Australia Attendance Comparison 2019 - 2021 (half year)

It would normally make sense to compare one year to the next but as we all know Covid put pay to any meaningful comparison in that regard. So going back a year earlier and we can make a case for a reasonable contrast in fortunes. 

The first thing of note is that crowds are down 9% on a year to date basis after thirteen rounds. With a year off for people going to games, have some lost the habit? Is the threat of Covid still holding some folk back? Are there local issues that affect some teams? Looking down the list will answer that more conclusively.

First up, the Brisbane Broncos are the big one and they are down 20%. They are second from bottom with just three wins from thirteen starts. They were the bottom side in 2020 so the incumbent wooden spoon holders. Minus 356 as points differential in twenty games (in 2020) was a disaster. Has eighteen months of failure affected numbers. For such a proud club with a fine history, probably.

Penrith is doing the opposite regarding form compared to the Broncos and that shows with numbers up 18%. North Queensland has a nice new stadium so you would expect some gain there. The Gold Coast team has shown some promise so maybe that has helped. The NZ Warriors are playing on the Central Coast, Australia so can't compete with home game attendances. 

What is showing up is that Sydney clubs are in many cases well down. South Sydney has always had yo-yo crowd numbers so only by year's end will we know for sure. Canterbury (-17) St George (-29), Cronulla (-48) and Manly (-42) all are enduring hefty drops. Some are performing better on the field than others but the attendance figures don't follow form in this case. Is Covid a factor, especially with traveling fans within the city? 

With the total down nearly 140,000 or -8% isn't great but all things considered, it could have been worse. 2021 isn't going to be great with crowd numbers. Maybe 2022 would be a better year to compare if Covid has gone by then but for now we do get a picture of what's happening in the now. 

Please note that Magic Weekend figures are included in the total but not in the club averages.