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I’m not surprised. In SEQ there’s been little publicity or hype. On the Goldy you nearly wouldn’t know the Suns were playing tonight. No Cats fans anywhere and no hype. No flags, no pop ups, no apparent appearances or events. Just another round of football on the Goldy type feel.
I reckon the AFL have dropped the ball on Opening Round. I think overall there’s been a lack of build up and hype. Perhaps with the MCG fixture, Melbourne interest is strong. It feels the launch of AFL needs to be reviewed, I don’t think it’s working well enough outside Melbourne which was its intention….
Lastly, we’re now in a situation where two MCG games next week are looming as flat as a tack compared to years past. In years past even when they were between lopsided or struggling teams, it was opening night and launch of new season excitement. It feels like next weekend is now ‘round two’, and crowds will reflect the losses had by an ugly Blues and not the curtain up launch it was until this year.
It will be interesting to review the first two rounds in the next month or so. I suspect we will walk away thinking that tweaking is required and ‘Opening Round’ is feeling underwhelming.
I reckon the AFL have dropped the ball on Opening Round. I think overall there’s been a lack of build up and hype. Perhaps with the MCG fixture, Melbourne interest is strong. It feels the launch of AFL needs to be reviewed, I don’t think it’s working well enough outside Melbourne which was its intention….
Lastly, we’re now in a situation where two MCG games next week are looming as flat as a tack compared to years past. In years past even when they were between lopsided or struggling teams, it was opening night and launch of new season excitement. It feels like next weekend is now ‘round two’, and crowds will reflect the losses had by an ugly Blues and not the curtain up launch it was until this year.
It will be interesting to review the first two rounds in the next month or so. I suspect we will walk away thinking that tweaking is required and ‘Opening Round’ is feeling underwhelming.
There’s only a handful of tickets left for tonight’s game. I’m not sure if there’s others that have been held back, but I’ve watched them sell steadily all week.
Re the Tom Morris tweet: They still got 40k on a Thursday night. Would more tv ads have attracted just a couple thousand more? Perhaps. Still not a bad roll up. Surprised that people still complain.
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I don’t think it would’ve achieved much more attendance wise, probably in Western Sydney for the Giants game though.
Point is more about capitalising on this opportunity to launch season in emerging markets. If they’re going to do this then they should be creating some noise and awareness that there’s a big event on in town. It sets the scene for a strong start in these markets and if done well can create ongoing interest via attendance and eyeballs on TV. Ideally you want the game to be highly visible around town, local radio and TV covering the season opener with interviews, clinics for kids, live sites for radio stations, pop up events etc. make some noise!
If they’re just going to play these games in the northern states then without a genuine effort the league are starting the season in 3rd gear and the idea won’t materialise into any genuine step change in growth of key metrics over time.
Teen Wolf
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It's almost like Opening Round is primarily about creating an extra week of primetime matches for TV ratings, while the idea of promoting the northern states is merely supplementary.
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Huddo said they were expecting 21.5k. Seems like they may fall a bit short.
If there was 20,000 there they weren’t in their seats…
Maybe it’s just bad seat colours or something, crowd looked nowhere near a sell out.
So what now for Opening Riund?
A disappointing crowd at PFS and disappointing contests in both games. I say disappointing in context of ‘Opening Round’ status and expectation this game would sellout. Again, I blame AFL and Suns for failing to successfully promote it.. It was just any other game up here.
Tigers CEO indicates problem also in that next weekend has now been marqueed out. Both MCG crowds looking significantly down on last year.
Surely next year we aren’t landing at Pies being locked into opening game at the MCG on Sunday night if they choose to go same route in 2027.
So now the league is in a quandary with how best to open its season given the rise of NRL. I suspect in 10 days the method of opening the season will be subject to a bigger question and debate.
A disappointing crowd at PFS and disappointing contests in both games. I say disappointing in context of ‘Opening Round’ status and expectation this game would sellout. Again, I blame AFL and Suns for failing to successfully promote it.. It was just any other game up here.
