GWS is the AFL's biggest problem - not North, GC, or Tassie

[Freomaniac]

NRL clubs in the area have been playing for a century or more. They are not 'big clubs' by AFL standards.

Pre Covid 2019 showed the Eels average 18k Tigers 15k Panthers & Bulldogs about 12k each

Why will GWS be a big club at any time in the next 100 years?

I hope they are a success, but how will we rate that success. How will we measure it? When?

Serious question.... are you gonna be around for another 30 or 40 years?

I might. I will be very old by then.

Sydney Swans since 1982 had its fair share of ups and downs. Its 2023 now.

Sydney making finals in 1986-7 helped boost up the crowds. Swans were dire in 1990-1994.

When swans made the grand final in 1996, the crowds flocked again.


GWS started in 2012. Wonder how they will be like in 2052.

 

[Perry Pie]

GWS played a home game in Sydney on 1 April (round 3), next one is round 10 on 25 May. You cannot build a home team following if you spend 7 weeks wandering around the country. They have to play at home in west Sydney far more often. Commit, play 11 games in West Sydney.

 

[Walshawk]

GWS played a home game in Sydney on 1 April (round 3), next one is round 10 on 25 May. You cannot build a home team following if you spend 7 weeks wandering around the country. They have to play at home in west Sydney far more often. Commit, play 11 games in West Sydney.

That is due to Showgrounds not being available post Easter Show. Solutions are - an Easter Saturday game v Swans at Homebush, and a game or two at SCG.

 

[madmug]

Serious question.... are you gonna be around for another 30 or 40 years?

I might. I will be very old by then.

Sydney Swans since 1982 had its fair share of ups and downs. Its 2023 now.

Sydney making finals in 1986-7 helped boost up the crowds. Swans were dire in 1990-1994.

When swans made the grand final in 1996, the crowds flocked again.


GWS started in 2012. Wonder how they will be like in 2052.

I'll be just over 70 when they kick off, so I hope I'll be ok to get to a game or 2. Family has some health issues so hopefully they'll be ok too.

I hope we can rekindle the real heart of footy here. That way they'll get good support wherever they are on the ladder.

GWS are a hard one. the Swans soaked up all the AFL support in the city 20 years ago. Its hard to create a whole new following our of nothing in a relatively non sports area. They dont attend NRL or Aleague en mess now.

 

[Ausbenito]

Am in the West but fully committed to the AFL supporting the Giants for eternity after watching their great comeback in the last quarter at the SCG has got me thinking with the 2 WA sides sharing Optus and it works very well as it does in Adelaide.
Should the Giants be playing more games at the SCG?
They would probably get some Swans supporters attending as the Dockers did originally get eagles not sure they still do and games at the SCG are definitely better to watch on tv.
Am not thinking the whole season but creating a timeslot that works there be it Thursday nights or Friday nights still remember as a lad sitting down regularly on a Friday night to watch Capper and the Swans go around in front of big crowds it was the whole start of the Swans creating a bigger better profile
So create a timeslot for 3 or 4 games a season for the Giants at the SCG 3 more at least at Manuka Oval then the remaining in the best timeslot at Sydney Showgrounds which is?
My scenario does involve Melbourne teams playing extra games in NSW probably at Manuka maybe North or Hawthorn when the Tassie sponsorship deal disappears.
Any support for this type of arrangement?

 

[Ausbenito]

GWS played a home game in Sydney on 1 April (round 3), next one is round 10 on 25 May. You cannot build a home team following if you spend 7 weeks wandering around the country. They have to play at home in west Sydney far more often. Commit, play 11 games in West Sydney.

What's the best timeslot for giants supporters at the Showground Stadium? Also what is the typical time required to travel from the Showground to the SCG?

 

[Freomaniac]

I'll be just over 70 when they kick off, so I hope I'll be ok to get to a game or 2. Family has some health issues so hopefully they'll be ok too.

I hope we can rekindle the real heart of footy here. That way they'll get good support wherever they are on the ladder.

GWS are a hard one. the Swans soaked up all the AFL support in the city 20 years ago. Its hard to create a whole new following our of nothing in a relatively non sports area. They dont attend NRL or Aleague en mess now.

