Question to AFL people

[gostk86]

Why are you determined to kill Rugby League?
Your CEO basically has says this, and also rumor behind closed doors his plan is that Rugby League is out of Sydney by 2020.

Why after RL? Its not your biggest threat....... Soccer or Rugby Union is and they always have been by NSW people and also Government.

Is it because AFL knows they cant match them and picks after League........ or Thugby League has some 'smart' :rolleyes: people down south think.

Yes its true, Rugby League is my sport and have always followed it, But not for a second do I think AFL will dominate in any way in sydney or NSW.

However I'm all for sports teams everywhere. Im not a anti-afl person, Ive been known to watch a Swans game or 2.

To my original question............why do you want to kill Rugby League and not just a have team in WS, GC and leave it be?

[zero]

oh for god sake

we ARENT trying to kill rugby league, our CEO has not "basically" said this, or even implied it. where you got the 2020 from is mindboggling.

the only thing the AFL wants, now i want you to listen carefully to this, is to build its niche in sydney. we want more people playing and watching and attending out code...thats all. we are NOT coming to kill league.

what your feeling is typical of someone who is paranoid about other codes in their heartland.

now you are quite right, AFL will never dominate league in sydney, NOR DO THEY WANT TO

(and as for "thugby", for every AFL idiot that calls the game that there is a league ____wit that calls afl gayfl or some other such genius comment)

[Ricardo]

I think your post shows how much influence the media has.

Every 2nd article is about the AFL 'killing' RL in NSW and QLD, you should have a little more faith in your code, they won't be 'killed' by the AFL or even Soccer, which IMO is stronger competition for RL in the Northern states.


Your CEO basically has says this....


And this is exactly what the media up North want you to think, i haven't read any article or heard any press conference where he insinuated that the AFL wants to 'kill' RL, they want to expand into the Northern markets to help boost the code there, and if you haven't noticed they aren't exactly setting the world on fire with tv ratings.

The AFL is no threat to RL in your home state, the climate at the moment is one of 'dying' clubs and i've never seen such sensationalism in the media about this topic.

The media want to sell newspapers, the NRL want the AFL to go away and the media company that owns part of the NRL wants to protect its interests, they beat up endless article and news stories to portray the AFL as some invader out to kill everything in its path, and it has obviously worked.

The amount of hatred building up of the AFL is quite surprising, the same would be done in Melbourne by the Melbourne media if the NRL were percieved to be invading an AFL heartland and were out to destroy the game that we loved and grew up with.

[1908]

As much as they would hate to admit it, the only reason league gets all this attention is because it is No.1 in Australia's biggest market and this is exactly what all the other sports are after. If and when we are no longer number 1 the other sports will pay us no attention. Simple as that.

[steviewonder36]

Why are you determined to kill Rugby League?
Your CEO basically has says this, and also rumor behind closed doors his plan is that Rugby League is out of Sydney by 2020.

Why after RL? Its not your biggest threat....... Soccer or Rugby Union is and they always have been by NSW people and also Government.

Is it because AFL knows they cant match them and picks after League........ or Thugby League has some 'smart' :rolleyes: people down south think.

Yes its true, Rugby League is my sport and have always followed it, But not for a second do I think AFL will dominate in any way in sydney or NSW.

However I'm all for sports teams everywhere. Im not a anti-afl person, Ive been known to watch a Swans game or 2.

To my original question............why do you want to kill Rugby League and not just a have team in WS, GC and leave it be?

Good grief, when are you RL people going to grow up and stop making excuses for your games inability to grow outside NSW/QLD.

[cap304]

How convienant it is for league fans and journalists to drum up this[ its war in our heartland ]bullshit.
For one it rallies the spectators to turn up,which league has trouble doing in the best of times.
Secondly it sells newspapers playing on a war cry and peoples insecurities and fears.
There is Nothing better than a fake smokescreen to move blame and attention to what are the real problems facing league,and paint the blame at the opposing code which just happens to do things better.
The Afl has no plans to go to war or take over.
What they do have is a vision for a truly national competition,where people who choose to watch and play the game can.

