A Third Team In Sydney - It's Only a Matter Of Time !!

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NoobPie

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No idea wtf all that is about.
Commented in regard to the Northern Beaches.

With regard to the game on the North Shore in general, it isnt progressing much. Certainly not with the kids.
All codes develop sympathetic stats. RL is booming (according to RL), Soccer is killing it (according to Soccer), Aussie rules is making inroads (according to AR). Stats have been meaningless for as long as i can recall re footy in Sydney. It is always about to take off or is somehow booming.

AFL's biggest problem is still the same. They see it as a fabulous product. WE luv watching it....WHY ? coz we were brought up with it and understand the rules.

To New Australians and their children, as well as 1st generation....its not worth bothering with. Far too complicated with far too many rules. The average joe not brought up with it sees it as novelty value only...good athletes, can be fun to watch, but no representative footy and they cant be arsed having to sit an exam just to understand what they are witnessing. Plus the rules change all the time.
Soccer is easy, soccer is simple, soccer is safe for the kiddies, soccer is killing every other code in NSW no matter what worthless "stats" can be fudged. Just the way it is.

No doubt you make valid points about the challenges of a complex game taking off in non traditional areas and certainly all sporting bodies talk up their current health

The growth in participation among juniors in Sydney this decade is undeniable though with the number of teams pretty much doubling. This can be attested by looking at the actual ladders http://aflsj.com.au/fixtures-results/sydney-harbour-fixtures/

Now, I'm sure that the northern beaches are likely not at the core of that growth but certainly the north shore seems to be heavily represented.

Though I personally think that the AFL will be well served by two clubs in Sydney at least to the middle of this century, having well resourced professional football clubs acting on a region is self evidently a powerful force in the longer term growth and sustainability of a game in that region. I'm guessing the Swans have a roughly similar geographical "footprint" to Sydney FC but they blow them out of the water across every metric.

I think the AFL understand very well the challenges of changing sporting preferences hence the massive investment in school age engagement in NSW and QLD and the expansion clubs
 
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Growth ? Of course it has grown. So has the population. City has grown by about >20% (+1.1 million) in the last 10yrs. I will assume stats from all codes allow for that baseline variable in their reporting of growth just for starters. 20% growth in 10yrs would obviously be treading water.
The AFL arnt silly. They know which side of the bread the butter is on. All the clubs do as well. They know where a vast % of the billion$plus comes from and would love to see 5 clubs in Sydney if they could. On paper its a great investment....every $ invested in NSW footy they get back in spades every time they sign off on a new network deal. QLD similar story. One of the few "sure thing" long term investments the AFL can make.
Point is though, NSW is not really a "new" AFL state. Footy has been played here since the 1800's just like Vic SA WA Tas. In fact the same talk of growth in NSW has been going on for 100+ years. What matters is what we see with our eyes, coz the stats have always been taken with a grain of salt.
I wont deny good things are in play, i'm simply saying i dont see it reflected in numbers of kids playing the game YET. It has always been the Holy Grail for the code but noone i know has seen growth with their own eyes.
IMO just as much effort should be going into retaining areas such as the Riverina and up thru Canberra. I suspect the AFL just assumes if they grow in Sydney the rest is safe...but it isnt.

The AFL (and us) get lulled into a feeling we have the best thing since sliced bread in terms of our game....to both play and watch. We grew up with it and dont understand why others cant see what we see. It is not seen that way by others...it is seen as a complicated mish mash of players running after a pigskin, and might be entertaining if only they knew what the hell was going on. Noone wants to watch sport that looks over officiated with a rubbery rulebook that is complex. Ask the average taxi driver and they'll tell you the same thing in a thick accent "just dont unnerstand it maaaaaate"

Any half savvy marketer will tell you the terrain has changed as well. Dads dont control what their boys play anymore, mums do. The code they played/followed is also meaningless. Its the same with all sporting codes these days which is why they spend so much $ ramming things like third rate womens cricket and footy (for instance) down our necks....and have a thousand crosses to the sideline for that "awww geeez" picture of someone throwing free ice creams to kiddies, or interview snotty nosed kids at qtr time with a "I Luv Dusty" cap.

