Expansion Geelong Chief Calls For International Expansion - AGE

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Mar 28, 2010
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So would the draft be scrapped? if not, would players be forced to move overseas to play?

Why would the draft be scrapped? If you're drafted by the Raptors in the NBA, you move to Canada. That's just it. If you wouldn't move, is playing professional sport really your dream?
 

Pykie

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I don't think expanding another team overseas is the way to go.

Starting up another league, all-be-it a lite version, ala the Canadian Football League, which acts as another feeder competition to the AFL for players not quite good enough, or a summer league for draftees that missed out, VFL players, and US recruits is a better model.

The US is the obvious location given the success of their amateur league over there, aim to try and go after a few of the 3rd tier sports like Lacrosse etc in those niche markets.

Infrastructure is obviously the concern over there, money, well the AFL pumped hundreds of millions in the GWS and the Gold Coast, once they own Etihad, spending $200m on a secondary league like that is pretty viable imo.
 
Apr 17, 2006
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I don't think expanding another team overseas is the way to go.

Starting up another league, all-be-it a lite version, ala the Canadian Football League, which acts as another feeder competition to the AFL for players not quite good enough, or a summer league for draftees that missed out, VFL players, and US recruits is a better model.

The US is the obvious location given the success of their amateur league over there, aim to try and go after a few of the 3rd tier sports like Lacrosse etc in those niche markets.

Infrastructure is obviously the concern over there, money, well the AFL pumped hundreds of millions in the GWS and the Gold Coast, once they own Etihad, spending $200m on a secondary league like that is pretty viable imo.
Infrastructure is no issue
Outside major cities it's desolate
Doesn't cost a lot to mow some grass and put up a few poles
 

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Pessimistic

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I don't think expanding another team overseas is the way to go.

Starting up another league, all-be-it a lite version, ala the Canadian Football League, which acts as another feeder competition to the AFL for players not quite good enough, or a summer league for draftees that missed out, VFL players, and US recruits is a better model.

The US is the obvious location given the success of their amateur league over there, aim to try and go after a few of the 3rd tier sports like Lacrosse etc in those niche markets.

Infrastructure is obviously the concern over there, money, well the AFL pumped hundreds of millions in the GWS and the Gold Coast, once they own Etihad, spending $200m on a secondary league like that is pretty viable imo.


But maybe support those leagues more, or start intercountye competitions which could grow into another afl competition.
And use the os trips as chances to showcase top players in action over there in a structured way, consistent from year to year. Not just a junket
 

Pykie

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Infrastructure is no issue
Outside major cities it's desolate
Doesn't cost a lot to mow some grass and put up a few poles

Infrastructure is a huge issue, pretty much all american sports are on rectangular fields, apart from baseball, which obviously wouldn't work either.

I'm talking in the sense of having 5-10k with some seating etc.
 

Clark G

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Why would the draft be scrapped? If you're drafted by the Raptors in the NBA, you move to Canada. That's just it. If you wouldn't move, is playing professional sport really your dream?

Canada isn't exactly far from the USA. Places such as South Africa are very far away from Australia so it is not a valid comparison. If players can't cope with, for instance, living in Brisbane when they are from Adelaide, how would they cope with living on the other side of the planet from where they are from? Going by your logic then, Tom Boyd's dream can't or couldn't have been to play professional sport.

If there was an international team there would have to be some change to the way the draft works is what I am saying.
 
Mar 28, 2010
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Canada isn't exactly far from the USA. Places such as South Africa are very far away from Australia so it is not a valid comparison. If players can't cope with, for instance, living in Brisbane when they are from Adelaide, how would they cope with living on the other side of the planet from where they are from? Going by your logic then, Tom Boyd's dream can't or couldn't have been to play professional sport.

If there was an international team there would have to be some change to the way the draft works is what I am saying.

If the AFL was to expand, they would surely go somewhere close, such as New Zealand, before going further. This makes it a valid comparison. If a sporting league like the NBA, whose sport is global, cannot expand outside of North America, what hope does our sport have?

You basically repeated my point. If you don't wish to travel to a nearby country for your career, you're probably not that passionate about what you're doing. We're not talking about flying halfway around the world and back the next day.
 

Clark G

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If the AFL was to expand, they would surely go somewhere close, such as New Zealand, before going further. This makes it a valid comparison. If a sporting league like the NBA, whose sport is global, cannot expand outside of North America, what hope does our sport have?

You basically repeated my point. If you don't wish to travel to a nearby country for your career, you're probably not that passionate about what you're doing. We're not talking about flying halfway around the world and back the next day.

I agree that NZ could work from a geographical point of view, but the article in the opening post of this thread mentions South Africa which to me implies that expansion should take place in a country like that which is obviously a lot further away than NZ.

Plenty of players do not wish to travel interstate for their career, let alone overseas. Take Chad Wingard for example, he told GWS in the lead up to the 2011 draft that he was not interested in playing for them. You can't say that he isn't passionate about playing footy.
 

Clark G

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Australia and NZ have many aspects of governance standardised. You'd you move overseas to earn $250k/yr and return home every second week.

Maybe if you were recruited to NZ but a place like South Africa is different. Would you want to make two 14 hour plane rides every second week? It would be tiring to say the least.
 

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Maybe if you were recruited to NZ but a place like South Africa is different. Would you want to make two 14 hour plane rides every second week? It would be tiring to say the least.
In that case you would probably have 6 home games in a row and 6 away in a row having an away base in Melbourne. Melbourne having 10 teams allows for International expansion.
 

