Growth of AFL in Rugby League Heartland

[finders]

i agree, thats the thing with expansion teams, nowhere in virgin territory is "ready" for a team. the bears and the swans entered markets that werent ready, and they were established in 10 years. the same happened to the storm, only now are they becoming genuinely established.

i reckon the best time for a new team in western sydney is now, because for sure they will take 5 or 10 years before they are established, but they will be great for the sport up there. i believe the AFL knows this.

unfortunately, there is no way for the AFL to force it to happen, they are at the mercy of the clubs will in alot of ways, and in these times of plenty it takes alot of political and financial pressure built up over years to expand.

You are having a lend of yourself if you think the Storm thugby club will ever win over Melbourne sports fans = average crowd 2006 even though they finished on top aprox per game 10,000 Compare that to Victory after only two years -30,000

 

[bunsen burner]

1. A second Sydney team ideally... great. The reality is it would bleed cash bigtime. I think it's too much of a risk. The Swans as far as I'm concerned are only 6 consecutive losses away from huge decreases in crowds, and even worse ratings than they get now.

Even when the Swans are performing poorly they will get 20,000 average these days.

There's 3m people in Western Sydney. You only need 30,000 every week. Put a team in in 20 years time and it will still take time to build a following and will always lose money for 10-20 years, but they have to start somewhere.

2. I can understand this. But having been to Melbourne, and worked with many Melbournians, it's EXACTLY the same towards League.

I think people should be a bit more diplomatic. Sydney people like League because it's what they've been brought up with. So I don't question or look at them strangely. I do however tell people that League isn't my cup of tea. Close friends and acquaintences I don't mind telling I hate it. I really f***ing hate it.

3. I agree on this one. There arn't as many league fans that are as passionate about the game. The game is strong in the minds of the Sydney public though.

I disagree. It is still most people's prefered code, and whilst it is a hands down preferred code with many, it's still not strong. The masses don't love it and live and breath it like the masses in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth do AFL.

There's a distinct difference but most Sydneysiders can't see it.

There's a good vibe about the NRL season, plenty of hype, and same for the Swans upcoming season.

I'm not feeling any of it. Personally I'm feeling hyps about AfL but that's through BF, fox, IF etc. The buzz just isn't really in Sydney. I have friends who like league. They go to games a fair bit. But they don't talk about it. I play indoor cricket in a strong RL heartland. Wouldn't know it though. No one talks about it. It might get mentioned around Origin time but that's about it.

The thing is though, the interest in AFL in Sydney is directly linked to the Swans win loss ratio.

Certainly, but that low threshold has been lifted since the early 90s. A few lean years and I don't think they'll sink that low again.

No matter who's winning in RL, Sydney is switched on.

But the lights are dim.

 

[general mac]

The thing is though, the interest in AFL in Sydney is directly linked to the Swans win loss ratio. No matter who's winning in RL, Sydney is switched on.

This is the very phenomenon that a second Sydney team would end. This means that oververnight, the Swans and the new Sydney team would be able to enter the natural building Cycle of most other teams.

This is what the rugby fans are all so afraid of. That is why they all come on here and shout down Aussie rules as much as they can.

They know that a viable Western Sydney and a successfull gold coast mean it is over !!

With 2 teams in Qld and NSW, suddenly Aussie rules and League will be incompareable.

The thing is, it doesn't matter .... it has already happened. I grew up in Albury watching both codes with equell passion. Rules beat Rugby quite a while ago now and the rest is just bragging rights on the part of the RL guys about what AFL does not yet have.

Even if brisbane is "hemorrhaging", it will never shrink to the size of say the Storm, and the Lions are here to stay.

So bring on the second Sydney team!

 

[zero]

You are having a lend of yourself if you think the Storm thugby club will ever win over Melbourne sports fans = average crowd 2006 even though they finished on top aprox per game 10,000 Compare that to Victory after only two years -30,000

true, but thats because league is not nearly the live spectator sport that AFL is. success for them will be getting on TV and getting some ratings, and higher media coverage, which is definitely slowly happening.

