Collingwood surges but Richmond still tops AFL membership ladder
Richmond has topped the AFL membership ladder with a massive 103,000 paid-up fans. Carlton’s figure spiked this year but some teams have gone backwards. Where does your club rank?
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Collingwood has surged past Essendon and Hawthorn and into the top three AFL clubs on the official membership ladder.
The Pies had slumped to fifth on the membership ladder in 2018 after four barren Septembers but this year recorded a 12 per cent lift in membership to hit a record 85,226 paid-up fans.
Under official figures revealed by the Herald Sun today after the July 31 cut-off, Richmond remains king of the AFL’s heavyweights.
The Tigers lead all AFL clubs with 103,358 members, from West Coast (90,445), Collingwood (85,237), Essendon (84,237) and Hawthorn (81,211).
But St Kilda and Fremantle suffered worrying slumps in a year when the league again broke its membership record and 11 clubs set new membership records.
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Carlton’s membership spiked nearly 15 per cent, with the Blues lifting membership from 56,005 to 64,437 after just two wins in 2018.
The Blues eventually sacked coach Brendon Bolton mid-year but offered membership upgrades to paid-up supporters, securing the third-highest membership increase behind expansion side GWS.
St Kilda’s membership dropped 7.05 per cent (46,301 down to 43,038) after a year in which the Saints won only four games and key recruit Dan Hannebery suffered an injury-interrupted summer.
Fremantle suffered the league’s biggest membership drop of 7.56 per cent, slumping from 55,639 to 51,431.
The league says the increase in three-game memberships has driven much of its recent growth, with 11-game membership steady.
The league also factors in AFLW memberships (up to 14,006 across the competition) and AusKick memberships.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told the Herald Sun the league was thrilled membership exceeded one million people for the second consecutive year.
“Footy is about connection and a sense of belonging. The commitment members make to their clubs is the key reason why our game continues to grow,” he said.
“The national reach of Australian football has never been greater.”
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The league’s northern markets were strong with the Lions delivering their best membership since 2005 and Sydney, GWS and the Suns all breaking membership records.
The Giants improved from 25,243 members to 30,109 (up 19.28 per cent), the league’s biggest growth behind Melbourne (52,421, plus 18.4 per cent).
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Adelaide and Port Adelaide both lost members after missing the finals, the Crows down 0.47 per cent (to 64,437) and the Power down 4.48 per cent to 51,951.
The league has endured a tough year with a litany of controversies, but on-field, despite low scoring, there have been a host of nailbiting finishes.
Broadcasters Seven and Fox Footy have both recorded a strong rise in ratings ahead of a finals race with Victorian clubs Geelong, Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood still in premiership contention.
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