Knights stadium was full capacity, I would call it right now.

Hoping the Cowboys and Ticketmaster can come to their senses and provide reasonable ticketing prices asap. Especially rough for North QLD supporters driving 4 hours+ to games with petrol prices.

Would be great headlines fo have a full round sellout and record crowd aggregate over the ANZAC weekend.

 

[nko11]

Yeah a maximum of two teams sharing a stadium not 9 even in the nrl a couple teams share a stadium here or there.

Now show me which professional league has 9 teams in the same city sharing 2 stadiums?

also show me which league owns multiple of its sporting clubs over decades and gives them unfair advantages over other teams in the comp?

94/216 games were played at either the MCG or Etihad last year. That is 43.5% of all games, home and away and finals. Thought I'd just add some metrics to what you're saying.

MCG = 51/216 = 23.6%
Etihad = 43/216 = 19.9%

 

[i0Nic]

94/216 games were played at either the MCG or Etihad last year. That is 43.5% of all games, home and away and finals. Thought I'd just add some metrics to what you're saying.

MCG = 51/216 = 23.6%
Etihad = 43/216 = 19.9%

Wow even more than I realised. 44% of all games in a sporting competition played in one city two stadiums. And 98% of the players being Anglo white. What a diverse and varied sport!

 

[storm1999]

94/216 games were played at either the MCG or Etihad last year. That is 43.5% of all games, home and away and finals.

Why is this a problem exactly? The MCG teams average well over 40k for home games, and Marvel teams over 30k. Some old-school fans might prefer for smaller suburban grounds like Moorabin (St Kilda), Whitten Oval (Bulldogs) and Princes Park (Carlton) but that ship has sailed when ground rationalisation was introduced in the 1990s.
There are also games played by Victorian teams in Geelong, Ballarat and Launceston.

 

[kurt faulk]

Because it will not get 30K at Allianz. Sydney is not Melbourne. Home ground advantage means something. We don't want to be like the AFL with 9 clubs playing out of 2 stadiums. How f**king boring would that be.

Haha, some dweeb on news.com wrote an article that said the afl gather round was better than magic round because they play some games on smaller grounds so the crowd is on top of the players.

I had to laugh. Every league game has the crowd close to the players, including magic round, except for games played at the toilet bowl in homebush. The suburban grounds even more so.

And there are so many people in here that want to follow the afl model. Stick to afl bozos. They yearn for league type grounds.

League doesn't need huge crowds to make it look popular. As long as the grounds are full, the game has a great atmosphere and looks and sounds great on TV.

.

 

[i0Nic]

Why is this a problem exactly? The MCG teams average well over 40k for home games, and Marvel teams over 30k. Some old-school fans might prefer for smaller suburban grounds like Moorabin (St Kilda), Whitten Oval (Bulldogs) and Princes Park (Carlton) but that ship has sailed when ground rationalisation was introduced in the 1990s.
There are also games played by Victorian teams in Geelong, Ballarat and Launceston.

I forgot that the VFL even over uses the MCG for finals too. Going back to the original point as you can see - AFL is a totally Melbourne Centric sport. Unlike the NRL.

So let’s stop pretending it’s a national competition when it really is anything but that.

 

[storm1999]

AFL is a totally Melbourne Centric sport. Unlike the NRL.

AFL is Melbourne-centric, NRL is Sydney-centric. The AFL plays games in every state and territory, the NRL ignores Adelaide, Tasmania and Perth (until recently).

How can a national competition prioritise a team in PNG, a third world country ridden with violence and crime, over Adelaide, the fifth largest capital city!

 

[storm1999]

Haha, some dweeb on news.com wrote an article that said the afl gather round was better than magic round because they play some games on smaller grounds so the crowd is on top of the players.

Yes, it's nice as a once-a-year novelty. Thankfully modern stadiums are used for the most part to avoid farcical situations like forcing members to stand at Campbelltown.

 

[i0Nic]

AFL is Melbourne-centric, NRL is Sydney-centric. The AFL plays games in every state and territory, the NRL ignores Adelaide, Tasmania and Perth (until recently).

How can a national competition prioritise a team in PNG, a third world country ridden with violence and crime, over Adelaide, the fifth largest capital city!

Nope still wrong no matter how much you want to repeat your nonsense. We’ve established AFL is Melbourne centric by virtue of:
- afl / 7 prioritises Victorian club matches on prime time because others don’t rate
- play 45% of all games in two Melbourne stadiums
- treats multiple non Victorian teams as expansion posts that needed constant propping up

none of this happens in the nrl, despite the fact that there are also a lot of nsw teams. I’ll remind you we already established that it’s the non nsw NRL teams that get the biggest tv ratings (broncos, storm).

you can try gaslighting me but i wont fall for it. The fact is afl is a Melbourne past time and that’s all it will ever be.

