The completion of Round 8 saw another record attendance put into the history books, sitting third of all time.
From Thursday night in Adelaide to Sunday evening in Brisbane, 403,452 fans surged into the stands across the nine games, falling shy of front runners Round 7 (408,433) and Round 1 (413,405) of the 2024 season.
Beginning with the strong launch at the Showdown between the Crows and Port Adelaide on Thursday, 52,106 supporters attended the 55th edition of the clash, ranking as the third-highest crowd.
MORE: Proposed AFL Fixture for Rivalry Round
The following night, Carlton and Collingwood registered the best all-time attendance (88,362) for the fixture, taking down the 2022 Round 23 (88,287) clash between the old rivals that witnessed Jamie Elliot break the hearts of Blues fans.
Sydney and the Giants also put a show in the 2024 Sydney Derby at the SCG, recording the largest attendance (38,203) on a wet and miserable day.
West Coast fans (52,810) rushed to Optus Stadium to see their side go down narrowly to Essendon by six points, its second-highest Eagles home attendance against the Bombers.
To wrap up the round, the QClash at the Gabba between the Lions and Suns was the highest recorded attendance, watching 30,285 fans head into the stadium, beating Round 15, 2013 (27,170).
Release the Golden Snitch, it's time for the rivals to go head-to-head ๐ช pic.twitter.com/wPjXGZuhJ6
— AFL (@AFL) May 1, 2024
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said that seeing back-to-back record-breaking crowds has been a tremendous effort from everyone across the competition.
โRound 8 was simply incredible on all levels. It started strong with the Showdown in Adelaide followed by traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood in front of 88,000 at the MCG on Friday night. That momentum followed us into the weekend, with the Swans hosting their highest home crowd of the year and the round finishing with the biggest ever Q-Clash in Queensland.โ Mr Dillon said.
โI want to thank our fans for coming out in such huge numbers across both Round 7 and 8. To go back-to-back with record-breaking numbers is a credit to just how great the footy has been,
โSeeing our crowds continue to reach these records is a testament to our venues, clubs, partners and staff. On behalf of the AFL, I want to thank you all and look forward to continuing seeing you at the footy across the rest of the season.โ
Top 10 AFL attended rounds all-timeย
1. Rd 1 2024 โ 413,405
2. Rdย 7 2024 -ย 408,433
3. Rd 8 2024 - 403,452ย
4. Rd 1 2017 - 400,401
5. Rd 3 2018 - 393,537
6. Rd 1 2023 โ 392,248
7. Rd 5 2017 - 391,980
8. Rd 5 2018 - 381,880
9. Rd 1 2019 โ 380,789
10. Rd 1 2018 โ 375,564
But does the success from a make-shift 'Rivalry Round' in the weekend gone by give the league something to think about?
Would you like to see a dedicated #AFLRivalryRound?
— Zero Hanger (@zerohanger) May 2, 2024
A poll conducted byย ZeroHanger recorded overwhelming support for the AFL to re-introduce a fixture filled with games among rivals, which was last seen in 2009.
Of those who voted, 68% were in favour of Rivalry Round.
Safe to say, the people have spoken.