EVERY sporting code does it. It is amateurish and rather desperate looking, but every code thinks it is the way to win hearts and minds long term. In a city like Sydney though (where there is no fanatacism) it is pandering to the fickle....and the point most are missing is that the one code doing very little of it is Soccer. They dont need to. It is the only product that sells itself.

I'm exaggerating now, but the AFL would have better luck flat out purchasing sympathetic media and selling itself that way. They have made zero inroads into the media in 30years. That is the only way RL survives afterall....a sympathetic and financially invested media. Give Ruperts boy a call and offer him $1Bill for something, Cash for comment on radio, etc etc....flood the market and you will skip 50 years of caring about dodgy "growth" statistics. Sounds archaic and yes i;m being cynical, but after 100+years trying to sell the game in NSW why keep doing the same thing ? Doing the same marketing as all the other codes isnt helping one iota.

The AFL seems to think they have a product that sells itself. It doesnt. They try to use things like crowd numbers at top level games as material to show they are growing, but in reality they have a tough enough time retaining what they already have. Of course the AFL would like 4 clubs in Sydney and 3 in Brissy. Unfortunately though it is unmentionable until such times that the game becomes grass roots popular rather than the same novelty game the public has watched for 100 years.

If the game sold itself we wouldnt be having this conversation re NSW. It will take something totally different and ruthless to break the mould in Sydney. Wont happen by throwing ice creams at kiddies and pandering to the mums on the tv.

p.s. Its the North West of Sydney where footy has been entrenched. These days though you sometimes hear that called part of "north" sydney but it has never been seen that way. I'd wager including North West Sydney into "Northern" Sydney is just another way of fudging stats.
 
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Dads dont control what their boys play anymore, mums do.

Agree, but this fact is underrated in terms of the AFL promoting women's football. I'm not talking about the quality of women's football, I'm talking about the fact that many more women and girls are playing AFL now than they have in the past. This to me seems an obvious benefit to our game. If women play AFL then there must be a good chance they will let / want their kids to play AFL. The benefits won't become immediately obvious though.
 

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kaypee

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No idea wtf all that is about.
Commented in regard to the Northern Beaches.

With regard to the game on the North Shore in general, it isnt progressing much. Certainly not with the kids.
All codes develop sympathetic stats. RL is booming (according to RL), Soccer is killing it (according to Soccer), Aussie rules is making inroads (according to AR). Stats have been meaningless for as long as i can recall re footy in Sydney. It is always about to take off or is somehow booming.

AFL's biggest problem is still the same. They see it as a fabulous product. WE luv watching it....WHY ? coz we were brought up with it and understand the rules.

To New Australians and their children, as well as 1st generation....its not worth bothering with. Far too complicated with far too many rules. The average joe not brought up with it sees it as novelty value only...good athletes, can be fun to watch, but no representative footy and they cant be arsed having to sit an exam just to understand what they are witnessing. Plus the rules change all the time.
Soccer is easy, soccer is simple, soccer is safe for the kiddies, soccer is killing every other code in NSW no matter what worthless "stats" can be fudged. Just the way it is.
I don't agree. When I go to the footy there are plenty of first Gen migrants there. Australian Football is a fairly simple game once you get the underlying principles: move the ball at all costs, protect the ball carrier etc. To my mind soccer's irredeemable flaw is the offside rule. While essential, it also ruins the game
 
Agree, but this fact is underrated in terms of the AFL promoting women's football. I'm not talking about the quality of women's football, I'm talking about the fact that many more women and girls are playing AFL now than they have in the past. This to me seems an obvious benefit to our game. If women play AFL then there must be a good chance they will let / want their kids to play AFL. The benefits won't become immediately obvious though.

Assuming they have kids.
 

jatz14

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Assuming they have kids.
You may have hit on a major demographic concern. With female footy participation pushing 500 000 this year and still growing strongly, has anyone thought of the children. Imagine, if we get to 1 million footy playing dikes, where will the babies come from? I think your on to something here, quick, call your local member.
 

