Time to abandon GWS & Gold Coast

[EvansHodges77]

Is it finally time to abandon the the Giants and the Sun?
The extraordinary amount of money the AFL has invested in these ventures for little in return.
I believe now is time to distribute the players/coaches across the remaining 16 clubs and the money would be much better spent on real clubs with a real supporter base in these uncertain times..thoughts

 

[El Zorro]

How have you calculated the return on investment for the GC and GWS ventures, to establish that there was "little return"?

 

[chiwigi]

I don’t believe Port fans should call for the end of any club (apart from the Crows).
We have come close to losing everything ourselves!

 

[EvansHodges77]

How have you calculated the return on investment for the GC and GWS ventures, to establish that there was "little return"?

Averaging about 8k people to home games should do it..

 

[tribey]

How have you calculated the return on investment for the GC and GWS ventures, to establish that there was "little return"?

People struggle to comprehend the untapped potential of the Queensland/NSW markets (the sunshine state now has higher participation numbers than SA) and the tangible value of a 9th game each week.

This is a 30-50-100 year endeavour.

 

[EvansHodges77]

It sounds harsh, but imagine all that money invested in 16 clubs..all that talent distribution across the remaining 16 clubs..the standard of the game would go through the roof, both on and off the field

 

[Eddie Dingle]

People struggle to comprehend the untapped potential of the Queensland/NSW markets (the sunshine state now has higher participation numbers than SA) and the tangible value of a 9th game each week.

This is a 30-50-100 year endeavour.

It’s like when Gil said it’s not you it’s me.

It took a while but I got there.

 

[Winestoppable]

Broadcasters say no, move on. Also, I'm all for expansion and continuing to tap into non traditional football markets.

No Port Adelaide supporter should be calling for the death of another club.



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[edgie]

North should have moved to GC.

Hawks/Saints to Tas.

The need to carry teams along with new clubs would be mitigated.

Alas, they didn't, new clubs made, danger of existing clubs folding, merging, or moving far away from heartland. Possibly the worst outcome all around but on the flipside if it works then there will be enough resources in the game to carry a few.

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[chickentendies]

Completely disagreed. If any clubs are to go, start removing the deadwood from the extremely saturated Victorian market.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

North should have moved to GC.

Hawks/Saints to Tas.

The need to carry teams along with new clubs would be mitigated.

Alas, they didn't, new clubs made, danger of existing clubs folding, merging, or moving far away from heartland. Possibly the worst outcome all around but on the flipside if it works then there will be enough resources in the game to carry a few.

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North Launbart Devil Roos

 

[Jonts]

Nah go harder. NRL is on life support and you want the AFL to pull out?
* em.

 

[Forzaport]

I'm not too bothered with 2 teams in QLD & NSW. I'd like one team in TAS and one less team in VIC.

 

[El Zorro]

Averaging about 8k people to home games should do it..

How's that metric relevant to the AFL's biggest revenue stream, TV deals? You are just not looking at the right variables.

 

[TeeKray]

I could live with no Gold Coast but if the AFL is serious about being the national code (which they are) then they simply must have two teams in Sydney.

 

[PepeSilvia]

I'd much rather get rid of one (or three) of Footscray, North and St Kilda, and replace with a Tasmanian team.

 

[BornPort]

The AFL would abandon us before abandoning GWS or GC.

 

[El Zorro]

I think 2 teams in each of WA, SA, QLD and NSW should be safe for TV scheduling reasons only. So are the Melbourne "big 4", Hawks, Melbourne and Geelong. North, Dogs and St Kilda could all merge into 1 really. The Northern St Bernards sound pretty good to me.

 

[Fizzler]

The talent pool would be better in a 14 team league but I would not remove any teams from the league unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Powerade 08]

The talent pool would be better in a 14 team league but I would not remove any teams from the league unless absolutely necessary.

What is your definition of absolutely necessary. Unless we all die from a nuke or asteroid, the curent situation is as bad as its ever going to get.

