The good news is that despite major interruptions over the past two seasons due to COVID-19, Roy Morgan found that 8.86 million Australians now “express support” for an AFL club – a historical high.

This is an increase of 1.3 million on last year, a rise of 17.7 per cent, while 7.58 million Australians also watched an AFL match on TV in the past year although that was down marginally at 1.1 per cent on last year.

This is a huge pool of people for automakers to talk to – especially as the media has fragmented dramatically in the past two decades.

In its latest research Roy Morgan found that the most-supported AFL team is the Sydney Swans (Volkswagen). All teams showed growth in their supporter numbers in 2021 in the latest survey – except Fremantle.

But Sydney, while the most popular team, has trouble converting support to memberships. This is a key metric for AFL clubs – their ability to convert their latent supporters into financial members that directly benefit the clubs and encourage sponsorships.

Swans supporters are the least loyal with a conversion from its 1.031 million fans to paid-up members a low 4.9 per cent. Sydney is the only club to exceed one million supporters.

Ironically, the next two most popular clubs, Collingwood and West Coast do not have automotive sponsors.

Roy Morgan industry communications director Julian McCrann said that the past 18 months had been “very tough” for football supporters with limited opportunities for many to attend matches.

“However, this hasn’t hurt the club support which has soared to a record high,” he said.

“Victoria’s extended lockdowns during 2020, and again in 2021, have kept football fans watching games on the couch at home in the league’s most important market. 

“Now 7.58 million Australians watched an AFL match on TV in the last year – equivalent to 36 per cent of all Australians aged 14 years and over.”

Mr McCrann said that the biggest winners in terms of increasing their support over the last year “are unsurprisingly the clubs that have enjoyed success on the field in the 2020 and 2021 seasons as well as the two newest clubs in the AFL”.

“Both of the grand finalists have seen a big uplift in support from a year ago led by the Western Bulldogs, up 89,000 (up 44.5 per cent) to a supporter base of 289,000 to be just behind their opponent this week at Perth Stadium, Melbourne (Jaguar), who lifted their support by 55,000 (up 23.4 per cent) to 290,000,” he said.

“There were also surges in support for two-time defending premiers Richmond (Jeep) who increased their support by 113,000 (up 25.3 per cent) to 560,000.”

Richmond has recorded a fast-growing supporter base on the back of premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and is also one of the best clubs at converting their supporters to members.

It has a conversion rate of 18.8 per cent delivering a total club membership of over 105,000, second only to North Melbourne (Mazda).

“Although neither club has managed to win through to a grand final in the past few years both the Brisbane Lions (Hyundai) and Port Adelaide (MG) have finished top four in each of the last two years – and seen big increases in support on the back of excellent performances on the field,” Mr McCann said.

“The Brisbane Lions added a competition leading 152,000 (up 25.6 per cent) supporters over the past year to draw level with the West Coast Eagles with 746,000 supporters in equal third place overall. 

“Port Adelaide added 67,000 (up 28.5%) supporters to reach 302,000 supporters in 2021.

“Although success is a big part of increasing support, there is also a benefit for clubs when top-level content is provided on a weekly, or even daily, basis for potential supporters. 

“The Gold Coast Suns are the only AFL club never to play in a finals series but after two seasons with many extra AFL matches played in their home market the club has seen a big increase in support, up 46,000 (up 75 per cent) to 112,000.” 

Mr McCrann said the GWS Giants (Kia) had enjoyed more success than their northern counterparts contesting five out of the past six finals series and winning at least one final in each of those five years, however they are yet to experience the ultimate success of winning a premiership. 

However, their consistent performances are being rewarded off the field with their supporter base increasing by 90,000 (up 54.5 per cent) to 255,000 – a new record high for the AFL’s youngest club.

“Looking forward the AFL will be hoping the 2022 season will not present as many challenges in putting on a regular season as we have seen in 2020-21,” Mr McCrann said.

“Although the past two years have been incredibly tough for the league, the ability to find a way to keep the schedule rolling through the season despite the disruptions has been appreciated by millions of football supporters around Australia.

“The success of the AFL in building its supporter base during this period is a tribute to the strength, durability and agility of the code throughout a once-in-a-century pandemic.”

By Neil Dowling and John Mellor