NoobPie

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[QUOTE="Bollox, post: 59234539, member:
I'm exaggerating now, but the AFL would have better luck flat out purchasing sympathetic media and selling itself that way. They have made zero inroads into the media in 30years. That is the only way RL survives afterall....a sympathetic and financially invested media. Give Ruperts boy a call and offer him $1Bill for something, Cash for comment on radio, etc etc....flood the market and you will skip 50 years of caring about dodgy "growth" statistics. Sounds archaic and yes i;m being cynical, but after 100+years trying to sell the game in NSW why keep doing the same thing ? Doing the same marketing as all the other codes isnt helping one iota.
[/QUOTE]

Honestly why don’t they take out 2-3 page adds from the back page with AFL media stories in the paper? I’ve thought this for years.
 

BringBackTorps

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1) The Australian 3.1.19 Wayne Smith
Smith has been writing professionally on sport since 1971, & is Australia's most experienced, & probably most respected, full time professional RU writer.
He excoriates the situation of RU in Australia, when he writes:-

."There is no other way to describe 2018 than as an unmitigated catastrophe for Australian rugby"
"...the year spiralled into hell...The Wallabies were losing fans so rusted on they almost had to be removed with an angle grinder".
.He was also strongly critical of the coaching staff, the Super Rugby teams, & the administration of RA.

(Paywall)​

2) Mosman JFC, Sydney North Shore, has reported another record no. of registered players in 2018- over 500.

It is my understanding that many or most junior AF clubs in Sydney will also be reporting individual Club record nos.

https://www.mosmanswans.com.au/

3) Such is the shortage and heavy useage on AF grounds on the North Shore, Gore Hill Park in St Leonards has been redeveloped with a very expensive, but extremely durable, artificial surface.
It will also have a gym etc. (it is the home of the senior North Shore Bombers AF Club); & total cost was $10,500,000- Federal Govt. $9.5, & Council $1million.

http://newslocal.smedia.com.au/north-shore-times/
Click on calendar icon in top left hand corner (next to "North Shore Times"), then scroll to 16.8.18 edition, then scroll to pg 26.

4 ) AFL CEO G .McLachlan, referring to the shortage of grounds in some parts of Sydney, said it is "almost the biggest challenge facing our game".
East Sydney JFC, which has c. 685 players, had to "turn away" about 70 juniors for the 2017 season.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-has-grounds-for-concern-in-sydney-20170906-gycax1.html


 
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TWLS

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1) The Australian 3.1.19 Wayne Smith
Smith has been writing professionally on sport since 1971, & is Australia's most experienced, & probably most respected, full time professional RU writer.
He excoriates the situation of RU in Australia, when he writes:-

."There is no other way to describe 2018 than as an unmitigated catastrophe for Australian rugby"
"...the year spiralled into hell...The Wallabies were losing fans so rusted on they almost had to be removed with an angle grinder", re the performance of the Wallabies
.He was also strongly critical of the coaching staff, the Super Rugby teams, & the administration of RA.

(Paywall)​

2) Mosman Jnr AFC, Sydney North Shore, has reported another record no. of registered players in 2018- over 500.

It is my understanding that many or most junior AF clubs in Sydney will also be reporting record nos.

https://www.mosmanswans.com.au/

3) Such is the shortage and heavy useage on AF grounds on the North Shore, Gore Hill Park in St Leonards has been redeveloped with a very expensive, but extremely durable, artificial surface.
It will also have a gym etc. (it is the home of the senior North Shore Bombers AF Club); & total cost was $10,500,000- Federal Govt. $9.5, & Council $1million.

http://newslocal.smedia.com.au/north-shore-times/
Click on calendar icon in top left hand corner (next to "North Shore Times"), then scroll to 16.8.18 edition, then scroll to pg 26.