[genghiskhan]

Why are you determined to kill Rugby League?
Your CEO basically has says this, and also rumor behind closed doors his plan is that Rugby League is out of Sydney by 2020.

Why after RL? Its not your biggest threat....... Soccer or Rugby Union is and they always have been by NSW people and also Government.

Is it because AFL knows they cant match them and picks after League........ or Thugby League has some 'smart' :rolleyes: people down south think.

Yes its true, Rugby League is my sport and have always followed it, But not for a second do I think AFL will dominate in any way in sydney or NSW.

However I'm all for sports teams everywhere. Im not a anti-afl person, Ive been known to watch a Swans game or 2.

To my original question............why do you want to kill Rugby League and not just a have team in WS, GC and leave it be?

The administrators of every code would kill other codes if they had the chance. Their job is to maximize revenue for their code and this can be best achieved by eliminating the competition.

The AFL would love rugby league to be out of the way because it has the second biggest domestic league in Australia and is therefore the most significant competitor to the AFL.

[Fire]

Ha, I have never seen anyone so terrified.

The AFL kills and eats babies, and all the parents can do is ask 'why'?

gostk86, the AFL is does not intend on killing the NRL. It doesn’t want to help it either. In fact, its apathetic towards it. The AFL wants to expand into new markets. They would want to expand into these markets even if the NRL didn't exist.

But if you want to continue your delusion, its because we are all Nazis. We want to purify the sporting scene in Australia, and the NRL is not a part of our final solution.

We are also the descendants of Genghis Kahn, looking to re-establish our glorious empire by destroying all before us.

Add to that, we are also ugly cave trolls that just like to eat bones.

In short, we are Mongolian Nazi Trolls who have come to crush your puny sport. We also have an awesome theme song, but you don't get to hear it because you aren't invited into our club.

[gostk86]

Thanks for all of your replies, interesting to get points of view from other people from the 'enemy' code. :D

Actually Demetriou did say he would love league to be killed off by 2020, he said it in a 2006 closed function, mark stevens of the herald sun quoted him on fox sports.

Of course Im scared, if your game was getting killed from every angle, our best players are getting taken by ESL and European Rugby, the revenue is pathetic and clubs are forced to play games outside of their local areas.

Sydney people are lazy to every code, but since 9 teams are in sydney its seen worse for RL.

Yes Super League war was a terrible thing that happened, and now it looks something similar will happen again.

AFL people are passionate about your game, just like I am about mine and if you had a board like the NRL does you would be scared if situation was reversed.

Im not sure what the sporting landscape will be like in 20 years, but no doubt RL is the weakest link of them all.

[Glory and Fame]

The AFL's agenda is to maintain and expand Australian Football - to maximise its own game. They have identified an opportunity to expand its game in West Sydney and the Gold Coast, and have the resources to make it work.
The AFL will work for what it sees as the best future for our game, and what happens to other games is no concern of theirs.

AFL doesn't have the power to kill rugby league. The NRL should be more concerned about whether rugby league has the power to kill rugby league.

[gostk86]

The AFL's agenda is to maintain and expand Australian Football - to maximise its own game. They have identified an opportunity to expand its game in West Sydney and the Gold Coast, and have the resources to make it work.
The AFL will work for what it sees as the best future for our game, and what happens to other games is no concern of theirs.

AFL doesn't have the power to kill rugby league. The NRL should be more concerned about whether rugby league has the power to kill rugby league.

Thats very naive, there is no market for afl in west sydney, swans barely rate on tv and only are getting 10 000 more this year at anz.

West sydney is a very different place, look at bulldogs fans....youll see what i mean

[richoatthedisco]

oh for god sake

we ARENT trying to kill rugby league, our CEO has not "basically" said this, or even implied it. where you got the 2020 from is mindboggling.

the only thing the AFL wants, now i want you to listen carefully to this, is to build its niche in sydney. we want more people playing and watching and attending out code...thats all. we are NOT coming to kill league.

what your feeling is typical of someone who is paranoid about other codes in their heartland.

now you are quite right, AFL will never dominate league in sydney, NOR DO THEY WANT TO

(and as for "thugby", for every AFL idiot that calls the game that there is a league ____wit that calls afl gayfl or some other such genius comment)
Are you kidding? They would bloody love to.

