Mega Thread The "Will GWS make it" megathread (NO similar threads will be allowed)

[tige19]

Funny. I think there is good support for the game here and it will grow

I agree with you. The thing with kids in the west, they give everything a go. If you sent the GWS boys to Merrylands primary once a month you'd have all the kids kicking footys at lunchtime. I think as a sport it is absolutely every chance to thrive, if the kids see it as a chance to make it professionally then they will come. AFL lists double in size of the NRL lists, it is in the best interest of any athletic youngster to take up our sport.

 

[Blacky]

I reckon they're heading in the right direction

Can't wait until the Battle of the Bridge is as big as the derby or showdown

 

[saviour01]

I agree with you. The thing with kids in the west, they give everything a go. If you sent the GWS boys to Merrylands primary once a month you'd have all the kids kicking footys at lunchtime. I think as a sport it is absolutely every chance to thrive, if the kids see it as a chance to make it professionally then they will come. AFL lists double in size of the NRL lists, it is in the best interest of any athletic youngster to take up our sport.

Yeh, all the kids at the primary school I teach at in Western Sydney don't think "I wanna be like Jarryd Hayne" they think "The afl lists are double the size of the NRL list, means I have more chance to make it".

If you honestly think that thought goes through any kids head under 15 years old you are deluded.

 

[tige19]

Nope but kids are more informed and more knowledgable than ever, they understand at an early age what a desirable job would be or career path. As someone who has taught within the education sector, I can say that children know and understand things more than ever.

You, who questions whether children forward think and/or plan a pathway objectively at 15 and under is the one who's deluded.

 

[Freomaniac]

The same was said about Freo, many times.

Freo would of been much different had they kept their picks in the Early years. Fortunately gun recruiting since 2008 has made up for some of those mistakes.

As for GWS. The current GWS side is compareable to the Swans of 1992-94 only on the wins and to a lesser degree the home crowds. The swans then got Tony Lockett and Paul Roos at the end of 1994 and they improve dramatically in the next 2 years.

GWS have some good kids coming through. They have a solid midfield, have 2 very good forwards in Patton and Cameron. the backline needs to improve. They will eventually go up the ladder, its just a matter of time.

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

Dogs must have won a Game ...suddenly they have the complete list of the best young talent in the Land ...shame they have no decent Backmen or forwards .

Compared to Carlton... yeah, we do.

 

[Blues_Man]

Compared to Carlton... yeah, we do.

I wouldn't mind a Dollar for every time I've heard a Footscray supporter say that, over the last 40 odd Years .

 

[fabulousphil]

Yeh, all the kids at the primary school I teach at in Western Sydney don't think "I wanna be like Jarryd Hayne" they think "The afl lists are double the size of the NRL list, means I have more chance to make it".

If you honestly think that thought goes through any kids head under 15 years old you are deluded.

What a enigma you are, you play football in Southern Sydney, yet teach in Western Sydney, yet are spending the year in London, yet you only post on the Sydney AFL board, yet every post you make, you accuse someone of being deluded without fail.

 

[finders]

Freo would of been much different had they kept their picks in the Early years. Fortunately gun recruiting since 2008 has made up for some of those mistakes.

As for GWS. The current GWS side is compareable to the Swans of 1992-94 only on the wins and to a lesser degree the home crowds. The swans then got Tony Lockett and Paul Roos at the end of 1994 and they improve dramatically in the next 2 years.

GWS have some good kids coming through. They have a solid midfield, have 2 very good forwards in Patton and Cameron. the backline needs to improve. They will eventually go up the ladder, its just a matter of time.

They need to get some good out of contract players to mix with the now maturing kids and they will become a force esp in Sydney.It only a matter of time and some smart recruiting and they will be ok and bring much better crowds

Even normally top clubs when they are struggling near the bottom of the table see their crowds drop away a lot.

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

I wouldn't mind a Dollar for every time I've heard a Footscray supporter say that, over the last 40 odd Years .

Happy to compare both squad's young players (which won't end well for you), but don't really see the point of that in this thread.

You seem to have been offended by my "Carlton needing a rebuild" comment, surely you would have to agree that it's needed?

The likes of Gibbs, Thomas, Waite, Simpson, Kreuzer, McLean and co aren't going to deliver a flag, and other than Menzel and a couple of other young players, you're sorely lacking in the youth department. Big cleanout needed.

 

[saviour01]

What a enigma you are, you play football in Southern Sydney, yet teach in Western Sydney, yet are spending the year in London, yet you only post on the Sydney AFL board, yet every post you make, you accuse someone of being deluded without fail.

The hour drive a day isn't too bad, better than working in the shire where I live. Got back from London a year ago, surely you would know that if you were any good at stalking me.

Maybe they understand things more than ever, but I have never heard of any kid under 15 say "I will change sports to AFL, something i have never played before because they have double the amount of people on their lists". If you think kids think that you have rocks in your head.

 

[fabulousphil]

The hour drive a day isn't too bad, better than working in the shire where I live. Got back from London a year ago, surely you would know that if you were any good at stalking me.

Maybe they understand things more than ever, but I have never heard of any kid under 15 say "I will change sports to AFL, something i have never played before because they have double the amount of people on their lists". If you think kids think that you have rocks in your head.

I only stalk people who are worthy, sorry, but you fail bigtime in that regard.

I have heard of plenty of kids having a go through rookie search etc, changing sports, or trying out to change sports from Volleyball, basketball,

Seems to happen more in QLD rather than Sydney though.

Ultimately the reason for doing so is that there is plenty of spots onlists and good money, whether they realise it or not.

 

[saviour01]

If we can just get 1% of volleyball players...

 

[Blues_Man]

Happy to compare both squad's young players (which won't end well for you), but don't really see the point of that in this thread.

