Rd 9 v GWS - A call to Paws!

[Colonial]

Meh. Thought you were here for a chat. Clearly here for a troll. I don't get people like you. You have earned nothing and will have earned nothing when the team wins a flag. AFL should have just made an announcement three years ago they intended to drop off the AFL Cup into West Sydney for a few years and saved themselves $200million. Most pointless exercise I have ever seen. You blokes don't follow a club; you follow a moneytrail. I'm embarrassed for you.

Anyway. Carry on campaigner.

I am. Then i start being trolled. So i reply in kind.
Bit of a heads up. We wont care if you dont think we earned the flag.
As for your rant. Meh. Believe what you want. Some still believe the earth is the centre of the universe. Doesnt make em right

 

[ivan rassmussen]

Some still believe the earth is the centre of the universe.

Some believe there is an AFL club in western Sydney - but "club" implies community and members, not some s**t-stain soul-less "franchise" which will disappear up it's own arse within 5 years. On your bike, sunshine...

 

[InSpectre]

Should be a ripping contest with plenty of feeling. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Stringer, Crameri et al match up with a davis-less backline. The Bont is also a freak of nature - hopefully we see he and Dyl Shiel go H2H for bragging rights!!

I'm originally from Western Sydney, and am from a Rugby mad family. I am now a full on convert to the AFL. I'm a paid up member of both the Giants and the AFL, and get to as many games out of state as possible. Its fans like me that the AFL are after, and slowly but surely the AFL is gaining a foothold. I also don't think the fact that I haven't been a fan for long makes me any less entitled to love my team. My grandparents may not have been fans, but my grand children will be.

As for it being a soulless franchise, in my experience that's not true, but even if it were Junior forms of the game are growing faster in Western Sydney than they are anywhere else in the country (granted from a low base). It's also the most populous zone (and fastest growing) region in Australia. A soul or a community or a culture cannot be whipped out of thin air, its built over a period of time - the club understands that, and has said as much, but the players do a crazy amount of community based stuff.

 

[Doggy Dan]

A soul or a community or a culture cannot be whipped out of thin air, its built over a period of time.

True dat!

 

[Zgope1]

Should be a ripping contest with plenty of feeling. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Stringer, Crameri et al match up with a davis-less backline. The Bont is also a freak of nature - hopefully we see he and Dyl Shiel go H2H for bragging rights!!

I'm originally from Western Sydney, and am from a Rugby mad family. I am now a full on convert to the AFL. I'm a paid up member of both the Giants and the AFL, and get to as many games out of state as possible. Its fans like me that the AFL are after, and slowly but surely the AFL is gaining a foothold. I also don't think the fact that I haven't been a fan for long makes me any less entitled to love my team. My grandparents may not have been fans, but my grand children will be.

As for it being a soulless franchise, in my experience that's not true, but even if it were Junior forms of the game are growing faster in Western Sydney than they are anywhere else in the country (granted from a low base). It's also the most populous zone (and fastest growing) region in Australia. A soul or a community or a culture cannot be whipped out of thin air, its built over a period of time - the club understands that, and has said as much, but the players do a crazy amount of community based stuff.

i don't disagree with anything you've said. I wouldn't contest your right to love your team. Hell i'm a Miami fan and have to cop what comes with it. That doesn't change why other clubs and fans might not like the giants. It doesn't change that money and markets is the reason it started, and the social club part of that will be a byproduct. It doesn't change that in order to grow the soul of the club the afl has had to piss on its integrity to fix the team some success in the region.

It's nice that there's a little afl community growing fast in that region.

it's shithouse that it comes at the cost of an even, fair competition (the greatest in the land) and almost all of its integrity.

if it makes you feel any better, the afl's integrity would be just as questionable without the expansion clubs

 

[doggies ftw]

Who is coming +? Can we add a poll? Whoever from bigfooty isn't coming needs to have a hard look at themselves !

Bit harsh, been to every Melbourne game this year but one and am absolutely shattered I can't make it this week. Hope you guys can make up for my noise, would have gone nuts every time that campaigner gets near the ball.

I'm not feeling too bad about this game at all, expecting us to come out breathing fire.

 

[InSpectre]

My point is more to preach patience. This isn't Port Adelaide, where you can pluck a successful state league team, with an established culture out of the SANFL - five years of NEAFL football would kill any chance an AFL club would have of long term survival, or the Brisbane Lions or Sydney Swans, where you merge them with a (former) Melbourne power club, nor is it West Coast or Fremantle where you're setting up a franchise in an Aussie rules power state. The cultural route the Giants are going is through grassroots participation and broad, non-football related community engagement - that takes time. Can't speak for the Suns, although IMO that was a hair-brained idea from the start - it has proven to be the least successful sporting market in Australia because everyone is old.

I don't think in and of itself having a team in Western Sydney pisses on the integrity of the game - its an issue of "were the concessions granted to the Giants so much as to undermine the competitions competitiveness for the near and far term." That's an argument worth having (although I don't think a preview board is the place to have it).

Call the concessions unfair, say it undermined the competition, say there are issues with competitiveness going forward - all of which I disagree with to varying degrees - but I'd really rather we steer clear of calling it a "s**t-stain soulless club".

