THERE’S been a lot of focus on the AFL’s rising costs this season, yet most fans would be unaware at how the very team they barrack for is targeting their hip pocket.

In many cases, your home budget is affected by which team you choose to follow, with the cost and conditions of club memberships varying significantly from team to team.

While the league and clubs trot out their ever-growing membership tallies, they neglect to mention that some of these fully paid up members have only had to fork out $50 or less and never attend a game to claim membership benefits.



media_camera Elise Potter





Is it North Melbourne’s improvement on the field that has boosted its membership figures towards 40,000, or the fact that for $25 fans can purchase the Shinboner Spirit membership — which includes a members pack, including cap, bumper sticker and entry to VFL games, and a bonus game at Etihad Stadium?

Is it any wonder Adelaide has 10,000 more members than powerhouse Carlton when they offer an adult membership that includes a game at Adelaide Oval, exclusive members polo shirt, sports bag and members kit for $50, when the Blues’ cheapest package, the At Home membership, stings fans $95 for a members kit and fleecy blanket but does not provide access to any Blues AFL games?

It doesn’t matter if you choose a one, three or 11-game package, or pay top dollar for reserved seats and guaranteed Grand Final tickets, you’re all lumped in together and considered the same in the great club membership racket.

It is little wonder that there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the number of paid-up members a club has and the crowds they are attracting to a game. And clubs persist in boasting about the trumped-up figures with implied comparisons to their rivals’ tallies without ever disclosing that they are, in fact, comparing apples to avocados.

To quote Kyle from South Park, I declare shenanigans.

I recently received an email from my club offering a new digital membership. For only $99, digital members can access live streaming of all AFL games, including the finals, and still be counted as a club member. That’s a deal $50 cheaper than the AFL’s Live Pass plus all of the usual benefits being a club member affords. However Freo fans only have to pay $80 for the exact same service, while Gold Coast fans pay $110.

Why the discrepancy when every subscriber gets the same service? And why should signing up to watch football at home, which can be accessed by as many people as you can fit around the screen, be considered the same as a more traditional 11-game membership when it comes to keeping score? Is it good value or a cheap ploy to boost membership figures through a service that is already offered? I subscribe to Fox Footy, can my club count that towards their tally as well?

A colleague recently discovered his club had continued to take direct debit payments for a membership for his grandfather who died almost two year ago. They had rolled over the membership without his knowledge and continued to take money from his bank account without any notification. Despite alerting the club to the error almost two months ago, they have yet to cancel the membership or refund the payments.

We all love and want to support our clubs as best we can in the increasingly competitive marketplace, but it seems in some cases fans are being emotionally blackmailed by their passion for their club to pay more than is necessary.

Until the AFL mandates some regulation so that all fans are treated the same, club membership figures, whether 20,000 or 70,000, will remain meaningless.