Should the season opener be a GF rematch ?

[Lsta062]

And when you compare those numbers to the times they've played again in the same season, it shows why making this matchup an opening 'event' is a positive move for crowd maximization.

2008: 73,503 (+951)
2009: 50,784 (-36,259)
2010: 44,716 (-27,294)
2011: 59,650 (-1,004)
2012: 46,013 (-32,272)
2013: 60,825 (-20,146)
2014: No rematch
2015: 52,564 (-30,929)
2016: No rematch
2017: 64,448 (-8,689)

Average drop of just under 20,000 fans. Having this game anywhere but Round 1 would struggle to break 60k most of the time, where it routinely hits over 70k where it is.

And I have no argument against that. Since both of these teams have not been up in the same season, crowd figures have paled in the return game if you compare it to Round 1. Helps maximise the AFL crowd figures overall and helps boost the attendance between Richmond and Carlton.

That is generally the theme of marquee games overall. Collingwood and Essendon don't usually draw as much in the return game, and I don't know if Melbourne and Collingwood do either. Richmond and Carlton being the season opener has become somewhat of a marquee game now.

 

[Quinz]

Probably to do with the fact at least one of the teams has been out of finals calculations by the 2nd game.

Of course that's a big factor, but even in the year they both made finals it only just broke 60k, and the next season in their first matchup after that epic QF they played in Round 2 and got 62k, much lower than most of the Round 1 games.

There's little doubt that playing it as the opening fixture pulls a significant number of neutrals along to the event. Which makes it a sensible decision from a crowd maximising point of view.

 

[Quinz]

And I'm not anti this fixture by any stretch, I actually love it.

Having two big teams with such a proud history of success opening the season makes the overreactions and gnashing of teeth after one game even more brutal, which is always fun.

 

[CrowsFlag2018]

No need. As if runners up want to be anywhere near the flag unfurling.

You also want the replay to be as high skilled as possible and you dont get that in round one

I dont mind it how it is.

 

[Captivating]

Your club would only get 13k to a home game?

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Lol, as if Collingwood will be good enough to play finals while GWS contend for premierships.

 

[imadodgyumpire]

OP should have other things to worry about this weekend.

 

[W.C. Fry]

Its round 1. I am excited for all games, yes even Saints v Lions or Suns v North. You don't need to schedule blockbusters in round 1. I don't believe Tigers v Blues should have the first game every year though.

Save GF replay for a few rounds in.

 

[master bate]

In years that Richmond or Carlton don't win the Grand Final (there's a sentence I find hard to type).

Thursday night: Premier v top 8 team from previous year
Friday night: Richmond v Carlton.

 

[Bombermania]

No need. As if runners up want to be anywhere near the flag unfurling.

You also want the replay to be as high skilled as possible and you dont get that in round one

I dont mind it how it is.

Not sure of the stats but a high percentage of R1 GF replays see a reversal of the GF result as the losing side seeks to spoil the party associated with unfurling the flag.

 

[Colonial]

Lol, as if Collingwood will be good enough to play finals while GWS contend for premierships.

We wont play a home game for round 1 in Sydney unless theres major changes.(though we have at the Showgrounds once.)

As such any replay will be in the oppositions ground.

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[magpienato]

Hell, if it was a GF rematch it might even draw in fans who go for other teams purely from the spectacle. Play it at MCG and you could potentially get 90k if its a Vic vs Vic

 

[doppleganger]

I think Anzac Day should be the GF rematch.

I think Easter Sunday is crying out for a blockbuster!

Perfect for a GF replay, chance for the resurrection of the beaten GF team!!

 

[GordonBlue]

Hell, if it was a GF rematch it might even draw in fans who go for other teams purely from the spectacle. Play it at MCG and you could potentially get 90k if its a Vic vs Vic

Give me 20K hardcore fans above 90k fence sitters any day.

 

[Starburns_]

No, save it for a few rounds in.

^^This. Round 1 is basically a free hit for crowds and TV viewers. Playing the GF rematch then wastes the significance of that game, a Friday (or in the case of this year, Thursday) night game in rounds 2-4 is the perfect option.

It's similar to how the Derby and Showdown are rarely played in round 1.

Serious question and would love an educated response from Tigers and Blues fans about the actual significance.

Why are still persisting with Richmond vs Carlton as the opening game for every season? The Bulldogs and North Melbourne worked for years to get a Good Friday game going and the Dogs were shafted a year in. Queens Birthday and Anzac Day and are always in the news when they come around from people suggesting it should be rotated. Even now, the holy day itself grand final day is under a barrage of conjecture about if the venue should be moved. But we seem to have given up on the opening game being between two other clubs other than historically poor Tigers and Blues. Not a dig, just a question. I like the idea of it being a grand final rematch as the OP suggested or perhaps a game from the previous season with a decent narrative, (Geelong vs Richmond for example).

As a Richmond fan I've never really cared that much about it as something that is 'ours', especially with us having locked in Dreamtime and ANZAC eve. Still, the numbers don't lie and as long as they're good, we'll keep the game.

As for ANZAC Day, debate around sharing that is really only a BF thing. Queen's Birthday has only been up for debate in the last 6 years when the crowds started dropping off.

