2026 Attendances

[Hawkk]

It will be interesting to see how many tomorrow night’s Carlton v Geelong game draws. The last five games have drawn 68,208, 55,861, 87,778, 75,870 and 67,658. With Carlton’s pick up of form (and the two extra wildcard spots) this could draw 70,000 plus?

 

[What else we can do]

It will be interesting to see how many tomorrow night’s Carlton v Geelong game draws. The last five games have drawn 68,208, 55,861, 87,778, 75,870 and 67,658. With Carlton’s pick up of form (and the two extra wildcard spots) this could draw 70,000 plus?

low 60's maybe high 60's. How about your Hawks v Saints? 42,000 maybe tonight?

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

low 60's maybe high 60's. How about your Hawks v Saints? 42,000 maybe tonight?

I'm going 35K-38K for tonight. Thursday night will shave off a few thousand.

 

[manicmagpie]

It will be interesting to see how many tomorrow night’s Carlton v Geelong game draws. The last five games have drawn 68,208, 55,861, 87,778, 75,870 and 67,658. With Carlton’s pick up of form (and the two extra wildcard spots) this could draw 70,000 plus?

It's the only MCG game for the week as well, should drag out a few neutrals in the MCC/AFL.

 

[Hawkk]

low 60's maybe high 60's. How about your Hawks v Saints? 42,000 maybe tonight?

30,000 to 32,000 at best. It’s very sparse.

 

[What else we can do]

30,000 to 32,000 at best. It’s very sparse.

Interested to know roughly the number of Hawks supporters considering the Hawks might be playing more games there in the future.

 

[manicmagpie]

Interested to know roughly the number of Hawks supporters considering the Hawks might be playing more games there in the future.

I’m at the ground and for a Saints home game it’s ridiculously in favour of Hawthorn.

 

[Hawkk]

I’m at the ground and for a Saints home game it’s ridiculously in favour of Hawthorn.

It also built up a bit late.

 

[manicmagpie]

33,476 at Docklands.

 

[Gizmo]

Saints/Hawks 33,476 at Marvel.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Saints highest home crowd at Marvel so far this year.

 

[Hawkk]

33,476 at Docklands.

Much better than I expected. Suspected this could be sub 30,000 given the Thursday Night. Last years Marvel game drew 36,045 on the Saturday Night.

 

[magic_johnson!]

It will be interesting to see how many tomorrow night’s Carlton v Geelong game draws. The last five games have drawn 68,208, 55,861, 87,778, 75,870 and 67,658. With Carlton’s pick up of form (and the two extra wildcard spots) this could draw 70,000 plus?

Reserve ticket sales aren’t fantastic, but I’d expect a pretty good general admission turn up.

I’m optimistic it will crack 70,000 as there’s a few factors going for it, however 65,000 maybe more realistic.

Geelong’s average crowd at the mcg over the past few years must be up around 70,000. Only one match that I can think of that went less than 50,000.

 

[Hawkk]

Reserve ticket sales aren’t fantastic, but I’d expect a pretty good general admission turn up.

I’m optimistic it will crack 70,000 as there’s a few factors going for it, however 65,000 maybe more realistic.

Geelong’s average crowd at the mcg over the past few years must be up around 70,000. Only one match that I can think of that went less than 50,000.

Geelong have the best schedule in the AFL. They get 10 games a year at a 40,000 seat fortress, play 4-6 MCG ‘neutral’ blockbusters against big clubs and barely ever travel to Marvel. It gives them the best of everything…a bit like Princes Park for Carlton back in the day.

 

[Hawkk]

As an aside Carlton have a pretty soft run home. They are currently 2.5 games out of the wildcard rounds but if they can jag an upset or two they are the sort of club that could draw some enormous crowds in the run home (they play Geelong, Essendon Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood in five of the next six rounds)

 

[qlderlions]

Much better than I expected. Suspected this could be sub 30,000 given the Thursday Night. Last years Marvel game drew 36,045 on the Saturday Night.

Not sure that was a good outcome.

I got AI to produce a table of Thursday night crowds from AFL tables (see below), this crowd actually looks like one of the worst crowd outcomes for a Thursday night. Especially considering it was two Victorian Clubs playing each other.

Based on comments on the crowd split here <20,000 saints supporters turned up to a home game on a Thursday night. That is on-par with Gold Coast type crowds in the AFL heartland. Geelong at Kardinia Park is the other disappointing result (but against non-Victorian opposition).