 

[general mac]

true, but thats because league is not nearly the live spectator sport that AFL is. success for them will be getting on TV and getting some ratings, and higher media coverage, which is definitely slowly happening.

Hang on, so suddenly "success" for Rugby league in Aussie Rules territory is just getting on TV and building a better viewership ??? Yet anything other than absolute domination by the AFL in Sydney and Queensland is derided by RL enthusiasts ???

I think success needs to have a more universal measure. The AFL have obviously won the expansion war in every single area that counts, including monies generated, crowd size and T.V. viewership.

Take your excuses to the Rugby league apology board.

 

[Dan26]

1. Some people sat Sydney is ready for another team in 15-20 years? It will be ready for one in 15-20 years if one is installed there now. I don't see a point in waiting and think the AFL should strike now when there is momentum and whilst they have cash to support a team.

I agree. The argument is that Sydney isn't ready, but the irony is that installing a second team is easily the best way to grow the code to take it to the level needed for a second team. Football needs to be played 22 weeks a year in Sydeny. I think Sydeny with a population of 4.2 million can support a second team. I am never ever surprised about the ability of the AFL's teams in their new markets to be successfully followed teams. I wasn't surpised when Bribane and Sydney eventually became big clubs avergaing 30,000 per game with 25,000+ members, and (accoring to morgan survey) the two most popular clubs in Australia.

I am not surpised that Freo, despite going into a market dominated by West Coast with no real supporter base to "draw upon" will sell-out Subi in nearly every game this season.

Nor will I be surpised when second teams in Brisbane and Sydney generate acceptable followings. What teams "havn't" generated big followings? The code has a remarkable ability to attract people to it's games.

2. I find it annoying in Sydney when I mention AFL and people look at you like you're a leper and say "huh? Why would you follow that?". And they're being serious. I don't excpect them to like the sport but I at least expect them to be educated enough to acknowledge it is the most popular code by a lengthy distance. It's like many of them think it's a crap sport that only people in Melbourne watch.

There are idiots everywhere. There are some in Melbourne who likewise can't accept that the NRL is a decent competition, the second biggest in the country in fact. Ignorance is everywhere.

3. And the other thing is, people in Sydney aren't really into league. Some are, but most have a passing interest. They follow a team and hope they win, but never talk about it. People just don't talk about football/league up here. They're happy to bag GAYFL like it's a crap sport and think they're real League guys, but they're not really.

LOL, I'm laughing because you are so correct. My Dad's entire side of the family is from Sydney and I've spent some time up there and you are 100% correct. They follow their team, but they don't care anywhere near as much. They have a "passing interest" as you said. You're right, they "think" they're real Leaguies but they're not. It's just that's what they've been brought up with. They watch it, but they're not as passionate. Not many people are genuine season ticket holders, crowds aren't as big. It's just not the same.

They just don't get it. They don't twig that they're not into footy like people in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, London, Manchester, Madrid, Rio etc. And it's because they have a second rate code. And they assume just because it's what they have grown up with and their favourite, that it must be a good game and the best game.

I don't like bagging codes, because I genuinally like all codes of football, but there is not doubt in my mind that Aussie Rules is the best of them, and I think the passion of Rugby League strongholds comapred to the passion of the Aussie Rules strongholds tells a story. The Aussie Rules strongholds are far more passionate, far more loyal. I remember a meaningless round 22 game between Collingwood and Carlton a couple of years ago (when neither club could make the finals) generated the seasons biggest crowd (61K in a half built MCG.) You just wouldn't get that in a meaningless round 26 NRL game.

Why is it more passionately followed? People say cap like, "It's the city".... the city has nothing to do with it. It's the code. There is a reason why the AFL generates 35,000 per game (more the double the nearest competitor), nearly 5 million TV viewers a week (about double the nearest competitor) aand has 500,000 season ticket holders of clubs. Because it a great sport to watch.