4 ) AFL CEO G .McLachlan, referring to the shortage of grounds in some parts of Sydney, said it is "almost the biggest challenge facing our game".
East Sydney JFC, which has c. 685 players, had to "turn away" about 70 juniors for the 2017 season.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-has-grounds-for-concern-in-sydney-20170906-gycax1.html



Ref to Item 4.
That fact finding trip Gil did was more than a shock it was a massive wake up call for the Victorian based CEO. He approached the Liberal NSW Govt about several issues on grounds availability and other matters.
For sure they were sympathetic to his requests for more grounds but it is all about playing numbers, and sports politics in the end, but he did have a win with the Randwick Racecourse deal. We assume that with the March Elections up there that whoever wins will stick to the deal.
It was reported that with the redevelopment of some major Stadiums up there they will all be rectangular keeping the status quo.
So that meant as was the case beforehand the SCG (40,000) and Spotless (25,000) will remain as the major Venues for our sport up there, for the forseeable future.

https://ministryofsport.com.au/sydn...w-training-facilities-at-randwick-racecourse/
 

Isaac Cumming No 1

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Ref to Item 4.
That fact finding trip Gil did was more than a shock it was a massive wake up call for the Victorian based CEO. He approached the Liberal NSW Govt about several issues on grounds availability and other matters.
For sure they were sympathetic to his requests for more grounds but it is all about playing numbers, and sports politics in the end, but he did have a win with the Randwick Racecourse deal. We assume that with the March Elections up there that whoever wins will stick to the deal.
It was reported that with the redevelopment of some major Stadiums up there they will all be rectangular keeping the status quo.
So that meant as was the case beforehand the SCG (40,000) and Spotless (25,000) will remain as the major Venues for our sport up there, for the forseeable future.

https://ministryofsport.com.au/sydn...w-training-facilities-at-randwick-racecourse/
How is the SCG and Spotless the status quo? Heard of ANZ?
 
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but he did have a win with the Randwick Racecourse deal. We assume that with the March Elections up there that whoever wins will stick to the deal.

That deal has already fallen over with the Swans and State Government currently redeveloping our current training oval next to the SCG as part of a bigger plan that also involves the Royal Hall of Industries becoming our new HQ. The oval itself will be used by our academy, NEAFL team, future Women's team for matches and training and our senior team will use it year round for training.

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-11-21/lakeside-oval-set-for-major-boost

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-10-05/swans-secure-new-home

The Randwick deal was only ever a backup option.
 

Isaac Cumming No 1

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That deal has already fallen over with the Swans and State Government currently redeveloping our current training oval next to the SCG as part of a bigger plan that also involves the Royal Hall of Industries becoming our new HQ. The oval itself will be used by our academy, NEAFL team, future Women's team for matches and training and our senior team will use it year round for training.

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-11-21/lakeside-oval-set-for-major-boost

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-10-05/swans-secure-new-home

The Randwick deal was only ever a backup option.
Is that too heavy a load for an oval? Particularly if you add an AFLW team to extend the season.

We use Spotless for NEAFL double headers but it's got the lightest load of any main home ground at 8 days a year. We dont use Tom Wills oval for any formal games at all. Maybe it's unsuitable, and certainly an expectation by members we dont pay to go to the club HQ and have open access, but the squads training are pretty big.
 

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Is that too heavy a load for an oval? Particularly if you add an AFLW team to extend the season.

Certainly not when you compare it with Geelong and their use of their oval for AFL, VFL and soon to be AFLW matches plus full time training. In anycase its better than sending our different teams to different parts of Sydney depending on the weather.
 

BringBackTorps

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There is no doubt that Sydney, population c.5,300,000, exerts a very strong influence, or even cultural hegemony, over other parts of NSW- including in sporting matters. All NSW (& virtually all other Australian) media organisations have their HQ's in Sydney.

The strong growth of GR AF in Sydney, therefore, can be argued to have had a beneficial impact on growth of GR AF in other parts of NSW & the ACT (where there are populations of 3,000,000+). This is another very important reason for the AFL's heavy investment in Sydney AF.

An example is the Newcastle/Hunter/Central Coast regions- traditionally areas where AF had very little presence. The Black Diamond AFL has had very strong growth recently, off a small base.
In 2018, the BDAFL had a record 1052 adult male players, and 507 adult women players. There were 15 adult AF clubs, 29 men's teams, & 16 women's teams.
There are a record c.34 jnr girls' teams (not including record large nos. of girls 5y.o- 8 y.o. in Auskick)
In 2014, there were no adult women's teams, no jnr girls' teams, & very few female Auskickers.

http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=36574831
(see pg 23)
 
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Isaac Cumming No 1

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There is no doubt that Sydney, population c.5,300,000, exerts a very strong influence, or even cultural hegemony, over other parts of NSW- including in sporting matters. All NSW media organisations have their HQ's in Sydney.

