Roy Morgan Research wrote:AFL To Reap Rewards If Swans Win Grand Final
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Article No. 414 - September 24, 2005
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2005/414/
A Sydney Swans victory today (Saturday, September 24) will spark a wave of AFL popularity in New South Wales that may eventually threaten the dominance of Rugby League in that State, according to the Roy Morgan Sports Monitor.
From 2001 the Roy Morgan Sports Monitor measured the effect that the Brisbane Lions’ Premiership successes had on the overall support for AFL within Queensland .
In June 2001, prior to the Lions winning their first AFL premiership, 33% of Queenslanders supported an AFL team compared to 60% who supported an NRL team. By the time the Lions were contesting their second premiership, the percentage that supported an AFL team had risen 9% to 42%. By March 2005, AFL support in Queensland stood at 49% compared with NRL support of 59%
The overall number of people who support an AFL team in Queensland has grown a staggering 64% from June 2001 to March 2005 (from 938,000 to 1,542,000 people), compared with NRL growth of only 7.8% for the period (from 1,729,000 to 1,863,000 people).
Looking at New South Wales , the Roy Morgan Sports Monitor showed that from June 2001 to March 2005, the number of people who support an AFL team increased 11.6% (1,702,000 to 1,899,000), while NRL support grew only 2.5% (2,977,000 — 3,051,000).
If in five years the NSW supporter base for AFL grows by the same amount it did in Queensland, while the NRL supporter base grows only 2.5% as it has done since 2001, then support for the AFL in New South Wales will be virtually level with support for the NRL at well over 3 million people.
Although this would require the type of incredible success enjoyed by the Brisbane Lions in the past few years, a Grand Final win for the Swans on Saturday would be the first step on the road to significant AFL growth in New South Wales.
No doubt Gallop and Co. are very concerned and were hoping the West Coast would knock off the Swans. Must be hard for them seeing the Daily Telegraph with just as much AFL/Swans news as NRL news in the week of the NRL GF.
