The game the week before was just as big, and at a better time - it got 3000 more.
* Canes played the night before, were $10 cheaper, and much better advertised (FFA fail)
* People would've chosen to attend the canes the night before (for $10 cheaper) and watch the ANZAC test for free on sunday night
* Sunday 7pm timeslot problematic with transport. Especially with trains being out on the kapiti line. If the game went to ET and penalties it would have been bloody difficult for a lot of people to get home.
* Our previous form leading up to the game hardly helped.
I think if a lot of things didn't conspire against us we would have been looking at 15k, possibly more. All things considered I honestly think that was an 'about right' croud.
CCM got 9k last year for their home finals game at the same stage. Nobody was talking about them being doomed. Our Preliminary final (semifinal....game to qualify for the grand final) in Sydney a few years back only drew 13,000 - nobody ever questioned that.
I understand why that was the croud, but I don't think you can say it was a good croud.
And I completely agree with you if they scheduled games in our fudgeing time zone we would have much bigger crouds