Clark G

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In that case you would probably have 6 home games in a row and 6 away in a row having an away base in Melbourne. Melbourne having 10 teams allows for International expansion.

Making it undesirable to play for such a team because during runs of home games it would not be possible for players to visit home.
 

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Let's imagine you are driving clockwise around Australia, the starting point is the border on the west of Victoria.

Through SA we pick up 2 teams, heading into WA another 2 before travelling north to Darwin. Been driving for a few days but haven't come across any more.
Then we drive across the top end to Cairns, again nothing.
Time to drive south to Sydney, great we have 1 in Brisbane and another on the Gold Coast.
Sydney throws up yet another 2 clubs before we return to Victoria.

So we have 8 teams in the whole of Australia outside of Victoria, and people see the need to expand the brand overseas.
FFS we haven't even got enough teams in the domestic competition to form more than 1 division, that would see teams relegated and promoted each year. Tanking wouldn't be an issue then.

There are states without even 1 franchise, yet this clown wants to expand overseas. Let's concentrate on becoming the no 1 participating/watched sport in this country.
 

Atom Ant

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Went to India and took a footy with me, it was a novelty and that's all it will ever be there, unless AFL can break the strangle hold cricket has there and a lot of other sport like Hockey, soccer etc then there is no point.
 

GeorgeMullins

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The AFL could - and should - expand. But, it will take a broad vision - and it will take time.
I don't think the AFL have the capabilities to foresee areas in which they could succeed in.
If the game expands on an international level, it will because of individual clubs - not a push from the AFL.
Clubs will look for ways to find new players, and smart clubs will take time to invest in potential hot spots.
I never liked Sheedy, but he was a visionary, always trying new things and thinking beyond the here and now.

I agree, friend - it will have to take an effort of an individual club in the competition to make an international expansion happen.

Essendon could make it happen, but so, too, could say, Hawthorn or even Swans or maybe Port. I say maybe in Port's case, but this club has been somewhat of a maverick, as we would say in the US, yet it could happen.

And yes, it would take time and a wide-ranging vision, but if any one of the clubs I've mentioned were to make it happen, then we may just see an upheaval in the AFL the likes of which hasn't been seen before - and may not be seen again.
 

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Let's imagine you are driving clockwise around Australia, the starting point is the border on the west of Victoria.

Through SA we pick up 2 teams, heading into WA another 2 before travelling north to Darwin. Been driving for a few days but haven't come across any more.
Then we drive across the top end to Cairns, again nothing.
Time to drive south to Sydney, great we have 1 in Brisbane and another on the Gold Coast.
Sydney throws up yet another 2 clubs before we return to Victoria.

So we have 8 teams in the whole of Australia outside of Victoria, and people see the need to expand the brand overseas.
FFS we haven't even got enough teams in the domestic competition to form more than 1 division, that would see teams relegated and promoted each year. Tanking wouldn't be an issue then.

There are states without even 1 franchise, yet this clown wants to expand overseas. Let's concentrate on becoming the no 1 participating/watched sport in this country.

Whats so good about relegation ? Leagues that have it would get rid of it if they could
 

Pessimistic

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It has to be a seperate entity from the afl, thats not to say if it became lucrative enough, australians could play in it

And dont worry too much about the cost, there is money outside australia you know, the irish for one would put money in.
 

bweagles

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Thread bump.

It is incredibly frustrating and baffling to see zero interest in Australia in developing our great game overseas.

There are roughly 30 clubs in the USA that play throughout the year, before heading to a nationals tournament that we hold yearly. We're all going to Sarasota, Florida next week for the USAFL 2016 nationals - zero interest/coverage from the Aussie footy media or the AFL.

The clubs do all the promo work for our game, do all the outreach, all based on local volunteers without any help from the AFL.

Our club in DC has a men's team, women's team and in addition we run a kids clinic and a "touch footy" comp. All of this is based on volunteers at our club - we get no financial support, barely any equipment, no "Auskick" development programs. Courtesy of our partnership with WCE, they've provided us with some gear, but nothing from the AFL.

Expansion doesn't have to be about having a team in this country or that country, but at least put some money/programs in developing the game. Americans are open minded when it comes to new sports, particularly contact sports. There's a market here. We're such an inward looking sport, and you only realise that when you get involved with a club outside of Australia.
 
Apr 17, 2006
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Thread bump.

It is incredibly frustrating and baffling to see zero interest in Australia in developing our great game overseas.

There are roughly 30 clubs in the USA that play throughout the year, before heading to a nationals tournament that we hold yearly. We're all going to Sarasota, Florida next week for the USAFL 2016 nationals - zero interest/coverage from the Aussie footy media or the AFL.

The clubs do all the promo work for our game, do all the outreach, all based on local volunteers without any help from the AFL.

Our club in DC has a men's team, women's team and in addition we run a kids clinic and a "touch footy" comp. All of this is based on volunteers at our club - we get no financial support, barely any equipment, no "Auskick" development programs. Courtesy of our partnership with WCE, they've provided us with some gear, but nothing from the AFL.

Expansion doesn't have to be about having a team in this country or that country, but at least put some money/programs in developing the game. Americans are open minded when it comes to new sports, particularly contact sports. There's a market here. We're such an inward looking sport, and you only realise that when you get involved with a club outside of Australia.
The AFL want their cake, and to eat it too

Unless they can get instant return on investment (tv rights), they will not contribute
 

Boomerfan99

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Maybe if you were recruited to NZ but a place like South Africa is different. Would you want to make two 14 hour plane rides every second week? It would be tiring to say the least.

I am pretty much doing that for my work at the moment. Jetlag is a bitch.
 

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