Why is every code bar AFL so poorly attended?

Absolutely agree there is nothing much to do in Melb etc. Afl has its attributes, but for those who seek the pure gladiator confrontation between men in sport, league is the only code that can offer this. I feel a little embarrassed for the commentators when they address a moment as being "courageous". Thinking I have missed something, I rewind and watch carefully to see what they are referring to and left bemused.

Weekend attendances in Sydney: AFL 38,233 Waratahs 18,830 NRL (west syd) Fri 13,788 Sun 21,701 QED!

Id rather go to a live game of any sport than watch on tv, i think the northern states are just tight arses that dont want to pay for beer, pies etc at stadium prices. Also i think culture up there isn't there for sport unless it involves the beach, down south its not a sat arvo unless go to pub have a few beers with mates and go to game, if you have kids then whole sunday is junior footy. Growing up in Sydney they just dont have it as a priority.

Gold Coast attendance on w/e shows how far soccer is behind AFL & NRL on an even turf

You are dreaming if you think soccer will pass NRL

Soccer shouldn't be compared to major sporting competitions in Australia because it doesnt compete with any other sport. When/If it does then it can be compared.

I reckon that the AFL have managed to maintain a tribal culture that other codes haven't - at the elite tier anyway. This is evidenced through the healthy gates at AFL fixtures however this doesn't mean vying codes are not well supported it's simply that they lack the old tribal elements that once defined their respective leagues. These AFL attendances are likely to recede over the next decade given an over zealous ego to expand and go head to head with sudo international footy codes i.e. League. This will see the domestic culture and status of our great game compromised to resemble those Trans Tasman leagues that are more international than they are domestic. It will also see the branding changed to appease the collective Kiwi cringe to make the code supposedly more accessible to these philistines. Sadly the AFL seem to have forgotten that the historic tribal foundations, (some of which have already been lost) of the VFL and now AFL are integral to the codes future, in distinguishing it from the glut of farcical Aust v NZ type leagues amongst other global type sporting products. It is vital that the codes domestic status be valued and upheld rather than dumbed down for purely commercial gain, to ensure that it survives as a stand alone product in the Australian sporting market . This means NOT pitting it's self against League, Union and Soccer to satisfy some sort of reverse cringe driven by tele code wars or anything else for that matter.

many people are misguided, northern refers to the northern half, not including western, of nsw. Riverina, South and sapphire coast, western nsw and was once the biggest sport in canberra and is still very strong. In Queensland Gold Coast, Brisbane and Cairns all have pretty reasonable followings as well as the towns inbetween Cairns and Brisbane all have a competition which is fairly well followed. Even the Sydney AFL and Black Diamond Leagues are semi-professional.

db It's slowly happening, our Northern cousins are slowly coming on board. Australian Football is quite big in the Northern Territory, and as we've seen this year, has a good following on the Gold Coast and Cairns, and now we have a second team in Sydney. The last piece of the jigsaw.

Col, I reckon the shift of population "to the North and the East" is probably more to do with better weather (North) and employment opportunities (East) than a desire to "do so much more with their lives". Having grown up in Adelaide and lived in Sydney for the last 26 years I have often heard the old "more to do here" line in explaining why sports crowds in Sydney are less than in Melbourne. The weather, the harbour etc. The fact is, though, the Sydneysiders don't actually do more than their Melbourne counterparts. The opportunities may be there - maybe - but they do not take advantage. I'd have no doubt that as many people down South go to concerts or the theatre as in Sydney. As many people sail on Port Phillip Bay as in Sydney Harbour. As many - and almost certainly more - go to the races. Or dine out, or watch television. It's changing, but one reason for lower crowds may be the demographic which traditionally attracted followers to RL and Union. The workers versus the private school crowd. The professionals versus the amateurs and never the twain shall meet. I know union fans who would not be seen dead at a RL game and vice versa. The relatively recent move to professionalism by union is slowly changing that crowd demographic with players now joining or staying in the code who would otherwise be attracted to League just because of the money. The AFL - and the VFL, SANFL, WAFL before and since - have never had that problem. In the outer or the grandstand the guy on one side of you may be a doctor, on the other side a truck driver and they both talk happily to each other about their team and the game. Always been the case for over a century. Perhaps the crowd argument might be better had in a few years when we've had a generation or two of rugby fans (both codes) who have grown up with two professional codes. Then we might see the doctor and the truck driver at the same game. Perhaps then a proper assessment may be made. In my case I've happily followed the fortunes of the Swans, West Tigers (Balmain) in RL and Randwick in union during my time in Sydney. Not to mention the Wallabies and the Kangaroos. My real team is, of course, the Adelaide Crows but living in Sydney I was happy to buy a Swans seasons ticket for over twenty years just to watch VFL/AFL regularly. These days I'm less bothered but I love to attend cricket at the SCG. Perhaps it's the lack of crowds that attracts me? As for League I've seen more SoO games than club games. In fact, the only two club games I've seen live in 26 years are two Grand Finals (won by Newcastle and Canterbury). As for watching the game on television I generally only do it when Balmain, er sorry, Wests Tigers, the Storm or Manly are playing. With those teams involved the game somehow seems more interesting. Mind you, like many others, my time in Sydney has taught me to support the other team when Manly is playing!