It doens't jsut get those figures by accident. There are REASONS why those numbers are geberated that RL fans seems to not want to know about.

I have NO DOUBT that is the situation was reversed and Sydney had always been an AFL town and Melbourne a Rugby Legaue town that Sydeny would be averaging 35,000 per week amongst it's 10 AFL teams while Melbourne would average about 15,000 per week amongst it's 10 NRL teams. Like it is now, but reversed.

Aussie Rules simply generates more interest, more media coverage, more everything because it is the most spectacular form of football to watch.

Now whilst RL fans might not share that opinion (and that is their right) they have to acknowledge that most people in the country do have that opinion, hence the bigger figures for the Aussie Rules over any other code.

I wonder if any RL fans have actually sat down and pondered the reasons why the AFL gets bigger "everything." Instead of making up excuses and being selective with statistics, it might "just" be because it's the best form of footbal to watch, even if they themselves don't share that opinion

 

[zero]

Hang on, so suddenly "success" for Rugby league in Aussie Rules territory is just getting on TV and building a better viewership ??? Yet anything other than absolute domination by the AFL in Sydney and Queensland is derided by RL enthusiasts ???

I think success needs to have a more universal measure. The AFL have obviously won the expansion war in every single area that counts, including monies generated, crowd size and T.V. viewership.

Take your excuses to the Rugby league apology board.

hahaha you mistake me for someone else mate, im no league troll.

yes, "success" is relative for everyone, relating to where you start from. for the storm, success is a modest increase in crowds (to SANFL level), and getting on FTA TV in melbourne and getting some good ratings.

"success" for the AFL in NSW is a modest increase in TV ratings and to become a genuine "second team" sport. acceptance is really what the AFL is after in sydney. for now.

and of course, paranoid league trolls will attempt to laugh off any gain made by AFL up there.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I live in Sydney and catch a train to city central everyday. As my train goes past Canterbury I'm amazed to see all the schools from Bankstown to Cantebury playing AFL, it's quite an amazing sight how AFL has taken over Sydney!! even some schools are decked in Swans colours!!

On the radio all the talk is AFL, that's all you here. Everyone is so excited about the Swans, RL is ********ting themselves.

RL is a crap game, I mean who plays RL? I speak to many people in the Bankstown area and they don't even know who the Cantebury Bulldogs are, and they can list all the Swans players without much fuss.

RL is a nothing game, I mean who plays it? Queenslanders and some people in Newcastle as Sydney is now AFL mad!!! you see everone walking around with Jude Bolton T-shirts and all the males where AFL shorts, even when they're forced to play League. It has been well documented also how AFL mad Western Sydney is!! there is AFL fields everywhere you look!!! A major invasion is occuring!!

AFL has made massive gains in the international seen that it's more popular then League. I mean we play in Thailand, have a huge following in NZ, Naru, Holland, PNG.

One of the most amazing things i ever saw was an International NZ side play, the way they done the Haka was inspirational, almost brought a tear to my eye the passion they showed, even the guy in charge of moving the goal posts and scoreboard said he felt the emotion from around the Cricket field. After the game, the kids doing the cheerleading swamped there Male hereos, that's right! AFL is a pure mans game, it's the toughest most skillfull game ever seen, RL is just a ****s game played by dragqueens, and we're now a massive international success story!

I was so excited the day Pete Fillandia signed my swans scarf. He was a true hero to the people in Sydney and had a huge cult following, I always wanted to be like him in everyway, now it's Adam Goods

Keep it up AFL let's get rid of that damn League and focus on making the likes of Naru, PNG more competitive.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Aussie Rules simply generates more interest, more media coverage, more everything because it is the most spectacular form of football to watch.

Now whilst RL fans might not share that opinion (and that is their right) they have to acknowledge that most people in the country do have that opinion, hence the bigger figures for the Aussie Rules over any other code.

