AFL 2017 Finals Ticketing thread. Post your ticket concerns here

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HairyO

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So GWS offered local clubs and supporter groups across Sydney access to blocks of tickets for this Saturday's game.

You prepay then get login details to reserve the seats.

As you are selecting the block of seats you keep noticing that seats are disappearing from the list so you keep adding more. But it keeps happening.

So you call them and they are surprised but will investigate. On investigating it appears that you were not able to reserve blocks of seats and it was just a free for all with everyone else. There is a promise to investigate further.

The AFL get involved and are surprised that people are going to go to a GWS game. They decide to change the entire system and will instead have the tickets available at the gate with the club having no idea if the seats are together, if juniors are separated from adults and even if people are in the same section.

It is also quite likely that rather than having access to good seats - which was the case on Tuesday, they will be given the worst seats in the stadium.

Its almost like this is the first time the AFL have ever organised seating. I mean, GWS didnt spend most of the year in the top 5 which would give them at least one home game....

If only the AFL had a few thousand more employees maybe they could organise things well.
 

FRUMPY

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Why? Because like last week, getting to Friday night games from geelong is difficult. Stop baiting and ask an actual question.
It is really hard driving from Geelong to the city, or driving to a train station near the city. Geelong fans act as if they are coming from Alice Springs
 

jenny61_99

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Obviously. But I know people who have and they said it's not as good as it should be. 17k from each club is it? May as well go watch a North home game
In 97/98 the allocation for competing clubs was only 11,000! Atmosphere was just fine. But it would absolutely be better if the majority of tickets went to supporters of the two competing clubs.
 

Danger!Selwood

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It is really hard driving from Geelong to the city, or driving to a train station near the city. Geelong fans act as if they are coming from Alice Springs
Its a combination of factors to be honest. I think that Cook was right when he mentioned finals fatigue- I think we have played in around 30 finals since 2004. It sounds arrogant I know, but there's merit in it. Factor that in with the possibility of working in Geelong until 5:30pm, unreliable V-Line (anyone who has ever been on it can understand), or the alternative is driving through peak hour and paying $30 for a car park. If you happen to have small kids as well, it mean best case you're not getting home until 11:30pm at the earliest.

You can tend to not worry about those things when finals are new and shiny to your club (as the tigers fans are proving, good on them) but the gloss does wear off a bit, especially when the team is obviously not as good as their predecessors (which is a hard act to follow mind you).
 

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blue harvest

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Obviously. But I know people who have and they said it's not as good as it should be. 17k from each club is it? May as well go watch a North home game
A decent proportion of the AFL Members and MCC Reserves are supporters of the 2 clubs. And a lot of suporters of the 2 clubs end up forking out for one of the expensive packages. Well over half the stadium ends up being the 2 teams, it's a great atmosphere.
 

JohnZ

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It is really hard driving from Geelong to the city, or driving to a train station near the city. Geelong fans act as if they are coming from Alice Springs
It does take a massive toll. You might finish work at 5pm, get home by 5.30pm, get some food into the kids, on the road by 6, bit of extra traffic, in the city and parked by 7.15pm to 7.30pm, then it's a mad scramble to get to the MCG.

After the game, I've got home well after midnight due to traffic, the West Gate is a massive bottle neck, and you can be bumper to bumper until the Ring Rd exit.

The V/Line is more reliable now than it used to be, but the frequency isn't high enough, so if you're short on time, it's often quicker and easier to drive.

However, a Saturday Arvo game, or really any Saturday game, sure you miss out on people who have sport, but you can get the train, not have to worry about $30 parking, can have a nice lunch and not feel as rushed to get there. Maybe it's just me, but AFL is a better game in the day as well, less fumbles, less dew.
 

mattpolo8

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Obviously. But I know people who have and they said it's not as good as it should be. 17k from each club is it? May as well go watch a North home game
Your mates have rocks in their heads. Going to a grand final to support your team is such a massive privilege. Having been to 3 of the last 5, I can safely tell you that the atmosphere is perfectly fine
 
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Why? Because like last week, getting to Friday night games from geelong is difficult. Stop baiting and ask an actual question.
Was a genuine question to be honest. You saw how much an impact having a big crowd made last Friday night to your team so why not do the same to the Swans? Perhaps it is finals fatigue but it may come a day soon when your supporter base is desperate to see finals again. I feel that it is defeatist to give up on your teams chances now - with a big crowd you are every chance of beating Sydney. An hour an a half trip down the highway is certainly worth the trip if it means a shot at another Grand Final.

I just question the passion of your supporter base. If they only show up when you're winning then I worry about your future. Twelve other teams supporters would be desperate to be in your shoes come Friday night - time to turn out in big numbers to give your team every chance they can get to win!
 

JohnZ

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Was a genuine question to be honest. You saw how much an impact having a big crowd made last Friday night to your team so why not do the same to the Swans? Perhaps it is finals fatigue but it may come a day soon when your supporter base is desperate to see finals again. I feel that it is defeatist to give up on your teams chances now - with a big crowd you are every chance of beating Sydney. An hour an a half trip down the highway is certainly worth the trip if it means a shot at another Grand Final.

I just question the passion of your supporter base. If they only show up when you're winning then I worry about your future. Twelve other teams supporters would be desperate to be in your shoes come Friday night - time to turn out in big numbers to give your team every chance they can get to win!
Plenty of people want to go, it's just not practical. Two different things. Look at all our past night finals, they're low drawing, or we're outnumbered. It's not a new phenomena.
 

Rusty Brookes

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I've been a member for around 23 years and have never been able to get a ticket with my basic HFC membership (2008, 2013-15).

It's a capitalist system. If you have the money, pay the premium.

If not, understand you will be disappointed in all likelihood as you won't get tickets in the ballot.
I got lucky in the ballot in 2008. Not so in the other years but ended up going to 2014 and 2015 (couldn't go to 2013) - there are always tickets floating around on the secondary market. Every person I go to the footy has ended up getting a ticket - even had a mate get one in the carpark on the day of the game in 2014. (To be fair, one mate had to share a ticket with his girlfriend so they took it turns of going in to watch the game).

It's one of the things that makes the whole ticket allocation a bit of a joke. 30% of tickets are allocated to club members but club members end up getting tickets from secondary sources and I reckon end up being around 70% of the attendance anyway.

If the Tigers do get in though, it will be an absolute **** fight to get a ticket. My tips would be: a) you've got no chance if you try and get a block of tickets unless you are a gold member therefore be willing to accept whatever is on offer in the ballot and b) hang around the carpark at the MCG and make as many friends as you can outside.
 

JohnZ

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I know it's a little late for Tiger members, but in the past, I've been most successful when breaking barcodes into groups of 2. For the 2011 grand final, we went as 5 groups of 2, and 8 of us got seats. The ballot doesn't enter everyone's barcode, it enters every groups "number". So the bigger you make the group, the lower the chance of getting a ticket.
 
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