About 2k in that picture show us the rest of the ground

Official crowd at the G - 50,835

Crowd at the same game last year was - 64,250

Well he shouldn't be a rapist then.

I was at Metricon Saturday night (horrible horrible venue and expensive too) and I'm 100% certain they overstated it.

There is no way the ground was at 42% capacity. All exposed seats to the elements were basically empty or at most 5% and the undercover areas were maybe at 20% on a whole and that's being generous.
Admittedly there was a lot of people standing due to the weather and poor seating chart for GA customers but it might've equated to 1k all up.

FFS, Caroline Wilson is having a go at Mark McVeigh for slamming Reimers' comments at the start of the year in regards to the doping scandal in light of his recent findings in the ASADA interview. She's just had the nerve to say that as a new member of the media he's let the footy media community down by commenting without substantial fact...this woman deals entirely in the realm of bullshit vendettas and unsubstantiated rumors. FFS she's a repulsive cunt.

7,800 is probably a big crowd for a number of pro football (any code) clubs in Sydney :lol: so clearly the accuracy of the number is a big deal to them while 50k turning up to the 'G yesterday for Melb vs Coll is considered an ordinary turnout in Melbourne. Remember this so-called footy code war only exists in Sydney especially in their local media (not just News Ltd) with their open hatred of Aussie Rules. Newbie GWS this year is still averaging home crowds slightly above 50-year old Penrith while the Swans lead the way in Sydney for crowds even with the SCG being a construction site. The rest of Australia however doesn't care about this footy code war. The Storm are averaging 16k this year which is a strong following for them while Victory's average increased to over 21k to once again dominate Soccer in Australia and no one bats an eyelid in Melbourne about code vs code crowd figures.

If GWS either next year or the one after show the same level of improvement and development as the Suns this year then the AFL will be very happy with the direction of their two new expansion clubs. The Suns are probably ahead of where everyone thought they would be this year which is a scarey thought.

What we learned this round:

North Melbourne is still crap and it will not change in the near future,

Traditional big Melbourne teams (sorry not including our 1 premiership in 100 plus years super club St Kilda) still draw big crowds which is good so they can prop up the 50% of teams that are broke and crap like North Melbourne,

You only need to play 1 quarter to beat the GWS, even half a quarter will do and 1 interchange player left,

GWS average crowd figures are 250 above the lowest NSW a-league team, CCM average for last year, watch out Heart,

Melbourne are crappier than North Melbourne but are still not the worst team in the AFL, that still belongs to GWS,

It was fun watching Adelaide join the long list of crap teams.

They need a second big forward and a second big defender. They've got a very strong midfield group but things at the ends of the ground aren't clicking. They're going to have to keep their eye on free agency this off-season if they're going to make the finals push that Harvey deserves before he retires.

At least GWS have some promising young players and not just a squad of spuds.

Mid-Season Crowd Stats

Adelaide: 34,148 (down 7.28% on 2012)
Brisbane: 21,721 (up 6.79% on 2012)
Carlton: 43,182 (down 5.55% on 2012)
Collingwood: 65,729 (up 9.94% on 2012)
Essendon: 58,245 (up 22% on 2012)
Fremantle: 36,424 (up 9.1% on 2012)
Geelong: 40,122 (up 27.3% on 2012)
Gold Coast: 12,181 (down 10.7% on 2012)
GWS Giants: 10,263 (down 5.19% on 2012)
Hawthorn: 37,395 (up 9.65% on 2012)
Melbourne 25,700 (down 10.5% on 2012)
North Melbourne: 22,666 (down 8.28% on 2012)
Port Adelaide: 27,728 (up 39.3% on 2012)
Richmond: 61,000 (up 47.6% on 2012)
St.Kilda: 35,021 (up 7.11% on 2012)
Sydney: 25,417 (up 1.75% on 2012)
West Coast: 37,831 (up 0.49% on 2012)
Western Bulldogs: 20,433 (down 12.4% on 2012)

Overall AFL Average: 33,472 (up 6.23% on 2012)





