PDA

View Full Version : The Eddies v Lions a sell out and "live" into Brisbane



SWANSBEST
14th April 2003, 04:49 PM
GF re-match 'live' into Brisbane
2:29:28 PM Mon 14 April, 2003
Paul Gough
afl.com.au

The growing popularity of Australian football in Brisbane thanks to the dominance of reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions has led to the AFL scoring a coup over rugby league in Queensland this Thursday night.

Due to the massive interest in the Lions? grand final re-match against Collingwood at the Gabba the game will not only be shown live in Brisbane on Channel Nine but will be done so at the expense of rugby league.

Channel Nine in Brisbane has been forced to move the popular National Rugby League version of the ?Footy Show? from its usual 9.30pm timeslot on a Thursday night to cater for a live showing of the Lions-Magpies clash.

The NRL Footy Show which screens on Nine in Brisbane and Sydney at 9.30pm each Thursday ? at the same time as the AFL version hosted by Eddie McGuire screens in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth ? has instead being pushed back until 10pm.


This is so the Lions-Magpies clash can be shown in live and in full from 7.30pm.

Already the match is a sell-out with the Lions? advising their fans on Monday that only 600 tickets are still available for the game but these can only be used by people who are also willing to buy a club membership.

If these tickets are not taken up by new memberships then they will be made available to the general public on Thursday morning but such is the interest of the game the Lions have already told their fans there is no guarantee any more tickets will be made available.

Such is the interest in arguably the biggest home and away game ever to be played in Brisbane the AFL has also made the game an ?all-ticket? match.

This means that unreserved seating areas that are normally available on a first-in basis to patrons with a general admission ticket will be now be reserved seating areas for the Collingwood match.

The Lions are hoping the match will challenge the Gabba?s home and away attendance record of 36,197- set for the Round 1 clash with Essendon last month.

And it could even beat the ground?s all-time attendance record of 37.032, set in the 2001 preliminary final against Richmond.

Adding even further to the enormous interest of the game in Queensland is that many people in Brisbane have not had the chance of watching the Lions? play Collingwood ? considered along with Essendon as the biggest Victorian club in the competition.

Since the Gabba?s capacity was increased to the current 37,000 in 2000 ? the Magpies have only met the Lions once in Brisbane and that was in the 2000 season before their revival under new coach Mick Malthouse got into full swing.

The match will also be shown live on Channel Nine in both Melbourne and Adelaide but on delay in Sydney and Perth.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=85014

CureTheSane
14th April 2003, 09:09 PM
Great news for the national comp.
Sad that it involved the Wobbles

LMAO @ The Eddies, I'd never heard taht before :lol