Once a year, like absolute clockwork, footy fans absolutely frothing to secure entry to a crucial AFL Finals match will gather en masse to wail at Ticketek who – again, an annual tradition – will have decided the best thing to do is to put tickets for an entire weekend of games on sale simultaneously without adjusting server capacity for demand. The old “just wing it and hope for the best” method. You absolutely love to see it.
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Club members trying to snap up tickets to this weekend’s hugely anticipated AFL Preliminary Final matchups featuring Collingwood & Greater Western Sydney and Richmond & Geelong were slugged with the dreaded “simultaneous on-sale date” curse Ticketek loves to run at least once at this time of year, facing lengthy online queues, glitches, and conflicting information once the clock ticked over to 9am this morning.
With three powerhouse Victorian clubs featuring in the prelims this year, demand for tickets is understandably extraordinarily high. Even still, folks weren’t shy in venting their frustrations once the virtual doors were thrown open and tickets started flying out the door. Social media quickly flooded with folks frustrated at the clunky and imprecise process of lining up in a queue you can’t see and whose order is attended to at apparent random.
My experience with ticketek this morning #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/ptgFJtiekM
— triplewafer (@triplewafer) September 15, 2019
Hey #ticketek I’ve been in queue since 9 and my mate next to me joined queue at 9:10 waited once minute and got his tickets. So much for a fair system. I’m still in the queue by the way
— Neale West (@nwest_mail) September 15, 2019
Every year!!! pic.twitter.com/FHWFpU5vSE
— Alan Serry 🏆🏆🏆🐯🏉🐴🏇⚽🍹 (@ShugaFL) September 15, 2019
Hell. On. Earth. #AFLFinals #gotiges #ticketek pic.twitter.com/hxfGTwkRNk
— Bruce Wilson (@beeDUBSevenFive) September 15, 2019
So a queue generally means customers are served in order. Whatever Ticketek does is not a queue, more like a raffle.
— Nicole Torrisi (@nicoletorrisi) September 15, 2019
@Ticketek_AU ahhh what? pic.twitter.com/rL34fyPLH5
— Radzi (@NathanRadzi) September 15, 2019
@Ticketek_AU had 2 tickets locked in at m30 them this came up wha happened! pic.twitter.com/G5MLijJWeU
— Ryan johnston 🐯🏇 (@hoads15) September 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/ExiledVictorian/status/1173370586610851842
https://twitter.com/DylanWiltshire/status/1173380796687646722
https://twitter.com/furphypapi/status/1173380234382495744
@Ticketek_AU can you help me out guys. Tried to log on for tickets and it said this: pic.twitter.com/Fr4UbRa1Gk
— Daniel Son (@fatbooty32) September 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/HarsherFails/status/1173371987835572224
Luckily enough for most, issues with ticketing seem to be getting resolved in reasonable time frames and member tickets are getting to their correct destinations in reasonable time.
The server demand at Ticketek is being compounded by the fact the NRL’s semi-final matchup between the Melbourne Storm and Parramatta also goes on sale this morning as well.
Tickets allotted to the general public for both AFL prelims go on sale from 2pm this afternoon, with very few – if any – tickets expected to remain by the end of the day; both games are expected to draw massive crowds in excess of 90,000 fans.
Preliminary Final week kicks off on Friday night with the Tigers/Cats clash, before the Magpies and Giants meet the following afternoon at 4:35pm.
