The AFL Thread Watching the Bombers Fly Up

[intedomine]

Wow, It's very low - I think there were a few matches that ticked a little under 4000 back when the Bad News Bears were at Carrara. It may indeed be. Even the Roy Boys smashed 5,000-7,000 when they played at Footscray back in their final few seasons.

 

[cobl04]

Several Melbourne games have been under 10k in the last few years I reckon. GWS too.

 

[Axver]

I looked it up - it's the lowest of the past twenty years. In that time two other games have been below 5k: 4,368 for Gold Coast vs Sydney in 2016, and 4,866 for Melbourne vs Port in 2015 (in Alice Springs). And yes, almost every low crowd involves GWS, Melbourne, or the Gold Coast, though the latter not as much as I expected.

https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/summary.html#03

 

[Axver]

Hang on, here's the goods. Gold Coast vs North Melbourne was the second-lowest attendance of the AFL era (beaten only by Bears vs Footscray, 3,059, in 1992), and the third-lowest since 1952: https://twitter.com/footyindustryAU/status/977511472421945344

I also scouted around on BigFooty, which reminded me that whoever scheduled a game in the wet season clearly paid no attention to past precedent, given a pre-season game in Mackay got cancelled as a result of an intense downpour. It's as if some people don't understand what it means to live in the tropics. It's why Brisbane always gets cricket Tests early in the summer, you idiots!

 

[cobl04]

On the other hand, the three most-attended rounds of footy are in the last 12 months. Pretty cool.

 

[Axver]

The game is in rude health. With Richmond as defending premiers, Essendon probably on the rise, and Carlton giving glimmers of hope, Melbourne crowds ought to be massive this year, while Adelaide Oval takes care of itself and the new stadium in Perth should bump the numbers considerably in WA.

The question is how NSW's attendance will be, with Sydney and GWS both serious top-four contenders. The only real worry is Queensland, and even then I think Brisbane should at least give fans the occasional reason to cheer. Gold Coast, well. Promising start in the cyclone but it was against North.

 

[kabigon]

Etihad teams bar Essendon will probably let the attendances down again unless one or two of them start playing well consistently. If Melbourne stops choking maybe they'll push the capacity of the Members' Stand for the first time in 15 years or so.

 

[cobl04]

Man, the Dogs fucking suck.

But even more crazily, Port beat Sydney in SYDNEY?!

 

[Axver]

I was fucking livid about Essendon's capitulation to Freo after what we did to Adelaide in round one, but Port's victory over Sydney - which was thrilling to watch - suggests that maybe their blow-out win over Freo was no accident, nor just a beat-up of one shit team by another. They might be the real deal.

Wingard sucked though. Dude knows how to blow an opportunity. Port could've won by more easily.

 

[kabigon]

If the bulldogs played the saints next week, you might get the worst game of the modern era

 

[cobl04]

Have to say, I was surprised at how not upset I was over yesterday's loss. I was at the G, with 73,000 others, and I reckon it was probably the best live game of footy I've ever attended. It was an astonishingly good game and our comeback in the final quarter was absolutely electrifying. Made all the more better by the fact that I was row J, bay 15, bottom level, and I saved $90+ by buying children-under-5 tickets for me and my dad. (I've been doing this for years and I don't know why more people don't do it. They never check.) We've got some severe issues - namely our backline, why the fuck Zach Guthrie was playing on Roughead is beyond human comprehension - but it's going to be an extremely entertaining year. Cannot believe that a) we tried to trade Menzel for peanuts and b) NO ONE wanted him. Tim Kelly has been a mercurial find. And Dangerwoodlett

 

[The Sad Punk]

I was gonna come in here and be all You know guys, I'm not even sure I'm even that into football these days, but then the weekend happened and now I'm

Never lost faith in Darling, even when there was no faith to lose.

 

[Axver]

That was one hell of a win.

The greatest result was, of course, Essendon over Geelon- nah, the greatest result really was what Brisbane did to Hawthorn. Fucking loved it.

