Look, here's the thing about the great footy debate: it's always been a fairly safe bet that Victoria runs this game. The MCG, the traditions, the heartland – all of it points south. But the numbers don't lie, and Queensland is making a serious play to rewrite that story.
Queensland now sits second in the country for AFL participation, trailing only Victoria. That might not sound like a revolution, but when you understand where the state started just a few years ago, it's genuinely remarkable.
The growth has been breathtaking. Queensland recorded the strongest growth of any state in the country, with participation increasing by 15 per cent year-on-year to more than 91,000 registered participants – a 78 per cent rise since 2019. Compare that to the traditional heartlands – Victoria has 245,000 participants, sure, but they're not growing at anywhere near that velocity. South Australia and Western Australia, the old power bases outside Vic, have largely plateaued.
Queensland has experienced average home attendances reaching more than 47,000 – a 78 per cent increase over the past decade – and club memberships soaring to more than 105,200, up 184 per cent over the same period. The Brisbane Lions won back-to-back premierships in 2025, and the Gold Coast SUNS, once the league's punchline, made their first AFL Finals Series in the same year. Both clubs achieved record membership numbers.
It's a fair dinkum transformation. Two decades ago, bringing the Lions to Brisbane seemed like a gamble. Since hosting the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final at the Gabba, the state has continued to build year on year. When the SUNS arrived in 2009, people dismissed them as a novelty. Now they're winning finals football.
What's equally impressive is the breadth of the growth. Women and girls now make up nearly 32 per cent of participation in the state, while NAB AFL Superkick registrations have soared by 117 per cent year-on-year. That's not token growth – that's genuine structural change. Young kids across Queensland are picking up a footy as their first choice, not their backup option.
Fair dinkum, Queensland's still got to respect the establishment. Victoria remains the spiritual home. South Australia owns a piece of the game's soul that no amount of statistics can shift. But the claim to be the AFL's second home? That's not just noise anymore. It's backed by hard numbers, growing membership, packed stadiums, and most importantly, young Queenslanders who view the game as part of their identity.
At the end of the day, sustained growth like this doesn't happen by accident. It takes investment, talented players coming through the system, successful teams, and communities that embrace the game. Queensland's got all of that now. Whether it sustains this momentum – that's the real question.