Well I am born the same year as the eagles and Brisbane had their 1st year in the big league. Yep that's 1987.

The point is I will be 39 or 40 when the Tassie team enters the comp in 2027.

But saying that.... Swans got all the support of NSW prior to 2012? Debatable.

It was good that the swans won the 2012 flag. It boosted up the following of the AFL in NSW.

AFL knew what they were doing with GWS. As I said.... There's a massive area of NSW that needed to be converted to Aussie rules fans.

Yes there is 2-3 million people in Western NSW. AFL doesn't expect to convert all of them.

There's suburbs and areas like Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith, mount Druitt and Canterbury. Saints legend Lenny Hayes is from pennant Hills, another western NSW suburb.

There's only 500,000 in Tassie and we all know that 100 percent of that population will get behind the AFL side.

I just wish there was 400,000 people living in Hobart as you could easily get 20-25,000 of them at the home games most weeks

 

[Perry Pie]

That is due to Showgrounds not being available post Easter Show. Solutions are - an Easter Saturday game v Swans at Homebush, and a game or two at SCG.

OK, didnt know that. Thanks.
They did the Sydney game as you suggest already.

 

[madmug]

Well I am born the same year as the eagles and Brisbane had their 1st year in the big league. Yep that's 1987.

The point is I will be 39 or 40 when the Tassie team enters the comp in 2027.

But saying that.... Swans got all the support of NSW prior to 2012? Debatable.

It was good that the swans won the 2012 flag. It boosted up the following of the AFL in NSW.

AFL knew what they were doing with GWS. As I said.... There's a massive area of NSW that needed to be converted to Aussie rules fans.

Yes there is 2-3 million people in Western NSW. AFL doesn't expect to convert all of them.

There's suburbs and areas like Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith, mount Druitt and Canterbury. Saints legend Lenny Hayes is from pennant Hills, another western NSW suburb.

There's only 500,000 in Tassie and we all know that 100 percent of that population will get behind the AFL side.

I just wish there was 400,000 people living in Hobart as you could easily get 20-25,000 of them at the home games most weeks

No, I've suggested the Swans soaked up all the then AFL support. ie Expats who like Aussie rule, locals who are Aussie riles followers. They got a boost from the Super league wars of 1995. That & the GF appearance in 1996 against North Melbourne.

GWS were 25 years late on the scene, so have to create a whole new culture in the broad west of Sydney. Not only for Aussie rules, but also just going to sports events,

Good luck with that.

 

[Freomaniac]

No, I've suggested the Swans soaked up all the then AFL support. ie Expats who like Aussie rule, locals who are Aussie riles followers. They got a boost from the Super league wars of 1995. That & the GF appearance in 1996 against North Melbourne.

GWS were 25 years late on the scene, so have to create a whole new culture in the broad west of Sydney. Not only for Aussie rules, but also just going to sports events,

Good luck with that.

Well it helps that Sydney Swans had a 30 year head start compared to GWS.

At least with GWS, they have 32,000 members. So that's a plus.

I have no issues with GWS averaging 10-12,000 people a game now. If they slowly increase the average by 500 people in the next 8 years, that's 14-16,000 in a 25,000 seat GWS stadium.

Same with gold coast, happy for them to average 10-12,000 now then 13-15,000 by the end of the decade.

Both GWS and gold coast will be around for many decades yet.

I do wish the best for tassie.

I wished more Hobart people didn't move to the mainland 20-25 years ago.

That would be 300-350,000 in Hobart.

 

[Bjo187]

Well it helps that Sydney Swans had a 30 year head start compared to GWS.

At least with GWS, they have 32,000 members. So that's a plus.

I have no issues with GWS averaging 10-12,000 people a game now. If they slowly increase the average by 500 people in the next 8 years, that's 14-16,000 in a 25,000 seat GWS stadium.

Same with gold coast, happy for them to average 10-12,000 now then 13-15,000 by the end of the decade.

Both GWS and gold coast will be around for many decades yet.

I do wish the best for tassie.

I wished more Hobart people didn't move to the mainland 20-25 years ago.

That would be 300-350,000 in Hobart.

Tasmania is estimated to have 650k people in 10 years time. That's pretty significant of a population, when one team has a monopoly on the whole state forever.

