JOHN Croughan, an Essendon supporter all his life, has been to see the Bombers only three times in seven years, and it's not because he doesn't love them any more. He is still devoted to the red and black, and he is still unashamedly a footy tragic. "Seven years ago, I just decided that the AFL wasn't for me," he said. "I used to go every week to see the Bombers, and now I go every week to local footy."

Croughan converted to suburban football because he doesn't like to be fenced in by designated areas or reserved seats. He likes the direct, contested style of play, and he likes to get close to the huddles and hear what the coaches have to say.

For him, footy remains strictly a Saturday afternoon affair, and he picks out the most appealing fixture each week. Last Saturday, it was the rematch between last year's grand finalists in the Eastern Football League, Noble Park and Vermont.

"It's the enjoyment of being around mates on a Saturday, and not being closed into a certain section of the ground," said Croughan, who is forming a club of supporters he hopes will next season pick the game of the round and go to the footy together.

"I've got a lot of mates who still go (to AFL games), but they're all over the ground. That camaraderie is very difficult now. You can't make a decision to meet 10 or 15 mates at the footy unless you book a row of seats in advance, and I don't particularly like sitting anyway.

"If you go to local football, it's a Saturday, you can get a group together, you meet a lot of new people, you can stand and have a drink or you can sit if you want to. Once you walk into a suburban ground, you've got access to all areas. The clubs welcome you into their rooms. You can watch three games of football if you want to, and quite often I do … They provide what we used to love, years ago."

As the AFL stages Heritage Round, which this year is a celebration of the 1970s, Croughan's view reflects a genuine hankering among many supporters for the authentic football experiences of that time.

That is not to say people are turning away from the game at its most elite level — AFL crowd figures released last week suggest it is in rude health around the country, with a record number of members signed up to clubs and 3.494 million people through the gates to the end of round 12, just 647 short of the all-time record set in 2005.

But there is clearly something happening in the 'burbs, too. Few clubs keep regular crowd figures, but Rob Sharpe, chief executive of the Eastern Football League, reports that last year's finals series attracted record crowds in nine of the 16 games played. The grand final pulled 8000.

Balwyn, which moved over from the Southern Football League, recruited former Collingwood star Mick McGuane as coach and added several ex-AFL players to its list. It used to draw crowds of barely a hundred, but recently topped 1000. In the Northern Football League, crowds average about 1500, and more for a few recent Sunday fixtures, while the Victorian Amateur Football Association reports growth as more families attend games.

"There has certainly been pretty genuine interest," Sharpe said. "We're getting much better gates, and people seem to be enjoying the experience of being able to mix and know the person they're at the footy with. That old tribal thing that VFL clubs used to have, I suppose we have within our own environment."

Sharpe said there was a noticeable boost in local crowds after Waverley Park hosted its last AFL game in 1999, given its location near fast-growing areas such as Cranbourne, Pakenham and Berwick, and cites himself as the perfect example.

"I used to go and watch Hawthorn at Waverley every week, and I haven't been to a Hawthorn game since. I actually converted to local footy at the time," he said.

"It's pretty obvious, really, and there's two reasons. There's not as much footy on Saturday afternoons now at the AFL grounds, and there are others who suggest we don't kick backwards and wind the clock down.

"We're providing a really interesting alternative, and when you go to our games it's more about the people who are there. Our footy isn't as good as AFL footy, no one would suggest it would be, so people are coming for a different reason. They go for the whole environment.

"There's a whole lot of community spirit around footy clubs and they're a place for people to meet and socialise. I don't think the AFL can provide that any more. You purchase a seat and you've got to sit in that spot."

Further evidence of a revival in grassroots football could be found at the Sacred Heart Mission's annual Community Cup game a fortnight ago. On a day when there was no AFL game in Melbourne, more than 18,000 people went to the Junction Oval to see the Espy Rock Dogs play the Megahertz.

The charity match has forged its own tradition in its 14-year history, outgrowing its original home and this season raising $75,000 for the mission, but it also offers a football experience from another era, with standing room on the terraces, full-strength beer and the chance to have a kick on the ground at half-time.

Wayne Holdsworth, from the Southern Football League and AFL Victoria, says the appeal of the direct, free-flowing games typically seen at suburban level should not be underestimated. He points to a full-forward from St Kilda City, Daniel Casset, who has booted 60 goals so far this season.

"He takes big speccies in the goal square and they kick it down to him long and direct. Everyone loves that," said Holdsworth, who believes the AFL's investment in grassroots football is paying off.

"People come to see the long kicks to the goal square, the one-on-one contests, rather than the kicking backwards and chipping around. There's very little of that because our blokes haven't got the ability to maintain possession."

In the Southern League, which Holdsworth says has been attracting up to 3000 people to some matches, Daryl Pitman and Ian Bennett can be seen broadcasting the game of the round for Southern FM radio and Channel 31 on TV. Sometimes, "Benny and Dags" call the games from the side of a rental truck parked near the boundary line. It's a long way from the slick productions of the AFL broadcasters, but they have a loyal following.

"They'll refer to blokes having a pie, or there's Mavis in the stand doing some knitting," said Holdsworth. "It's not Bruce McAvaney stuff, but that's what community footy is about."

Pitman says there is no doubt community football is booming, and thinks people crave a regular Saturday afternoon fix when their AFL teams are on the road or playing in different timeslots.

"I think it's across the board, we're getting good crowds at division-three games now and 10 years ago you would get five people and their dog," Pitman said. "It's good, old-fashioned footy."

John Croughan will go to one Essendon game this season, because he wants to see James Hird play one last time. "That's the only reason," he said.

Until then he will get his AFL fix on TV, and on Saturday will be at Vermont for the blockbuster against Balwyn, tipped to attract a record home-and-away crowd for the EFL. He wouldn't be anywhere else.