THE biggest cluster of Cats fans can be found south of the Barwon, with most of the club’s members living in Belmont and Waurn Ponds.

But the pull of former Cat-turned-Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett Jr also has Belmont at the top of the Victorian suburb list when it comes to where Suns fans live.

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And an analysis of Victorian membership data from AFL clubs shows Clifton Springs popping up on the fan list for the Giants.

media_camera Reservoir is now the epicentre for Pies and Blues fans. PIC: Yuri Kouzmin

For many clubs, Victoria’s footy fan heartland seems to be shifting from their trad­itional tribal turf.

Collingwood isn’t among the top 20 suburbs Magpies members call home, and paid-up Blues have ditched Carlton as an address of choice.

Instead, Reservoir is the epicentre for devoted Collingwood and Carlton members.

Clubs to retain the strongest lifeblood links include Richmond — home to the most Tigers members — and Essendon, which is top choice for paid-up Bombers. The preferred nest for Hawks diehards is Croydon, with Hawthorn ranked second.

Living up to its establishment reputation, Melbourne is the only club to count Toorak among its top fan zones.

Sydney supporters have clung to tradition, with South Melbourne the most popular roost for Victorian-based Swans members. And St Kilda fans have a stranglehold over the bayside suburbs.

Port Adelaide has its strongest following in Horsham and Mildura, while Crows fans flock around the Docklands.

Data from 2014 from all AFL clubs was analysed except Brisbane, which did not par­ticipate.

Geelong spokesman Kevin Diggerson said the Cats were unique for their strong ties to the region and community.

No Surf Coast or Bellarine towns featured in the top five lists, with the data showing the most members come from city suburbs.

Collingwood spokeswoman Elizabeth Muling said member numbers tended to be higher in the northern corridor, the club’s traditional recruiting zone.

St Kilda spokesman Luke Holmesby said one in five AFL club members living in the bayside region supported the Saints.

media_camera Bernie Magher is one of the Suns fans in Belmont. PIC: Peter Ristevski

Belmont man over the moon for his Suns

BERNIE Magher is one of a handful of Victorian based Suns supporters who’s been bleeding red and gold from the very beginning.

The Belmont meter reader signed up as a member in 2009 when the fledging side was still a sporting experiment, making tentative strides in the TAC cup before their debut as an AFL underdog in 2011.

Four years on, the former Freo supporter — who was a statistician with the West Australian side for 14 years — is beginning to see the fruits of his early faith. And unlike many local Suns fans, it was a generous spirit rather than hero worship of Gary Ablett Jnr which prompted the change of club stripes.

“I really just wanted to help out a new club and the idea of being a foundation member and bring able to say I was on board from day one appealed to me,” he explained.

“I played footy for years and I know what it’s like for clubs to go through tough times when you don’t win a game for ages, so I knew things would be difficult for the team at first. I’ve sat down and watched them lose by 20, 30 goals and then progress to beating some big clubs. They’re coming into their own and it’s especially good to see given I’ve been there through the tough times, too.”

With his weekends consumed compiling statistics for the Geelong Amateur Football Club, Mr Meagher admitted he was yet to see the Suns play in person, but said he watched the team on TV at every opportunity.

Being a Gold Coast Supporter in Geelong territory required a good sense of humour, he said.

“But anyone who knows me knows that I’m a bit weird, so I don’t think it’s too much of a surprise to find out who I support,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s been great to see the players grow and get better over time. Hopefully they’ll make the top eight this year.”

Footy’s heartlands revealed

The top Victorian suburbs where your club’s members cluster

ADELAIDE CROWS

1 Docklands

2 Point Cook, Werribee

3 Mildura

4 Richmond

5 Blackburn

BRISBANE

Did not provide information

CARLTON

1 Reservoir

2 Coburg

3 Mill Park

4 Melbourne

5 Caulfield North

COLLINGWOOD

1 Reservoir

2 Mill Park

3 Berwick

4 Greensborough

5 Rowville

ESSENDON

1 Essendon, Abberfeldie

2 Point Cook, Werribee

3 Sunbury

4 Sydenham

5 Essendon North, Strathmore

FREMANTLE

Equal first Docklands, Flemington, North Melbourne

Equal 2nd Carnegie, St Albans, Balaclava, St Kilda East

GEELONG

1 Belmont, Waurn Ponds

2 Geelong, Newtown, South Geelong

3 Drumcondra, Geelong North, Hamblyn Heights

4 East Geelong, Newcomb

5 Geelong West, Herne Hill

GOLD COAST

1 Belmont

2 Werribee

3 Ballarat

4 Hopper’s Crossing

5 Dandenong

GIANTS

1 Pakenham

2 Essendon

3 Mont Albert North

4 Ascot Vale

5 Clifton Springs

HAWTHORN

1 Croydon

2 Hawthorn

3 Glen Waverley

4 Cranbourne

5 Blackburn

NORTH MELBOURNE

1 Point Cook, Werribee

2 Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit

3 Flemington, Kensington

4 Hobart (Tasmania)

5 North Melbourne

MELBOURNE

1 Glen Iris

2 Brighton

3 Hawthorn

4 Toorak

5 Caulfield East

PORT ADELAIDE

1 Mildura

2 Horsham

3 Richmond

4 Bentleigh

5 St Kilda

RICHMOND

1 Richmond

2 Cranbourne

3 Narre Warren

4 Croydon

5 Rowville

ST KILDA

1 Bentleigh, McKinnon, Ormond

2 Aspendale, Mordialloc

3 Brighton

4 Cranbourne

5 Frankston

SWANS

1 South Melbourne

2 Botanic Ridge, Cranbourne, Skye

3 Derrimut, Point Cook, Werribee

4 Aspendale, Mordialloc

5 Croydon

WEST COAST

1 Werribee

2 Bentleigh East

3 Richmond

4 Glen Waverley, Wheelers Hill

5 Bentleigh, McKinnon, Ormond

WESTERN BULLDOGS

1 Werribee, Point Cook, Derrimut

2 Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina

3 Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Cairnlea

4 West Footscray, Kingsville, Maidstone, Tottenham

5 Williamstown, Williamstown Nth

SOURCE: AFL clubs, 2014 Victorian membership data.