[Glory and Fame]

Thats very naive, there is no market for afl in west sydney, swans barely rate on tv and only are getting 10 000 more this year at anz.

West sydney is a very different place, look at bulldogs fans....youll see what i mean
I live in Old Toongabbie - not far from Blacktown. It's very much rugby league territory now, but I think there's the potential market for AFL there. Although the majority of people, if you asked them what their favourite game was, would say rugby league; only a small minority actually go to games. AFL fans, although smaller in number, are more likely to monetarily support the game by turning up to the stadiums.

If there's no potential for it to work, then why post a thread about trying to kill rugby league?

[zero]

Actually Demetriou did say he would love league to be killed off by 2020, he said it in a 2006 closed function, mark stevens of the herald sun quoted him on fox sports.

riiight. demetriou knows quite well that it is impossible to run league out of sydney by any date, let alone one only 12 years off.....only the most amazingly paranoiid could believe he said any such thing.

[gostk86]

I live in Old Toongabbie - not far from Blacktown. It's very much rugby league territory now, but I think there's the potential market for AFL there. Although the majority of people, if you asked them what their favourite game was, would say rugby league; only a small minority actually go to games. AFL fans, although smaller in number, are more likely to monetarily support the game by turning up to the stadiums.

If there's no potential for it to work, then why post a thread about trying to kill rugby league?

My opinion......... what i see of afl, its about getting into the area....and putting people into especially juniors into afl........this campaign about afl being a safer game........pokies etc......southern media putting league down at every chance.

OK OK, maybe i was a bit silly to put this up, I can see your a passionate fan, and im of course jealous of afl, and its 'loyal' fans, board who actually know what their doing.

The game survived the Super League War, but TBH its gone nowhere since.

Internationally England, France are doing their bit, but decisions that have been made are a blight to the fabric of the game.

[gostk86]

riiight. demetriou knows quite well that it is impossible to run league out of sydney by any date, let alone one only 12 years off.....only the most amazingly paranoiid could believe he said any such thing.

The fact he says it should be a concern for league people
read my above post about your afl board.

What does Gallop say about player drain (2005) its a concern but it wont affect rep level
Gallop to expansion (2007) Another expansion is at least another 5-7 years away before we even think about it.
Gallop on ANZ stadium (2003) We will not let anymore clubs play all their home games at ANZ.

[zero]

Are you kidding? They would bloody love to.
no they bloody wouldnt, and heres why

...firstly, THEY CANT. its impossible. flat out impossible. the chances that rugby league is even knocked off top spot in sydney is very, very remote on the century scale, let alone eliminated entirely.

its like saying "the AFL would love every other code in the world to fold and acknowledge AFL as the worlds greatest sport."

sure, they would love that to happen, but its not going to happen.

secondly, being too agressive in the north, even ATTEMPTING or deliberately undermining other codes will be seen as foreigners attempting a violent takeover, and that is no way to win supporters.

the AFL simply want to grow the code, to get a decent chunk of the nsw and qld markets.... and thats it.

[zero]

The fact he says it should be a concern for league people
if he ever did say that you shouldnt be concerned, you should laugh your ass off at him.

but it obvious he never said anything of the kind. only the most amazingly paranoid could believe that he did

[zero]

look gost, you really dont have to worry about rugby league, it will always survive, because it is entrenched and people love it.

even if a sydney club or two merge or move to the central coast or whatever, the NRL will survive and grow.

even if a bunch of good players go to europe or union, there will still be a strong NRL competition.

league CANNOT be killed, too many people love it, and that wont change, its a salable product, so someone will always be around selling it.

this is the bottom line: for as long as there are millions like you around to watch and buy it, then there will be someone organizing a competition and selling it

there is so much scaremongering going on in league, it makes you all paranoid.

and look, say for a second things go badly, say soccer and AFL come in and end up knocking the NRL off the perch in sydney (something which i think about a 2% chance of happening sometime in the next 100 years), then rugby league will still be loved by people in NSW and QLD! just because the league is not the biggest sport in the world, or even in oz, it doesent mean its not awesome and worth watching. if league was number 3 behind soccer and afl, who ____ing cares? is your ego such that what you love HAS to be most popular? it has to get the most money from the TV rights? the world at large has to agree with you? ____ that, what does it ____ing matter!

your deathly afraid about events that are have an amazingly low chance of happening, and even if it did happen it would be a bummer but not that big a deal

[Gibbke]

I propose a Grand Army of the Republic, to wipe out these insurgents who threaten peace and prosperity...I love democracy, and a good game of AFL footy on my Space Plasma TV...Rugby League is a conduit for abilities some consider...unnatural...

