How the AFL lost the battle for Sydney: Shocking proof the Swans and GWS have failed to attract fans

When the Sydney Swans players crouched after their 81-point loss to Geelong on Saturday, power brokers knew it wasn’t the only heavy loss the AFL had suffered that day in the Harbor City.

While the MCG was packed with record-breaking crowds — the largest number seen by an AFL decision maker since 1986 — gamblers at home left in droves.

The official figures for the Geelong vs. Sydney grand final showed 2.18 million viewers in the capitals and 2.96 million viewers nationally, with 95,000 viewers on streaming platforms.

In a huge blow to the code’s plans to win supporters in the west of the city, only 375,000 watched the match in Sydney.

The last two grand finals were held in the deadlock during the Covid-19 pandemic during grand finals on foreign soil at Optus Stadium in Perth and the Gabba in Brisbane, each drawing around a million more viewers.

However, the last major daytime final at the MCG between Richmond Tigers and GWS Giants in 2019 had 2.197 million subway viewers tuned in to 2.90 million nationally. Both that grand final and this year’s decider had good marks compared to previous years.

Before that, 3.39 million people tuned in to see the West Coast Eagles and Collingwood compete in 2018.

Toby Greene of the Giants is emotional after the 2019 AFL Grand Final game between the Richmond Tigers and the Greater Western Sydney Giants

While power brokers consider moving to the grand finals at dusk after the success of the Perth and Brisbane grand finals, the elephant in the room seems to be that no one is watching Sydney teams during the big dance.

Which begs the question, is the battle for Sydney run, done and lost?

Large numbers of NRL fans are expected to tune in this Sunday for the Battle of the West between Penrith and Parramatta.

It was only 13 years ago that the AFL declared war on Sydney’s west by invading the GWS Giants armed with an upgraded stadium, a war chest of funds, draft rosters galore, veteran coach Kevin Sheedy and former NRL star Israel Folau as their poster child.

The AFL has handed over money to the battling Giants and the Swans.

In the Giants’ founding days alone, $197 million had been set aside for GWS, including a $60 million redevelopment of the Skoda Stadium, a $27 million Blacktown complex and a $10 million training base in Homebush.

The NRL didn’t care then and even less now.

At the time, ARL chief executive Geoff Carr knew the battle lines had been drawn, but he said the AFL’s real enemy was themselves.

“It’s a huge risk to the AFL and a lot of people say it will be their Vietnam,” Carr said at the time.

“If they want to fight there, that’s their call.”

Israel Folau and Callan Ward of the Giants Celebrate GWS’ First AFL Win

Seven West Media and Foxtel recently signed the richest deal in Australian sports history for the rights to the AFL, a $4.5 billion deal that secures broadcasting rights to the competition from 2025 to 2031.

Those power brokers won’t be impressed that 900,000 fewer people tuned in to this year’s final than the 2021 clash between the Bulldogs and Melbourne Demons in Perth and 750,000 fewer than the 2020 Brisbane clash between Geelong and Richmond.

Seven West Media CEO James Warburton says the network will “always support the decisions the AFL makes for fans,” but added that a nighttime grand final spot would be open to more people.

“The numbers and comparisons are clear to everyone to support a primetime AFL grand final,” he said.

“It’s a national contest and a twilight or primetime bounce will maximize the audience for the code.”

Nathan Cleary of the Panthers is tackled during the NRL Qualifying Final game between the Parramatta Eels. The two sides will meet again in a blockbuster grand finale

Meanwhile, in their respective grand finals, the two Sydney teams have been knocked over the head and have to lick their wounds.

They climbed the mountain only to tumble down the other side and hit every rock on the way down.

The fans are turning away, the results are not on the board and one more appearance in Sydney in a grand final could destroy the traditional daytime grand final.

The NRL has literally done nothing to combat the ‘threat’ of AFL. Although the construction of Bankwest Stadium by the New South Wales government has put another nail in the coffin of AFL in Sydney.

Bankwest Stadium has been a huge success and is one of the best suburbs in the country let alone Sydney

The Penrith Panthers will face their third consecutive grand final on Sunday. The Parramatta Eels will reward their starving fans with a drought-breaking premiership since Peter Sterling in 1986.

Bankwest Stadium is the crown jewel for suburban stadiums, and fans lined up at sports stores to buy merchandise for the NRL’s grand final.

The AFL’s uphill battle to establish itself in Sydney’s west became even more difficult.