 

[kranger]

A bit of a simplification of the broadcast agreements, but an annual revenue from each agreement is as follows (ignoring reduce games in covid years) and being mindful that later agreements include greater amounts of contra:

Timeline of VFL/AFL Broadcast Rights - Sports Industry AU

Timeline of AFL Broadcast Rights 1960 – the VFL rejects an offer of 14,000 pounds to broadcast the last quarter

www.footyindustry.com

1988 - $6m - 14 teams - 154 games
1989 - $6m - 14t - 154g
1990 - $6m - 14t - 154g
1991 - $6m - 15t - 165g - Crows join
1992 - $6m - 15t - 165g
1993 - $17m - 15t - 150g
1994 - $17m - 15t - 165g
1995 - $17m - 16t - 176g - Freo join
1996 - $17m - 16t - 176g
1997 - $17m - 16t - 176g - Fitzroy/Bears merge & Port join
1998 - $17m - 16t - 176g
1999 - $40m - 16t - 176g
2000 - $40m - 16t - 176g
2001 - $40m - 16t - 176g
2002 - $100m - 16t - 176g - Foxtel broadcast
2003 - $100m - 16t - 176g
2004 - $100m - 16t - 176g
2005 - $100m - 16t - 176g
2006 - $100m - 16t - 176g
2007 - $150m - 16t - 176g
2008 - $150m - 16t - 176g
2009 - $150m - 16t - 176g
2010 - $150m - 16t - 176g
2011 - $150m - 17t - 187g - Suns join
2012 - $250m - 18t - 198g - Giants join & Telstra broadcast
2013 - $250m - 18t - 198g
2014 - $250m - 18t - 198g
2015 - $250m - 18t - 198g
2016 - $250m - 18t - 198g
2017 - $417m - 18t - 198g - AFLW begin
2018 - $417m - 18t - 198g
2019 - $417m - 18t - 198g
2020 - $417m - 18t - 198g (covid)
2021 - $417m - 18t - 198g (covid)
2022 - $417m - 18t - 198g
2023 - $473m - 18t - 207g - Gather Rnd begin
2024 - $473m - 18t - 207g
2025 - $643m - 18t - 207g
2026 - $643m - 18t - 207g
2027 - $643m - 18t - 207g
2028 - $643m - 19t - 218g - Tas join
2029 - $643m - 19t - 218g
2030 - $643m - 19t - 218g
2031 - $643m - 19t - 218g

When the broadcast deal was made for the 2012 season, which included the Suns and Giants, it increased by $100m or 40% than the previous deal. But the extra number of games only increased by 22games or 11%. It did now include Telstra joining the broadcast deal.

Does directing $25m a year to the Suns and the Giants ($50m combined) get outweighed by the broadcast agreement increasing by $100m a year, and even more since then?

Are the Suns and Giants valuable as they allow more games to be broadcast into NSW and QLD containing a local team (despite apparently being so lowly supported)?

Would the subsequent broadcast deals be so big if team 17 & 18 were not in NSW and QLD (which have 50% of Australia’s population), but instead in SA and WA as third teams (which have 17% of Australia’s population)?

Would future broadcast deals decrease more if the Suns and Giants were removed (taking away a local team in NSW and QLD), or if two Victorians teams were removed (despite having more fans) where local teams struggle to get their games on free-to-air tv?

What I am getting at, are the Suns and Giants (despite appearing to have poor memberships, poor crowds and needing greater financial support from the AFL) actually a greater contributor than burden because of their ‘value’ in broadcast deals?

I guess only the AFL and broadcasters can really answer that.

 

[Walshawk]

GWS say there are only 2k people playing footy in Western Sydney. I wonder if this includes Auskick?
If you look at Auskick site you will see than most centres in the western suburbs are inactive. Were these once active?

Club Finder - Play AFL

www.play.afl

From The Age…
A week after Swans chairman Andrew Pridham’s assertion that the game was “going backwards in New South Wales”, Shepherd said the AFL needed to act urgently to address the crisis enfolding the game in Sydney’s west. His chief executive Dave Matthews last week said the NRL was bigger in Sydney than when the Giants started.

