The AFL on Thursday announced a new record for club memberships. But it appears a significant proportion of these members aren’t actually turning up to games.
With one home and away round remaining, average crowds at AFL games in 2016 are at their lowest point for two decades.
With the exception of 2012, when Greater Western Sydney entered the competition and Gold Coast were in only their second year, the average AFL crowd figure this season of 31,805 across 189 games is the lowest on record since 1996.
And the fall-off isn’t confined only to Victoria, where the traditional heavyweights in terms of crowds – Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and Carlton – will all miss the finals for the first time since 2005.
The 20,320 crowd was the Magpies’ smallest MCG crowd since 1940.
The 20,320 crowd was the Magpies’ smallest MCG crowd since 1940. Photo: Getty Images
Crowds for West Coast and Fremantle at Domain Stadium in Perth are at their lowest since 2002. Brisbane’s hapless state has driven more people away from the Gabba, the Lions pulling their lowest crowds since 1998.
And while Adelaide Oval has proved a wonderful venue in three years for the Crows and Port Adelaide, even numbers there have fallen.
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The only major football market to prosper for attendances in 2016 has been NSW, with crowds for Sydney and Greater Western Sydney games at the SCG, Spotless Stadium and Manuka Oval in Canberra all marginally up.
AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said on Thursday that after 10 rounds this season, crowds had been at their highest point in history. He blamed the subsequent fall-off on the poor form of the Victorian heavyweights.
Loyalty: The Giants don’t have a lot of fans compared with other AFL teams but they are building their membership base.
Loyalty: The Giants don’t have a lot of fans compared with other AFL teams but they are building their membership base. Photo: Getty Images
“Ten of our clubs have increased their crowds this season, including six teams in Melbourne, but eight teams have seen their crowds come down and that has included our four biggest clubs in Essendon, Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond, who have all struggled as the season has progressed,” Keane said.
"Our crowds very much follow the form of the individual teams, and this is only the third time in the last 50 years that these four traditionally strong-drawing teams have missed the finals in the same year.
“Given that one of our largest teams [Essendon] lost nearly one-third of its list on the eve of the season, we think our attendances have been very solid this year.”
But the AFL should at least be concerned by the growing disparity between memberships bought and games attended, most pronounced in the football heartland.
Club memberships in 2016 rose to 875,197, and increase of 4.7 per cent of last year. St Kilda, Sydney, Geelong, Western Bulldogs and GWS all recorded double-digit growth, and there are now 11 clubs with more than 50,000 members.
But the trend towards more passive support continues, particularly among the most heavily supported Victorian teams.
Hawthorn have taken the lead from Collingwood in the membership table with 75,351, up again on last year. But even the Hawks’ crowd numbers, despite three successive premierships, have taken a hit this year, their average attendances down 8.5 per cent, or an average 3500 fans per game.
Richmond remain third in the AFL for members, with a total of 72,278, an increase on 2015. But the Tigers’ poor season has seen a massive drop of numbers through the turnstiles. The Tigers have averaged 6800 fewer fans watching each game this season, a fall of 14.2 per cent on last year.
More predictably, the suspension of 12 Essendon players for the season in January and the expectation that the Bombers would struggle to be competitive had a dramatic impact on their crowd numbers, which dropped by 11.5 per cent.
Carlton are the only one of the traditional powers to improve both their membership level and their crowd numbers in 2016. The Blues passed the 50,000-member mark, an increase of nearly six per cent, while their crowds were up marginally on last year.
The big improvers in Melbourne in terms of crowds this season have been the clubs with historically smaller support bases.
St Kilda’s average turnouts of 31,626 are a 17.9 per cent increase on last year, highlighted by the unexpectedly large turnout of 47,945 who watched the Saints defeat Carlton in round 12. The Western Bulldogs’ crowds have gone up almost as much, by 17.6 per cent, and North Melbourne by nearly 12 per cent.
Collingwood’s year, meanwhile, has reflected their on-field fortunes with several unwanted milestones. The Magpies lost their lead on the membership table to Hawthorn, and their crowds fell by an average 8.6 per game.
The malaise was reflected by two games in particular. When the Magpies took on Fremantle at the MCG on a shocking night in which the Yarra Park car parks were closed and there were disruptions to public transport, just 20,320 attended, the Pies’ smallest MCG crowd since 1940.
Yet even that was more than the paltry 17,644 who saw Collingwood thrash Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium last Saturday night. That not only was the Magpies’ lowest attendance for a home game at Docklands, but their lowest at any home game since 1989.
Even Collingwood’s last 46 games at their antiquated old home of Victoria Park all drew more fans through the gates, at a time when the Magpies hadn’t played finals for several years.
With nearly 75,000 members, Collingwood are hardly short of support. But like a lot of clubs, and the AFL administration, they will be hoping a lot more of those paid-up fans can be bothered going to watch them play in 2017.
