The group of Bulldogs fans, decked out in red and blue scarfs, sat around a table in the Trumble bar and cafe on the western side of the MCG. It was not quite 5pm on a drizzly Friday, and they were enjoying a round of beers, with a much-anticipated AFL elimination final less than three hours away.
The image of the four summed up Melbourne footy culture to a tee. Proud, passionate, sociable and community-minded. As well as something else. They had little interest in the AFLW match between the Bulldogs – their own club – and Port Adelaide underway some 60m away.
For the duration of the clash, there appeared to be more people in the bars and restaurants of the MCC members area than there were watching the action on field. To be fair, many of them were Hawks fans. It was raining. The contest was one-sided from the opening quarter. And the members were required to arrive early to secure their seat for the only Victorian fixture in the first week of the AFL finals.
But the dynamic highlighted the ongoing challenge faced by the AFLW community to convince the wider Melbourne audience of the merits of the women’s game.
The game’s tradition of inequity is even enshrined in the sport’s vast concrete temple. Friday proved the MCG cannot offer an elite environment for all four teams across back-to-back fixtures. Port’s rooms on Friday were equipped with only two toilets and two showers. The Dogs found themselves getting changed at the cricket nets. “That’s OK, we’ve been in worse in women’s football I can tell you that,” coach Tamara Hyett said.
“The cricket nets might be an upgrade from eight years ago to be honest. We know that we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re ticking little boxes along the way and the experience the girls will gain from playing tonight is probably paramount.”
Pressed on whether the MCG – the home of Australian rules football – should be able to better accommodate a men’s and women’s double-header, the former professional golfer didn’t want to come across like she was complaining. “Oh, the cricket nets are good facilities, there’s everything we need there. It’s got a change room, it’s got a locker, we can come out and warm up out here,” she said. “So for us it’s fine.”
While Melbourne has been slow to fully embrace the women’s game, in other cities inroads have been made. Last season the Sydney Swans topped the attendance charts, and drew more than 5,000 to their season opener against Collingwood last weekend. South Australian crowds too have been strong, and the AFLW edition of the Showdown last week attracted similar numbers. The 2019 grand final at the Adelaide Oval still holds the record for the highest ever attendance, at close to 53,000.
The Melbourne malaise is despite ongoing efforts to stimulate the broader footy community. The new general manager of AFLW, Emma Moore, has entered the job this year with the responsibility to change perceptions and experiment, and some clubs are of a similar mind. The Bulldogs have introduced discounted AFLW bundles this season where tickets can be used across the season or by a large group at a single game.
Friday’s double-header was only conceived last week, after the AFL’s desire to schedule the men’s Melbourne final on the Friday created a clash with the Dogs’ AFLW home opener at the freshly renovated Whitten Oval.
AFL head of football Laura Kane explained “there was universal alignment on trying to maximise the AFLW crowd considering the Western Bulldogs involvement in both matches”. It resulted in the AFLW’s third competitive match at football’s coliseum, and the second double-header after a fixture two years ago where the Demons were involved in both an AFLW regular season match and AFL final that week.
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Despite the promise of a larger crowd, double-headers are controversial. Many believe they de-value those who play the first match, usually the women. Yet the diehards in the Dogs cheer squad feel they have merit.
One, Chelsea Heath, said the women’s team “deserve to be included as much as the men”. She would like to see more AFLW games as curtain raisers “because it would give them the big stages they get to play on like today, rather than the standalone games”.
Alongside her, Sam Twaddle was in agreement. “Yesterday they posted a photo of the boys and the girls together and it was so good to see two teams but one club,” he said. “I think they should because it shows cohesion.”
Despite its one-sided nature and the swathers of empty seats, the match is likely to be remembered as a success. Thanks to the early MCC turnout, the crowd number – although not immediately available on Friday night – is likely to be close to the 17,851 recorded for the 2022 Demons double-header, and will almost certainly be one of the standout figures for the season.
Port coach Lauren Arnell said it was an “amazing” experience for her team to play at the sport’s traditional home and the players “loved” playing there. While she declined to share her views on double headers, she said they wanted to come back, one way or another. “Any opportunity we get, we’ll take.”
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