Sunday at Ikon Park showcased an action-packed day of footy with a double-header that saw Fremantle triumph over Richmond, and Carlton continue their winning streak with a resounding victory over Collingwood.
It’s a shame more people weren’t there to see it.
A crowd of 1931 fans showed up to watch the Richmond game at 12.30 at Ikon Park for the second week of Indigenous Round. The Carlton versus Collingwood clash at 3pm had an attendance of 3892 (an accumulative figure that counts fans who came for the first game, but might not have stayed for the second).
This is obviously a nuanced conversation.
Mother’s Day has traditionally been a dead fixture for AFL men’s with significantly lower attendance records, so it makes sense the women’s league would experience a similar decrease for Father’s Day.
It’s also important to note we’re in the middle of the men’s finals season – a time when many fans could be experiencing footy fatigue or aren’t paying attention to the women’s league.
But walking around Ikon Park, you couldn’t help feel this weekend was a missed opportunity. Most of the stands were empty, and the green space outside the suburban stadium was fairly barren.
A double-header typically means you want to encourage fans to stay at the stadium for both games, which means the following need to be on offer: music, entertainment, activation stands and numerous food options and stalls.
There was none of that on Sunday, except a few merch stands and one gourmet burger stand.
Longtime AFLW fan Amy Stephens has only missed two Collingwood games since 2018 and was cheering for the Pies from the boundary line on Sunday.
However, the supporter said she had no idea there was a double-header on today, citing the lack of advertising around the event.
Stephens said only realised there was a double-header when she checked the fine print on her Ticketmaster account, but she’d already left home and missed the game.
“I think there needs to be more advertising for AFLW in general, let alone a double-header,” she said.
Stephens said it would be good to have activities or entertainment between the two games, to “break up the day” and encourage people to stay.
She also wanted to see a bigger advertising push on social media and on television, so fans could actually know a double-header was on.
Several other fans this masthead spoke said they had no idea a double-header was on today.
Sunday’s attendance at Ikon Park is made more bleak by the fact double-headers – when advertised and publicised properly – do really well. Footy fans have voted with their feet over the first three rounds, with AFLW attendances up by more than 50 per cent compared with the same stage last season. The growth has been driven largely by five double-headers, with the men’s game, which have drawn crowds as big 20,000, in tier one stadiums.
Carlton coach Matthew Buck reiterated his support for the double-header concept after the Blues won by 39 points – their fourth consecutive win this season.
When asked if he was hoping for more advertisement around the double-header, Buck didn’t specify his thoughts, but said he thought there was “a great vibe within the crowd”.
“I’m all for it [the double-headers],” he said. “I think we could take those to Marvel as well, and fill Marvel up with them, it’d be fantastic.
“But what we know is when we play at Ikon Park and our Carlton fans turn up, that it’s a great place to be. And I think Freo, Richmond might have felt a little bit of that towards the end of their game.”
Double-header are proven to work.
But if the AFL want to meet their attendance benchmarks and fill stadiums for W games, they need to make sure fans actually know when the games are on.