Les Malone
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 28, 2019
- 5,752
- 6,279
- AFL Club
- GWS
Just certain things. Alot of people here don't follow Lions or Suns so their crowd numbers aren't always reflective of the actual AFL fan base, alot of kids do though so the future is going to be good for them. The Lions do have a huge sleeping supporter base as last year showed. There are alot of ex pats and alot of people who chose teams back in the 70s and 80s when the VFL was beamed live into QLD. The local comps here are thriving, there are teams everywhere and several divisions. Southport Sharks are the richest club outside of the AFL apparently. According to a friend who used to run AFL juniors. The participation rate in QLD is actually higher in Aussie Rules over NRL. Auskick does massive things here.
Even personal experience. I would say at least half of my friend base here follows AFL over NRL. And the ones that do follow AFL properly follow it. Attend games, make trips interstate, some buy memberships. The NRL fans just stick to TV viewing. There's some great designated football pubs here which generally pull good crowds for TV games. Pineapple & Story Bridge to name a couple.
FTA viewing numbers are not a great indicator either, as QLD still has games in SD on FTA, if you can handle that in 2020 good luck to your eyes. Most have KAYO now or still Foxtel.
Origin time is massive for NRL there is no doubt there. But for the rest of the year the AFL is very much competitive. The papers and news do prefer to pump the broncos. But that's just standard for QLD.
All in all, I'm a Victorian and I travel to watch the blues 6-8 times a year in Melbourne. For the rest of that time I find plenty of footy interest here to keep me satisfied. Ill happily go watch the lions or suns just as a neutral.
this historical footnote may interest you
1876-77
The Darling Downs footballers inaugurated the first Australian Rules football association in Australia − the Toowoomba Football Association − twelve months before the commencement of associations in South Australia (South Australian Football Association – SAFA), and Victoria (Victorian Football Association – VFA).
AFL in Queensland - AFL Queensland
A Chronology of Queensland Australian Rules in the Nineteenth Century From the book RED INVINCIBLES – THE ORIGINS OF QUEENSLAND FOOTBALL, by Murray Bird 1866 May 22 – First meeting of the Brisbane Football Club. June 1 – The…Read more ›
www.aflq.com.au
from the book
New book brings Queensland footy history to life - AFL Queensland
Murray Bird has spent more than a decade of his life piecing together the history of Australian rules football in Queensland. Now, with the release of his book ‘Athenians and Red Invincibles: The Origins of Queensland Football,’ you can share…Read more ›
aflq.com.au