Shepherd said the AFL had fewer than 2000 registered players in a growing population of more than 2.65 million across western Sydney

Righting a wrong: the new Tasmanian team and the ‘bulletproof’ deal

Gillon McLachlan helped get the ball rolling for a team in Tasmania and this week’s announcement is his greatest achievement. And he says a Tasmanian AFLW team may be up and running as early as 2026.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Gigantor]

It's probably true that league is stronger in Western Sydney than when the Giants were formed.
Arguably, that's a case for doubling down.

 

[BanksfielderIdiot3176]

Okay, I’ve been reading through this topic with great interest, but now I want to lay my two cents on this, and I’m nearly alone on this case, so please hear me out.

GWS does have its problems, but it is NOT solely a lack of interest; it’s a bit more than that.

Firstly, the pricing among the club and the AFL is a big factor; this is a team that represents the most disadvantaged side of Sydney; an area that has pockets of suburbs where some of us JUST have enough in the budget to keep a roof over our heads. No surprises too, since Sydney itself is so expensive to live in, if the always-rising tolls and costs of living are anything to go by.

There’s an outstanding reason why there’s both low attendance numbers at some games, and in others we always see families with kids over at Giants Stadium: it’s because the family ticket is the cheapest ticket in town: $12.50. Meanwhile, General Admission is $25 a head. That may not seem like much to some of us, but there are loads of Western Sydney people who either barrack for the Giants, or just outright love football, that are simply unable to fork out $25 a week to head to the footy, much less afford a membership. It’s a situation of choosing between having enough to pay for electricity or having to join the dole queue at centrelink so you hopefully don’t end up on the street or in a housing commission.

Next is the lack of representation, and Manuka, I’m looking straight at you. GWS plays a bunch of their home games in Canberra, and that can sometimes mean that there’s little opportunity for Western Sydney to get to the match, if not being able to fork out $25 a week is anything, try not being able to attend all of their home matches, since some of them requires a trip to Canberra. How much further will that cost? And it certainly doesn’t help when some of Western Sydney’s potential recruiting areas are under a Sydney Swans zone.

And then there’s the investment. The AFL need to find a way to invest in more footy facilities in this part of town and to also find a way to make it more affordable. Whether that’s by luring big clubs to play the Giants at home or not, I don’t know, but do something. Don’t just throw WS in the ‘too hard’ basket and move on. It has to be said: Gather Round was such a missed opportunity for NSW. That could’ve let in that much needed investment.

The AFL and the free-to-air broadcasters (Seven Network and the radio stations) also have a responsibility in footy’s investment as well as far as footy broadcast into Sydney is concerned. The fact that footy on ATN Seven in Sydney always gets haplessly banished to 7Mate including at times when there is nothing on to warrant use of ATN-7’s main channel (like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup) is ridiculous, even more so when one realises that the 7Mate banishment also includes some select Swans and Giants games. And don’t get me started on the radio broadcast; there is hardly a footy match on the air unless it’s the Grand Final, just about every station in town is off and away broadcasting some NRL match as if it’s the only sport in the country. Pathetic.

As far as interest in footy goes, this is a big section of Sydney, and this will be important to note:

Not everyone in Western Sydney follows or cares about Rugby League.

The common claim by the NRL and the Nine Network that Western Sydney is a “RuGbY lEaGuE hEaRtLaNd” is an absolutely rubbish and moot claim. This is NOT Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, this is Western Sydney. West Syd is not just Parramatta and Penrith; it’s also several other areas around the district like Hoxton Park, Greystanes or Edensor Park in Fairfield (where I’m from) where a load of people here simply do not care about Rugby League, much less the NRL. In fact, no matter what Peter ‘Ruhbah Leeg’ V’Landys wants to say, the dominant competition that footy faces down this corner of the NSW capital is actually soccer.

So yeah, there are stuff that can be done for GWS rather than just throwing them away in the doomed basket. It’s a good thing for them that GWS have at least made a Grand Final (even though they got absolutely destroyed by the Punt Rd mafia, but never mind that) and they have such a good group of players, let alone Toby Greene, a good group of coaches

Seriously, I believe in the Giants’ potential, and I don’t even barrack for the Giants; this is all coming from a bloody Pies man; someone who grew up in Bankstown and Fairfield loving footy, barracking for Collingwood ever since I was a little 5-year-old watching his first game and watching over the years the likes of Bucks, Davis, Rocca, Maxwell and a young Pendles doing their thing.

