3,671 supporters were in attendance when Western Australia secured a 36-point win over South Australia at Sullivan Logistics Stadium on Saturday. Leading up to the big game, fans had been debating whether the oval in Leederville was the right venue.
5,000 fans were expected to come through the gates, but a final headcount showed the numbers were much lower than many had hoped.
Discussing the topic on WAFL World Wednesday night, Corey Watts and Jacob Landsmeer, argued that finals going forward should be played on local grounds, after seeing the numbers from this weekend and the disappointing attendance at the 2025 WAFL Grand Final.
“This is another game, on the back of last year’s final, where crowd numbers are down, when there was really no reason why they should have been”, Watts says.
He amplifies that WA football had done a great deal to promote the game beforehand, but people simply weren’t showing up.
Watts tells WAFL World he is “pretty disappointed” with the numbers at Leederville Oval, which are about 2,000 short of what he anticipated.
The crowd numbers from this weekend’s state game sparked concern about the upcoming round of WAFL games. Many games are being played at the same time, and West Coast and Collingwood are going head-to-head at the MCG, right in the middle of the WAFL matches.
The West Coast v Collingwood game is set to see huge crowds, with Scott Pendlebury breaking the record for most games played in the AFL.
Watts believes action needs to be taken, as the WAFL competition feels “semi-professional”. He suggests raising salary caps and focusing more on promotion and performance.
Crowd numbers have been a topic of conversation on multiple occasions this year, as most ovals have seen attendance figures lower than anticipated over the first six rounds of WAFL.
IMAGE: Salt Diaries