Around 1200 Geelong and Hawthorn general admission members were allowed to swipe into the AFL Members Reserve without charge on Monday. <i>Source:</i> Getty Images Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images
THE AFL says it made the right call to open the AFL Members Reserve to club members at Monday's Geelong-Hawthorn blockbuster — but admits the backlash will be a factor in future decisions.
Against a backdrop of criticism and confusion over its new variable ticket pricing, the league has copped a further wave of negative sentiment after about 1200 Geelong and Hawthorn general admission members were allowed to swipe into the AFL Members Reserve without charge.
Because the game was designated A-Reserve under the new model, other general admission club members had been advised to upgrade to a reserved seat, and a crowd of more than 80,000 turned out for the match.
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Friday's Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon is sold out, meaning there can be no repeat of Monday's 11th hour opening of the gates.
The Easter Hawthorn-Geelong fixture last year was also a reserved seat game under the previous ticketing model.
AFL commercial operations boss Darren Birch said there had only been "very, very rare circumstances where we have overflowed either the public or club members into the AFL Reserve or the MCC".
Geelong's Mitch Duncan had little problems finding a seat at the MCG on Monday. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: News Corp Australia Source: News Corp Australia
"On the given backlash from members that had upgraded — even though the intention of it was positive — the backlash has been fairly negative, so we would have to take that into consideration next time.
"At the end of the day, it was the right call watching the speed of sale and the number of tickets we had available and the number of members that both clubs have."
He said in the rare event of a repeat, the AFL would likely charge club members a fee to sit in the AFL Members Reserve to ensure fairness.
After Friday, there are two further A-Reserve games at the 'G — Carlton-Collingwood in Round 7 and the Essendon-Richmond Dreamtime clash in Round 11.
It is unlikely demand will outstrip supply for club members at either of those games.
Birch said more broadly the variable ticket price structure was seen as more complicated than it needed to be.
Some Geelong and Hawthorn fans weren't happy with the AFL's decision on Monday. Source: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
The league is committed to it this year, but will review the system at season's end.
Club bosses told the Herald Sun they are happy to see the trial continue.
Variable pricing has been linked to a perceived drop in attendance figures, but Birch said it was not right to compare this year's figures to last on a round by round basis because of drastic changes to the timing and structure of the start of the season.
The league said crowds were up 1.8 per cent on like-for-like matches despite being 110,000 down on last year's opening five rounds.
"We expect that we will be about 2-3 per cent up on crowd numbers across the year," Birch said.
Birch said variable pricing was about giving fans more choice but acknowledged some punters are paying more at some games.
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