Australian Football League fans said that "high costs, poor scheduling and the standard of footy are reasons why the AFL is experiencing a drop in crowd numbers in Melbourne," according to Matt Windley of the HERALD SUN. A day after it was revealed Etihad Stadium crowds are lower than ever, and Melbourne Cricket Grounds averages have dipped to pre-'08 levels, "fans flocked to the Herald Sun website to give reasons as to why they aren’t attending." Western Bulldogs President Peter Gordon said that the numbers "are a concern." Collingwood President Eddie McGuire said that the league "has to get its scheduling right." Only two of the nine rounds staged so far "have followed the traditional format of one Friday night game, five Saturday games and a Sunday twilight match following two afternoon games." There were 203 comments on the Herald Sun story "detailing the crowd drop." Among other things, the first reason each person gave for the low turnouts related to: "cost/variable ticketing (57 times), scheduling (25) and standard (24)" (HERALD SUN, 5/21).
