Brings you back to reality

[Woodsie]

I'm down here and the atmosphere at Brookie/Lotto , especially a weekend arvo, with 10,000 beats a 40,000 crowd anywhere here.

And a lot of these.AFL ' Memberships' (I'm not sure how the NRL counts it) are 3 game packages like $60 .. Just like they count Auskick in the junior numbers where really in the main its a social thing, kick ang giggle and only very few go on to play proper AFL from say U9 onwards.

So a bit of smoke and mirrors . In Melbourne anyway

Of course there are the Bronco type two team towns like Perth and Adelaide who have massive support .

The AFL is an attractive proposition for TV rights as the game goes maybe nearly double time to a NRL game and a freeking ad break after every goal (10-20 goals a game for example)

The AFL is a huge industry with lots of hangers on, rent seekers, bloated staffs Virtue signalling Departments concerned more about condesending Rainbow and Racism days and huge loss making Womens AFL rather than grassroots junior or country football ,and the clubs have to support this plus playing lists far larger than NRL clubs and each club seems to have more coaches than Cobb and Co .

Also, the two grounds in Melbourne are right Next to 3 big train stations . Imagine having a 50,000 seat stadium opposite Town Hall station. NRL would get the crowds too.

Just saying the AFL while the numbers look good , do struggle with $ especially in Melb with the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda type clubs. They need about a 25,000 crowd to break even.

Despite Toddy wanting to take NRL down a similar road, I hope the NRL still retains its suburban roots - which is its character - and why we still love the game

Good post ......

 

[Brissie Kid]

AFL memberships is quite incredible. Over 100,000 members for Richmond and the AFL’s Club second lowest membership is more than the NRL’s third highest.

Yeah, we compete in NSW against rugby and in the last 20+ years against AFL. But our club membership is not a shadow on AFL or game attendance.

The numbers for NRL teams aren't that different when you add in the Leagues Club members. In the 1950s when they started Leagues Clubs the NSWRL teams preferred people to take up Leagues Club membership over football club membership. The money all then went to the Leagues Club who could build a big clubhouse, get the income, pokies and use all of the profit on getting more income by making the building bigger and giving grants to the football club and juniors. NSW has a completely different football supporting history to Victoria. They didn't have Leagues Clubs. It doesn't make AFL better or their fans any better. It just makes them different. But what do you expect when its AFL blowing its own trumpet.