 

[kurt faulk]

Yes, it's nice as a once-a-year novelty. Thankfully modern stadiums are used for the most part to avoid farcical situations like forcing members to stand at Campbelltown.

There's nothing farcical about it. That's like saying a mosh pit at a concert is farcical. I always used to stand on the hill at kogarah back in the day when they used to pack us in like sardines.

.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Are people unable to use cars, trains, buses in Sydney?

No, they cannot.

Also there’s the other side of this which is you’re selling tickets to an event at an advertised venue then changing it. That alone will piss off more fans than you are otherwise locking out.

Then there is an even bigger issue of Sydney FC playing at Allianz Stadium at the exact same time this Tigers/Broncos game is going ahead.

 

[nko11]

Why is this a problem exactly? The MCG teams average well over 40k for home games, and Marvel teams over 30k. Some old-school fans might prefer for smaller suburban grounds like Moorabin (St Kilda), Whitten Oval (Bulldogs) and Princes Park (Carlton) but that ship has sailed when ground rationalisation was introduced in the 1990s.
There are also games played by Victorian teams in Geelong, Ballarat and Launceston.

The argument wasn't so much that they don't get good crowds. The centralisation would actually have a large amount to do with the good crowds and I'm a proponent for more it in RL. But within reason.

Both competitions are taking largely opposite approaches in their respective origin cities - Sydney and Melbourne. I think going 100% either way is not ideal. I've been to the MCG for the Ashes - It's a good ground. But I would find it getting extremely stale if every Sydney game was at Allianz or Accor. It's about finding a happy medium.

The AFL is not helped with Optus and the new Brisbane Stadium design either. Both I'm sure have/will have great facilities - but they are both cookie-cutter all seater sanitised stadium designs. Adelaide Oval and the SCG are the only ones left with a bit of character.

Even if every club in the NRL was to be averaging 50k tomorrow - I would still be a strong proponent for keeping a selection of games at the suburban grounds, keeps a bit of character in the game.

 

[storm1999]

The fact is afl is a Melbourne past time and that’s all it will ever be.

Even though the Swans will fill the SCG this Friday night and will draw a larger crowd than any of the Sydney NRL clubs hosting games at their various grounds this weekend?

 

[storm1999]

Also there’s the other side of this which is you’re selling tickets to an event at an advertised venue then changing it. That alone will piss off more fans than you are otherwise locking out.

Then there is an even bigger issue of Sydney FC playing at Allianz Stadium at the exact same time this Tigers/Broncos game is going ahead.

Fair enough, I understand it can't happen logistically at this late stage. But these situations should be able to be anticipated weeks or months in advance.

 

[i0Nic]

Even though the Swans will fill the SCG this Friday night and will draw a larger crowd than any of the Sydney NRL clubs hosting games at their various grounds this weekend?

Yep all those ex Victorians and ex Union fans will enjoy the game and the rest of Sydney will ignore it like they’ve done the last 40 years.

if it was such a popular game why is afl relegating it and not showing it nation wide? Obviously they don’t stand behind it.

 

[parrawentyfan]

I think there is a place for modern suburban grounds in the NRL, not along the lines of Leichhardt as it stands today but along the lines of Commbank or (at a stretch given it looks a bit rubbish) the new Penrith stadium. If over a long period we can get some suburban grounds to that level, we will have done very well.

Sydney is not Melbourne geographically. This is a problem with the city, not the sporting league. Sydney's CBD is squished into the eastern side of the city, largely inaccessible for those out West. And those who live in the East have a hard time travelling out to western venues like Accor, Commbank and Penrith due to the same transport concerns and fear of needing to interactive with the great unwashed.

 

[i0Nic]

I think there is a place for modern suburban grounds in the NRL, not along the lines of Leichhardt as it stands today but along the lines of Commbank or (at a stretch given it looks a bit rubbish) the new Penrith stadium. If over a long period we can get some suburban grounds to that level, we will have done very well.

Sydney is not Melbourne geographically. This is a problem with the city, not the sporting league. Sydney's CBD is squished into the eastern side of the city, largely inaccessible for those out West. And those who live in the East have a hard time travelling out to western venues like Accor, Commbank and Penrith due to the same transport concerns and fear of needing to interactive with the great unwashed.

It’s not a problem of Sydney, it’s a feature.
I know where I wanna live.

 

[Dark Corner]

Talk about embarrassing, sometimes we`ve got a long way to go if we are going to be the NFL of the southern hemishere.

Does not help having 3 bloody grounds to play out off.