Live footy drought: How the AFL left Sydney crowds high and dry in Giants’, Swans’ month of away games
The Swans and Giants have risen into premiership favouritism after their fast starts to 2024. But bizarre scheduling means Sydney footy fans have been relegated to TV viewing for almost a month, writes LACHLAN McKIRDY.
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The AFL’s Opening Round concept created undeniable momentum in the northeastern states.
Sold-out stadia in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast kickstarted the 2024 season in style and generated plenty of buzz in the sport’s non-traditional markets.
The anticipation then set in across the rest of the country with round one breaking the record for the highest crowd attendance in a single round of footy.
But as the competition continues to grow outside its heartland, the game has completely vacated one of its biggest regions for the best part of a month.
Sydney will go 29 days without an AFL match in town. As Swans fans left the SCG on March 23 following their win over Essendon, the big screen flashed up with an announcement that the next game wasn’t until April 21 against Gold Coast.
There were looks of bemusement from footy fans in the Harbour City when they realised they had been relegated to their couch or local pub to get a glimpse of the action.
Of course, the obvious caveat is that the Giants are out of town until May as Mason Cox’s favourite ground recovers from its Easter Show hosting duties. But a simple rescheduling of the Swans’ SCG matches could have easily avoided a month without football.
It’s a problem no other state faces for the first half of the 2024 season.
Queensland fans have to wait a maximum of 16 days between March 28 and April 13 due to Gather Round weekend for a game in either Brisbane or the Gold Coast.
It’s a similar time frame for Eagles and Dockers supporters, with 15 days the longest gap between matches at Optus Stadium.
As for Adelaide, another city with two teams, the Crows and Power have a game every weekend at home right through to round 24.
For the 29 days that the AFL is out of town, the NRL will host 15 matches in Sydney. When the Swans regularly draw the biggest regular-season crowds in the state, it’s a missed opportunity for the AFL to capitalise on their average of 37,483 to start this year.
It’s a sign of the discrepancy in scheduling that Sydney also holds the second-longest gap between fixtures. There will be 22 days between the Giants’ home clash with the Western Bulldogs on May 18 and the Swans’ game against Geelong at the SCG on June 9. Both teams are slated for a bye on the same weekend in round 12.
Swans coach John Longmire has been one of the biggest proponents for more marquee fixtures in NSW, but even he was surprised by the length of time between matches.
“It wasn’t something I was really aware of until someone pointed it out,” Longmire said on Wednesday.
“The attention rightly from the AFL was put onto the Opening Round, which was terrific. But you’d probably have to speak to the AFL whether that one snuck through.
“But the intent of what’s been happening, the intent behind the AFL to try and get the content here and the stand-alone concept of the Opening Round was clearly a success.
“I guess we always want more, don’t we? But it’s a good starting point, so I’m sure that keeps getting addressed and not sure what it looks like next year.”
The Giants are locked in to take five games to Canberra each year until the end of 2032, three of which are men’s regular season matches. The fact they vacate Sydney for up to two months shouldn’t come as a surprise to the AFL.
The stand-alone nature of Opening Round also meant that both Sydney teams had to have an extra bye before round six which has to be taken into consideration.
But when the Swans only play twice in Sydney inside the opening six weeks, it’s a simple imbalance that should be tweaked to ensure the growing number of Aussie rules fans in the state consistently have games to attend.
The AFL has shown in the past they are quick to learn from their mistakes. Last season, neither the Swans nor the Giants hosted a game in Sydney when the NRL went to Brisbane for Magic Round. It’s a different story in 2024 with the Swans taking on Carlton at the SCG and the Giants hosting one of their biggest rivals, the Western Bulldogs.
But 29 days between matches for an area that the AFL has claimed is their biggest growth market simply can’t be allowed to happen again.
The AFL has been contacted for comment.
Originally published as Live footy drought: How the AFL left Sydney crowds high and dry in Giants’, Swans’ month of away games
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