The Giants have ruled out taking home games into enemy territory at the SCG, but Greater Western Sydney chief executive Dave Matthews admits the club has major work to do over the summer to boost their dwindling crowd numbers.
As the Swans mount their bid for an AFL premiership, an off-season of major upheaval looms for the Giants, who recently appointed Adam Kingsley as their new coach and are facing the potential loss of star midfielders Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper — among others — during a busy trade period.
But an off-field review is also under way after GWS attracted an average of only 6102 fans to their six home games at Giants Stadium, having barely played at all in Sydney without crowd restrictions over the previous two seasons due to the pandemic.
That figure doesn’t include the 25,572 fans who watched the round-one derby against the Swans at Accor Stadium, or the 39,216 who watched their four games at Canberra’s Manuka Oval this year – which, at an average of 9804, is more than they got at their usual Olympic Park base.
The dip in interest comes despite a record membership tally this year of more than 30,000, which reflects a poor member turnout rate. It shows how critical sustained on-field success is for the Giants to build a wide following in a market dominated by rugby league and still largely unfamiliar with the AFL – and how easily they can fall off the map if they’re losing.
Last month, chairman Tony Shepherd floated the radical idea of playing home games against high-drawing Victorian opposition at the SCG, during an interview on 3AW Radio in which he admitted their crowds had been “a long way off the pace” this year.
It’s been a tough year on and off the park for the GWS Giants.Credit:Getty
But Matthews effectively dismissed any prospect of the Giants taking games there, and said it was only raised during a club “strategy day” as another potential venue option during the Easter Show period when Giants Stadium is off-limits to the club for six weeks each year.
This structural challenge, as Matthews put it, makes it difficult to build visibility and momentum in Sydney through the early part of the season – particularly if they are struggling on field by the time they are able to return to Giants Stadium.
“The short answer is not very seriously at all,” Matthews said when asked how seriously GWS was looking at the SCG.
“We had a strategy day recently … we just decided to pose some big questions for ourselves, just to challenge ourselves, and that was one of a number. It doesn’t come from a strong desire to play anywhere other than Giants Stadium. It comes from a position of, where do you play when Giants Stadium [is] unavailable?”
Adam Kingsley has been appointed the new coach of the Giants.Credit:Getty
COVID-19 hit at the worst possible time for the Giants, who had competed in their first AFL grand final just a few months before the virus began spreading around the world – then not only were they robbed of the chance to build on that momentum, they immediately began struggling on-field, which players have previously attributed to extended time spent in interstate hubs.
“I think the frustration for us is … we had a terrific trajectory heading towards the end of 2019. In some ways, our growth has been stunted as a consequence,” Matthews said.
“But we know that the appetite and the audience is there, you’ve only got to look at the fact that we broke our membership record, we’ve got over 32,000 members. That’s a great show of support and shows the connection people might have with the club.
“We’ve done a lot of research, and so has the AFL, on the sort of hesitancy that I guess has been created. But also, I think, to some degree, there’s been a change in habits for families. We’re doing a fair bit of research and sharpening our focus with our fixture requests in terms of, what is our best time slot? What work do we need to do to create a great entertainment option at the ground, as opposed to sitting at home? There’s a lot of work to do on all of that.”
Matthews also revealed the Giants were close to inking another long-term deal to bring three AFL games a year to Canberra, in addition to an AFLW contract. The club’s original 10-year deal with the ACT government, worth $23 million, has expired.
“We see a lot of merit in going again, and putting roots down even stronger with another 10-year deal,” he said.