Urrgghhh...crock of $h!t, all this is, hmmm...

[gostk86]

look gost, you really dont have to worry about rugby league, it will always survive, because it is entrenched and people love it.

even if a sydney club or two merge or move to the central coast or whatever, the NRL will survive and grow.

even if a bunch of good players go to europe or union, there will still be a strong NRL competition.

league CANNOT be killed, too many people love it, and that wont change, its a salable product, so someone will always be around selling it.

this is the bottom line: for as long as there are millions like you around to watch and buy it, then there will be someone organizing a competition and selling it

there is so much scaremongering going on in league, it makes you all paranoid.

and look, say for a second things go badly, say soccer and AFL come in and end up knocking the NRL off the perch in sydney (something which i think about a 2% chance of happening sometime in the next 100 years), then rugby league will still be loved by people in NSW and QLD! just because the league is not the biggest sport in the world, or even in oz, it doesent mean its not awesome and worth watching. if league was number 3 behind soccer and afl, who ____ing cares? is your ego such that what you love HAS to be most popular? it has to get the most money from the TV rights? the world at large has to agree with you? ____ that, what does it ____ing matter!

your deathly afraid about events that are have an amazingly low chance of happening, and even if it did happen it would be a bummer but not that big a deal

Very good points, and now I agree :D

Will be a interesting 20 years

[zero]

Very good points, and now I agree :D

Will be a interesting 20 years
well good, its nice to get through to people occasionally :)

enjoy origin brother

[jackmac7]

Thanks for all of your replies, interesting to get points of view from other people from the 'enemy' code. :D

Actually Demetriou did say he would love league to be killed off by 2020, he said it in a 2006 closed function, mark stevens of the herald sun quoted him on fox sports.

Of course Im scared, if your game was getting killed from every angle, our best players are getting taken by ESL and European Rugby, the revenue is pathetic and clubs are forced to play games outside of their local areas.

Sydney people are lazy to every code, but since 9 teams are in sydney its seen worse for RL.

Yes Super League war was a terrible thing that happened, and now it looks something similar will happen again.

AFL people are passionate about your game, just like I am about mine and if you had a board like the NRL does you would be scared if situation was reversed.

Im not sure what the sporting landscape will be like in 20 years, but no doubt RL is the weakest link of them all.

When do you think these RL clubs will fold or Merge?

Penrith?
Cronulla?
Souths?
St George?
Paramatta?

Gallop was pretty blunt when he was talking about their future.

RL need to stop looking over their shoulder at the AFL if they don't want to be swamped.

Would you ask the same question to the A-league who have put 3 teams in NSW?


Oh, yeah GO PATRIOTS:thumbsu:

[catters05]

It is a media beat up, and the AFL love it because it is news in Sydney.

THis is actually good for Rleague, as this should stir all the Sydney fans up to get down to the grounds and put some money into their clubs.

The AFL is very arrogant, but I dont actually think they believe they will be number 1 in Sydney. They are number 1 in Australia.

RLeague and AFL could quite easy co-exist, but it doesn't look like they are going to get along.

THe big winner out of this..........SOCCER!

Union = Almost a Dead Horse IMO. Without the Wallabies it isn't much at all.