I wonder if any RL fans have actually sat down and pondered the reasons why the AFL gets bigger "everything." Instead of making up excuses and being selective with statistics, it might "just" be because it's the best form of footbal to watch, even if they themselves don't share that opinion

Might have more to do with the fact, that watching Rugby League on TV is better than watching it at the game. Partly generated from the lower crowd figures, so their isn't as much atmosphere at the game, but generally because when watching the game on TV, everything you need to see is on the screen. Having been to a few AFL games, I think AFL is 10x better to watch at the ground, it just doesn't translate as well onto the TV.

Another thing people discount when talking about rugby league, and the passion, is the effect the super league war had on the code. Many people refused to ever watch another league match again. Still there are people who to this day, refer to some teams as Super-League "Scum". The crowds have only just recovered in the past few years to the levels they were in 1994. I don't think most of you realise that rugby league nearly died due to this war. It took so much money out of the game, affecting grassroots support/money.

And hopefully the Victory is happy with the VIC govt 34K rectangular stadium. You just can't watch rugby league at an oval ground. Your just to far away from the action. I think once this stadium is in Melb, you will find the crowds in a few years will start to average at least 20K, plus I'm sure rugby league will start scheduling a few more marquee games, like Australia vs England or New Zealand to help build on the interest.

 

[1908]

What alot of AFL people fail to understand is the effect that the super league war had on both codes. AFL will NEVER get this opportunity again.

Dan26 wrote:

I wonder if any RL fans have actually sat down and pondered the reasons why the AFL gets bigger "everything." Instead of making up excuses and being selective with statistics, it might "just" be because it's the best form of footbal to watch, even if they themselves don't share that opinion

Yes mate I have and I think you will find that wherever AFL is number 1 there usually hasn't been a second sport, a rival. Well done to AFL and it's bed fellow, the media, for cultivating an image of the sport and indoctrinating you lot for over 100 years. Gee imagine Melbourne in the 60's, winter time, crap weather, no Sunday shopping, no Sunday newspaper just VFL....ho hum.

 

[LebaneseForces]

I live in Sydney and catch a train to city central everyday. As my train goes past Canterbury I'm amazed to see all the schools from Bankstown to Cantebury playing AFL, it's quite an amazing sight how AFL has taken over Sydney!! even some schools are decked in Swans colours!!

On the radio all the talk is AFL, that's all you here. Everyone is so excited about the Swans, RL is ********ting themselves.

RL is a crap game, I mean who plays RL? I speak to many people in the Bankstown area and they don't even know who the Cantebury Bulldogs are, and they can list all the Swans players without much fuss.

RL is a nothing game, I mean who plays it? Queenslanders and some people in Newcastle as Sydney is now AFL mad!!! you see everone walking around with Jude Bolton T-shirts and all the males where AFL shorts, even when they're forced to play League. It has been well documented also how AFL mad Western Sydney is!! there is AFL fields everywhere you look!!! A major invasion is occuring!!

AFL has made massive gains in the international seen that it's more popular then League. I mean we play in Thailand, have a huge following in NZ, Naru, Holland, PNG.

One of the most amazing things i ever saw was an International NZ side play, the way they done the Haka was inspirational, almost brought a tear to my eye the passion they showed, even the guy in charge of moving the goal posts and scoreboard said he felt the emotion from around the Cricket field. After the game, the kids doing the cheerleading swamped there Male hereos, that's right! AFL is a pure mans game, it's the toughest most skillfull game ever seen, RL is just a ****s game played by dragqueens, and we're now a massive international success story!

I was so excited the day Pete Fillandia signed my swans scarf. He was a true hero to the people in Sydney and had a huge cult following, I always wanted to be like him in everyway, now it's Adam Goods

Keep it up AFL let's get rid of that damn League and focus on making the likes of Naru, PNG more competitive.

CLASSIC!!!! Well as I'm living in the Bankstown area i can verify your post! We are all AFL Crazy... Who are the Bulldogs? The only Bulldogs i know are the Western bulldogs

Moderators can we please place a sticky on this thread??? It's Priceless.