You seem to have been offended by my "Carlton needing a rebuild" comment, surely you would have to agree that it's needed?

The likes of Gibbs, Thomas, Waite, Simpson, Kreuzer, McLean and co aren't going to deliver a flag, and other than Menzel and a couple of other young players, you're sorely lacking in the youth department. Big cleanout needed.

lol and here you are again ....The Dogs have been rebuilding for Years ..remember Aker wanting to join them because of their exciting young list that promised big things ...how many Years ago was that ? Carlton need to fill some positions but they have a much better list than the Bulldogs ..remember a few promising Games does not a champion make .

 

[dinger]

lol and here you are again ....The Dogs have been rebuilding for Years ..remember Aker wanting to join them because of their exciting young list that promised big things ...how many Years ago was that ? Carlton need to fill some positions but they have a much better list than the Bulldogs ..remember a few promising Games does not a champion make .

Holy s**t this is the textbook definition of 'Pot Kettle Black'

 

[Sydney Bloods]

I reckon they're heading in the right direction

Can't wait until the Battle of the Bridge is as big as the derby or showdown

never will be, hell nothing comes close to SA shitfights (which is what they should be called) they deadset hate each other, It goes far beyond football.
and we will never even develop a freo vs west coast style derby or darby however they say it.

IF the battle of the bridge is successful which in my view would need a name change for it to be (Swans supporters will not support a concept that would alienate a large portion of swans supporters) at best we can hope for is a vic style "blockbuster" is the blockbusters harken back to the days where there was real hate between clubs but nowadays only carlton and collingwood have that. All other blockbusters you simply drum it up for a week and then after the match footy moves on.

if your thinking this will develop into some pathological obsession between supporters where they bring up some home and away match from 6 years ago or who's won more derby's and players talking about how they look forward to it all year and how important a home and away game is.................... you'll be disappointed.

 

[Freomaniac]

They need to get some good out of contract players to mix with the now maturing kids and they will become a force esp in Sydney.It only a matter of time and some smart recruiting and they will be ok and bring much better crowds

Even normally top clubs when they are struggling near the bottom of the table see their crowds drop away a lot.

The giants might need some more experienced guys. I reckon they at least need a good key defender. GWS have surprised me in some games this season. They beat the swans in round 1 and also pushed the Cats and hawks. Beating Melbourne at home was a given win. Brisbane and Carlton were surprising wins too. Giants midfield is ok but it needs that one gun mid, preferably a goal scoring mid to give it some edge.

Still The giants remind me of Port and West coast in the 1st 5 years, slowly getting the wins then they got top 4.

 

[madmug]

If we can just get 1% of volleyball players...

Yes but, Isnt it that most kids play sport or other activities because thats what their friends do? So making the game accessible by getting into schools & helping junior footy clubs in Western Sydney (& every other place for that matter!) & getting games on TV too is the way to grow the GWS club & the game overall.
What else should the AFL be doing?

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

Holy s**t this is the textbook definition of 'Pot Kettle Black'

Summed it up. Someone needs to tell that deluded bloke that we actually made a few finals appearances a couple of years ago and have only been rebuilding since then.

What is it, like 14 or so years of rebuilding now for Carlton? Going forward with the list they have they probably need to shed a few older blokes or players with currency and get drafting. Truth hurts I guess.

 

[Colonial]

http://m.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news...in-the-land-of-one-by-one-20140725-zx1pu.html

Hmm so I guess this ends the fake comments and no community engagement

 

[finders]

http://m.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news...in-the-land-of-one-by-one-20140725-zx1pu.html

Hmm so I guess this ends the fake comments and no community engagement

Just another wonderful article by Martin Flanagan who is one of the best football scribes going around.

 

[Slax]

Will they survive is a different question of will they reach the top of the table. It will be interesting over the next couple of years to see who stays and who goes, if players leave it will be a sign of them not buying into what is being sold to them as far as on field success goes.

 

[madmug]

Will they survive is a different question of will they reach the top of the table. It will be interesting over the next couple of years to see who stays and who goes, if players leave it will be a sign of them not buying into what is being sold to them as far as on field success goes.

If players leave surely it will be because of off field factors. Winning will help but in the end will they want to live in that part of the country. Its not natural footy territory. It probably never will be.
Thats why its important to develop good community links & affiliations. That task remains difficult due as much to 'foreign' nature of the territory as to the attitude of the Sydney press.
Brisbane has had success & last night showed they have heart. A crowd of 27k with the threat of, & then getting, heavy rain was a great success. Does that help them with the local press? No not really. Speaking to friends who went to the Gabba last night, the game is still 10 pages back in the local sunday rag.

 

[fabulousphil]

If players leave surely it will be because of off field factors. Winning will help but in the end will they want to live in that part of the country. Its not natural footy territory. It probably never will be.
Thats why its important to develop good community links & affiliations. That task remains difficult due as much to 'foreign' nature of the territory as to the attitude of the Sydney press.
Brisbane has had success & last night showed they have heart. A crowd of 27k with the threat of, & then getting, heavy rain was a great success. Does that help them with the local press? No not really. Speaking to friends who went to the Gabba last night, the game is still 10 pages back in the local sunday rag.

There is a quite a big latent support base for the Lions in SE QLD, more than enough will support a decently run club, they have turned that support into members or regular attendeees over the past decade and probably will again.

There is also a very decent sized grassroots base playing the game, it is just a matter opf time before the wheels start to turn again for the Lions, what will be interesting to gauge is, if both SE QLD teams hit decent form at the same time.

 

[coniglio_number1]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...in-the-land-of-one-by-one-20140725-zx1pu.html

Good read about some if our community engagement