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The 2015 Attendance Thread

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In good weather 40k. Wet 30k. How far away from SCG is ANZ? I know when it rains at ANZ, Swans fans stay away in droves.

Personally I find the stadium "excuse" or "reason" or whatever you like is a bit thin.

In my experience people who don't attend a game or a film or a show or whatever generally don't attend.......because they don't want to.

We hear this guff all the time from RL fans.. "Oh if it was perfect weather and the stadium was at my front door and it wasn't my kids piano practice or my mates stag or my wifes hairwash Id go but I'm a real fan so I watched 20 mins on TV"

Its OK just to say "Look I didn't want to go because I'm not that into it but will watch on TV if I have the time".
 
In good weather 40k. Wet 30k. How far away from SCG is ANZ? I know when it rains at ANZ, Swans fans stay away in droves.

not against essendon in week one, and not at ANZ. footys the complete opposite up here. most people aren't aware footy had started. ANZ is 30K's west of the SCG. and most of our supporters live east of the SCG, it was just never going to get 40K. we only just reached 40K in members and there's at least 3-4K who would have 3 game memberships.

we will get what we always get, good sunny afternoon 29-34K at SCG, decreasing crowds based on weather conditions. as the year rolls on we'll pick up a few games that are 36-40K as the 3 game memberships go to the best games. if we go well we might get a few bandwagoners to boost figures by 5K here or there. but ANZ will always net 10K less then the SCG.

we have on average 30-34K crowd averages over a season, you're relying on the buzz and atmosphere that's around the round one in the south. That simply doesn't exist up here. there was almost zero coverage of footy up here, it wasn't even on the news. unless your a die hard you wouldn't know the game is on. add to that most people convert from a comp which has 26 rounds of H&A, round one is not considered important at all, there's no "YAY FOOTYS BACK", its "well here we go again". your also forgetting the Royal Easter show was on.

very few people are going to travel over an hour in the rain to watch essendon at a ground they hate.
 
you expected 40K against essendon, at ANZ, after it had been pouring down rain all day, in Sydney?
even in good weather at best it was going to get maybe 31-33K.
Yep, ANZ is the killer there. In the poor weather it still could have nudged 30k at the SCG.
 

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Personally I find the stadium "excuse" or "reason" or whatever you like is a bit thin.

In my experience people who don't attend a game or a film or a show or whatever generally don't attend.......because they don't want to.

We hear this guff all the time from RL fans.. "Oh if it was perfect weather and the stadium was at my front door and it wasn't my kids piano practice or my mates stag or my wifes hairwash Id go but I'm a real fan so I watched 20 mins on TV"

Its OK just to say "Look I didn't want to go because I'm not that into it but will watch on TV if I have the time".
Out of the way dull stadiums make a huge difference to crowd figures. I'm not sure why this isn't just common knowledge yet. Sydney fans have begun to loathe ANZ like SA fans did with AAMI a little over 5 years ago. Just look at the crowd decline at ANZ once its novelty wore off. Sure the die hards will turn up rain hail or shine but casual fans won't bother making the extra effort to go to ANZ, especially when it's raining.
 
not against essendon in week one, and not at ANZ. footys the complete opposite up here. most people aren't aware footy had started. ANZ is 30K's west of the SCG. and most of our supporters live east of the SCG, it was just never going to get 40K. we only just reached 40K in members and there's at least 3-4K who would have 3 game memberships.

we will get what we always get, good sunny afternoon 29-34K at SCG, decreasing crowds based on weather conditions. as the year rolls on we'll pick up a few games that are 36-40K as the 3 game memberships go to the best games. if we go well we might get a few bandwagoners to boost figures by 5K here or there. but ANZ will always net 10K less then the SCG.

we have on average 30-34K crowd averages over a season, you're relying on the buzz and atmosphere that's around the round one in the south. That simply doesn't exist up here. there was almost zero coverage of footy up here, it wasn't even on the news. unless your a die hard you wouldn't know the game is on. add to that most people convert from a comp which has 26 rounds of H&A, round one is not considered important at all, there's no "YAY FOOTYS BACK", its "well here we go again". your also forgetting the Royal Easter show was on.

very few people are going to travel over an hour in the rain to watch essendon at a ground they hate.

