Dogs set sights on 70,000 crowd as AFL decider weighs into NRL finals scheduling

Canterbury are anticipating a 70,000-plus crowd to rival their 2009 finals epic against Parramatta as the NRL considers scheduling the sudden-death Bulldogs-Panthers semi-final as a Sunday afternoon marquee clash.

Regardless of which day Canterbury and Penrith square off, officials are expecting one of the biggest crowds of the past 20 years as Phil Gould and Cameron Ciraldo’s side goes up against the Panthers dynasty they helped shape.

Scheduling a Sunday afternoon western Sydney showdown would see the Bulldogs drawing power approach the 74,549 that turned out for the 2009 Bulldogs-Eels preliminary final, and subsequent 70,000-plus crowds that attended the Dragons-Tigers (2010) and Bulldogs-Rabbitohs (2012) grand final qualifiers.

The week two finals schedule won’t be locked in until after Canberra and Brisbane’s Sunday afternoon qualifying final, given the loser of that game will have hosting rights next weekend.

Bulldogs chairman Adam Driussi said Canterbury’s strong turnouts this season set the stage for the high-water mark of 2009 to be challenged next weekend.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than a home semi-final against Penrith - they’ve been the benchmark for the last five years,” Driussi said.

“Our fans are the most passionate supporters in the game and have been absolutely incredible all year. You could see what that support meant to the boys when we had 65,000 at Accor Stadium on Good Friday - the energy that crowd gave us was phenomenal.

“Now we’ve got the chance to push toward that 74,000 mark from 2009, and I genuinely think we can get there. This is their time to show the rugby league world what Bulldogs supporters are all about. We need every Bulldogs fan to make themselves heard because in a game this big, that support could be the difference.”

Scheduling the Bulldogs-Panthers blockbuster next Sunday would put either the Broncos or Raiders on a six-day turnaround against Cronulla next Saturday night, but would also ease concern about the Storm going up against the AFL grand final in week three.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is keen to avoid Melbourne’s preliminary final being held on Saturday night, September 27 - in the same precinct as the AFL decider hours earlier.

The loser of Canberra-Brisbane will fall into the Storm’s side of the draw, but a Sunday clash in week two would rule them out of playing the Friday night of week three on a five-day turnaround.

To avoid the AFL clash, Melbourne would have to play either Friday, September 26, or Sunday, September 28.

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Both Brisbane and Canberra would be expected to draw near-capacity crowds at Suncorp Stadium (capacity of 52,500) and GIO Stadium (26,000).

The NRL running post-season games and collecting ticket and hospitality revenue. Clubs receive a small percentage of gate takings from finals.

Drawing the largest possible crowd at Accor Stadium for a Bulldogs fixture presents the biggest potential windfall for the NRL. At an average of $50 a ticket, a 70,000-strong crowd would yield around $3.5 million in gate takings.

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