Tigers CEO indicates problem also in that next weekend has now been marqueed out. Both MCG crowds looking significantly down on last year.
Surely next year we aren’t landing at Pies being locked into opening game at the MCG on Sunday night if they choose to go same route in 2027.
So now the league is in a quandary with how best to open its season given the rise of NRL. I suspect in 10 days the method of opening the season will be subject to a bigger question and debate.
Well channel 7 need a kick up the butt, the repeatedly said it was.
Teen Wolf
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Give it a rest. There is no indication the AFL are unhappy with Opening Round.
40k at the SCG and 20k for GC vs a mid-sized club met expectations. And now hype for the Suns is splashed all over the media, a dream scenario for the AFL.
That you would even bring up the MCG for 2027 opening round suggests a deep breath and a little stop-and-think time is required. Test cricket has ensured the next AFL season will again kick off with games elsewhere.
Was pretty happy to hear Tigers CEO come out and have a crack. About time.
Also was surprised to hear Eddie on the Eddie and Jimmy Podcast agree that Richmond and Carlton should open the season in Melbourne.
It’s pretty easy to start the season with the a bang. Play the Victorian teams against each other. The WA teams V the SA teams and the QLD teams vs NSW teams.
You’d get close to 500,000 through the gates and everywhere starts strong and sets the tone for the season. Being a long weekend you have essentially 3 more prime time slots to utilise
Thursday night
Friday night
Saturday
Saturday night
Sunday
Sunday night
Monday arvo
Unfortunately next year won’t work with MCG out of action due to 150 year test
manicmagpie
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Not a good idea. The local derbies are mostly guaranteed sellouts whenever they are played and don’t need the boost that comes with the first game of the year.
In Vic it’s a different matter because we have multiple options for rivalries and we have a ground with a capacity well above the natural level of most matchups.
The first games (whether they’re Opening Round or Round 1) are best suited to matchups that have the potential to go big but may not at other points of the season. Carl/Rich and Haw/Ess have been great examples of this.
I won’t go into the NRL but as this stokes territorial arguments and this isn’t the thread for that.
Yes, 3 games to go and the MCG is a given as being successful.
The Giants game isn’t going to sell out and there’s no hype at all here about the Lions / Digs game.
Yep, let’s wait and see. What we do know however is the AFL haven’t created the necessary hype for this round and so far the crowds are reflecting this.
Let’s judge it after next weekends crowds fir context overall..
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I live on the Gold Coast. I’m telling you that the build up this week for both SEQ games is no more hyped than any other round of the season. It hasn’t been ‘special’.
And I’ve always been a supporter of the expansion clubs and Opening Round to grow the game in growth markets. Sometimes you have be up front and call it as it is..
Not sure why every game needs to be at capacity for OR to be considered a pass mark. Thats a very high bar. That GC game last night at almost 20k is well above their long term home ground average. I guess you can make space for the argument of under-marketing, but you also have to have the historical perspective that this game gets 12k-13k not that long ago.
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So despite weather warnings of flooding and cyclones, the Crowd last night was 25% higher than average for GC v Geelong. The Crowd on Thursday was 40k, which is pretty much a sellout.
Richmond CEO wants Richmond game to be given more free press. Shocker.
The Drop in sales for R1 can be explained by the drop in form of those clubs, and obviously the fact that the game is neither First, nor the first in Melbourne. The game that is First in Melbourne is going to hit 85k+ as a st kilda Home game. Sometimes its worth taking opportunities usually afforded to the big Victorian clubs, and giving some love to the Non Victorian and Smaller melbourne clubs.
Next year will look very different, as there is a cricket test on over the weekend of the 14th. It will have nothing to do with whether Opening round works or not (but it won't stop people thinking it is).
I didn’t mean play the derbies I meant:
SA team V WA team
SA team V WA team
NSW Team V QLD Team
NSW team V QLD team