The strong growth of GR AF in Sydney, therefore, can be argued to have had a beneficial impact on growth of GR AF in other parts of NSW & the ACT (where there are populations of 3,000,000+). This is another very important reason for the AFL's heavy investment in Sydney AF.

An example is the Newcastle/Hunter/Central Coast regions- traditionally areas where AF had very little presence. The Black Diamond AFL has had very strong growth recently, off a small base.
In 2018, the BDAFL had a record 1052 adult male players, and 507 adult women players. There were 15 adult AF clubs, 29 men's teams, & 16 women's teams.
There are a record c.34 jnr girls' teams (not including record large nos. of girls 5y.o- 8 y.o. in Auskick)
In 2014, there were no adult women's teams, no jnr girls' teams, & very few female Auskickers.

http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=36574831
(see pg 23)
Actually not for Australian Rules traditionally The roots in NSW are in the areas miners migrated to last century. The strongest areas remaining are in the southern and western zones where the local comps are influenced by interstate comps more traditionally.
 

BringBackTorps

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More stats. on booming GR AF nos. in Sydney.

(1) In their August 2018 newsletter, Manly Bombers JFC announced it had 650 players- a record. It has 17 teams from U11 upwards (pg 1).

"The Manly Bombers will be adding to the number of girls' teams in 2019...U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 sides next season. This is in addition to the squad of girls in Auskick" (pg 4).

"Record 179 Auskickers" (pg 6) ie kids aged 5 y.o. - 8 y.o.

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/7fcacf_621f8404e97041438177637773d5e7c6.pdf

This Club's website is excellent, a great advertisement for Sydney footy!

(2) Manly Bombers JFC has grown so large it has spawned a new club up the road in Balgowlah Suns (2015), after MBJFC ran out of room.

(3) The Balgowlah Suns did not exist in 2014, but now have 320 jnr. players.

(4) Newtown JFC (inner west) has over 400 players. It only had 200 players a few years ago.

(5) Maroubra JFC, sthn. suburbs, has 559 players- again, huge growth in a few years.
 
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BringBackTorps

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Lane Cove Cats JFC (North Shore) is a new club, forming in only 2013 (from St Michaels Catholic Primary School, starting initially with only 2 small Auskick groups). In 2018, it had a record 144 comp. players, plus 147 young Auskickers.
(New AF clubs nearly always start with the youngest kids).

For its oldest group in 2018, U13 boys, it successfully formed a joint venture with North Ryde Dockers- so LCJFC could have enough players, AND at the appropriate skill level for many newcomers, to field a full U13 team (up to 24 game-day players allowed). In 2019, LCJFC will field U10, U12, & U14 girls' teams- great achievement for such a new club.

Interestingly, LCJFC is promoting junior AF by having separate off-season boys & girls jnr AFL 7's comps. ("Low impact", 7 on the field per team, different jnr age groups, on a 75 metre field, perfect on soccer pitches- & does not interfere with the local cricket club, who have the same AF ovals in summer).

This is clever AF marketing in Sydney in summer, as it also allows new players to AF to "sample" the game- in more "relaxed" game style.
Such a strategy would probably infuriate the local cricket club officials (where local AF Clubs are unofficially "alligned" with the local cricket club, who use the same oval in summer).
I have not before seen this innovative strategy by the AFL to utilise AFL 7's as an off-season development tool for CLUB juniors (ie excluding schools) in NSW & Qld. (or anywhere).
Non-contact adult AFL 9's has been played off-season for 5 years +.