 

[LightTower4]

What alot of AFL people fail to understand is the effect that the super league war had on both codes. AFL will NEVER get this opportunity again.

Dan26 wrote:


Yes mate I have and I think you will find that wherever AFL is number 1 there usually hasn't been a second sport, a rival. Well done to AFL and it's bed fellow, the media, for cultivating an image of the sport and indoctrinating you lot for over 100 years. Gee imagine Melbourne in the 60's, winter time, crap weather, no Sunday shopping, no Sunday newspaper just VFL....ho hum.

And did Sydney have a rival to RL during the last century?
Did USA have a rival to NRL?
Did Europe or South America have a rival to soccer?
That's a pathetic excuse.

 

[Dogs Of War]

And did Sydney have a rival to RL during the last century?
Did USA have a rival to NRL?
Did Europe or South America have a rival to soccer?
That's a pathetic excuse.

AFL started in Sydney in 1903. It had 5 years to build a support base before the first rugby league season even started. Seems sydneysiders recognised a more skillful sport and followed that instead.


USA had rugby union to rival NFL. But american's preferred to develop their own sport.

Europe once again had rugby union, and I'm sure there are many other sports which were developing around the same time. But the simplicity of soccer won them all over. Plus the fact that they settled on some rules, which most sports had changing from region to region.

 

[fishmonger]

AFL started in Sydney in 1903. It had 5 years to build a support base before the first rugby league season even started. Seems sydneysiders recognised a more skillful sport and followed that instead.
.

I appreciate both codes, but your understanding of their history in your state is quite limited.

Rules was played from the 1880s but rugby union was there first.
Three reasons why NSWRL dominated from 1908:
Dally Messenger.
Paid Players.
Enclosed Grounds.

If Sydneysiders recognised a more skillful sport, then tell us a bit about the secret NSWRL proposal to merge with Aussie Rules in the 1930s ? Surely a more skillful, fully professional sport would not have seen any threat from an obscure amateur sport ?

 

[LightTower4]

AFL started in Sydney in 1903. It had 5 years to build a support base before the first rugby league season even started. Seems sydneysiders recognised a more skillful sport and followed that instead..

I'd suggest xenophobia of anything coming out of Melbourne.

USA had rugby union to rival NFL. But american's preferred to develop their own sport...

And you don't think rugby was played in Melbourne around 1897?

Europe once again had rugby union, and I'm sure there are many other sports which were developing around the same time. But the simplicity of soccer won them all over. Plus the fact that they settled on some rules, which most sports had changing from region to region.

Perhaps soccer was seen as a better game than Union?

 

[Dogs Of War]

I'd suggest xenophobia of anything coming out of Melbourne.

Perhaps, but thats just grasping at straws.

And you don't think rugby was played in Melbourne around 1897?

And when did AFL begin again?

Perhaps soccer was seen as a better game than Union?

Perhaps, or perhaps it was the simplicity of the rules, as such, all you need is a ball, 2 players and a something which resembles goals at either of your field. Rugby in any of it's forms is difficult to play with 1 player per side.

 

[Copernicus]

CLASSIC!!!! Well as I'm living in the Bankstown area i can verify your post! We are all AFL Crazy... Who are the Bulldogs? The only Bulldogs i know are the Western bulldogs

Moderators can we please place a sticky on this thread??? It's Priceless.

I think you need to realise that that post was actually a piss-take.

Oh well, hanging around on LU gets one familiar with some names

 

[bunsen burner]

What alot of AFL people fail to understand is the effect that the super league war had on both codes. AFL will NEVER get this opportunity again.

Nope.

League crowds and interest has always been lower than AFL. SuperLeague was a glitch that happened a long time ago. It has absolutely nothing to do with RL's lack of crowds today.

Yes mate I have and I think you will find that wherever AFL is number 1 there usually hasn't been a second sport, a rival.

Nope.

