It was March 2023, and Sydney Sweeney was holding court in the Swans rooms. Her first visit to the SCG had coincided with a home win over Hawthorn, and the presence of one of Hollywood’s hottest actors took the post-match celebrations to another level.
Not everybody, however, received the memo. Amid the buzz of this star-struck meet-and-greet, John Longmire quietly approached a member of club staff and asked: “Who is this person?”
Said staff member asked the then head coach if he had seen the television series Euphoria, which drew a blank look. He could comfortably identify Rachel Griffiths, who was also there alongside co-star Dermot Mulroney, though you suspect he might have been more familiar with Muriel’s Wedding than Anyone But You – the rom-com the trio were in Sydney to film.
But then, what is a generational disconnect if not an observational moment? A chance to acknowledge that sport is for all ages, interests and orientations. And that the Sydney Swans seem to have a knack of catering for each at the same time. Longmire graciously introduced himself to Sweeney in the pleasant, unaffected manner that was symbolic of the rusted-on Swans supporters who’d attended the game solely for the footy.
That cohort of purists are the blood of the Bloods, so to speak. They are big in numbers and an intrinsic element of the match day experience. And yet they form just part of the current picture. One ingredient in a recipe that continues to make each Swans home game the hottest ticket in a town better known for its love affair with rugby league.
The others are what helped lure Sweeney back for a second time a fortnight ago, for the 17-point win over Melbourne. And why other celebrities have, over the years, deemed the Swans worthy of a visit.
Of course, we already know about the club’s pulling power because we’ve already witnessed 2024, when Swansmania built with every match closer the team got to the grand final (setting aside their 60-point loss in the decider).
The code wars were full steam ahead, with AFL types declaring their sport’s footprint in NSW would soon take over that of the NRL and Peter V’landys in turn calling them “delusional”. Jabs were thrown again in the 2026 pre-season, and debate is ongoing around Opening Round and whether the AFL really means what it says about growing the game outside of Victoria.
We also know that success can be measured at the gate. In 2024, that looked like an average home crowd of more than 38,000. And after a tepid transition season in 2025, with a new coach in Dean Cox and no finals footy, the average SCG crowd for the ladder leaders’ four home games thus far in 2026 is not far under 41,000 – the highest over the past decade, according to the club. That figure will not suffer a dent come Friday night’s SCG showdown against Collingwood, which has been solidly sold out for months.
But the Swans’ popularity also has little to do with rugby league, and numbers can only account for so much. So back to the recipe and its ingredients, some of which have not very much to do with AFL at all.
Of the 40-something thousand who head to Moore Park to watch the stoush with the 10th-placed Magpies, a decent chunk will be there for what new chief executive Matthew Pavlich describes as “all the fun and all the feels”.
“I’ve had four home games now, and the crowd of the SCG is certainly different to Optus Stadium, Adelaide Oval and the MCG. There’s a lot of young people going there to watch a game and be entertained, but they’re also there to mingle, to catch up, to socialise and to support.
“When we’re playing the brand of football that we are, it’s going to be that way. But regardless of that, people go there to have a great day out, and we’re very proud to be able to provide that to them.”
In this scenario, the footy is merely the sideshow to the socialising. That is almost certainly the case for attendees of the annual Match Day Mingle, a Swans dating event targeted towards singles encouraged to “get off the apps” at a pre-game pub function before walking to the SCG for further frivolity. The possibility of meeting someone gets them through the gates, with the hope that a fun experience will bring them back.
It is one example of how shrewd marketing and staying abreast of social media trends can take a TikTok concept and turn it into a new appeal for a fresh audience. Case in point was last week’s reappropriation of Harry Styles’ latest music video, Dance No More, which layered the Swans anthem over the pop star dancing in short red shorts and a white shirt. The club captioned the post: “Welcome to the Bloods @harrystyles.”
“Our team have been a challenger in market for quite some time,” Pavlich says. “So they’ve had to come up with different ways to activate out the front of our building next door to the Hordern Pavilion, up along Driver Avenue, and then even within the SCG.
“It is a nostalgic and traditional stadium. It’s beautiful, but it’s old and we have some challenges. But our team have done a wonderful job to keep innovating and to keep evolving what our match day experience looks like because ultimately, yes, we’re a football club, but we’re an entertainment product and people have a finite budget that they have each week to spend on entertainment. And we’re fortunate that our team has been able to really solidify some great strategies to deliver that.”
Another contributor is the so-called family-friendly appeal, which feeds into the multi-generational experience now being enjoyed by some of the Swans’ earliest Sydney adopters who have become grandparents. Then there are the membership campaigns (the club expect 74,000 members by Friday – an apparent record at this point in the season), open training sessions and direct connections with kids through schools.
But the most magnetic force available is that of the celebrity. It was more than two decades ago that Nicole Kidman was a guest for a Swans home win over Essendon congratulated the players in the rooms (Barry Hall was apparently her favourite).
The following year, the Academy Award winner was invited back during a Sydney visit, with her publicist Wendy Day saying: “She had a great time when she saw them play last year and is keen on going again.”
Then Swans chairman Richard Colless called Kidman one of the club’s “true believers”, who did not necessarily follow AFL but did support the Swans. He also named Ian Thorpe, Megan Gale, Mark Taylor and David Wenham, among others. Even back then it was clear NRL-mad Russell Crowe was not a “true believer”. “I keep offering to take him to the Swans, but he doesn’t return my calls,” said Day, who also acted for Crowe at the time.
After Sydney won the 2005 grand final, Kidman emailed Hall and coach Paul Roos to offer her congratulations, which the Herald described as “putting the A-list into the AFL”. Mad Swans supporter Delta Goodrem was on the pre-match bill for that decider, and her brother Trent is now part of the club’s coaching staff.
Other high-profile attendees include Rita Ora, Jason Derulo, Caroline Kennedy and Mel B, courtesy of some good old hustling when the Swans see a star is in Australia.
They might DM them on socials or call their PR team to offer a fun day out, then make sure broadcasters know where they’re sitting for the money shot. The biggest win is when the guest shares their experience on their own social media channels, and on this front the “get” of Sweeney arguably leads them all.
In 2023, her 22 million Instagram followers (she now has 26.2m) were exposed to the Swans logo when they saw her post with the caption: “go to my first footy game – tick.” This month she returned. Could she be one of the “true believers”?
“Sydney reached out to us to come along,” Pavlich says. “She had so much fun two or three years ago … she was very down to earth, and she’s very keen while she’s in Australia to come to more matches and get further involved because her and her family and friends just had a great time.”
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