Maybe it might be a big help for the Giants if that 20th licence was to go to Canberra, but I’m just guessing. But as far as the AFL and the Giants’ responsibility in expanding the development of footy in West Syd, in the words of one John Kennedy: “Don’t think, DO!”

Sorry, just wanted to let my thoughts out, since it’s been bothering me for a while.

 

[Bjo187]

Okay, I’ve been reading through this topic with great interest, but now I want to lay my two cents on this, and I’m nearly alone on this case, so please hear me out.

GWS does have its problems, but it is NOT solely a lack of interest; it’s a bit more than that.

Firstly, the pricing among the club and the AFL is a big factor; this is a team that represents the most disadvantaged side of Sydney; an area that has pockets of suburbs where some of us JUST have enough in the budget to keep a roof over our heads. No surprises too, since Sydney itself is so expensive to live in, if the always-rising tolls and costs of living are anything to go by.

There’s an outstanding reason why there’s both low attendance numbers at some games, and in others we always see families with kids over at Giants Stadium: it’s because the family ticket is the cheapest ticket in town: $12.50. Meanwhile, General Admission is $25 a head. That may not seem like much to some of us, but there are loads of Western Sydney people who either barrack for the Giants, or just outright love football, that are simply unable to fork out $25 a week to head to the footy, much less afford a membership. It’s a situation of choosing between having enough to pay for electricity or having to join the dole queue at centrelink so you hopefully don’t end up on the street or in a housing commission.

Next is the lack of representation, and Manuka, I’m looking straight at you. GWS plays a bunch of their home games in Canberra, and that can sometimes mean that there’s little opportunity for Western Sydney to get to the match, if not being able to fork out $25 a week is anything, try not being able to attend all of their home matches, since some of them requires a trip to Canberra. How much further will that cost? And it certainly doesn’t help when some of Western Sydney’s potential recruiting areas are under a Sydney Swans zone.

And then there’s the investment. The AFL need to find a way to invest in more footy facilities in this part of town and to also find a way to make it more affordable. Whether that’s by luring big clubs to play the Giants at home or not, I don’t know, but do something. Don’t just throw WS in the ‘too hard’ basket and move on. It has to be said: Gather Round was such a missed opportunity for NSW. That could’ve let in that much needed investment.

The AFL and the free-to-air broadcasters (Seven Network and the radio stations) also have a responsibility in footy’s investment as well as far as footy broadcast into Sydney is concerned. The fact that footy on ATN Seven in Sydney always gets haplessly banished to 7Mate including at times when there is nothing on to warrant use of ATN-7’s main channel (like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup) is ridiculous, even more so when one realises that the 7Mate banishment also includes some select Swans and Giants games. And don’t get me started on the radio broadcast; there is hardly a footy match on the air unless it’s the Grand Final, just about every station in town is off and away broadcasting some NRL match as if it’s the only sport in the country. Pathetic.

As far as interest in footy goes, this is a big section of Sydney, and this will be important to note:

Not everyone in Western Sydney follows or cares about Rugby League.

The common claim by the NRL and the Nine Network that Western Sydney is a “RuGbY lEaGuE hEaRtLaNd” is an absolutely rubbish and moot claim. This is NOT Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, this is Western Sydney. West Syd is not just Parramatta and Penrith; it’s also several other areas around the district like Hoxton Park, Greystanes or Edensor Park in Fairfield (where I’m from) where a load of people here simply do not care about Rugby League, much less the NRL. In fact, no matter what Peter ‘Ruhbah Leeg’ V’Landys wants to say, the dominant competition that footy faces down this corner of the NSW capital is actually soccer.

