Thanks for that valuable input 
What was the reason behind the Port vs Adelaide game in Round 3 and West Coast vs Sydney in round 5?
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Showdown was locked in for Friday night before season started. It also has been called for sone years for a showdown blockbuster to be on a Friday night.
Also correct me if Iām wrong but wasnāt the West Coast v Sydney game on Good Friday? West Coast has a recent tradition of hosting a Friday night game on GF. Plus, that fixture was locked in before the season started.
Im just being honest mate. Do we complain that the commonwealth games should be played during the early hours of British time to suit us down under? No!
Also no one complains about rugby and aleagues having later east coast games because of a regular time slot in perth.
Iām talking. In relation to the second Friday night game.
It was still a second Friday night game
I donāt even know what you are going on about.
Iām a West Coast fan, from Perth, living in Melbourne and didnāt appreciate the late game. End of story. Your story about other sporting fixtures isnāt necessary.
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Completely get it. Thought @VictorianSun would sympathise with you consider Gold Coast get rough deals with FTA/scheduling as well.
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I watched hawthorn vs bulldogs last night. I havenāt watched a lot of hawthorn this year. Although they got smashed there is a lot to like about Hawthorn. They play an exciting brand of football. Itās fast, risky and daring. A lot said they didnāt have the talent. But their ball use is quite good and there is a lot to like. I could, unfortunately, see the competing again in the next 2 seasons.
I was one of more than 32,000 people who was at the game last night. It was the fourth or fifth time this season Hawthorn had a fast start only to be run down by their rivals in the second and third quarters. I like Hawthornās fast tactic but it should not be used too early.
Round 3 was them trying to leave a schedule gap for the AFLW Grand Final, but covid meant that got delayed anyway, otherwise the other game would have been Saturday 1:45.
Round 5, they didnāt actually overlap, Friday Twilight on a public holiday with nothing much to do, and shifting a North game out of prime time would be reasons for having two.
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That makes sense. I forgot about the AFLW Grand Final.
If the AFL want to maximise attendance they really need to leave a break between matches in melbourne. The Richmond and Geelong game should have been at night to allow people to see two matches
Would there really be that many neutrals keen to go along to multiple matches in one day? Iāve known of some people who may do that every now and then but I canāt see it making a huge difference to overall attendance.
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Itās not a huge amount but there is definitely people who specifically come to melbourne for a football weekend. I know of someone doing it this weekend.
Even if itās 500-1000. Wouldnāt it be better to have as many people at every game as possible? Especially with attendance at a low this year.
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I think thatās a very generous estimate of fans doing that, more likely people working across various stadia in event, catering and broadcast roles who need to be at both matches.
As for maximising attendances, sadly the armchair viewer is more important now. The short the gap between matches the more likely they are to remain watching. The fan unfriendly floating fixture will spit out results like yesterdayās to suit broadcasters, not fans at the ground.
Itās a novelty for those interstate. It happens more than you think. You being from Melbourne probably limits your understanding.
Perhaps to networks but not to the AFL. Itās why they are asking fans why they havenāt been turning up to the football. I had a call from AFL membership and an email asking me to answer some questions.
They have even brought out incentives like bring your kids for free for a month. This clearly shows every spectator counts and a few scheduling changes could have helped that.
Most common type Iāve encountered were from interstate or bucks weekends with a day at the races and night at the footy, or when thereās been a rugby test im town. Less common, afternoon and evening at an AFL match.
Interesting. Havenāt had that experience and only beem to three matches so far which is well below my usual. They only care because empty stands look bad on tv (everything comes back to the broadcast agreement) and stadium agreements.
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Definitely agree with you. The Sydney v St Kilda game could have been the 4.35pm game and Richmond v Geelong at 7.25pm.
Likewise the AFL needs to axe the floating fixture ASAP so people can plan better for the games. Iāve heard next year they are going to immediate release up until Round 15, but they need to release until Round 21 IMO.
Then make Rounds 22-23 floating and one hence one remaining home game for each team.
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Coming from interstate I know I used to do it on a weekend where I would go to as many as I could. I know someone doing it this weekend. A few weeks ago a family from Adelaide did it also and stopped at Ballarat for the game on the way home. Itās more common than you think.
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@VictorianSun you played so well. I really wouldnāt have been upset losing that one knowing you would have been equal 8th. I really hope the suns can get a few more wins and challenge for the 8.