Kasey Your starting proposition was that Juve don't care about wearing an alternative strip, and considering how big world wide Juve is, why should Collingwood care about wearing an alternative strip. And my response is that the fact that Juve is a worldwide phenomenon (and a fairly recent one I might add), is precisely the reason why no one is going to give a damn what Juve wears. The real Torinese follow Torino in preference to Juve - Juve is shunned in its own home city. So if Juve starts wearing alternative strips, who is there to complain about it? The passionate fans of China and Africa? Can you imagine their indignation: Dear wealthy Juve backer, I have been a passionate fan of Juventus for at least 5 years, I have a strong emotional connection to the club and I wish to express my disapproval of Juve wearing a strip other than the traditional bianconeri. Thanking you in anticipation, long distance fan. On the other hand, the Collingwood adminstration have to consider every decision very carefully because: 1. they have a large, loyal, following who actually put their money where their mouths are, 2. these members actually own the club; and 3. 90% of them live in the city in which the club resides, making it very easy to express their disapproval of things. That's a different scenario to Juve and their "fans" in China and Africa.

Its got nothing to do with how the citizens of Turin divide themselves between Torino and Juve. If I go to any group of random cities/village/towns around the world and compare the recognition of Juventus vs the recognition of Collingwood, by any stretch of the imagination Juventus would be more famous. A large part of Juve's fame has been earned wearing the black and white stripes, like Collingwood, but you don't see Juventus getting their panties in a twist when they play away to a much smaller club like Udinese. That's what it comes down to.. for its big/global size, Juve recognizes that it is not bigger than the game. I don't think the head-shed at the Caringbush have figured out that its not all about them, but of course why would they when the governing body bows down(or bends over - your choice of metaphor) to acquiesce to every demand the magpies make. And then have the gall to have the other clubs accept the inequality by paying them off with the profits generated by the very same inequalities.

Yes, Juve is a world famous club, but the populace from its home town detest it, and it struggles to get fans to its home games. It was only established in 1897, and it didn't wear the black and white stripes from the very start - so at the end of the day, it can wear whatever colours it wants, and no one in Turin will give a damn.

Its one of those traditions the AFL hasn't seen sense enough to jettison/modify just yet(for a code that bangs on incescently about tradition, they take a very pragmatic view when it comes to other inconvenient traditions like the day/month of the Grand Final or even today they are talking about introducing Video replay). Its funny, Juventus are by any measure a more world famous 'brand' than collingwood, but the Old Lady of Turin has no problem with wearing a different kit when it plays away to Udinese(a much smaller club who also black and white stripes) Stupidly hanging on to traditions CAN have the effect of making you look insular and provincial as much as it apeals to the mindset of the supporters of that decision.

It's a vexed question. I half agree with you: those familiar with the game and the teams would have had zero problem with both teams wearing their traditional jumpers, and others would no doubt have found it odd that similar designs would be allowed at the same time.

opps realised my screw up with the calculator - 3,946,350 Sorry for the confusion :)

Proves that NZ love RL when they have a team in the GF, and australia prefer AFL.

Hmmmm Melbourne, voted most livable city, but has nothing to do! LOL If I didn't live in Melbourne I'd live in Perth. Nice place that.

Why can't AFL teams wear coloured jerseys? It looked like 60s Australian TV on Saturday afternoon with both teams playing in black and white. Not a good look for a code trying to break out of its heartlands into the rest of Australia and overseas.

OzTAM TV Aust audience update Metro 2,160,000 Regional 1,095,000 Total Aust audience 3,255,000 1 Rugby League Grand Final SkySport-2 - 514,340 (7:25pm - 9:15pm) 1 Rugby League Grand Final PrimeTV - 177,010 Total for the NRL grand-final - 4,123,360