Fans need to halt the declining crowds for Geelong and Hawthorn’s Easter Monday clash
Crowds for the traditional Easter Monday clash between Geelong and Hawthorn are on the decline. Fans of both clubs need to lift to lock the match into the calendar.
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Nothing lasts forever, even if for the past 15 years it has felt like the rivalry between Geelong and Hawthorn would go on and on.
In recent years, even as the Hawks have tumbled down the ladder, the contests between the two sides have remained tight.
In 2021, Geelong just squeezed past its less fancied opponent by five points and last year the Hawks turned the tables in a 12-point stunner.
Despite the tight scoreboards, those two games were by far the worst attended Easter Monday meetings between Geelong and Hawthorn.
While Covid concern can be blamed in 2021 as the attendance slipped to 50,030, last year the fans were back in force but the Easter Monday crowd slipped below the 50k mark for the first time, with 48,030 fans at the MCG.
This year the game marks one of just two “home” matches for the Cats in the first six weeks of the season, yet after a wildly successful home crowd of 86,595 watched on as the Cats faced Collingwood in round 1, ticket sales haven’t risen heading into Monday.
A projection before the weekend of a crowd of 52,000 would be nothing short of disappointing.
Sure, Easter is always a tough period for fans given most go away with families, but until 2019, the annual clash drew less than 68,000 just once.
No other MCG marquee clash sees less fans flock in.
Every Queen’s Birthday – now King’s Birthday – game at the ‘G between Collingwood and Melbourne since 2016 has drawn at least 70,000.
The newest stand-alone slot on the calendar, the Anzac Eve game between Melbourne and Richmond, has averaged 76,442 spectators since 2017, outside of the interrupted 2021 clash.
The blockbuster Anzac Day game between Collingwood and Essendon stands on its own two feet as the biggest home-and-away game each year, while the not-traditional season-opener between Carlton and Richmond has been a huge success for the AFL.
Not only does Easter Monday suffer due to holidays, it doesn’t carry the sense of occasion that those other matches do, particularly since Neale Daniher’s Freeze MND Slide reinvigorated King’s Birthday.
This year marks a nadir in terms of form for the Cats and Hawks heading into the Monday matchup, with the two sides holding up the ladder from the bottom two spots.
Hawthorn’s poor form in recent years has seen that proud club’s average attendance drop, so gladly Cats fans can allay plenty of blame on their least-favourite opponent.
But there are few excuses this week.
As Joel Selwood articulated on Geelong’s official club podcast, Cats fans must turn up to the MCG once they finish their chocolate eggs to help their side get going in 2023.
“If we’re going to be the best supporters in the competition, we need to be with them through the tough times too,” the former captain said.
“There’s no doubt they want to be playing between and through this they might just need a little bit of help too. Show up and support like we would if we were 10 goals up in a grand final.”
While the scores remain tight, the Cats-Hawks rivalry has certainly dropped in importance from the glory days of the 2010s – the high point crowd-wise for Easter Monday came with 80,222 in 2014, months after that incredible 2013 preliminary final – and may sit behind some others in the AFL pecking order.
Certainly, the Showdown has more fire and passion right now.
Once the rivalry slips, if the crowds go too, questions may come whether it’s time to shake Easter Monday up.
The best way for Geelong fans to stave that off is to “show up” and push the crowd beyond 60,000 again.
Because if nothing lasts forever, this marquee slot may not either.
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Originally published as Fans need to halt the declining crowds for Geelong and Hawthorn’s Easter Monday clash
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