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AFL match in London
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demonsboy888
Debutant
Seems like Port dont want to be there. When was it decided to send them? If they don't field a full team it jepardises the whole concept and you wonder if the AFL will bother in future cos if the clubs dont support they cant do much about it. But fielding 15 a side would be much much better than cancelling. They just couldnt do that, with advance sales and the ground booked and everything. Dont agree the sanfl and wafl could do better though because if it isnt afl people just dont turn up these days. From that australiantimes article you would think geelong are keen so geelong by 80 points. If this is a farce then it looks pretty bad for future overseas demonstrations. Everyone should write a nasty letter to port. But first I guess we wait and see if the rumours about the side theyll field are true.
rdhopkins2
Carpe Diem
How can we promote the game here seriously if both teams aren't even interested in playing to the full degree. Either play hard or go home! Why not promote it as a kick and giggle match instead and have a few coaching clinics at half time for those who might like to learn a few rules or techniques?
I will be there. Interesting to see how it pans out!
Weather report http://www.meto.gov.uk/lib/includes/fsssi/city/london.html
Lets hope the rain stays away
cheers
Russ
I will be there. Interesting to see how it pans out!
Weather report http://www.meto.gov.uk/lib/includes/fsssi/city/london.html
Lets hope the rain stays away
cheers
Russ
demonsboy888 said:
Fair go guys, these players get told about this game in July, by then they would have already planned their time off to spend with their families, maybe the AFL should let the clubs know a year in advance so players can work in their time off around this game.
And for Port tanking it half way through the year, what a joke, in their last 4 games, they beat Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, Lost to Collingwood by 2 pts and got smashed by the Dockers, hardly sounds like they were going for draft picks.
Soupy said:Bloody ferals. Should have given the opportunity too promote our great game to another club who would do the right thing. Not these ****ers from across the border.
Read the post above, by the way do you realise you are a ****er from across the border aswell?
rdhopkins2 said:
These games have never been anything more a kick and catch with mostly juniors playing. The overseas promotion factor of aussie rules is twaddle as well. The only poms that go are the ones dragged there by there aussie work or flat mates. It is just an excuse for 15,000 Aussies to get together and drink beer and watch some B grade aussie rules. Nothing more nothing less. Trust me I have been to 2 of them.
Papa G, what you say is mostly true, but I think you overlook that there are a growing number of locals playing in Britain. The British League now has 6 teams in its Premiership league, 7 in the Conference, 6 in the Regional and 5 in the Scotland league. Many of these teams now feature plenty of locals. There have also been school programs and juniors matches, though clearly this has taken a backseat to maintaining and growing the senior leagues. These now seem reasonably stable and there is hope of more Regional sides in 2007. There have been major gains in the last 10 years. So there is now a critical mass of players, and many locals are now older and interested in getting their kids into it. ARUK is now working with some of these kids and involving schools, so there will be even more locals feeding into senior clubs in future (be it the BARFL or something else, but that's a separate thread).
My point to all this is that the London AFL match is a great chance for all these new players to see the game live. And is a great chance for Ireland vs Britain as a curtain raiser, and juniors at half time. With the steady growth, this match will only get more important. So if Port effectively stop the match occurring through lack of numbers, it could threaten an increasingly important event for British footy.
While Port did play well at times towards the end of the season, and I'm sure their players on the field were trying, I think their decision to have all their injured players go in for surgery rather than wait for the end of the season as per usual could constitute tanking, or at least aiming for 2007 rather than finishing off 2006 - it just turned out their kids were good enough to get them over the line a few times (including against the Crows who appeared to be playing as though it wasn't a Showdown - took it very casually and paid the price against a much more desperate side).
So maybe there will be 15,000 drunk Aussies, but there will probably also be 500 - 1000 Poms with a genuine interest in the game, and that number will only grow if supported. So there does need to be a way to ensure that the teams going are in a position to put on a good show and not feel as though they would rather not be there.
My point to all this is that the London AFL match is a great chance for all these new players to see the game live. And is a great chance for Ireland vs Britain as a curtain raiser, and juniors at half time. With the steady growth, this match will only get more important. So if Port effectively stop the match occurring through lack of numbers, it could threaten an increasingly important event for British footy.
While Port did play well at times towards the end of the season, and I'm sure their players on the field were trying, I think their decision to have all their injured players go in for surgery rather than wait for the end of the season as per usual could constitute tanking, or at least aiming for 2007 rather than finishing off 2006 - it just turned out their kids were good enough to get them over the line a few times (including against the Crows who appeared to be playing as though it wasn't a Showdown - took it very casually and paid the price against a much more desperate side).
