The AFL thanks all supporters for a strong start to the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season which saw 362, 892 Australians (up from 250,000 last year) attend matches across the opening round of men's football and resulted in a total average TV audience of 4.75 million (up from two per cent compared to 4.66 million last year and excluding streaming).

Round One was the highest attended round of football in Victoria since Round One, 2018, with Wednesday night's season opener between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs the highest-ever attended home-and-away match between those two clubs.
 
Thursday night's Carlton vs. Richmond match was the second highest sporting event in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic, coming second only to the ANZAC Day match in 2021.

Friday night's St Kilda vs. Collingwood match was the highest home-and-away crowd at Marvel Stadium since 2019 while Saturday's Country Game between Geelong and Essendon was the Cats' fourth-highest attended game in the last five years.
 
Sunday's Hawthorn vs. North Melbourne match was the highest-attended match between those two sides since 2016.

While football fans attended matches in strong numbers they also tuned into the broadcasts in record numbers nationwide.

In New South Wales, the Sydney audience was up 20 per cent compared to Round One, 2021 with the GWS GIANTS vs. Sydney Swans recording the largest ever Round One Saturday twilight TV audience in Sydney.
 
In Brisbane, the Brisbane Lions vs. Port Adelaide match was the second largest ever Round One Saturday TV audience.
 
Meanwhile, the Adelaide Crows vs. Fremantle match saw the largest Round One Sunday TV audience in Adelaide in five years.
 
The St Kilda vs. Collingwood Friday night match saw the largest pay TV audience compared to all Friday night matches during the 2021 home-and-away season and was up 35 per cent compared to Round One last season.

On the field, key statistics pointed to entertaining contests across the round. Less tackles were laid with an average of 50.8 per team per game in Round One compared to an average of 57.1 in 2021 while the opening round saw total scoring per game increase from an average of 84.9 in Round One, 2021 to 87.9 across the weekend.
 
AFL EGM Clubs and Broadcasting Travis Auld said it was great to see so many supporters at games over the weekend.
 
“I want to acknowledge everyone across the country for turning out and celebrating the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season opening round and the NAB AFLW Qualifying Final between Fremantle and the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos,” Mr Auld said.
 
"It was fantastic to see members and supporters back at all games across the weekend, especially in Victoria and NSW where they have been starved of men's footy for a longer period.
 
"To have the biggest round of football in Victoria since Round One, 2018 is testament to the connection fans have with our game and gives us great momentum to begin the season."

The AFL thanks the Clubs, Players, Umpires and football supporters across the country, and thanks broadcast partners – the Seven Network and Foxtel – for their continued support of the men's and women's game.
 
RATINGS
Overall
The total average TV audience for Round One was 4.75M made up of 2.26M for Metro, 715K for Regional and 1.77M for Pay TV - excluding streaming.
 
Brisbane audience
Up 14 per cent compared to the 2018 – 2022 five year average for Round One.
 
Sydney audience
Up 20 per cent compared to Round One, 2021 and up 5% compared to the 2018 – 2022 five year average for Round One.
 
ATTENDANCES