There’s a continuing discourse being conducted in regards the new AFLW competition: does it possess longevity? Does it have the elusive quality of ‘stickability’?
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, much of the discourse is focused on crowds. How many turned out? How many care?
Having been a Giants supporter since the start of their days, we are painfully aware of the narrow-mindedness of such a focus.
So it came to pass that the Giants were – to an extent – under the same focus on this game under a hot midday sun at the Blacktown International Sportspark (or the awkward ‘BISP’ for short). This was the ground that, once upon a time, could have been the home of all of the Giants, but for a government not willing to build a train station nearby in addition to the gift of the well-located and already half-built Sydney Showground.
We didn’t know what kind of crowd would show up. Against the possibility of a large crowd were a number of factors. One was the fact it was midday on a Saturday, when possible casual fans are shopping, or taking kids to cricket.
Another key reason is while most of Melbourne’s games are held in venues easily accessible to new inner city supporters who don’t regularly attend men’s games that have who have turned out in droves to support the new league. Blacktown is too much of a hike for Sydney’s equivalent – the public transport options to the ground are virtually non-existent.
This, like most of western Sydney’s sporting locations, is somewhere to drive to. In the Sydney context, Drummoyne Oval would have been more accessible for such a supporter, even if they would have to put up with the ‘charming’ teeny tiny seats in the old grandstand. (On a side note, props to the Swans supporter who came to Saturday’s game bringing a banner asking why they don’t have a team).
And yet… people came. The number – 4000 – does not tell the whole story. It was a healthy crowd in a number of ways. From our cheer squad perspective behind the goals, we could see a scattering of families and a heap of people in their 20s enjoying the stretch and relaxation of the southern hill; around the eastern hill were various Sydney AFL clubs brought marquees for their players – that was the most raucous and knowledgeable part of the crowd.
Among them were the girls from the Macquarie University team, who came in support for their teammate (and Giants’ captain), Amanda “Fridge” Farrugia, dressed as cardboard fridges.
Then there was the western grandstand, which was packed – people were standing three deep in the standing room area. Little wonder, too. It had shade and access to the canteen facilities, which struggled with demand all game. It was also the loudest part of the crowd – the cheering and atmosphere of the grandstand was passionate and electric. Those of us in the cheer squad were reminded of the kind of spontaneous pro-Giants energy we experienced the end of the previous season.
The crowd witnessed an excellent game between the Giants and Fremantle that see-sawed in epic fashion, especially after a change in shorts after quarter time seemed to propel the Giants out of a shellshocked state. The game finished in a league-first draw, as well as the highest score of the weekend, maybe helped by the pristine conditions.
The success of the game and the healthy crowd points to a key point about the Giants project and something missing from the discourse around crowd numbers. The crowd featured a number of local players and potential players in the women’s competition in the future – and Blacktown is accessible to them – and the parking just coped with the numbers who attended.
The community built at these games at Blacktown would, therefore, be an excellent advertisement for the code of AFL – regardless of gender – going into the future.
It also answers a question in relation to whether to charge admission to the AFLW. Having experienced the energy and atmosphere, I don’t see the point of charging an admission fee. Apart from raising the costs of running the game, it also risks killing off the buds of possibility for healthy crowds such as Saturday’s from continuing to grow.
It also raises the question of why an admission fee is necessary if the AFL can reap revenue from sources such as sponsorships, media deals and merchandise. And the merchandise threatens to be a good cash cow for the Giants, if pitched in the most effective way (starting with selling it at their games…)
From here, the Giants will go back to being nomadic in terms of times and homes. In one of the crazier pieces of AFL programming, their next Blacktown game is at 5pm on a Friday afternoon (!) as a curtain-raiser to the JLT game between the Giants and Swans, which is the wrong way around, as we saw last weekend in the Dogs – Dees doubleheader.
Right now, it is the women’s’ competition that deserves the spotlight. There may be many around who doubted that would be the case, but it is and it’s fantastic.
For the Giants, the more games and more community that can be built in the future around the AFLW at Blacktown, the better. Oh, and the BISP needs a new name. Maybe it could be Farrugia Field, dotted with cardboard fridges around the gate.
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