AFL 2026 Season — Thursday Night Match Crowds
Source: AFL Tables (afltables.com) — Current to Round 12, 2026
Date	Venue	Home Team	Away Team	Crowd Attendance	Ground Capacity	Utilisation	Public Holiday After
Thu 5 Mar 2026 (Opening Rd)	S.C.G., Sydney	Sydney	Carlton	40,372	45,000	90%	No
Thu 12 Mar 2026 (Rd 1)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Richmond	74,313	100,000	74%	No
Thu 19 Mar 2026 (Rd 2)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Hawthorn	Sydney	47,945	100,000	48%	No
Thu 26 Mar 2026 (Rd 3)	Kardinia Park, Geelong	Geelong	Adelaide	20,403	40,000	51%	No
Thu 2 Apr 2026 (Rd 4)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Collingwood	34,648	36,000	96%	Yes
Thu 9 Apr 2026 (Rd 5 – Gather Round)	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Adelaide	Carlton	49,184	53,000	93%	No
Thu 16 Apr 2026 (Rd 6)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Collingwood	78,058	100,000	78%	No
Thu 23 Apr 2026 (Rd 7 – ANZAC Appeal)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Essendon	Collingwood	92,231	100,000	92%	No
Thu 30 Apr 2026 (Rd 8)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Collingwood	Hawthorn	76,632	100,000	77%	No
Thu 7 May 2026 (Rd 9)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Geelong	Collingwood	83,166	100,000	83%	No
Thu 14 May 2026 (Rd 10)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Geelong	29,221	36,000	81%	No
Thu 21 May 2026 (Rd 11)	UTAS Stadium	Hawthorn	Adelaide	8,312	9,000	92%	No
Thu 28 May 2026 (Rd 12)	Marvel Stadium	St Kilda	Hawthorn	33,476	53,000	63%	No
TOTAL / AVERAGE (completed games)				667,961		78%
Average crowd (completed games)	51,382

 

[Hawkk]

Not sure that was a good outcome.

I got AI to produce a table of Thursday night crowds from AFL tables (see below), this crowd actually looks like one of the worst crowd outcomes for a Thursday night. Especially considering it was two Victorian Clubs playing each other.

Based on comments on the crowd split here <20,000 saints supporters turned up to a home game on a Thursday night. That is on-par with Gold Coast type crowds in the AFL heartland. Geelong at Kardinia Park is the other disappointing result (but against non-Victorian opposition).

AFL 2026 Season — Thursday Night Match Crowds
Source: AFL Tables (afltables.com) — Current to Round 12, 2026
Date	Venue	Home Team	Away Team	Crowd Attendance	Ground Capacity	Utilisation	Public Holiday After
Thu 5 Mar 2026 (Opening Rd)	S.C.G., Sydney	Sydney	Carlton	40,372	45,000	90%	No
Thu 12 Mar 2026 (Rd 1)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Richmond	74,313	100,000	74%	No
Thu 19 Mar 2026 (Rd 2)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Hawthorn	Sydney	47,945	100,000	48%	No
Thu 26 Mar 2026 (Rd 3)	Kardinia Park, Geelong	Geelong	Adelaide	20,403	40,000	51%	No
Thu 2 Apr 2026 (Rd 4)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Collingwood	34,648	36,000	96%	Yes
Thu 9 Apr 2026 (Rd 5 – Gather Round)	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Adelaide	Carlton	49,184	53,000	93%	No
Thu 16 Apr 2026 (Rd 6)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Collingwood	78,058	100,000	78%	No
Thu 23 Apr 2026 (Rd 7 – ANZAC Appeal)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Essendon	Collingwood	92,231	100,000	92%	No
Thu 30 Apr 2026 (Rd 8)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Collingwood	Hawthorn	76,632	100,000	77%	No
Thu 7 May 2026 (Rd 9)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Geelong	Collingwood	83,166	100,000	83%	No
Thu 14 May 2026 (Rd 10)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Geelong	29,221	36,000	81%	No
Thu 21 May 2026 (Rd 11)	UTAS Stadium	Hawthorn	Adelaide	8,312	9,000	92%	No
Thu 28 May 2026 (Rd 12)	Marvel Stadium	St Kilda	Hawthorn	33,476	53,000	63%	No
TOTAL / AVERAGE (completed games)				667,961		78%
Average crowd (completed games)	51,382

I’m not sure what this is meant to show — that the percentage of seats filled was lower than at other games? You’ve also lumped in ANZAC Day and Geelong v Collingwood (both Saturday games) which massive distorts the list.

Strip out Richmond v Carlton, which is always a Thursday, and every Victorian game runs 15–20 per cent below its equivalent on other nights: Hawks v Swans drew 47,985 against a probable 55–60k, Geelong v Adelaide 20,405 against 25–30k, Carlton v Collingwood 78,058 against 85–90k, and Collingwood v Hawthorn 76,638 against 85k.

The last five Saints v Hawks games at Marvel averaged just 31,488. On that basis, 33,500 on a Thursday is a solid roll-up — it could have easily been 25,000 (last year the Saints and Dogs drew 20,508). I do think there is an argument that Thursday night attendances are now improving and getting closer to Friday and Saturday night gates.

 

[manicmagpie]

I got AI to

Found your problem.

