A RECORD crowd for next week's Easter Monday clash between Hawthorn and Geelong is being forecast as the two flag contenders face off at the MCG.
The MCG is predicting a crowd of 85,000, based on pre-game ticket sales and other metrics, which would make it the best attended Easter Monday game between the two clubs in their now traditional slot.
With the two rivals viewed as genuine premiership hopefuls this year for the first time in close to a decade, and Melbourne's weather looking fine a week out, the game is on track for a record crowd for the fixture.
The Hawthorn and Geelong clash to close the Easter round has been a part of the fixture since 2010, when the Hawks and Cats rivalry was at fever pitch following the 2008 Grand Final.
There has been only one of the 14 clashes to surpass a crowd of 80,000, when 80,222 fans packed in the venue in 2014, when the Hawks went on to win the second of three successive flags and the Cats made the semi-final.
There have been seven games of more than 70,000 fans at the Easter Monday fixture, with the lowest coming on a rain-drenched day in 2022, when only 48,030 supporters attended the game.
The second highest game came in 2011, when the match was played a day later on Easter Tuesday as Anzac Day had fallen on Easter Monday and the AFL separated its blockbuster contests.
The Cats enter the Easter Monday game with a 11-3 winning record over Hawthorn in the annual game and on the back of a stirring come-from-behind win over Adelaide in Gather Round. The Hawks suffered their first loss of the year at the hands of Port Adelaide on Sunday night.