Irrelevant. Forget crowd figures and TV stats and revenues etc for a second. Just isolate the passion for the game. People are far more passionate about AFL. You won't actually know this unless you've lived in Melbourne, Perth, or Adelaide for a while.

There is a buzz about AFL that League just doesn't have. You go to any big city, whether it be an AFL city or a soccer city (manchester, Liverpool) or a NFL city, and there's a buzz about football. This doesn't happen in Sydney and Brisbane.

Why? Well contrary to what a lot of leaguies tell themselves, it isn't because Sydney people like different things - it's because the different products. People are people across the world and people are passionate about football. Except in Sydney and Brisbane. The variable is the product. League is a second rate game.

Well done to AFL and it's bed fellow, the media,

The media report what the public want to read/see. Not the other way around. It's in the media's interest to sell papers and getting TV ratings. They do that buy satisfying a demand.

I know it must be hard for you to admit that what you grew up with is a 1st rate code, but it's not. Time for Sydney people to stop using "Melbourne people would flock to a cockroach race" and "AFL isn't a TV sport" excuses and accept that League is a second rung code.

 

[Copernicus]

What alot of AFL people fail to understand is the effect that the super league war had on both codes. AFL will NEVER get this opportunity again.

Dan26 wrote:


Yes mate I have and I think you will find that wherever AFL is number 1 there usually hasn't been a second sport, a rival. Well done to AFL and it's bed fellow, the media, for cultivating an image of the sport and indoctrinating you lot for over 100 years. Gee imagine Melbourne in the 60's, winter time, crap weather, no Sunday shopping, no Sunday newspaper just VFL....ho hum.

To be frank, I've read that Sydney was a pretty dead place to be in the '50s and '60s too. All Australian cities were because the cosmopolitan edge and array of things to do just didn't exist back then.

Yeah, yeah, you've got beaches, blah blah...

 

[bunsen burner]

Seems sydneysiders recognised a more skillful sport and followed that instead.

Do you honestly believe League is the more skillful code?

By default it's clearly not. The way the games are structured means AFL requires more skill.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Do you honestly believe League is the more skillful code?

By default it's clearly not. The way the games are structured means AFL requires more skill.

Both games require skills, but different skillsets to each other. How you can say one sport in more skillful that the other is beyond me.

Both require similar skills, catching, passing and kicking. While AFL having larger grounds, requires more endurance for all the running they do, while league players require more strength as they are put in more one on one situations where they are required to bring a man down.

I love if you could explain how the AFL "Structure" means they require more skill so I can have a good laugh.

 

[fishmonger]

Why? Well contrary to what a lot of leaguies tell themselves, it isn't because Sydney people like different things - it's because the different products. People are people across the world and people are passionate about football. Except in Sydney and Brisbane. The variable is the product. League is a second rate game.

your comments are highly inflammatory and very wrong.

You obviously haven't been to either Brisbane or Sydney during a State of Origin.

Hell, you may not have lived in Sydney or Brisbane at all. I have lived in both heartlands and can tell you that people in Brisbane are passionate about football, but they are probably more open to multiple codes than other cities. Per capita, the crowds across all codes are not that dissimilar to other cities.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Nope.

League crowds and interest has always been lower than AFL. SuperLeague was a glitch that happened a long time ago. It has absolutely nothing to do with RL's lack of crowds today.

Are you kidding or what? Obviously you haven't read the whole thread, or you only understand what you want to and dismiss anything that doesn't follow your opinion. It's a fact that less money was put into the game, and went straight to the players, in fact players in that period earnt more money than players do now. So that meant less money for the game to develop, smaller TV contracts due to lower interest levels, and also meant that we are now owned by News Ltd till approx 2020 which means we have an owner who also has a vested interest in how much the TV contracts go for as they are the ones televising the game on Pay TV.

As well, just to repeat myself again, many people who followed the game at the time, just refuse to follow the game anymore, due to losing their team, or just the way the game/players chased the money for a while. It wasn't about the supporters anymore, it was about which media organisation had the biggest checkbook, and that just wasn't appealing.