[hammo_cheersquad]

i live in sydney
i know alot about all codes afl/nrl/rugby union/soccer

demetriou isnt trying to kick nrl out of sydney
but with the game's rapid expansion, it has never had as many followers - especially in sydney
a majority of Swans supporters come from the western suburbs which is exactly where the new sydney team will be

more and more kids in sydney/nsw are getting into aussie rules
more clubs are being set up for kids to play it at a jr level and even higher schools are introducing it into their co-corriculum

the fact is that in the past few years, the swans average crowd is growing while the average crowd to nrl matches are decreasing by the round
now to some matches they arent even cracking 9000 people
demetriou sees that Sydney needs a new team and there has never been a better time to move here
i applaud him and the afl for theiir plans on the Western Sydney team

[Reggi05]

Thats very naive, there is no market for afl in west sydney, swans barely rate on tv and only are getting 10 000 more this year at anz.

West sydney is a very different place, look at bulldogs fans....youll see what i mean

AR has more latent support in Western Sydney than many believe. I lived for quite a while in Narellan AFL was quite popular there

Swans have tended to cater to their members who predominantly live in East Sydney, there would be enough support for a team in the greater west

[littleduck]

i live in sydney
i know alot about all codes afl/nrl/rugby union/soccer We'll see how you go..

demetriou isnt trying to kick nrl out of sydney
but with the game's rapid expansion, it has never had as many followers - especially in sydney What sort of followers? The television audience is embarrassing for the millions derived from broadcasters and invested in Sydney. Crowds are typical Sydney crowds in that they are inconsistent.

a majority of Swans supporters come from the western suburbs which is exactly where the new sydney team will be Yeah, so the geographic rivalry will likely fail to materialise.

more and more kids in sydney/nsw are getting into aussie rules
more clubs are being set up for kids to play it at a jr level and even higher schools are introducing it into their co-corriculum Absolutely. This is where AFL is succeeding; at the bottom end. At the top end its a constant struggle for sustained interest.

the fact is that in the past few years, the swans average crowd is growing SCG average crowds have declined I think?
Homebush crowds have also declined in the past season I think?

while the average crowd to nrl matches are decreasing by the round
now to some matches they arent even cracking 9000 people
You said you lived in Sydney, yet you post this myth? AVerages are increasing year in year out across the board.

demetriou sees that Sydney needs a new team Wrong, Sydney are happy with the Swans. The reality is the AFL need Sydney to have a new team.

and there has never been a better time to move here Arguable.


i applaud him and the afl for theiir plans on the Western Sydney team
Its all about backin' yaself and havin' a go. AFL are trumpetting from the rooftops that they are about to give it a crack in western Sydney.

[littleduck]

AR has more latent support in Western Sydney than many believe. I lived for quite a while in Narellan AFL was quite popular there
It seems you are referring to awareness rather than genuine interest.

[Hoops]

Actually Demetriou did say he would love league to be killed off by 2020, he said it in a 2006 closed function, mark stevens of the herald sun quoted him on fox sports. goggled a number of combinations, and couldn't find anything remotely close to this claim. not even by insecure RL types basing it on some rumour, I say you made it up.

[enosis7]

I'm not an "AFL person". The sport is called Australian Football. The AFL is the name of the governing body of the sport and the national professional competition. The semantics are important. Referring to the actual product, the sport, by the name of the organising body rather than the name of the sport itself, reflects the paranoia of many league fans - they think it's the AFL that's killing their sport, when it's the quality of the product, the sport of Australian Football, that will win people over.

[littleduck]

I'm not an "AFL person". The sport is called Australian Football. The AFL is the name of the governing body of the sport and the national professional competition. The semantics are important. Referring to the actual product, the sport, by the name of the organising body rather than the name of the sport itself, reflects the paranoia of many league fans - they think it's the AFL that's killing their sport, when it's the quality of the product, the sport of Australian Football, that will win people over.
You make sound points but ignore the reality that the game is deliberated marketed as AFL in NSW and QLD.

[cos789]

It seems you are referring to awareness rather than genuine interest.

Just like nobody has genuine interest in nrl because they
don't go to the games . Obviously ratings don't equal genuine interest .
Oh dear , ld undone yet again .
Give up while you're still miles behind .
:D

[Gibbke]

Well, this Tasmanian Aussie Rules supporter (there are none more parochial) actually thinks league is a pretty good game, and loves Qld because both codes get a good run...I made a conscious decision not to be a whinging imported bard and arrogantly assume my position as an Aussie Rules evangelist when I moved up - instead, I tried to work out the local game, and tried to figure out why 10 million Aussies, all of whom know as much about anything as me, love it like I do my own sport...and I found plenty of reasons...