 

[cobl04]

West Coast are annoying me this season, the whole fucking season is annoying me actually, it's been so ridiculous. But sure as hell not one of us predicted West Coast to be 8 and 1, everyone had them outside the eight.

Brisbane beating Hawthorn nearly made up for the fucking nightmare of us losing to Essendon. Game we should have won, but ask any Geelong fan and we were very nervous heading into that game. We have a long and documented habit of losing games that we absolutely should win. That's why Sydney have won the last three games at Kardinia Park and it's why we'll lose to Gold Coast in two weeks.

 

[Axver]

We have a long and documented habit of losing games that we absolutely should win.

You're not the Dees!

 

[cobl04]

so Docklands has been renamed again. it's now called Marvel Stadium hahahahaha

 

[Axver]

We haven't seen Alison on here for ages so I'll repeat her line that she sent me this morning, that it's a pity the MCG was not named Marvel Stadium while Benaud was still alive and commentating.

 

[cobl04]

https://predictor.squiggle.com.au/

this is so good

 

[kabigon]

I predicted Collingwood missing out on the 8 with 12 wins, so yeah it's good.

W L D
1. Richmond 20 2 0 136.6%
2. Melbourne 18 4 0 135.1%
3. West Coast 18 4 0 127.2%
4. Sydney 16 6 0 114.5%
5. Port Adelaide 16 6 0 112.2%
6. Hawthorn 14 8 0 107.6%
7. Geelong 13 9 0 118.3%
8. North Melbourne 13 9 0 114.6%
9. Collingwood 12 10 0 108.5%
10. GWS 11 10 1 100.7%
11. Adelaide 11 11 0 101.9%
12. Essendon 8 14 0 89.2%
13. Fremantle 7 15 0 83.6%
14. Brisbane Lions 5 17 0 84.2%
15. Western Bulldogs 5 17 0 76.2%
16. Gold Coast 5 17 0 71.8%
17. Carlton 3 19 0 74.3%
18. St Kilda 2 19 1 77.9%

 

[cobl04]

Frustrating day at the footy today. Once again, my strategy of buying tickets for kids aged under 5 saved me and my mates a couple of hundred dollars. Idiots didn't think it would work. Morons.

But we were good today. We had great flashes of play that showed we could win, but Richmond are the better side and it showed in the end. Had it been dry they'd have won by 40-odd.

Lot of sides really stinking it up at the moment - can't remember a season where so many teams are in poor form at once. Carlton, St Kilda, Gold Coast, Dogs, Essendon, GWS, Crows have all been sub-par this season. Lions get a pass mark because they've been (as evidenced by the fact their percentage is the best of the bottom five).

But no one stunk it up quite as much as Sandringham, who scored 0.9 (9) against Williamstown today. Most of that's due to the ground they were playing on though. Willi's home ground is literally a stone's throw from the bay, I've reported on games there where players have kicked out from full back and the ball has gone back over their heads for a rushed behind.

 

[kabigon]

I turned on the west coast v essendon game for the first time when it was 1-50.

 

[cobl04]

Makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[kabigon]

Same, but the opposite.

Actually my first thought was now that I'm watching, they'll shut up shop and well, I haven't seen them kick a goal yet in a good ten minutes.

 

[kabigon]

1.10 between them in the 30 minutes of game time since I began watching. You're welcome.

 

[Axver]

Still can't believe we knocked off West Coast ahahaha.

Looks like that Dogs/North game must've been one hell of a watch.

 

[kabigon]

If Melbourne capitulate again and are replaced by Hawthorn or Adelaide, Richmond will be the only different team in the top 8 from 2007.

 

[cobl04]

Cyril has retired.

 

[Axver]

One of those players who has become such a part of the game that it's very hard to imagine the AFL without him.

 

[cobl04]

Rory Sloane re-signs. Huge boost for the Crows.

 

[Axver]

Vlad's blood pressure might be slightly less elevated today.