Now firstly, before I ponder engraving this club’s tombstone or anything to that effect, I will acknowledge both games were in Brisbane not the Gold Coast.
The Suns have approximately 12,500 members and they’ll be able to count on their loyalty a bit more down on the Gold Coast when they start playing in a more convenient location at Metricon Stadium from Round 10 onwards.
Interestingly, it was revealed only 6000 of the club’s 12,000 members actually made the trip to the Gabba to attend the Round 2 game.
That’s an interesting figure to interpret, as it also shows the incredible pulling power which Gold Coast’s debut game had in Brisbane.
Attracting 27,914 supporters to the Round 2 game against Carlton certainly exceeded expectations and was an impressive start. That figure makes the Round 4 attendance against Melbourne look poor, which perhaps is a little unfair.
Gold Coast’s debut AFL game had a sense of occasion and novelty about it and such a figure was never going to be repeated, particularly against a team like the Demons.
However, there’s no denying, losing more than half of your crowd isn’t ideal.
It’s hard to measure what contributed to that crowd drop, in reference to those aforementioned factors, but without doubt people would have been turned off by the team’s on-field performance.
While many expected the Suns to lose to Carlton, few foresaw such a margin. The 20-goal defeat wasn’t a good look. The game wasn’t good viewing either. It was brutally lopsided.
Of course, a lot of the Brisbane people who went to the Round 2 game but didn’t turn up in Round 4 won’t be in the Suns’ key market but it’s an alarming drop-off to consider.
This is particularly relevant in the context of Queensland where AFL isn’t number one.
It shows the influence a winning team makes to crowds… or at the very least a competitive team.
Unfortunately for the Suns, at the moment, the team winning a game appears a long way off. Being competitive doesn’t seem around the corner either, as they take baby steps in AFL ranks.
There’s no doubt the way the AFL have organised their expansion clubs this time means the youthful Suns should be a strong side in a few years, but in the meantime there’s a few concerns about keeping crowd numbers in five digits.
Given they are a new club to the AFL, there’s certainly a novelty about their existence on the Gold Coast and that should last among the local community for some time yet.
But copping hiding after hiding won’t help preserve that ‘novelty factor’ which will be important in the time before they become competitive. Finding new ways to generate buzz in the meantime will be important for the Suns.
A fortnight ago Suns CEO Travis Auld said only 5000 tickets remain for the club’s first game at the 25,000-capacity Metricon Stadium against Geelong, along with their Round 18 blockbuster against Collingwood, which is fantastic.
Both those games certainly have appeal with the Gary Ablett factor against Geelong in the Suns’ first-ever game on the Gold Coast and the reigning premiers factor against the well-supported Magpies. You can understand the attraction of those games.
But it’s games like the Round 12 clash with North Melbourne or the Round 22 clash with Adelaide which will worry the AFL, particularly if the Suns’ on-field woes don’t improve.
Nevertheless, Auld is hoping the Gold Coast public are sympathetic to the side’s cause and can see the long-term plan.
He said after the Carlton loss: “(People) realise it is going to be a journey and they want to buy into that.”
Maybe, but the problem is I’m not sure people expected the journey to start so poorly.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
North isn't a drain on the rest of the league. Yes, the league provides them with massive help, but it's not as if they're broke or bankrupt. Additionally, they have a fantastic history. I think it would be dreadful if they were forced to relocate.
woodsman
Guest
True, but it doesn't bode well for them to sustainably be a 'Melbourne' team if most of their support is in NSW and QLD. Now I'm not suggesting they would or should move back, but its interesting that a Melbourne team could achieve a divergent following like this- is it mostly expat Melbournians wanting to get involved in the local RL culture? - is it Islanders who want to support a team that is simply 'not NSW or QLD'? - is it band-wagoneers who have been following what I've heard is a pretty exciting team to watch? In 12 years I have never heard mention of the Storm over various 'watercoolers' around Melbourne yet the Rebels have achieved this in a few months. Both major papers have dropped RL to less than half a page. I'm sure its not the case on the East Coast, but from my perspective RL is already a distant fourth here and falling behind.