If there's a threat, not only will it not come from me, but I'll be opposed to it too...

[littleduck]

Just like nobody has genuine interest in nrl because they
don't go to the games . Over 3mil per year "don't go to the games"?

Obviously ratings don't equal genuine interest . If I watch an episode of HOUSE at 830 on Wednesday night wouldn't I be genuinely interested in viewing that program? Obviously not on your logic. What would I be then?

Oh dear , ld undone yet again .
Give up while you're still miles behind .
:D
AFL average crowd: 35,000

I'm sure average television viewers are a fair bit higher than that again, so isn't it the case that bums on seats are a tiny fraction of those interested in each game? Isn't it the case that 90% of those "genuinely interested" in a single AFL match are television viewers and/or radio listeners?

Oh dear , cos undone yet again .
Give up while you're still miles behind .
:D

[finders]

We dont have to KILL thugby as you seem to be doing a brilliant job all by yourselves.:D

[sauce_head]

RL should be stamped out so that everybody either plays Rugby Union or AFL. That way the AFL will always survive and any decent RL players will pay Rugby and the Wallabies will never lose.

That way everyone can be happy, and the soccer players can all p!ss off to Europe.

[finders]

RL appeals to the same morons that follow the WWE wrestling and will always be around but the wider public and marketing people are well aware that Australian Football is a much better game to play and watch.

Sydney will take a long time to come on board due to their insecure hatred of anything originating from Melbourne but the better product well promoted will ayways win in the end.

[zero]

RL appeals to the same morons that follow the WWE wrestling...
hey hey hey steady on... variously rude, ignorant and homophobic they may be, but they are NOT on the level of wrestling fans.

RL is still a sport.

[cos789]

Over 3mil per year "don't go to the games"?

No , using that sort of logic it would be more like
150 million people per year don't go to rl games during the season .


If I watch an episode of HOUSE at 830 on Wednesday night wouldn't I be genuinely interested in viewing that program?


I watch House . I really should make better use of time .


AFL average crowd: 35,000
I'm sure average television viewers are a fair bit higher than that again, so isn't it the case that bums on seats are a tiny fraction of those interested in each game?

AFL average crowd 38k at this momement .(You may as well be accurate)
FFS you know the answer before I type it .
Couch potatoes do not equal those interested enough
to make the commitment to go to the game .
FFS you've lost that argument ,how many times now .
Give it a rest .



Oh dear , cos undone yet again .
Give up while you're still miles behind .


Yeah , tell it enough times to yourself and you believe it .
Obviously you have , because you believe it .

Oh , I didn't thank you for these .

Official RL excuses

1 .SL stuffed us up completely and we haven't recovered .

2 .We play to our "heartlands"

3 . It's a television game

4 .The game is popular but the team isn't

5 .It's the Sydney transport system

6. It's the weather - too hot , too cold or perfect for doing something else .

7. It's the media - too little media , the unfair media , too much AFL media .....Our supporters can't read the media (nice pictures though)

8. It's the lack of developement by the NRL ,ARL , NSWRL and BRL.

9. We're facing devopment from AFL and soccer .

10. That popular crowd drawing team is down .

11. That unpopular drawing team dominating .

12. The mergers put people off , merged teams don't represent their region , merged teams are too powerful ..

13. Dropping South Sydney put people off and put more off by coming back ..

14. When they gonna build big stadiums at (below) .... the crowds will be enormous
a. Lang Park - now built , no excuse s..
b. SFS - long time built not used much .
c. Telstra Dome - state of the art boutique stadium not used as too costly (low crowds)
c . Melbourne Olympic Park - latest holy grail for for crowds
d . Perth MES - now upgraded , latest nrl crowd 1710 .

15. The government won't finance new stadiums .

16 . Our stadiums are too big and look empty deterring more people - never more relevant .

17. When they gonna have double headers , triple headers ...we can then claim the one crowd for both games !

18 . The new pokie tax is gonna kill off the leagues clubs - never more relevant.

19 . We don't have the AFL's draft , management , development , clout , and aggressive approach to expansion ..