So yeah, there are stuff that can be done for GWS rather than just throwing them away in the doomed basket. It’s a good thing for them that GWS have at least made a Grand Final (even though they got absolutely destroyed by the Punt Rd mafia, but never mind that) and they have such a good group of players, let alone Toby Greene, a good group of coaches

Seriously, I believe in the Giants’ potential, and I don’t even barrack for the Giants; this is all coming from a bloody Pies man; someone who grew up in Bankstown and Fairfield loving footy, barracking for Collingwood ever since I was a little 5-year-old watching his first game and watching over the years the likes of Bucks, Davis, Rocca, Maxwell and a young Pendles doing their thing.

Maybe it might be a big help for the Giants if that 20th licence was to go to Canberra, but I’m just guessing. But as far as the AFL and the Giants’ responsibility in expanding the development of footy in West Syd, in the words of one John Kennedy: “Don’t think, DO!”

Sorry, just wanted to let my thoughts out, since it’s been bothering me for a while.

Great stuff from a fan on the ground in western sydney. The giants could start by converting people like yourself into giants fans, I often hear there are enough AFL fans in western sydney for a club to have a good solid supporter base, but for some reason those people haven't jumped on board.

Out of interest, what's the reason that you are a footy fan born and bred in western sydney, that you haven't given the giants a chance as 'your team'?

I've actually spoken on the giants page just the other day about sen Sydney being a disgrace and hutchie doing the opposite to promote the game in Sydney despite his sporting platform. I encouraged people to email him via the following to let him know that as an AFL person, he is letting the game down in Sydney by being an nrl boys club sycophant. The funny thing is, he is more than happy to promote the nrl on sen Melbourne and Perth, this despite it having statistically less interest than afl does in Sydney.

Email questions to:
thesoundingboard@sen.com.au
Also can message on Facebook or Twitter on the sounding board page under 'questions'.

Or can text while he is live on air Saturday mornings on sen Melbourne: 04 3398 1116
Or text sen Sydney: 04 57 736 736

 

[BanksfielderIdiot3176]

Great stuff from a fan on the ground in western sydney. The giants could start by converting people like yourself into giants fans, I often hear there are enough AFL fans in western sydney for a club to have a good solid supporter base, but for some reason those people haven't jumped on board.

Out of interest, what's the reason that you are a footy fan born and bred in western sydney, that you haven't given the giants a chance as 'your team'?

I've actually spoken on the giants page just the other day about sen Sydney being a disgrace and hutchie doing the opposite to promote the game in Sydney despite his sporting platform. I encouraged people to email him via the following to let him know that as an AFL person, he is letting the game down in Sydney by being an nrl boys club sycophant. The funny thing is, he is more than happy to promote the nrl on sen Melbourne and Perth, this despite it having statistically less interest than afl does in Sydney.

Email questions to:
thesoundingboard@sen.com.au
Also can message on Facebook or Twitter on the sounding board page under 'questions'.

Or can text while he is live on air Saturday mornings on sen Melbourne: 04 3398 1116
Or text sen Sydney: 04 57 736 736

Cheers. Well me being a footy fan, I found myself having a genuine love for the game; not a manufactured and pretend interest like RL in high school. In fact, I just couldn’t find the capacity to give a rat’s backside about league. There’s just more reasons to be invested in a match of footy whether you’re at the foot of the G or you’re doona’d up at home watching on Seven.

Some big aspects are that there is always activity happening, the supporters are passionate and know how to take some and give some back while remaining in control (in a way that while we hate our arch-rivals, we’re still mates after all) and the only stoppages are to break a contest and have the umpire throw the ball up, whereas RL is just a side-to-side repetitive affair, mindlessly over exaggerated in its advertising, constant stopping, love of violence, and don’t get me started on the supporters.

I also had a thing for traditions and history of footy, and back then, I could just tell that Collingwood was to be my club, even though my Dad barracks for the Swans. Plus, I absolutely felt at home whenever I was in Victoria, and my first suburb in Melbourne was Clifton Hill; right near Vic Park. There’s just something about Melbourne that makes me feel at home there just like Fairfield in a way that Sydney never did. (Now though, Dandenong’s my home away from home, especially whenever I need my jam doughnuts and potato cakes or just a weekend escape to Melbourne)

As for not giving a chance to GWS as ‘my team’, Unbelievably, I didn’t get to hear much around the time that GWS started, since this was around the time that I was in a High School in Bankstown, which was filled with Rugby League meatheads, and sure enough, Canterbury made the NRL grand final for two of those years, so I couldn’t get much of a quiet break when I was going in between the house and the school. I do owe it to my family though for not forcing the NRL down my throat while we’re at home. (we’re Fijians, a nation known for its passion of Rugby Union, so for that to happen is quite something)

But by the time GWS settled into the league, I had already developed such a strong passion for Collingwood by that time, even through that disaster of a decade we had, and I resolved to stick by my club and not jump ship, even for an expansion club. But I absolutely would observe GWS out of interest. I have some close friends of mine that do barrack for GWS though, so I’d get their thoughts on things too.

