Western Bulldogs members have snapped up more tickets than GWS members for elimination final
GWS players were booed on their home turf the last time they played the Western Bulldogs in a final but the Giants are confident their fans will turn up in force despite a discrepancy in early ticket sales.
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The Dogs are barking that another southern invasion is on the cards on Saturday, but GWS is confident of repelling it.
Three buses will depart Footscray at 1am on the morning of the elimination final, as part of an army of 4000 Western Bulldogs members taking to the highways and airways bound for Giants Stadium.
In comparison, 2600 Giants members have so far purchased tickets for Saturday’s do-or-die battle, inviting questions over the possibility of a repeat of the 2016 preliminary final between the two sides at the same venue, when GWS players were booed onto the field at their own home ground. (WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE)
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However, passionate GWS supporters took to the skies on Thursday to declare the city belongs to them — superstar Jeremy Cameron caught completely by surprise when he looked up from a spot of fishing to see his name being branded high up across Sydney.
Despite the discrepancy in member sales favouring the Bulldogs, 57 per cent of the remaining fans to have purchased tickets have also purchased for previous Giants games, suggesting a greater representation of orange in the stands than there was in 2016, when only 39 per cent of non-members tickets had prior history with GWS.
So far an estimated 16,500 tickets have been snapped up, leaving 6000 still available.
Even a neutral crowd could be uncomfortable for the hosts, but Giants chief David Matthews is convinced GWS fans will ensure the Sydney Olympic fortress is not turned into a kennel.
“Sometimes it’s not a direct correlation between the ticket purchases being members or not (and the overall crowd). What I do think and expect is there will be more Giants supports this weekend than there are Bulldogs supporters,” Matthews told The Daily Telegraph.
“That’s what you’d hope for, but at the same time the Bulldogs fans are very passionate and they travel.
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“You want to see as much orange as you possibly can in the crowd and that’s what we’re expecting. A lot has changed in three years.
“Our membership has doubled. Our crowd is a lot more vocal now. But we need our Giants fans to give the Bulldogs a very warm welcome.
“It’s a very, very family-friendly timeslot. It’s the right timeslot for us at Giants Stadium and that’ll lend itself to … quite a few walk-ups and ticket purchases over the next 24-48 hours as we build towards the game. All those indicators are positive. It’ll be a spectacle.”
Matthews said it was no surprise the Bulldogs fans came out in force and made themselves heard at the 2016 preliminary final, given the fairytale that club was chasing and the fact GWS were still well in their infancy.
Thursday’s surprise skywriting stunt — which was not initiated by GWS — illustrates as well as anything, the passion being generated among Giants fans. Cameron almost fell off the river bank.
“I was out on the water early this morning with Dawson Simpson, having a fish like we often do on our days off. We just looked up and saw the writing,” Cameron said.
“The first one was ‘Your Giants’ so we were a bit intrigued and then I couldn’t believe it when it was my name. I’m getting even more excited for Saturday now.”
Josh Kelly, who also had his name written in the sky along with Stephen Coniglio and Toby Greene, said the Giants fan base make up for their small size with noise.