Numbers just don't add up in the west

Richard Hinds | May 19, 2008

ON Saturday night a mere 6881 turned up for St George Illawarra's victory over Melbourne at ANZ Stadium. Yesterday afternoon 34,904 watched the Swans nail Essendon. The AFL can claim that it is winning hearts and minds as it prepares to march on rugby league's western heartland, right?

On Friday night, 22,676 watched the Titans beat the Bulldogs at Skilled Park. On Saturday night, 6354 watched North Melbourne beat West Coast at Carrara. The NRL can claim a massive victory in the battle for the Gold Coast, right?

Wrong and wrong.

There was a time when Swans officials would have done backflips about the fact they had drawn 28,023 more than rugby league on the same weekend at the same venue. Now, even allowing for their vested interest, the Swans can argue that the size of their crowd - disappointing in comparison with the average 63,000 for three Telstra Stadium games last year, is instead a stark reminder of the fight the AFL's proposed western Sydney team will face.

Swans chairman Richard Colless was asked by Victorian media before the game if the anticipated crowd - at least 40,000 was forecast - was an indication of how well the AFL was going in the west. He offered a geography lesson. At ANZ Stadium, in addition to those diehards from the east and lower north shore willing to make the trip to Homebush Bay, the Swans add some supporters from the Hills region where they have worked to develop a following - supporters, Colless added, were vital to his club's viability.

As for the true west? "An AFL wasteland," says Colless. "These are people who, by and large, don't have an interest in the game."

But if they are so devoted to rugby league, why such paltry attendances for some NRL games at ANZ Stadium?

Saturday night was unusual. A struggling southern Sydney club against an interstate franchise, both robbed of their stars by State Of Origin. The roll-up for Dragons-Storm was hardly representative of the game's popularity.

"Don't underestimate the power and clout of rugby league in this market, [AFL] people constantly do that," said Colless, who met AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou last Friday. "We both acknowledge this [second Sydney team] will be the biggest test that the VFL/AFL will confront in its history."

The disparity in the Titans and North Melbourne crowd was more indicative of the appeal of NRL and AFL on the Gold Coast. But given forces at work, it was cause for neither elation (NRL) or alarm (AFL).

The Titans are winning games on the field and hearts off them. The Kangaroos were so indifferent about their contractual obligation to play on the coast that coach Dean Laidley said: "We couldn't have cared less if there was no one here".

The Titans played in their comfortable, purpose-built stadium. The Kangaroos played at the virtually abandoned Carrara.

The Titans game had a big media build-up. Such has been the indifference to the Kangaroos since they turned their backs on a relocation package, their presence barely rated a mention.

It was an embarrassing night for the AFL - made worse when a bank of lights went out in the final quarter. An investigation is underway - into the light tower.

The Titans' real opposition will not be North but the franchise code-named GC17, which now has a public face in likely coach Michael Voss. On the coast and in Sydney's west, it will be a few years yet before comparisons can be made.