 

[raptalia]

I'd much rather get rid of one (or three) of Footscray, North and St Kilda, and replace with a Tasmanian team.

We went through this in the 1990's when Footscray were really Footscray and it ain't gonna happen. The umbilical cord between AFL House and the Melbourne clubs is impossible to sever.

 

[Hammer#8]

The GCS need a hard reboot, but they are vital to the competition in terms of territorial advantage within Australia against the other codes. At almost a decade old, the Suns best year was probably 2014 where they could have made finals with a bit more luck. They were playing a reasonable brand of football until Ablett was tackled by Blair in the game against Collingwood and went out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. They have been a disappointment since but at their best they played a decent brand of footy that would challenge the best teams. They have lost a lot of talent over the years, with the appointment of Eade being the biggest mistake. Its clear to me now with the last two years of Dew coaching that nobody can work miracles if they keep trading their best players back to Victoria and are stuck being a young team.

I travelled up to see Port play the Suns in the years 2012, 2014 and 2015 and on each occasion it was evident there was a reasonable football following, its a very different attitude to the Victorian and SA markets however; the difference between Victoria and Queensland for sport attendance and public attitude are poles apart. Speaking to a couple at the bus stop outside my hotel whom were wearing rugby tops and on their way to the game, they told me they tended to watch all sports whether it be soccer, rugby or Aussie rules on the GC. The thing to understand about the GC is that interest in sport is very fluid and the attitudes of people who live there will tend to get tribal for State of Origin once a year, and nothing else. A team like the GCS has never really tapped into the public interest like the SOO does, SOO speaks to the locals because theres always been a long running rivalry and feud with NSW that a lot of the older demographic can remember and identify with.

The thing about the GCS is that they are judged from the perspective of the Southern states in terms of their onfield results. The paradox is that the GCS could have been a very successful club on the field, as successful as GWS and still not garner much interest from the locals - the problem is a completely economic one. The only way the GCS will ever be successful is through generational change in the region.

GWS are somewhat different in that the club was setup with a Victorian club mentality from the get go. The cornerstones of the Giants was to induct a strong culture forged by the first coach they had in Sheedy who groomed the players to think and act like an Essendon clone. The crux of the senior players that arrived there were Power, Cornes and Brogan whom at least had some exposure to a successful culture that they could impart on the players. The Giants have been a very successful club on the field with at least a 50% W/L each year since 2015 and a GF berth last year.

Its hard to stimulate local support for the Giants who reside in Greater Western Sydney, a region with a population of over 2 million people. That is a melting pot of different cultures and demographics that is about as heterogeneous as you can get. The challenge for the Giants to win over GWS is just as difficult as the Suns to win over SE QLD. However, if the ongoing costs to run both clubs is a break-even result with the television rights deal then I think the AFL just has to persist with both teams until theres some seismic generational shift within both regions, although thats not likely to occur until 20+ years down the track.

If it were up to me, I'd trim some of the existing teams in Victoria. The cull should be somewhere from 10 teams down to 8 to stabilise the league back to a 16-team competition. The AFL teams in Victoria are over saturated with many looking more redundant. But the bigger overlying problem for me is that the AFL run the league with an unashamedly Vic-centric bias in terms of their administration and media. Probably one of the only things I like about West Coast is that we need more of them, we need strong and financially viable clubs outside of Victoria that aren't for the sole benefit of Victoria only, and whom in time can tell the AFL to shove it.

 

[edgie]

I'd much rather get rid of one (or three) of Footscray, North and St Kilda, and replace with a Tasmanian team.

Melbourne lucky.

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[edgie]

We went through this in the 1990's when Footscray were really Footscray and it ain't gonna happen. The umbilical cord between AFL House and the Melbourne clubs is impossible to sever.

I don't think so. I think Gil has an eye on St Kilda. He did publically tell them to get their s**t together.

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[edgie]

The biggest problem with GC and GWS is the complete lack of away fans. Something no other expansion club has had to deal with due to Melbourne heritage or expats from football states.

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