For me, it's not a question of three hours - it's the hassle and stress of trying to clear immigration/security/etc in the transit airport, get from gate to gate, hope that your first flight wasn't delayed because, if it was, you've probably missed your connecting flight etc.
I'd much rather get on, go there, and get off where I intended to be. In fact, I fairly regularly travel to Seattle for work and I much, much prefer the 9-9.5hr direct flight than the hassle of transiting via anywhere - especially as, every time I've done that, there has been a lot of additional stress, lost luggage, almost missed flights, cancelled connections etc.
.. of course, the new direct route is to Perth. Who wants to go to Perth?