{"id":555640,"date":"2026-03-21T21:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555640\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T21:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:03:18","slug":"as-the-cost-of-living-and-inflation-takes-hold-this-hawthorn-hawks-fan-takes-us-through-a-night-in-the-life-of-a-fan-at-the-mcg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555640\/","title":{"rendered":"As the cost of living and inflation takes hold, this Hawthorn Hawks fan takes us through a night in the life of a fan at the MCG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jake<\/p>\n

March 22, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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Rodney Tingel first discovered he would be paying more than just his membership to see his Hawks demolish a hapless Essendon<\/a> when a text message arrived 11 days before the game.<\/p>\n

The message informed Tingel, 55, and a Hawthorn fan since 1978, that he would need to upgrade to a reserved seat to gain admission to the MCG for what had been designated as \u201ca fully ticketed game\u201d on the back of Zach Merrett\u2019s foiled escape<\/a> to the Hawks.<\/p>\n

\"FootyFooty fan Rodney Tingel could be the Hawk in the coal mine of \u2018footyflation\u2019. Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

Tingel\u2019s membership cost him $350 for 11 Hawthorn games, four of which are replacement matches that aren\u2019t Hawthorn home games. This heavily hyped Essendon home game was one of the four that compensate for Hawthorn\u2019s Tasmania games.<\/p>\n

The AFL and Essendon had forecast a turnout of 80,000, hence the ticketing was compulsory.<\/p>\n

The cost of purchasing a ticket was, at minimum, $13. But by the time Tingel booked, he found himself paying an additional $15 for a seat on level four in the Shane Warne Stand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me something on level four, row P, and I was charged an extra $28 for that seat,\u201d said Tingel, who spoke to this masthead to illustrate how the costs of going to the footy \u2013 historically affordable \u2013 could escalate.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Hawks are giving their faithful plenty to cheer about already this season.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I what I guess took umbrage at is feeling as though I\u2019d been charged twice \u2013 I\u2019m a paid member, this is my replacement game due to Tasmania … and yet a game that I should be going to as part of my membership, I\u2019m being charged for, again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Double jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Tingel would have happily gone and found a spot in standing room, behind level one. If there was an option to avoid the full $28 slug, he didn\u2019t see it when booking.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot [an option] that was really evident to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there was, I would have taken it because I was quite happy to stand on level one.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I took the cheapest option as I could see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And standing room, behind level one, was precisely where he ended up watching the anti-climatic clash of 43-year foes, which drew a crowd of 71,384.<\/p>\n

But, to borrow from Deborah Conway, this was only the beginning of a night that hurtled towards a night at the opera by the end.<\/p>\n

Another perspective\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Tingel had driven from the outer north-eastern suburbs to near the MCG; in years past, he had secured a free parking spot for night games. \u201cI parked out on Victoria Parade, which used to be un-metered of an evening … that was a further $6.\u201d<\/p>\n

He fancied a beer or two. For that privilege \u2013 more necessary for Bomber fans \u2013 he paid $12.50 each for a pair of schooner-sized light-strength ales. Add another $25.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, being a night game, I went and got a cheeseburger and fries and that was another $23.50.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went outside during three-quarter-time and grabbed two cinnamon doughnuts and a coffee from a van \u2013 just $12.60. \u201cThat\u2019s $5.50 for a black coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

It added up to $95.10 for a night at the footy. This did not count the rapidly rising cost of petrol from his home, nor the price of his membership, which averages out at $31.82 per game. If the doughnuts were gratuitous, the bill was still nearly $90 without them.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"AFL.\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s me, on my own,\u201d Tingel said. \u201cI haven\u2019t got my wife with me, so I\u2019m not buying two coffees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tingel, who works in financial services and isn\u2019t skint, emphasises that he\u2019s thinking more about the affordability for other fans at a time of prolonged inflation, which has prompted the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very mindful that inflation is everywhere. It\u2019s hard to buy a coffee for $5. I appreciate that you\u2019ll pay a bit of a premium for being at an event, like at the football.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it just struck me that it had gone up quite a bit over the last few years, to the point that I used to think it cost me about $30 to go to the football, I would spend. Then it was $50. Looking at this, I was stung trying to buy the reserved seat, I\u2019m spending $95.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Jack<\/a><\/p>\n

Tingel went to Thursday night\u2019s more entertaining Hawthorn v Sydney game and simply walked in without copping the blockbuster booking fee. He saved $28 on that alone.<\/p>\n

The AFL is suddenly grappling with the issue of fully ticketed games, and whether some games warrant that designation. The view is that they need to work more closely with clubs to avoid over-charging members and fans for games that might not be packed out.<\/p>\n

Another factor that the AFL should consider \u2013 that at least three of the biggest-drawing clubs, Carlton, Richmond and Essendon,<\/a> aren\u2019t within cooee of flag contention and that Collingwood\u2019s dad\u2019s army doesn\u2019t look as formidable. The stickiness of Bomber and Blue folk, after two decades of failure, cannot be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\"PuttingPutting aside the cost of going to the footy, Tingel is fortunate to be a Hawks fan on the verge of another era of success.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

To make consumer comparisons, a colleague with Hawthorn affinities checked online and found that the pub nearest Tingel offered the beef brisket for $29, calamari for $16 and beers for $7.80 (Carlton Draught) and $7 (Great Northern). In these inflationary times, fans look for bargains.<\/p>\n

Tingel reckoned the fully ticketed decision was premature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been charged twice, and I felt it was a bit premature, like 11 days out from the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate it takes time to organise things \u2013 it can\u2019t be the day before. But it was evident before the game had even started that the crowd wasn\u2019t going to be excessively large \u2013 at 71,000 there\u2019s plenty of room at the \u2019G.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essendon\u2019s decision to make it fully ticketed seemed justified, in this column\u2019s view, based on the build-up. Be it booking fees or Essendon\u2019s poor defence, something deterred 9000 or more from going. Was the beef brisket more palatable?<\/p>\n

The cost of going to the footy isn\u2019t as simple as the general admission price, which the AFL has kept down, or the membership fees.<\/p>\n

Rodney Tingel might be the Hawk in the coal mine on the issue of footy affordability.<\/p>\n

And if he feels slightly ripped off, bear in mind that he\u2019s also blessed to follow a team that isn\u2019t under water.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JakeJake Niall<\/a> is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 22, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-555640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}