 

[mambavino]

It's also the most populous zone (and fastest growing) region in Australia.

Sorry to nitpick, but this is actually an oft quoted myth. Certainly when looking at the most recent statistics posted by the ABS.
It's actually Melbourne's north and west that are the fastest growing regions in Australia.

 

[InSpectre]

Sorry to nitpick, but this is actually an oft quoted myth. Certainly when looking at the most recent statistics posted by the ABS.
It's actually Melbourne's north and west that are the fastest growing regions in Australia.

Fair enough. The point remains though. If you divided AFL teams up into some form of arbitrary geographic zones the Giants would (most likely) have the largest population - its just a small percentage of them are AFL fans (at the moment).

 

[amnesiac]

Perhaps one day GWS will grow into something more, but today they are an artificial franchise whose only existence is for the money they bring in from TV rights. The AFL has done what the AFL does. Throw a warchest of money at it and give it the time it needs to work. Until it does though, it is hard to look at these fixtures with any sort of feeling. It is a shame for GWS that the AFL is more interested in marketing grassroots than providing the platform to build it.

What it means for the contest on Saturday? We will have 18,000 there and apart from when the former Dogs touch the ball, the contest will essentially be a funeral procession.

Won't stop me coming. I just cannot help lamenting that expansion means more and more 'nothing' fixtures.

 

[LondonBulldog]

Nothing against Giants or Suns joining the comp, good for the game in the long run. All teams started at one stage or another.

But gee they really mucked up with the name and jumper. Giants is basketball and the big white G on the jumper is just stupid. The orange is different so make it your own, just like the Dutch National football team. I crowd full of orange. At the moment its wishy washy. Took freo a while to realise purple is there go.

 

[grouse mate]

Who is coming +? Can we add a poll? Whoever from bigfooty isn't coming needs to have a hard look at themselves !

Will be there. I'll be the one in an orange beanie throwing my AFL printed $100 bills around.

 

[Hoges64]

Who is coming +? Can we add a poll? Whoever from bigfooty isn't coming needs to have a hard look at themselves !

Unfortunately even I as the thread starter can't add a poll, but maybe the mods could?

 

[fargy]

Who is coming +? Can we add a poll? Whoever from bigfooty isn't coming needs to have a hard look at themselves !

I'm having a good hard look at myself now! It's not pretty unfortunately Bit hard for some of us, if you look at the where we are from thread there is quite a few from interstate. But hopefully it's a big Dogs turnout, even though it's been few in numbers this year the people that do turn up deserve a huge pat on the back for the sound they are making! I'll be making noise but unfortunately my neighbours think I'm a little loopy, not many AFL supporters up this way at all. Maybe you can cheer twice as loud to make up for me not being there?

Wow this thread has gotten some spice in it! Hopefully the game has some heated moments as well

 

[Hoges64]

I'm having a good hard look at myself now! It's not pretty unfortunately Bit hard for some of us, if you look at the where we are from thread there is quite a few from interstate. But hopefully it's a big Dogs turnout, even though it's been few in numbers this year the people that do turn up deserve a huge pat on the back for the sound they are making! I'll be making noise but unfortunately my neighbours think I'm a little loopy, not many AFL supporters up this way at all. Maybe you can cheer twice as loud to make up for me not being there?

Wow this thread has gotten some spice in it! Hopefully the game has some heated moments as well

That's why I bought the extra tickets!

 

[Reptilia]

I was just exaggerating guys hahaha all good

 

[mambavino]

Unfortunately even I as the thread starter can't add a poll, but maybe the mods could?

While we're at it, can we also add a poll that asks:

Which captain was more gutless in the way they went about abandoning their post, Captain Ryan Griffen of the Bulldogs, or Captain Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia?

I think it would be a rather close run thing for what it's worth.

 

[Dav1d]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/teams

interesting time for Will to come back
& Talia omitted

 

[Hoges64]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/teams

interesting time for Will to come back
& Talia omitted

Talia omission is pretty big.

 

[ivan rassmussen]

...I'd really rather we steer clear of calling it a "s**t-stain soulless club".

Ah, now you're mis-quoting me. I said s**t-stain soul-less "franchise".

And as this is:
(a) MY team board, and
(b) NOT a face-off thread,
I can express whatever opinion I like within the bounds set by this board's mods.

In fact, not wanting to be offensive or derogatory, I said "s**t-stain soul-less franchise" as that is the only nice thing I have to say about the temporary AFL presence in western Sydney.

So, I hope that clears up any confusion.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

I would have felt less resentment if the AFL created a team in Tassie. But Sydney West you have got to be kidding me.

 

[SonOfScray]

May the turf at Etihad stadium be awash with the blood of our former captain and his new colleagues from the Giants.

 

[dull_high_ahoy]

Someone bring a pig into etihad with a target painted on it and release it onto the ground

 

[dull_high_ahoy]

Everyone bring one raw pork sausage to throw onto the ground when Griffen runs on

 

[Chicago1]

Looks like someone is preparing for an after match GWS function.