Biggest Crowds:
93,373: Essendon vs Collingwood
84,247: Collingwood vs Carlton
84,234: Richmond vs Essendon
82,639: Essendon vs Carlton
81,950: Richmond vs Collingwood
80,971: Carlton vs Richmond
76,300: Hawthorn vs Geelong
72,254: Collingwood vs Hawthorn
66,768: Collingwood vs Geelong
65,306: Collingwood vs Sydney
55,625: St.Kilda vs Richmond
54,724: Hawthorn vs Sydney
53,014: Geelong vs Essendon
51,153: Essendon vs Melbourne
50,835: Melbourne vs Collingwood

Very harsh. There's no shame in losing to Gold Coast these days, but North are capable of playing some very good football and have had a difficult draw thus far. On their day they are worthy of making the eight but that's not going to happen unless they address the choking issue.



I think if Melbourne and GWS were to meet now it would be a much tighter affair, I'd almost be inclined to put my money on the Giants tbh. That's not the issue though, Melbourne's problem is that they have recruited horrendously and have landed themselves in a rut that will take years to emerge from. In two years time GWS will probably be a very competitive side as they have so many quality young players coming through the ranks, Cameron and Patton have the potential to be the best forward combination in the league, their time will come, whereas Melbourne are fucked for the short term and the long term.

Regardless of whether they do or not, they do have that possibility of being able to recruit established stars and that's only going to fast track their rise, no one in their right mind is going to touch Melbourne though.

Melbourne are going to get another #1 pick this year and will have a lot of early picks. A few more talented youngsters and picking up a few older heads who are looking for one last pay day (a'la Campbell Brown) and they can put together a season that isn't a total disaster.

But what Melbourne need to do more than anything is get rid of this fucking board.

Gotta spend money to make money.

Franklin won't leave.

Basically he's being asked the question how much is a premiership worth? I'd wager that Hawthorn will throw a multi-million dollar deal at him and GWS's offer won't be significantly larger than what the Hawks table.

They've had plenty of number one picks and early picks already and they've done fuck all with them, if they do sack Neeld soon they should send the entire recruiting department packing with him. Clubs like Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney have recruited impeccably over the years and continue to mould top players without access to the priority picks that Melbourne have enjoyed, they need to stop wasting money on average signings like Rodan and Burns, and use the cash to poach some quality recruiting staff. Melbourne as a whole have fucked up big time and it's going to take years to repair this mess.

If Melbourne do jettison Neeld then the fans should sack the board, since they obviously can't pick a decent coach having gone through what will be four in the last three years.

AFL ' hemorrhaging' due to expansion clubs: Collins

June 13, 2013 - 11:34AM

Jon Pierik
Sports writer with The Age

Former AFL powerbroker Ian Collins says the league is losing money and dividing fans with its huge investment in smaller markets.

Collins, the former AFL football operations manager and long-time Carlton powerbroker, has questioned the expansion model, and says "there are warning signs all is not well in the AFL".

"It could be argued that having two teams in Brisbane/Gold Coast and Sydney has not accelerated significant growth in support or football development," he wrote in Inside Football.


"Rather, it has divided the existing supporter and development bases.

"The AFL is hemorrhaging due to the cost of its investment in these clubs.

"Is the investment sustainable in the short to medium term?

"The AFL runs the risk of disenfranchising other stakeholders in the competition, especially clubs in the traditional football market that are finding it increasingly difficult to balance the books.

"The AFL will need to introduce an equalisation program that is all-encompassing rather than the program currently in place."

The AFL will plough more than $200 million over five years into the Giants and the Gold Coast Suns.

While supportive of expansion, some rival administrators have expressed concern over the amount of money needed to initially prop up the clubs.

Port Adelaide president David Koch insisted on Wednesday he was a supporter of the Giants, but this did not stop him from having a crack at the club over the amount of money league headquarters has ploughed into its 18th franchise.

Expressing confidence in the Power’s ability to rebuild its finances, Koch said: "We’re not one of the rich glamour clubs like GWS with deep pockets.

"We’re working class, the blue-collar club of the league, and we’ll give it our best shot.

