With the AFL Grand Final broadcasting on Channel Seven and 7Plus tomorrow, Saturday 24 September, online readership of the showdown between the Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats has seen 373,000 pageviews in 90 days, an increase of 2,208 per cent.
The Swans won their preliminary final against the Collingwood Magpies last Saturday night, giving the Swans 1.3 million page views in the last 90 days, up 16 per cent. The Cats have also had their online readership enjoy a boost, with pageviews sitting at 2.1 million, up 5 per cent in the last 90 days.
A report published by the ABC on Wednesday has revealed shocking allegations of human rights abuses within the Hawthorn Hawks AFL club, which has resulted in an online reading surge by a staggering 884 per cent to 406,000 in the past 90 days, peaking on the day the report published, Wednesday the 21st September.
Switching codes to NRL, readership of the looming NRL Grand Final on October 2 has seen an increase of 93 per cent, to 205,000 page views over the past 90 days.
The NRL preliminary finals will be held this weekend between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Parramatta Eels, and game two between the Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Cowboys have seen a 678,000 pageview increase (116 per cent) while the Eels gained a minor 1 per cent lit to 342,000 pageviews.
Not all the preliminary teams have enjoyed a boost in readership, however, with the Panthers’ pageviews falling by 67 per cent to 673,000.
Women’s footy is continuing its trend of increased interest among online readership for both the AFL and NRL, with the AFLW gaining 786,000 pageviews, a healthy increase of 258 per cent. Online reading of the NRLW also enjoyed a strong jump, with 278,000 pageviews, measuring a 568 per cent increase over the last 90 days.