20. We don't have a decent game ,(but that's the least of our problems)

21. Sheduled against us was an another big game of .....RU , AFL, AL , NBL , ANL , WNBL.......

21. We sheduled a game against another big game of .....RU , AFL, AL , NBL , ANL , WNBL......

22 . There was a lot of sport on TV. ........golf , tennis , lawn bowls , motorsports , bowling , darts , WWWWE

23 .There was some good shows on TV .
a. Bloke's World returns
b. Iron Chef
c. Bert's big brother idol lost on celebrity dancing singing skating survivor

24. The report is not valid because it only shows interest not real support like ratings where the person
gets off his butt and ............ sorry where the person changes the channel on the remote .

25 .RU is stealing all our players and it looks like AFL is stealing our players as well .

26. The recent WC is grabbing everybody's attention - insert most recent soccer/RU event maybe even the AFL International Cup .

27. You overlook the fact that 25% of all rounds are Origin-affected. While the focus of the season is on State of Origin football,
club football is adversely affected by the best 34 players either unavailable or backing up after State of Origin.

28. Canberra now supports two clubs .

29. It's a bluff because Canberra are renegotiating their stadium deal.

30. It's a bluff because the AFL want some publicity .

31. When looking at NRL averages you cannot look at sydney in isolation - because they are pathetically low .

.:thumbsu:
cheers .

I'm thinking of appending -

3a . Couch potatoes count as real interested viewers .

What do you think .
P.S. That usually requires either a "yes" , either a "no" or a "dunno" .

.

[funkyfetlock]

Why are you determined to kill Rugby League?


I don't want anyone to kill Rugby League. However I do think it would be better for all concerned if it died quickly rather than suffer the slow painful death it seems destined to endure.

I am convinced that Rugby League will not survive in the very long term. Eventually the game will become extinct even in the current stronghold of Queensland. Sadly, the most loyal fans who will do their best to try to keep the game on life support, and refuse to accept the inevitable, will be the ones to suffer most.

It is not something I will enjoy watching. Rugby League will bleed to death but rest assured it will not be the fault of Aussie Rules supporters trying to get RL supporters to face reality.

[THRILLHO]

I think we will all learn a lot about the future of the NRL this season. The game is under attack, there are plenty of media articles about the so-called 'invasion', there are articles saying that teams are on the verge of folding or relocating. Thus, if people care about the game, they'll get down to SFS, Brookvale, ANZ, Leichardt et cetera and show their support. If not, then there's some writing on the wall for Gallop and the NRL.

[pazza]

League perhaps needs to adopt the Aussie Rules model in redeveloping itself.

Start at grassroots and have a League version of Auskick and take it from there.

[RussellEbertHandball]

Why are you determined to kill Rugby League?

Market forces. Run a sport like a business and natural competitive forces apply. Plenty of industries have a dominate player who takes over the smaller player. The AFL is now going thru its aggressive phase.

I don't think it wants to kill RL. Just wants to be the no. 1 sport in every state markets not the no.1 sport on an Australia wide basis. Nothing wrong with healthy competition. That's what sports is all about.

[littleduck]

League perhaps needs to adopt the Aussie Rules model in redeveloping itself.

Start at grassroots and have a League version of Auskick and take it from there.
They have and they do.

[funkyfetlock]

They have and they do.

Watse of money. All it will do is prolong the agony of long suffering Rugby League fans and give them false hope. Just let the game die quickly.

[SweetLeftFoot]

I don't want to. in fact, I'm more concerned about AFL's ridiculous and panicked overstretch.

[ChrisFooty]

rugby league will never die. It will always be number one in NSW + QLD. Rugby league has a very proud history in this country.

The AFL will grow slowly in NSW. Will never be number one in the next 100 years.

[funkyfetlock]

SweetLeftFoot, it is understandable but unfortunate that your passion for your football team precludes you from being able to acknowledge what is best for our great game. Expansion into the Gold Coast and into Western Sydney will be a wonderful, and eventually very profitable venture for the AFL.

As for my views on your team, I hate North Melbourne and always will. The disgraceful behaviour I witnessed by so many Kangaroos fans at the 1996 Grand Final will remain in my mind forever. I am happy that North Melbourne chose not to relocate when they had the chance. Now they will die out completely and their name will become a distant memory.