Pre the super league war, every workplace had a footy tipping comp, every pub had one too. Nowdays you are unlikely to find one, or if you do, it has a smaller interest level. A lot of the passion was lost when the game sold out for the money.

Irrelevant. Forget crowd figures and TV stats and revenues etc for a second. Just isolate the passion for the game. People are far more passionate about AFL. You won't actually know this unless you've lived in Melbourne, Perth, or Adelaide for a while.

There is a buzz about AFL that League just doesn't have. You go to any big city, whether it be an AFL city or a soccer city (manchester, Liverpool) or a NFL city, and there's a buzz about football. This doesn't happen in Sydney and Brisbane.

Why? Well contrary to what a lot of leaguies tell themselves, it isn't because Sydney people like different things - it's because the different products. People are people across the world and people are passionate about football. Except in Sydney and Brisbane. The variable is the product. League is a second rate game.

But it is about the people. I know lots of AFL supporters in Sydney, and they love their sport, but not like people in Melbourne do. I know a few Melbourne people who live in Sydney who do anything to go to games, either in Sydney or wherever their team is playing, I don't know what you put in the water down there, but I will make sure I buy bottled water anytime I am the southern states.

Another thing is that you as a AFL supporter in Sydney, wouldn't surround yourself with people who follow rugby league, as what would you talk about? You surround yourself with people with similar interests.

The media report what the public want to read/see. Not the other way around. It's in the media's interest to sell papers and getting TV ratings. They do that buy satisfying a demand.

I know it must be hard for you to admit that what you grew up with is a 1st rate code, but it's not. Time for Sydney people to stop using "Melbourne people would flock to a cockroach race" and "AFL isn't a TV sport" excuses and accept that League is a second rung code.

Whatever.

 

[bunsen burner]

Both games require skills, but different skillsets to each other.

Exactly and one game's required skillset is higher. That being the AFL.

How you can say one sport in more skillful that the other is beyond me.

How you cannot acknowledge that AFL requires a higher skillset to play is beyong me.

Let's weight them up:

League

-Throw ball backwards left
-Throw ball backwards right
-catch uncontested ball from close distance
-occasionally catch uncontested ball from far distance
-occasionally catch contest ball after high kick into try zone
-kick into touch
-kick into try area
-Kick for field goal
-kick from set shot
-tackle
-dodge

AFL
-Ruck contest
-handpass rather than throw ball
-handpass in all directions rather than just backwards
-handpass with both hands
-continuously be under pressure from 360 degrees
-catch ball often from long distance
-catch contested ball
-kick with both feet
-kick to moving targets
-kick at goal without place kick
-kick regularly under pressure from 360 degree
-bounce ball whilst running whilst under pressure from 360 degrees
-tackle people who are running at you very fast
-control an oval shaped ball that is coming at you from much further away, at greater speed, and under far more pressure more often
-run at full speed in short sharp bursts regularly
- run 20km+ every game (not all players)
- read the play from a 360 degree perspective

Do you get the picture? Do you now acknowledge that AFL requires more skill?

I love if you could explain how the AFL "Structure" means they require more skill so I can have a good laugh.

The joke is on you champ.

 

[bunsen burner]

your comments are highly inflammatory and very wrong.

Delusional.

You obviously haven't been to either Brisbane or Sydney during a State of Origin.

Lived in Sydney for 10 years idiot. Been in Brisbane whilst SOO is on.

Wow, so there's a buzz 3 times a year that is equivalent to the AFL buzz all year. Big whoop.

Hell, you may not have lived in Sydney or Brisbane at all.

10 years. In a league "heartland".

I have lived in both heartlands and can tell you that people in Brisbane are passionate about football,

Nonsense. You think you know.

Have you ever lived in Melbourne, Adelaide, or Perth?

but they are probably more open to multiple codes than other cities. Per capita, the crowds across all codes are not that dissimilar to other cities.

Pure crap and excuses.

You obviously don't like the truth and are having a hard time accepting it.