Over 19,000 fans turned out on a cold and wet Sunday to see the Raiders come from behind to defeat South Sydney. Photo: Tim Gavel.
Getting a crowd figure for Brumbies games these days isn’t easy, with no mention of numbers at Canberra Stadium for much of the season.
The largest crowd was for the game against the Queensland Reds in May, when 11,438 fans went through the turnstiles. The number was considerably bolstered by the Wallaroos-USA test played before the Brumbies game as part of a double header that night.
In fact, it was the only time this year that the Brumbies had a bigger crowd than the Raiders, when just 9,650 turned out to see the Green Machine beat the Titans the following day.
The only other crowd figures announced for Brumbies home games were 9183 for the Waratahs and 8158 for the Fijian Drua match in March.
The biggest crowd for the Brumbies was bolstered by the Wallaroos taking on the USA on 18 May 2025 (Charlotte Caslisk pictured). Photo: Jayzie Photography.
Finding a crowd figure for the other five home games, including Saturday night’s quarter-final against the Hurricanes, has been close to mission impossible.
The crowd for the Hurricanes’ quarter-final was minimal, to say the least, with no figures announced. On the same night at Manuka, the Giants attracted 9000 for a regular season game against Port Adelaide.
The following day, almost 20,000 turned out to watch Josh Papali’i break the all-time games record for the Raiders.
Earlier in the week, over 25,000 packed Canberra Stadium to see the Matildas play.
The suggestion that Canberrans won’t travel to Bruce for live sport is simply incorrect.
It must be heartbreaking for the Brumbies who still hold the record for the biggest crowd at Canberra Stadium when 28,753 secured every nook and cranny to see the home side beat the Crusaders in the 2004 Super 12 final.
That was at a time when the Raiders’ average home crowd was just over 11,000 as the club struggled to regain lost supporters in the aftermath of the Super League war.
It must be heartbreaking for the Brumbies as the team is playing great rugby at the moment, led by genuine superstars in Tom Wright, Rob Valetini, James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa and Tom Hooper. I have also witnessed the work being done behind the scenes to connect with the Canberra community. By all reports, there has been extremely positive engagement with the business community in particular.
There will be something of a sugar hit when the British and Irish Lions head to Canberra to play the Brumbies, but it shouldn’t be used to cover the cracks so obvious to anyone who has been to a Brumbies game this season.
The hope is that with Rugby Australia taking control, they will open the purse strings to promote the code in Canberra.
When it comes to crowd support, the Raiders are in a league of their own. Photo: Jayzie Photography.
At the moment, the Raiders are all over the Brumbies in terms of recognition. Just look at the number of people in Canberra wearing the club’s colours and the high profile of players more broadly.
It must be noted that the profile of the NRL is significantly higher than that of Super Rugby, while GWS has established a steady following for its games at Manuka. For example, over 12,000 attended the Western Bulldogs game at Manuka in April.
Most people in Canberra last week would have known that Josh Papali’i was playing a record-breaking 319th game for the Raiders, and it was evidenced by the number of people who turned out in chilly conditions.
At the same time, I was incredulous to discover that there was a genuine lack of awareness among even rugby supporters that the Brumbies were playing the Hurricanes in a home quarter-final.
If the Brumbies and the Blues win this weekend’s semi-finals, the final will be in Canberra the following Saturday night.
The hope is that Canberrans turn out en masse because the Brumbies deserve a big crowd.
