Authorities in Australia's southern state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, on Tuesday lifted a cap on crowds at sporting events to 75% from 50% of stadium capacity after declaring the state officially COVID-free.
The crowd was the biggest for a sporting fixture in the southern hemisphere since the shutdown of sport caused by the pandemic last year, bettering the 49,218 who turned out at the MCG last week for Carlton's match against Richmond.
Authorities in New South Wales said the revelation from Melbourne was "obviously influencing our thinking" about how the Sydney Test would proceed, without elaborating.