Oh...and Lane Cove JFC has its own Wine Club!? A few nice Grange there, perhaps.

http://www.lanecovecats.com/category/juniors/
(then scroll to 1.10.18 & 29.8.18 Reports)
 
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Kappa

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Growth ? Of course it has grown. So has the population. City has grown by about >20% (+1.1 million) in the last 10yrs. I will assume stats from all codes allow for that baseline variable in their reporting of growth just for starters. 20% growth in 10yrs would obviously be treading water.
The AFL arnt silly. They know which side of the bread the butter is on. All the clubs do as well. They know where a vast % of the billion$plus comes from and would love to see 5 clubs in Sydney if they could. On paper its a great investment....every $ invested in NSW footy they get back in spades every time they sign off on a new network deal. QLD similar story. One of the few "sure thing" long term investments the AFL can make.
Point is though, NSW is not really a "new" AFL state. Footy has been played here since the 1800's just like Vic SA WA Tas. In fact the same talk of growth in NSW has been going on for 100+ years. What matters is what we see with our eyes, coz the stats have always been taken with a grain of salt.
I wont deny good things are in play, i'm simply saying i dont see it reflected in numbers of kids playing the game YET. It has always been the Holy Grail for the code but noone i know has seen growth with their own eyes.
IMO just as much effort should be going into retaining areas such as the Riverina and up thru Canberra. I suspect the AFL just assumes if they grow in Sydney the rest is safe...but it isnt.

The AFL (and us) get lulled into a feeling we have the best thing since sliced bread in terms of our game....to both play and watch. We grew up with it and dont understand why others cant see what we see. It is not seen that way by others...it is seen as a complicated mish mash of players running after a pigskin, and might be entertaining if only they knew what the hell was going on. Noone wants to watch sport that looks over officiated with a rubbery rulebook that is complex. Ask the average taxi driver and they'll tell you the same thing in a thick accent "just dont unnerstand it maaaaaate"

Any half savvy marketer will tell you the terrain has changed as well. Dads dont control what their boys play anymore, mums do. The code they played/followed is also meaningless. Its the same with all sporting codes these days which is why they spend so much $ ramming things like third rate womens cricket and footy (for instance) down our necks....and have a thousand crosses to the sideline for that "awww geeez" picture of someone throwing free ice creams to kiddies, or interview snotty nosed kids at qtr time with a "I Luv Dusty" cap.

EVERY sporting code does it. It is amateurish and rather desperate looking, but every code thinks it is the way to win hearts and minds long term. In a city like Sydney though (where there is no fanatacism) it is pandering to the fickle....and the point most are missing is that the one code doing very little of it is Soccer. They dont need to. It is the only product that sells itself.

I'm exaggerating now, but the AFL would have better luck flat out purchasing sympathetic media and selling itself that way. They have made zero inroads into the media in 30years. That is the only way RL survives afterall....a sympathetic and financially invested media. Give Ruperts boy a call and offer him $1Bill for something, Cash for comment on radio, etc etc....flood the market and you will skip 50 years of caring about dodgy "growth" statistics. Sounds archaic and yes i;m being cynical, but after 100+years trying to sell the game in NSW why keep doing the same thing ? Doing the same marketing as all the other codes isnt helping one iota.

The AFL seems to think they have a product that sells itself. It doesnt. They try to use things like crowd numbers at top level games as material to show they are growing, but in reality they have a tough enough time retaining what they already have. Of course the AFL would like 4 clubs in Sydney and 3 in Brissy. Unfortunately though it is unmentionable until such times that the game becomes grass roots popular rather than the same novelty game the public has watched for 100 years.

If the game sold itself we wouldnt be having this conversation re NSW. It will take something totally different and ruthless to break the mould in Sydney. Wont happen by throwing ice creams at kiddies and pandering to the mums on the tv.

p.s. Its the North West of Sydney where footy has been entrenched. These days though you sometimes hear that called part of "north" sydney but it has never been seen that way. I'd wager including North West Sydney into "Northern" Sydney is just another way of fudging stats.

The Swans are the biggest team in NSW (60k+ members) and the GWS are the same size of a smaller NSW NRL club, the game is doing great in Sydney and it's on a massive upward trend, AFLW and the GWS will have huge long term pay offs
 

BringBackTorps

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If the AFL were to locate a new team in Sydney's far SW or sthn. suburbs in the next 10 - 20 years, there would be a major problem- funding a suitable ground, with a capacity of c. 15,000. Such a stadium could cost $150,000,000+ (not including the land cost), in today's $.