So maybe there will be 15,000 drunk Aussies, but there will probably also be 500 - 1000 Poms with a genuine interest in the game, and that number will only grow if supported. So there does need to be a way to ensure that the teams going are in a position to put on a good show and not feel as though they would rather not be there.
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- #34
- Thread starter
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http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20626515%5E20322,00.html
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/10/23/1161455614311.html
Disappointing crowd of just over 12,000 at The Oval yesterday, well down on last year (approx 19,000).
Still a great day and a lot of fun was had by all.
Given the number of Aussies in London, however, there is no excuse for it not be a complete sell-out every year.
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/10/23/1161455614311.html
Disappointing crowd of just over 12,000 at The Oval yesterday, well down on last year (approx 19,000).
Still a great day and a lot of fun was had by all.
Given the number of Aussies in London, however, there is no excuse for it not be a complete sell-out every year.
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- #37
If you live and work in London £20 is the equivalent of $20.
As an example, a pint of beer is £3. If you have been here a while you don't convert it to Aussie dollars, only new arrivals do that!
So the cost of the ticket is not the reason why the crowd was so small.
As an example, a pint of beer is £3. If you have been here a while you don't convert it to Aussie dollars, only new arrivals do that!
So the cost of the ticket is not the reason why the crowd was so small.
So what do you reckon the main reason was for the drop on last year? The cricket or the teams (plenty of West Australians in London and last year was a Derby) or something else? Hate to say it but I suspect that playing it every year reduces the novelty value, even amongst expats. Just a thought from afar.
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WFN2004 said:
I have been here for the last five years and always gone along.
The weather looked as if it was going to be bad which stopped a few going. As it turned out it was partly sunny and did not rain heavily until an hour afterwards.
The match is more about seeing players fight and streakers on the ground, and an excuse to have some beers.
I think the cricket and tri nations had an effect on the crowd. There was a lot more interest in the cricket than the footy. The games are always bad but the kick to kick afterwards is fun.
- Banned
- #40
So what about the curtainraiser?
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cos789 said:
I am not sure about the curtain raiser. I was about three minutes late into the ground.
- Thread starter
- #42
I helped umpire the curtain-raiser, although only as a boundary. Still, not a bad view to see the game.
The Irish league has been struggling but they still gave the Bulldogs a major hiding. To their credit the Bulldogs did come back towards the end of the match, but the game was well and truly over by that stage. The final margin was 22 points I think.
The Irish league has been struggling but they still gave the Bulldogs a major hiding. To their credit the Bulldogs did come back towards the end of the match, but the game was well and truly over by that stage. The final margin was 22 points I think.
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- #43
Demetriou defends London matches
25 October 2006
Herald-Sun
Mike Sheahan
THE newsreader completed a brief item about the Geelong-Port Adelaide fixture in London, then said: "Now, to real sport . . . "
Online poll: Should the AFL persist with the London matches?
He didn't sound like he was trying to editorialise or be funny, yet he made a point.
Why is the AFL persisting with these half-baked, irrelevant, uninteresting post-season fixtures at The Oval?
The television networks lost interest long ago, the football fraternity in Australia couldn't care less and, it seems, the expatriate community in and around London is wavering.
According to media reports, a crowd of 12,129 attended the exhibition game between clubs that finished 10th (Geelong) and 12th (Port) this year.
The game ended early -- by as much as four minutes -- because of streakers invading the field, the inevitability of the result (Geelong by 21 points), ominous tension among the players and general lack of interest.
How is Australian football enhanced on the international stage by a game between two teams minus most of their best players and competing for nothing of any significance to justify an end-of-season trip?
We went to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou yesterday in search of an answer/s.
Is the game being demeaned?
"I hear that it is, (but) I'm looking for more evidence to show that it is," he said.
"What damage has it done? I'm still waiting on a full report and I'm not going to make judgments on media reports because they're highly inflammatory and they're not entirely accurate, either.
"The game was called off 2 1/2 minutes early; it was played in pretty good spirits; there was a scuffle in the crowd; and there were two streakers, which is less than previous years.
"The crowd was 14,000, not 12,000, as reported.
"We think it's good to provide some entertainment for some Australians in London."
The former North Melbourne wingman played in the infamous Carlton-North game of 1987, an event dubbed the new Battle of Britain after a rolling brawl erupted.
The game degenerated into constant sniping and fighting after then North player Alastair Clarkson broke Ian Aitken's jaw behind play.
"(Carlton's) Jimmy Buckley belted me in that game," Demetriou said, still indignant at the thought.
"He smacked me in the mouth after the big fight started. I said, 'What are you doing?' and I got the 'If one of our blokes goes down, one of yours goes down, too' response.
