THE MCG is on track to record its best season attendance figures in 12 years despite the turnstiles clicking at a relatively modest rate through the opening fortnight of the AFL finals series.

The AFL and Melbourne Cricket Club have defended the turnout so far, particularly in wake of a semi-final weekend where only 45,056 went to Friday night's clash between Geelong and Fremantle and a disappointing 39,596 gathered the following night to watch the Western Bulldogs face the Sydney Swans.

The Bulldogs had hoped for at least 45,000, considering the match could have been the last for retiring skipper Brad Johnson. The Swans also have a solid local following from their days as South Melbourne.

The weekend's figures compares to the 62,184 who watched Collingwood tackle Adelaide on the corresponding round last year, and the 47,030 who witnessed the Bulldogs torpedo the Brisbane Lions.

In the opening week of the finals - admittedly the wet weather was an issue, particularly for young families - 63,608 went along to the Friday-night epic between Geelong and St Kilda while 66,545 filed in the following night to watch the Magpies thrash the Bulldogs.

While both crowds were healthy, they were below the 74,007 (Geelong versus Western Bulldogs) and 84,213 (St Kilda versus Collingwood) of last season.

MCC spokesman Shane Brown said venue bosses had been happy with this year's turnout.

"Quite happy considering the weather of week one and the drawing of two interstate teams (in week two)," he said.

"It's on par with what we have expected. Then again, I think this weekend will be pretty high figures which is what we have expected."

Brown said western Australian teams often struggled for support in Melbourne. The Dockers, in particular, have a small following on the road and had not even played at the MCG this season before Friday night's final.

As for the Bulldogs, there was a feeling last week among the club's faithful that all was lost for the club after injuries and a spanking by the Magpies had pushed what was once a promising season to the brink. Club legends even rallied around the team at training on Friday in a bid to lift the spirits of their successors - and fans.

However, despite an impassioned rally from president David Smorgon on Melbourne radio as last as Saturday morning, Dogs' supporters, which this year included a record membership of almost 35,000, failed to respond.

Some Dogs' fans on talkback radio on Sunday said the cost of tickets had been an issue "when you can watch at home in front of your big plasma television for free".

There were also other theories for the poor attendance.

Essendon great James Hird said families were saving their money for preliminary final weekend - hoping their team was still alive. Garry Lyon said the AFL would be better off having family-friendly day finals, with the safety of public transport an issue at night.

One journalist, a Bulldogs' sympathiser, suggested fans were suffering "battle fatigue" after six straight preliminary final defeats.

The Dogs this week hope for an attendance rebound, as more than 78,000 attended their preliminary final against the Saints last year.

AFL spokesman Patrick Keane also defended the weekend's figures, and pointed to a BackPageLead column by Ed Wyatt last week which highlighted how healthy the league was.

"I guess we can always have one down week, when off your own website from last Tuesday Ed Wyatt wrote the AFL has the third-best attended league of any sport in the world," Keane said.

"The NFL and the Bundesliga still have us covered, but I guess we have them when it comes to per-capita attendance against the United States and Germany.

"At this point, we're on track for the second-best total year in history for attendance across the home and away season and finals, behind only 2008."

Brown, for his part, also added the MCG was on target to top three million in attendance through the year for the first time since 1998. Already 2,730,180 have gone to watch games with three matches remaining.

What will excite league and ground bosses is the prospect of posting the year's highest attendance figure on Friday night when the Cats and Magpies rumble in what shapes as a classic preliminary final.

This year's top of 90,070 watched Essendon and Collingwood clash on Anzac Day, but the two home-and-away matches between Geelong and Collingwood filled positions two and three.

In round nine, 88,115 witnessed the Cats win while 84,401 went along in round 19 when the Magpies claimed the points.

Brown said the MCC hoped the Saints and Dogs on Saturday night would attract 80,000.