The link below provides some details on the Western Melbourne Group (new A League team), who intend building a small stadium in Tarneit, 30 kms west of Melb. (Currently, cow paddocks only, with no residential properties in immediate vicinity). They intend making profits by developing the farm land into residential housing, & some commercial/retail etc.- then using these profits to fund the stadium.

Council had donated some of the the land to "seed/kick start" the major project, which is in an isolated, agricultural area.
The stadium is intended to be a "drawcard", or a desirable "destination" precinct, for other residents of Melb.'s sprawling western suburbs. If the area becomes a successful "destination", this would increase land values in this stadium area.

The privately-owned property developer, Walker Corporation, has similar strategies for the new A League Macarthur South West team, in Sydney's SW. However, it would use the existing Campbelltown RL ground.

Would the AFL consider similar strategies- & invite private Club owners/property developers- for a new AFL Sydney team, in Sydney's far SW or South?
(The AFL plans to transform its now fully-owned Docklands Stadium, to become a 365 day pa entertainment centre. It will demolish & relocate its HQ from DS, use adjoining land, & convert it to restaurants/conference centres/rooftop bars & nightclubs etc.).

https://www.realcommercial.com.au/n...sformation-to-underpin-new-a-league-franchise
 
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Nov 8, 2000
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Would the AFL consider similar strategies- & invite private Club owners/property developers- for a new AFL Sydney team, in Sydney's far SW or South?
The AFL plans to transform its now fully-owned Docklands Stadium, to become a 365 day pa entertainment centre. It will demolish & relocate its HQ from DS, use adjoining land, & convert it to restaurants/conference centres/rooftop bars & nightclubs etc.

I'm sure they'd consider it, but whilst the AFL's financial position is strong they'd be unlikely to approve it. Private owners come with plenty of baggage and demands of their own which are possibly contrary to the AFL's aims. Never mind the instability that private owners can bring to the clubs themselves.

If I was a betting man, i'd have money on that Tarneit stadium never going ahead, or at the very least a much cheaper, smaller venue than promised. And it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the FFA end up having problems getting some or all of the licence fee out of the WMG owners.
 

NoobPie

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Sep 21, 2016
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No chance the AFL will have private ownership of a franchise.

WMG - the soccer franchise - is an inevitable disaster. The developers will no doubt make a mint out of the property they have been gifted though

If the AFL were to establish another team in Sydney, I'm sure they would co-fund a stadium with council / state government. They would only do that if the Giants were going gangbusters
 

BringBackTorps

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Jan 5, 2017
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R. Cusack, Chairman of prestigeous Shute Shield Eastwood RC, has said on 22.12.18 that:-

. Eastwood will be forced to leave its traditional TG Milner Field home (Sydney nthn suburbs, which has a grandstand & excellent facilities) because the once very strong support for RU in the T G Milner area has collapsed (changing demographics)- otherwise Eastwood would "wither and die". It will move further out to the NW, a stronger RU area.

. "At a national level, our game is on its knees".

. Local "Epping juniors...folded last year, as did Hillview the junior Club...".

https://eastwoodrugby.com.au/2018/12/22/understanding-the-future-by-knowing-the-past/

ABC News 8.12

Adult sub-district Canterbury (Sydney SW) RU Club Chairman, R. Ryan, has been involved in GR RU for 42 years.
He said "Since I've been involved in rugby in Australia, this is the lowest it's been for many, many years...I want to see them (RA- my words) using the AFL model, Auskick, what they use".

Former Wallaby, B. Papworth, President, cited his Shute Shield Eastwood District (ie from the Parramatta River at Meadowbank to the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry) as emblematic of the decline.
"Last year at under 9 level, we had 5 teams. That is a very poor state of affairs".
(The Eastwood Shute Shield District was traditionally strong, but now has only 6 junior RU Clubs- & teams up to U 11 usually have the most players)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12...nal-ahead-of-world-cup/10593520?section=sport
 
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Rabman

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Nov 22, 2016
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It really is disturbing how far Rugby has fallen in this country, from winning world cups and having millions watch the Wallabies on Tv to now being non-existent. Be interesting if Wookie or others could construct a timeline of the fall of Rugby union and highlight poor decisions that have resulted in where the sport is today.
 
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