Agree with this. I've been to a few Bledisloe Cup games out at Homebush and the ground location really isn't compatible with people that live in the Eastern Suburbs / Northern Beaches (which is where lost of the Union / AFL fans in Sydney live)

Its also a rubbish ground from an atmosphere point of view unless the crowd is upward of 50000

The NSW government would have been bet served upgrading the SFS to 60000, upgrading Parramatta Stadium to a 40000 Indoor Stadium and doing away with ANZ for good. The Giants can grow organically at Spotless (like the Suns at Metricon)
 
Out of the way dull stadiums make a huge difference to crowd figures. I'm not sure why this isn't just common knowledge yet. Sydney fans have begun to loathe ANZ like SA fans did with AAMI a little over 5 years ago. Just look at the crowd decline at ANZ once its novelty wore off. Sure the die hards will turn up rain hail or shine but casual fans won't bother making the extra effort to go to ANZ, especially when it's raining.

hell fans in Melbourne don't like going to a ground with a roof just 3K's from the MCG.
Is the reason people on big footy thought this would be "big" was the whole essendon drugs thing?

Because up here essendon are nothing, they aren't hated, they aren't loathed. they may as well be any other Melbourne club. we would have drawn the same crowd if we were playing saint kilda. Most people in Sydney simply don't care are about the insular shit fights between Melbourne based clubs.

essendon getting off is just seen as incompetence by the AFL.
 
How many do we need at this game for the record crowd?
 
360,354 For the round. 7th best round of all time.

Syd - Ess the big disappointment, plus most other game except Mel GC, about a thousand or 2 less than I anticipated so we fell short of the record in the end.
 

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360,354 For the round. 7th best round of all time.

Syd - Ess the big disappointment, plus most other game except Mel GC, about a thousand or 2 less than I anticipated so we fell short of the record in the end.

slaughtered last years round 1 crowd by over 100,000. beat last easter weekend by 15,000 IIRC, and a higher round 1 crowd than any round last year for that matter.

good result all round.
 
360,354 For the round. 7th best round of all time.

Syd - Ess the big disappointment, plus most other game except Mel GC, about a thousand or 2 less than I anticipated so we fell short of the record in the end.

Would thought Carlton vs Richmond pulled its weight considering 11500 less was expected.

Plus the same Hawks vs game last year pulled 80000 to a cats home game!
Behind the Hawks goals was better than usual, but still a bit patchy.
This has be to be the disappointment for me considering the unfurled the flag didn't have to get there members up the highway, beautiful weather too!
 
Are you seriously saying that 73,500 is a disappointment?

Then again if the fixture was the season opening fixture it could have got that boost to get it above 80,000 (ala Carlton v Richmond drawing 83,400 v 63,047 last year) but perhaps not...80k is a huge milestone with the way ticketek now allocate ticketing. Aside from ANZAC Day and now Dreamtime I doubt we'll have another 80k crowd before PF weekend

Hawthorn have a far larger membership reserve than Geelong so I guess Cats home games are more likely going to draw a larger crowd (as Hawthorn and Geelong members both get free entry) although the Cats home games against the Hawks always underdrew equivalent Hawthorn games in the 2009-2011 period.

In my experience of going to these games the Hawks usually get a very large number of fans to these games (I was in Brisbane this year) but it would be interesting to see if the Cats got a big turnup given it was an afternoon game.

That said I thought the 3 MCG attendances this week were excellent. The only disappointing crowd was in Sydney and perhaps Perth
 
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Would thought Carlton vs Richmond pulled its weight considering 11500 less was expected.

Plus the same Hawks vs game last year pulled 80000 to a cats home game!
Behind the Hawks goals was better than usual, but still a bit patchy.
This has be to be the disappointment for me considering the unfurled the flag didn't have to get there members up the highway, beautiful weather too!

It was a great crowd - any 70K crowd is great and we over estimate the number of 80K crowds year on year - but perhaps had a few thousand pared off because the recent rivalry has been built on the almost bizarre equalness of the teams onfield for several years.

With Hawthorn now clearly superior to a declining Geelong I think the steam within the pressure cooker on that fixture has started to escape. Probably a percentage of Geelong didn't travel where they would have travelled a couple of years ago and to be honest I'll be surprised if it draws 70,000 again in the foreseeable future after that 13 to 2 mauling they got within that game highlighting the cat's relative decline. 70,000 is almost certainly out the gate for Geelong home games at any rate.
 

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Couldn't agree more gaelictiger

The return Hawthorn v Geelong games have drawn 65k, 69k, 64k, 65k, 85k and 72k the return fixture won't get 60k (especially given its a Geelong game) even with the game being inflated by Hawthorn designated members unless the Cats are top 6 and in some level of health.

Richmond dominate the attendance...again.
Thanks for playing.

Wasn't it a Carlton home game :confused:
 
Are you seriously saying that 73,500 is a disappointment?

Then again if the fixture was the season opening fixture it could have got that boost to get it above 80,000 (ala Carlton v Richmond drawing 83,400 v 63,047 last year) but perhaps not...80k is a huge milestone with the way ticketek now allocate ticketing. Aside from ANZAC Day and now Dreamtime I doubt we'll have another 80k crowd before PF weekend

Hawthorn have a far larger membership reserve than Geelong so I guess Cats home games are more likely going to draw a larger crowd (as Hawthorn and Geelong members both get free entry) although the Cats home games against the Hawks always underdrew equivalent Hawthorn games in the 2009-2011 period.