It's funny because the AFL went through a three year period of bizarre opening Round fixtures in 2012-2014, which I'm sure a lot of people here will remember-

They decided Round 1 should be split over 2 weeks. For what reason, no one may truly ever know. In 2012 the only game on the first weekend of the season was GWS v Sydney... in 2013 it was Adelaide/Essendon and Fremantle/West Coast, and in 2014 they split it 4 games to 5. Before finally abandoning the idea and presumably firing the individual responsible for the idea, hopefully out of a cannon.

So the Carlton/Richmond matchup, while still played in Round 1 (or 2) wasn't the actual first game of the season over those years, but has been again since 2015.

Wasn't the split round an MCG availability thing? From memory the AFL wanted to start that week earlier, but not without their biggest venue available, so they played no overlap games and maximised their preferred timeslots over 2 weeks.

I think Easter Sunday is crying out for a blockbuster!

Perfect for a GF replay, chance for the resurrection of the beaten GF team!!

Did LOL.

Still, Easter Sunday raises an interesting point. Sunday night footy (the way it was tried a few years ago) is basically dead as a concept, but the night timeslot on Easter Sunday and the Sunday before Queen's Birthday are sitting there waiting for a smart club to make a move. ANZAC eve shows the kind of crowd you can get for an 'undesirable' timeslot if there's a public holiday the next day.

 

[BC9_]

There is no “GF rematch”.

Don’t you get it, Crows fans? It’s over, you lose!

 

[Sabotage]

So we can watch the crows get embarrassed again? Why would you want that?

 

[Rance2Mewtwo]

Richmond’s Round 1 opener sells itself.

No special marketing required.

Save our Grand Final Reply for an otherwise meaningless round, so more neutrals tune in.

I’m happy to exchange Carlton for a new opponent though, I don’t hate them anymore.

I’d like to face North in our season opener next year.

 

[telsor]

Should or shouldn't doesn't really come into it. The AFL will never go for it.

GF rematch played in any of the first half dozen or so rounds will be a big crowd anyway, so why would they give away a 'sure thing' big drawcard game to play the GF replay then?

Simply put, 2 big games > 1 big game.

Like all 'blockbusters', the Richmond/Carlton season opener will stay in place until attendances/ratings (AKA revenue) drop to the point that the AFL think that other options will clearly do better...and in this case at least, that isn't going to happen any time soon.

 

[doppleganger]

Did LOL.

Still, Easter Sunday raises an interesting point. Sunday night footy (the way it was tried a few years ago) is basically dead as a concept, but the night timeslot on Easter Sunday and the Sunday before Queen's Birthday are sitting there waiting for a smart club to make a move. ANZAC eve shows the kind of crowd you can get for an 'undesirable' timeslot if there's a public holiday the next day.

Yep...let the GF loser host the winner on Easter Sunday, night time would be perfect!

 

[telsor]

Yep...let the GF loser host the winner on Easter Sunday, night time would be perfect!

But of course, if they want to call it a GF rematch, they have to have 30-40K neutrals, 25K AFL members and ~20K opposition supporters at the ground, along with having the ground and all facilities run by the AFL trying to appear 'neutral'.

 

[sprockets]

Carlton v Richmond season opener has been an outstanding success, so I'd expect the AFL will fiddle with it. "Let's see, everyone watches Blues v Tigers so we'll give the game to someone else and then even more people will watch"...

 

[BlueRenaissance]

I think everyone is looking at this from the wrong angle. I think the tiger's should be dropped from the opening round as they broke the cardinal rule of making the top 8. There has been well defined parameters in place to deserve the round 1 showcase. Carlton have stuck to these KPIs since the early 2000s. A testament to their consistency and loyalty to the AFL big dawgs and the underlying principle of shitness.

Richmond have blown it and I expect the AFL to come down hard on them. I also expect the Tiger fans to bend over in preparation as they love that type of stuff.

 

[PP34]

Why would you want the first game to between the two teams who played the last game? It makes no sense.

Also it usually takes a bit of time for the grand finalists to get into full swing so let them have the rematch later in the season when they've gotten back into it.

Exactly.

Richmond looks fit and firing for round 1, but the Crows are going to be without Brad Crouch and Taylor Walker. At least with the game a few rounds in or mid-season the matchup will be worth watching if both teams are similar to the year before. Round 1 simply signals the start of the season. Teams are never rushing to get every best 22 player on the park. You've also got to remember that the grand finalists have had less time off so they could be lagging behind where they'd normally be and there's always the chance that a few players are still working their way back from surgeries or rest for issues they carried last season.

It’s the only way they get people to turn up to Carlton games

That's funny coming from a Hawks fan. Despite being in the worst period in our history, our average crowds have been comparable or greater than the Hawks crowds have been even with the Hawks winning 4 flags.

 

[PP34]

Of course that's a big factor, but even in the year they both made finals it only just broke 60k, and the next season in their first matchup after that epic QF they played in Round 2 and got 62k, much lower than most of the Round 1 games.

There's little doubt that playing it as the opening fixture pulls a significant number of neutrals along to the event. Which makes it a sensible decision from a crowd maximising point of view.

In 2013 when we both made the finals Carlton literally limped in. We had lost 6 of our last 9, there was absolutely no excitement heading into that game. We were playing ordinary footy all year and I remember that late season Richmond game being a bit of a spark that gave our season some life.

I've got no doubt if both teams were towards the top of the ladder or playing some good footy the game would be a sell out.

 

[cykablyat]

Yes

Unfortunately due to "muh tradition", it'll be a borefest between Richmond and Carlton for years to come. People who vote no are the same campaigners who spaz out over a twilight or a non-Vic hosted GF.