"All those games used to end in all-in brawls. We haven't had brawls recently."
Demetriou said the AFL planned to expand its international presence, not wind it back.
"We plan to play more games abroad. Dubai, Japan, South Africa are other places where we want to play games. We played one in LA earlier in the year. It had 4000 and I didn't see anyone complaining about the crowd there.
"I would have thought nearly 14,000 people wasn't a bad crowd. It's still more than we got at Manuka this year.
"I think most clubs find it far better than end-of-season trips.
"It's also good for us in so far as our brand is concerned.
"Is it the best brand of football played in a year? No.
"Is it serving a developmental role for us? Yes.
"Is it good for the two clubs who participate each year? Yes."
Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20635379%5E20322,00.html
25 October 2006
Herald-Sun
Mike Sheahan
THE newsreader completed a brief item about the Geelong-Port Adelaide fixture in London, then said: "Now, to real sport . . . "
Online poll: Should the AFL persist with the London matches?
He didn't sound like he was trying to editorialise or be funny, yet he made a point.
Why is the AFL persisting with these half-baked, irrelevant, uninteresting post-season fixtures at The Oval?
The television networks lost interest long ago, the football fraternity in Australia couldn't care less and, it seems, the expatriate community in and around London is wavering.
According to media reports, a crowd of 12,129 attended the exhibition game between clubs that finished 10th (Geelong) and 12th (Port) this year.
The game ended early -- by as much as four minutes -- because of streakers invading the field, the inevitability of the result (Geelong by 21 points), ominous tension among the players and general lack of interest.
How is Australian football enhanced on the international stage by a game between two teams minus most of their best players and competing for nothing of any significance to justify an end-of-season trip?
We went to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou yesterday in search of an answer/s.
Is the game being demeaned?
"I hear that it is, (but) I'm looking for more evidence to show that it is," he said.
"What damage has it done? I'm still waiting on a full report and I'm not going to make judgments on media reports because they're highly inflammatory and they're not entirely accurate, either.
"The game was called off 2 1/2 minutes early; it was played in pretty good spirits; there was a scuffle in the crowd; and there were two streakers, which is less than previous years.
"The crowd was 14,000, not 12,000, as reported.
"We think it's good to provide some entertainment for some Australians in London."
The former North Melbourne wingman played in the infamous Carlton-North game of 1987, an event dubbed the new Battle of Britain after a rolling brawl erupted.
The game degenerated into constant sniping and fighting after then North player Alastair Clarkson broke Ian Aitken's jaw behind play.
"(Carlton's) Jimmy Buckley belted me in that game," Demetriou said, still indignant at the thought.
"He smacked me in the mouth after the big fight started. I said, 'What are you doing?' and I got the 'If one of our blokes goes down, one of yours goes down, too' response.
"All those games used to end in all-in brawls. We haven't had brawls recently."
Demetriou said the AFL planned to expand its international presence, not wind it back.
"We plan to play more games abroad. Dubai, Japan, South Africa are other places where we want to play games. We played one in LA earlier in the year. It had 4000 and I didn't see anyone complaining about the crowd there.
"I would have thought nearly 14,000 people wasn't a bad crowd. It's still more than we got at Manuka this year.
"I think most clubs find it far better than end-of-season trips.
"It's also good for us in so far as our brand is concerned.
"Is it the best brand of football played in a year? No.
"Is it serving a developmental role for us? Yes.
"Is it good for the two clubs who participate each year? Yes."
Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20635379%5E20322,00.html
clarkey said:
That's not true. Average wages in London are not 2 and a half times that of Australia. Things, generally, do not cost 2 and a half times more. Housing is a bastard, but things like food, alcohol and transport are fairly comparable. I found the fresh produce there to be in the most part slightly cheaper (if a little substandard in quality). You can get a flight across Europe for well under $100. You can't fly from Perth to Kalgoorlie for that.
I reckon a comparable amount in Aussie dollars would be about $35 - still far too expensive for a nothing match between 2 reserve teams.
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clarkey said:
Agreed. You tend to find that average wages are not an ideal indicator in London as well. £20 for a gig is standard, especially when you have been here for a while.
Tim_#8 said:
it is already on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwuCk0NuLA0
the game was not televised (apart from some news clippings), so you'll struggle to find any better than that
- Thread starter
- #49
Some photos from the day are now online:
http://www.aussierulesuk.com/aflmatchphotos2006.php
Still waiting for action shots to come in from the various dads!
http://www.aussierulesuk.com/aflmatchphotos2006.php
Still waiting for action shots to come in from the various dads!