Ruckrover
Guest
I think union has far more appeal to Aussie Rules fans than League. There's the greater variability in play, all tied up and then suddenly free flowing similar to footy, whereas League is repetitively up and back, and the international aspects.
mick h
Guest
because they are winning, the broncos are currently averaging 31635
mick h
Guest
ud almeria, i agree it will be very tough for gws. i have been doing some research in regards to playing numbers in western sydney and surrounding areas. we all know soccer and rugby league have great numbers but afl has only 66 teams in the following areas hawkesbury penrith liverpool blue mountains and camden. if we look at the bigger picture penrith jrl has more registered players than afl has in sydney metro central coast newcastle illawarra and southern highlands. in the group 6 jrl they have a record 312 teams this year. the big israel billboards are a failure already. just on the suns if they are not competitive like the titans they will struggle i hope the afl have deep pockets.
mick h
Guest
woodsman, but the storm have a very large following in nsw and queensland whereas the rebels don't
mick h
Guest
redb it just goes to show how illinformed you really are there was only one game in sydney at brookvale oval and one at gosford and the other was in nth queensland. if weather conditions were more favourable the swans would have drawn about 28,000 to 30,000 ( they just don't seem to be as popular anymore) manly would have got about 16,000 and the roosters at gosford a similar crowd and the cowboys have adjusted their crowd to 15,500.
woodsman
Guest
Call me masochistic- in their first game it was pure voyeurism, but now seeing them string a few handballs together as rank underdogs is truely exciting. Every step forward is a massive achievement from that first game. Leading for the first time and winning their first quarter were huge steps in last week's game where they were competitive for three quarters. Huge improvement on the first game. If the curve continues, they'll win a couple this year. Still a tough ask, but thats precisely why its so good to watch. That first win will be incredible to watch unfold.
woodsman
Guest
Rebels already have more of a profile than Storm, just calling it as I see it within Melbourne.
jamesb
Guest
yes crashy, although you look at titans, broncos, cowboys, lions (i'm excusing the suns and a-league teams), there has been a decline. Queensland reds have been a feelgood story of the ARU the last couple of years. Queensland have players that will always ask questions to their oppostion, like cooper, genia and harris. Chances are Harris who was born in NZ could play for the wallabies. IMO if the wallabies played tomorrow, I'd pick Harris. But crashy, because of the natural disasters that have happened to the state, maybe queenslanders will be selective to where they are going to attend sporting events in the short term. Like the reds playing the waratahs.
p.Tah
Guest
It has in the places it's expanded to - Canberra, Perth and Melbourne :)
Cman
Roar Rookie
Famous last word woodsman! I've been hearing how Union is going to take over league for 15 years now.
UD Almería
Guest
Yes, I recall reading that as well, and it certainly got my attention. From memory, the article said that the Swans were pretty good, but the Melbourne clubs were a bit stand offish with their players. An interesting story.
TW
Guest
Expansion -- Weird but interesting Stuff section. There was a report last week that the Sydney Media presumeably the newspapers etc had written a "letter" to the AFL Executive "complaining" about the lack of access to the AFL Players and the Clubs The basis of the complaint was that the AFL is trying to grow the game up there and general interest in the sport had grown, and more AFL footy news was required. We wonder if the Sydney Daily Telegraph was involved with the letter.
UD Almería
Guest
What about these very nice lodgings I keep reading about at Breakfast Point?
Crashy
Guest
Queendland Reds?? They are about to post 40k + this weekend and are up on last year, which was up on the year before.
jamesb
Guest
actually all crowds in queenslands sporting clubs have suffered a decline maybe with all the floods and cyclones in queensland at the start of the year perhaps it has affected it.
Macca
Guest
I assumed it must of been like watching a train wreck completely awful but for some reason you can't look away.
James
Guest
Watching a team lose by 100 is good to watch????
Macca
Guest
Clipper - Most of the money has been "reinvested" into the suns not winning a game so while they look like they have done a great thing they have effectively lowered the risk of paying out actual cash, although I reckon getting $2.85 on them not winning a game is pretty attractive to me.