Tigers fans hope to pounce on unwanted GWS AFL grand final ticketsRachel Wells, Carolyn Webb
The Age
22 September 2019AFL Fans Association vice president and Richmond member Cheryl Critchley was among thousands of Richmond members who were allocated tickets on Saturday - only to have any history of their seat allocation disappear shortly after.
The tickets reappeared in their account history hours later. Ms Critchley said it was an "anxious" time for fans.
Ticketek did not respond to questions from The Age.
All Richmond and GWS members who registered in their clubs' ballot will know by Monday if they have got tickets to Saturday's grand final, with each club allocated 17,000 tickets for their members.
However, Richmond supporters are hoping GWS's 30,109 members will not take up their allocation of tickets and they can be transferred to Tigers members. Richmond has 103,358 members.
AFL Fans Association president Gerry Eeman said the fact that tens of thousands of die-hard and paid-up Richmond members would miss out on grand final tickets highlighted the need for the AFL to allocate more tickets to competing club members.
"The Tigers and Giants have a combined 133,467 members who will share just 34,000 tickets – just a one in four chance of securing one," he said.
“Thousands of tickets each year get allocated to non-competing clubs which in turn funnel many of these tickets into expensive packages. Simply put, the allocation to non-competing clubs must be scrapped. It’s an insult to members of the competing clubs who miss out each year."
On Sunday afternoon, the AFL confirmed that any of the 17,000 tickets not taken up by GWS members would be offered to Richmond members.
GWS spokesman Leigh Meyrick said the club would not know until Monday how many of its 17,000 tickets had been allocated in the ballot.
In 2016, 200 standing tickets not used by Sydney Swans members were transferred to Bulldogs members, who got to witness their team win the premiership.
Meanwhile, tickets for gold AFL members who support competing clubs went on sale at 11am on Sunday. No tickets were made available to AFL silver members.
Dan Bryan, 40, of Hobart, said he had booked flights and accommodation for himself and his brother-in-law Andy Connor, from Friday to Sunday but has no tickets to the game.
He is "hoping that a miracle will happen and I can get to the MCG on grand final day’’.
Christine Maynard, 44, of Richmond, said she and her son Kai, 11, ‘‘sit out in the rain every week’’ to watch Richmond play, however while she is eligible for the club ticket ballot as a gold member (a member for 10 years plus), Kai isn’t eligible because he is silver member.
She has been taking her son to Richmond games since he was a week and a half old. It was not fair that ‘‘people who don’t even follow Richmond and don’t go to games’’ can go to the Grand Final, for example corporate people and AFL members.
Ms Maynard said she bought tickets to the 2017 grand final for $1500, which the original buyer bought for $200.
Ali Yesilyurt, 49, of Roxburgh Park, would dearly like tickets for himself and his fellow Richmond fanatic son Salih, 25.
Yesilyurt is a Richmond member, but his younger son, Bilal, 20, has autism and can’t handle crowds, so this year the only game Ali went to was Friday night’s preliminary final against Geelong.
He has been unsuccessful in ballots for grand final tickets and has been scouring social media and asking friends for spare tickets.
"If tickets did come our way we’d be over the moon, we’d be thrilled to bits," said Ali, who has never watched Richmond live at a grand final.
Salih said he grew up watching Richmond often lose and in 2017 he and his dad watched them win the grand final on TV at a cousin’s house in Glenroy.
‘‘It would mean the world’’ to be at the MCG on Saturday. ‘‘Ever since I’ve followed footy from the early 2000s, my team has been not that good, the laughing stock," Salih said.
"Now that we’re a good team, it feels unreal. And I don’t know when this opportunity might come again."
Tens of thousands of footy fans are set to descend on Melbourne during grand final week.
More than 70 extra train and tram services will be added to the regular timetable to help Tigers and Giants fans enjoy the grand final and Friday's grand final parade.
From Wednesday until Saturday, the free tram zone will also be extended to include Route 70 stops at Melbourne Arena and route 48 and 75 stops at Jolimont station. Additional route 70 and 75 trams will also be put on.
Meanwhile, Swan Street will be closed to traffic between Punt Road and Church Street from 4.30pm on Saturday to help cope with an expected influx of Tigers fans.
Route 70 trams will be diverted down Bridge Road, between Russell Street and Riversdale Junction.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/tigers-fans-hope-to-pounce-on-unwanted-gws-afl-grand-final-tickets-20190922-p52trm.html