 

[ep12]

Not sure that was a good outcome.

I got AI to produce a table of Thursday night crowds from AFL tables (see below), this crowd actually looks like one of the worst crowd outcomes for a Thursday night. Especially considering it was two Victorian Clubs playing each other.

Based on comments on the crowd split here <20,000 saints supporters turned up to a home game on a Thursday night. That is on-par with Gold Coast type crowds in the AFL heartland. Geelong at Kardinia Park is the other disappointing result (but against non-Victorian opposition).

AFL 2026 Season — Thursday Night Match Crowds
Source: AFL Tables (afltables.com) — Current to Round 12, 2026
Date	Venue	Home Team	Away Team	Crowd Attendance	Ground Capacity	Utilisation	Public Holiday After
Thu 5 Mar 2026 (Opening Rd)	S.C.G., Sydney	Sydney	Carlton	40,372	45,000	90%	No
Thu 12 Mar 2026 (Rd 1)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Richmond	74,313	100,000	74%	No
Thu 19 Mar 2026 (Rd 2)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Hawthorn	Sydney	47,945	100,000	48%	No
Thu 26 Mar 2026 (Rd 3)	Kardinia Park, Geelong	Geelong	Adelaide	20,403	40,000	51%	No
Thu 2 Apr 2026 (Rd 4)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Collingwood	34,648	36,000	96%	Yes
Thu 9 Apr 2026 (Rd 5 – Gather Round)	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Adelaide	Carlton	49,184	53,000	93%	No
Thu 16 Apr 2026 (Rd 6)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Carlton	Collingwood	78,058	100,000	78%	No
Thu 23 Apr 2026 (Rd 7 – ANZAC Appeal)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Essendon	Collingwood	92,231	100,000	92%	No
Thu 30 Apr 2026 (Rd 8)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Collingwood	Hawthorn	76,632	100,000	77%	No
Thu 7 May 2026 (Rd 9)	M.C.G., Melbourne	Geelong	Collingwood	83,166	100,000	83%	No
Thu 14 May 2026 (Rd 10)	The Gabba, Brisbane	Brisbane Lions	Geelong	29,221	36,000	81%	No
Thu 21 May 2026 (Rd 11)	UTAS Stadium	Hawthorn	Adelaide	8,312	9,000	92%	No
Thu 28 May 2026 (Rd 12)	Marvel Stadium	St Kilda	Hawthorn	33,476	53,000	63%	No
TOTAL / AVERAGE (completed games)				667,961		78%
Average crowd (completed games)	51,382

ooh anzac day is now on the 23rd.

Lats nights crowd was perfectly fine for a Thursday night.

 

[Sammoll]

Has anyone else noticed this? For the last 3 days, the link to buy tickets for all MCG games is broken on the AFL Website (not just Carlton vs Geelong tonight, but all MCG games).
Pretty amateur stuff that nobody at the AFL has noticed or fixed this. Yes, tickets are still available if you go directly through Ticketek - so hopefully won't impact any crowds, but if you're a casual fan this could easily turn you off buying tickets to a game as it would appear that they're all gone.

 

[largebus]

Found your problem.

The listed round 9 game Geel vs Coll was on a Saturday.
I find for a lot of basic AFL facts AI tends to fail because it's a niche sport in global terms with relatively little data to train its models on

 

[Recon_29]

Has anyone else noticed this? For the last 3 days, the link to buy tickets for all MCG games is broken on the AFL Website (not just Carlton vs Geelong tonight, but all MCG games).
Pretty amateur stuff that nobody at the AFL has noticed or fixed this. Yes, tickets are still available if you go directly through Ticketek - so hopefully won't impact any crowds, but if you're a casual fan this could easily turn you off buying tickets to a game as it would appear that they're all gone.
View attachment 2624105
View attachment 2624106

Yep been like this for days. Can't help ticket sales that's for sure. The Ticketek website works

 

[Purple Suit]

The listed round 9 game Geel vs Coll was on a Saturday.
I find for a lot of basic AFL facts AI tends to fail because it's a niche sport in global terms with relatively little data to train its models on

I think you'll find it makes a lot of mistakes but unless you know the subject matter, people just assume it's correct. AI has been programmed by people with the Kruger Dunning effect that would rather feed you bullshit than say they are not sure.

 

[Raz Man]

Carlton v Geelong = 61,081

 

[Hawkk]

Carlton v Geelong = 61,081

Probably 5,000 to 10,000 unders given the drawing power of both clubs on a Friday Night marquee slot. That said, the Blues draw really opens up over the next few weeks. Essendon (MND), GWS (Away), West Coast (Marvel), Richmond (MCG), Hawthorn (MCG) and Collingwood (MCG). Could easily see four 75,000 games in that schedule, especially if the fans (and media) embrace the wildcard run. They really need to pick up two or three wins from the Essendon, GWS and West Coast block to make that a possibility…