In my experience of going to these games the Hawks usually get a very large number of fans to these games (I was in Brisbane this year) but it would be interesting to see if the Cats got a big turnup given it was an afternoon game.

That said I thought the 3 MCG attendances this week were excellent. The only disappointing crowd was in Sydney and perhaps Perth

Yes, for hawthorn vs Geelong on opening round on easter Monday 73500 is a disappointment, just like if that is what Richmond vs blues had pulled I would say the same.

I'm not being biased, but a 7000 drop on the same game last year is disappointing, and the argument about Geelong having less reserved seat members than you means nothing either, first round, massive rival, putting up their flag, if that doesn't pull out your reserve seat members I don't know what will.
 
Yes, for hawthorn vs Geelong on opening round on easter Monday 73500 is a disappointment, just like if that is what Richmond vs blues had pulled I would say the same.

I'm not being biased, but a 7000 drop on the same game last year is disappointing, and the argument about Geelong having less reserved seat members than you means nothing either, first round, massive rival, putting up their flag, if that doesn't pull out your reserve seat members I don't know what will.

My argument is that it probably did draw all our members. Whether it drew the Cats supporters I'm not sure...certainly when Ive been to Cats v Hawks games the Geelong home games have been inflated by Hawthorn members getting in for free

That said could you blame Geelong fans for being less enthused? The Kennett curse is well and truly dead (and it really died with PF 2013 and was reinforced with QF 2014) and the Cats were rank outsiders today...with the Cats expected to fall a lot of the neutral interest is now probably starting to wane (a follow up to the big season opening match)

As for expectation 75000 was about the mark given recent Easter Monday games...

2010 - Hawthorn v Geelong - 68620
2011 - Hawthorn v Geelong - 78579
2012 - Geelong v Hawthorn - 69231
2013 - Hawthorn v Geelong - 76300
2014 - Geelong v Hawthorn - 80222
2015 - Hawthorn v Geelong - 73584

Hawthorn have a lot more MCG reserve seat members than Geelong (probably 25000 v 5000) so I guess our games are always more prone to no shows in the public reserve

Still the Hawks v Cats crowds are still significantly larger than in 2009 (69.2k and 64.7k) so to maintain such high numbers, 7 years after the 2008 GF is very impressive.

Since 2007 3 home and away Hawks v Cats have drawn 80k plus...round 17 2008 (86.7k - 1 v 2), round 15 2013 (85.1k, 1 v 2) and round 5 2014 (80.2k, 1 v 2) all were exceptional circumstances and not typical attendances
 
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It was a great crowd - any 70K crowd is great and we over estimate the number of 80K crowds year on year - but perhaps had a few thousand pared off because the recent rivalry has been built on the almost bizarre equalness of the teams onfield for several years.

With Hawthorn now clearly superior to a declining Geelong I think the steam within the pressure cooker on that fixture has started to escape. Probably a percentage of Geelong didn't travel where they would have travelled a couple of years ago and to be honest I'll be surprised if it draws 70,000 again in the foreseeable future after that 13 to 2 mauling they got within that game highlighting the cat's relative decline. 70,000 is almost certainly out the gate for Geelong home games at any rate.

I think it may have been closer to 80k if it was a Saturday afternoon game. But I can see the numbers dropping off a little as you said.
 
Yes, for hawthorn vs Geelong on opening round on easter Monday 73500 is a disappointment, just like if that is what Richmond vs blues had pulled I would say the same.

I'm not being biased, but a 7000 drop on the same game last year is disappointing, and the argument about Geelong having less reserved seat members than you means nothing either, first round, massive rival, putting up their flag, if that doesn't pull out your reserve seat members I don't know what will.

But with respect Rouel you are misreading a bit. The attendance figures at Cats V Hawks in recent years could only ever be a temporary phenomenon and was built on their uncanny equality onfield.

Any sign that that equality was going was always going to puncture the figures a bit. The Hawks were justified odds on favourites going in ( that deflated the attendance in itself ) and justified that by walloping the declining Cats and as I said above we will now see a very substantial tail off in attendances to that fixture in future for three main reasons.

1. Geelong less likely to travel to Melbourne to see their team lose
3. 1 or 2 game a year hawk fans ( every club has them ) less interested and more likely to attend VS the traditional Big 4 in melbourne
2. Neutrals looking elsewhere for an "event".

When a tyre punctures the air escapes and the Cats V hawks tyre is punctured. That fixture will trend with substantially lower attendances in the coming few years.
 
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