Crowd dwarfed the NRL battle of the west the night before.
Well done Giants, Swans and the AFL
=D> =D> =D>
Loss is a Giant winner for Greater Westen Sydney
Neil Cordy
From:Herald Sun
March 26, 201212:00AM
DESPITE the furore over the opening game of the season being played across the border, Melbourne footy fans still tuned-in in droves to watch Greater Western Sydney play its first match.
The Giants lost by 63 points, but their fans didn't go home empty-handed after splashing out $80,000 on GWS merchandise at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
And they didn't disappoint where Channel 7's ratings figures were concerned, attracting an average of 361,000 viewers in Melbourne, making it the night's top-rating program.
Even in NRL-mad Sydney, where the game aired on the network's digital channel 7Mate, the match drew a peak audience of 98,000.
More than 38,200 attended Sydney's historic AFL derby, dwarfing rugby league's own battle of the west where only 13,788 fans saw the Eels and Panthers showdown on Friday night.
"We put on a big show, we booked the biggest stadium in town and people responded, the numbers are one thing but the feeling among the crowd was another," Giants chief executive David Matthews said.
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