"We don’t have the bottomless finances of the AFL’s support of GWS, but we’ll certainly do our best under the circumstances."

Koch, however, maintained he endorsed expansion.

"GWS is so needed for the game," he said.

"You do things for the good of the game and GWS has to be supported to help grow the game."

While the money spent on expansion could have helped struggling Victorian teams, the extra game per round on the AFL fixture contributed to a record $1.25 billion television rights deal, which helps to bankroll the league and clubs.

It’s understood player agents were told at a meeting GWS would not be "cash positive" until its fifth season.

Collins was happy to elaborate but did not wish to comment publicly when contacted by Fairfax Media. He also questioned the recruiting philosophy of GWS.

"Gold Coast went part of the way to achieving early success by recruiting the likes of Gary Ablett, Campbell Brown and Nathan Bock," he said.

"GWS opted mainly for the long and conservative path of the draft.

"GWS really needed to find at least three mature and established star players to attract supporters, sponsors and business people. They also had to play winning football. Has the opportunity been lost?"

AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said Collins was entitled to his opinion.

The AFL and its clubs are deep in discussions over new equalisation measures. This includes the possibility of an added tax on heavyweight clubs.

The Giants are in the market this year for quality, established talent, and are set to offer Lance Franklin a six-year deal worth at least $9 million. This excludes third-party deals and a possible AFL ambassadorial role.
Giants football manager Graeme Allan has also confirmed their potential No.1 draft selection is up for grabs - should the right deal comes their way.

Outstanding young forward Tom Boyd shapes as the top pick, but the Giants already have key forwards Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton, and could possibly secure Franklin.

They need help elsewhere, particularly in the ruck and defence, so clubs in need of a key forward could seek a deal.

Off the field, the Giants maintain they are tracking well, with attendances and membership figures the equivalent of some of Sydney’s NRL clubs.

They have 12,200 members, but attendances in Sydney have raised concerns among rival clubs. There were only 5,830 at Skoda Stadium for the clash against Adelaide, 6,324 against West Coast and 7,809 against Geelong last weekend.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl--hemorrhaging-due-to-expansion-clubs-collins-20130613-2o5ro.html#ixzz2W61UZt45

After making obnoxious profits for the last 15 years, I think they can afford it.

Suns looking at buddy:

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-06-14/suns-target-rival-stars

If he wants more success then he'd be crazy to leave. But money talks and if the reported figures are right... Well he probably will leave.

More importantly the AFL wont let him stay, they need GWS to work to justify the millions they have poured into the club and not much else is working at present.

On the game tonight the umpires were very inconsistent and just tilted an evenly poised game in Hawthorn's favour. I would be shattered if I was a Carlton fan tonight. Last week they just fell away and Essendon ran over them, this week they were hard done by.

\

Ok so it wasn't just me (and other carlton supporters) then that thought the ump was shite. Especially in the 4th and didn't call too much for us when it mattered most. Very pissed with this team atm with all the talent we have.

Last night's attendance:

45,670

Carlton shows that it has potential to be a very, very good team, unfortunately for them they seem to panic when under pressure. Made so many awful decisions in the last quarter last night that cost them the game.

Honestly, give it a couple of seasons and Buddy in their system (along with a couple of other recruitments) and they'll be perennial contenders. He's more likely to have long-term success at GWS I reckon. Hawks have hit their peak.

Has the AFL considered staggering the teams' byes across the season a bit more for television purposes? Two teams out a week from rounds 9-16 means you've still got 8 games a week, means more games on tv.

GWS don't need him for the long term imo, Patton and Cameron will be quality, Cameron is already amongst the best in his position this season imo. They'd be better off spending the money on an established gun midfielder or two for the younger players to learn from.

That may be, but Franklin is guaranteed to put bums on seats and create conversation. Are there any midfielders of that calibre on Free Agency?

https://twitter.com/MediaweekAUS

Fri TV #AFL #AFLBluesHawks Seven 585k (Mel 444k Ade 141k) 7mate 170k (Syd 20k Bri 36k Per 114k)

Fri STV #AFL #AFLBluesHawks 342k Post-game 141k Pre 90k

Total: 1097k