[SweetLeftFoot]

SweetLeftFoot, it is understandable but unfortunate that your passion for your football team precludes you from being able to acknowledge what is best for our great game. Expansion into the Gold Coast and into Western Sydney will be a wonderful, and eventually very profitable venture for the AFL.

I'm not against expansion, never have been, never will be.

What I'm against is panicked, headlong rushes to expansion, like is happening on the Gold Coast.

As for my views on your team, I hate North Melbourne and always will. The disgraceful behaviour I witnessed by so many Kangaroos fans at the 1996 Grand Final will remain in my mind forever.

Really? What behaviour? I'm genuinely interested to know because I was there too and didn't see anything untoward.

I am happy that North Melbourne chose not to relocate when they had the chance. Now they will die out completely and their name will become a distant memory.

Well, you must be a ray of sunshine to be around.

[Reggi05]

Move North to QLD and be done with it.

Here is a club that lived off the misfortunes of others poaching top talent from financially struggling clubs

Archer Longmire & Carey from Sydney
Schwass from Fitzroy

Etc. They don't deserve survival, their current woes are football Kharma

[Father Jack]

Move North to QLD and be done with it.

Here is a club that lived off the misfortunes of others poaching top talent from financially struggling clubs

Archer Longmire & Carey from Sydney
Schwass from Fitzroy

Etc. They don't deserve survival, their current woes are football Kharma

Pretty sure the Swans were happy to hand over Longmire and Carey for a nice shiny bag of magic beans, if they wanted to keep them they could have, and I don't think the bag of magic beans was even a particularly large bag of magic beans.

[Professor Knowall]

rugby league will never die. It will always be number one in NSW + QLD. Rugby league has a very proud history in this country.

The AFL will grow slowly in NSW. Will never be number one in the next 100 years.
Yeah of course, chrisfooty :rolleyes: - you've been around long enough for us all to know you're just another RL troll, except you try to disguise yourself.

In truth, none of us know what code will be number one in NSW in 50 years time, let alone 100. At this point in time, IMO, the future seems to belong to the Australian game of football and the global game of soccer. The rugby codes will still have their regional niche markets in NSW and Qld - but probably not as number one overall even in those states, and a non-entity outside those states.

That's my opinion. But none of us can be sure of the future.

BTW - As SweetLeftFoot said "I'm not against expansion, never have been, never will be. What I'm against is panicked, headlong rushes to expansion, like is happening on the Gold Coast.", then perhaps he can enlighten us as to what Vlad and the AFL SHOULD be doing to expand into the Gold Coast - remembering the next TV contract will take effect from 2012, and the Gold Coast will also also have an A-League side by then.

[SweetLeftFoot]

Move North to QLD and be done with it.

Here is a club that lived off the misfortunes of others poaching top talent from financially struggling clubs

Archer Longmire & Carey from Sydney
Schwass from Fitzroy
Kharma

LOL.

The Swans were stupid enough us to sell us Carey and Longmire (both of whom came from near our old recruiting zone) and I'm not sure what Archer had to with it, given he is from Noble Park and came through our under 19s system.

[Reggi05]

LOL.

The Swans were stupid enough us to sell us Carey and Longmire (both of whom came from near our old recruiting zone) and I'm not sure what Archer had to with it, given he is from Noble Park and came through our under 19s system.

Liar, he was in the Swans' zone you registered him in his Grandmother's house by his own confession

All this Carey was related to Greg Miller being sacked by Sydney and taking his previous employers intellectual property with him

[funkyfetlock]

riiight. demetriou knows quite well that it is impossible to run league out of sydney by any date, let alone one only 12 years off.....

It won't happen by 2020 but it will happen.

[zero]

It won't happen by 2020 but it will happen.
the only way it could even remotely happen is if news somehow manages to force league off FTA and onto paytv only for say, 20 or 30 years.

ONLY THEN will it possibly be knocked off the perch as most popular sport in NSW

[ParraEelsNRL]

Well the guy who started this thread has definitely swallowed the medias BS hook line and sinker.