The only time that I couldn’t stand GWS was when they knocked us out in the ‘19 Prelim by that slim 4-pt margin, but since then I’ve garnered a greater appreciation for the skills of players, coaches and a team as a whole. So while I’m still hot as a Pies fan over the Prelim loss, my hat was still off to GWS for going that far to making it to the last Saturday of September. That’s at least something that GWS has over GC. And I’ll happily get behind GWS whenever they make their next finals series (except if they’re playing Collingwood!)

And yeah, I did suspect something like that was going to happen regarding SEN Sydney. That is an absolute shame too. I do listen to 3AW and Triple M 105.1 over the stream at times, and as for 3AW, at least Jimmy Bartel, being a board member at the Giants if I recall correctly, is mentioning from time to time about some things to help NSW out.

Cheers again for the feedback, mate.

 

[Walshawk]

Great stuff from a fan on the ground in western sydney. The giants could start by converting people like yourself into giants fans, I often hear there are enough AFL fans in western sydney for a club to have a good solid supporter base, but for some reason those people haven't jumped on board.

Out of interest, what's the reason that you are a footy fan born and bred in western sydney, that you haven't given the giants a chance as 'your team'?

I've actually spoken on the giants page just the other day about sen Sydney being a disgrace and hutchie doing the opposite to promote the game in Sydney despite his sporting platform. I encouraged people to email him via the following to let him know that as an AFL person, he is letting the game down in Sydney by being an nrl boys club sycophant. The funny thing is, he is more than happy to promote the nrl on sen Melbourne and Perth, this despite it having statistically less interest than afl does in Sydney.

Email questions to:
thesoundingboard@sen.com.au
Also can message on Facebook or Twitter on the sounding board page under 'questions'.

Or can text while he is live on air Saturday mornings on sen Melbourne: 04 3398 1116
Or text sen Sydney: 04 57 736 736

SEN is a business, they would lose listeners if they talk more about AFL. Are there any magazine store shows - e.g 8 - 10 on a weeknight?

 

[Bjo187]

SEN is a business, they would lose listeners if they talk more about AFL. Are there any magazine store shows - e.g 8 - 10 on a weeknight?

I get that it would be 90 percent nrl, as it would be 90 percent afl here. But it's intentional censorship and they still talk about b and c grade sports on sen Sydney, which get more airtime than the AFL, despite it being the biggest sport in Australia.

The opposite occurs with nrl in Melbourne on sen, which had an interview on the morning show and afternoon show today with 2 league people and has the storm ceo, chairman interviews every single week. Seriously, who gives a s**t about that here? The storm aren't even as popular as the swans.

The AFL on sen 1170 has not had one interview in the past few months with anybody in the industry, or from the swans and giants.

Then hutchie goes on footy classified claiming 'the AFL lacks social relevance in Sydney from Monday to Friday'. Well hang on, your so called 'sports entertainment network' was built off the AFL industry and it's fans, instead of bagging the game and saying it's going backwards in Sydney, help out a bit, as you're the biggest culprit that's made his own business and career off the back of the sport.

Give something back, maybe start at one interview per week, surely that's not too much to ask. It may as well be Peter Vlandy's running sen the way hutchie promotes league in Melbourne and Perth and censors AFL in Sydney, a massive w***er.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Okay, I’ve been reading through this topic with great interest, but now I want to lay my two cents on this, and I’m nearly alone on this case, so please hear me out.

GWS does have its problems, but it is NOT solely a lack of interest; it’s a bit more than that.

Firstly, the pricing among the club and the AFL is a big factor; this is a team that represents the most disadvantaged side of Sydney; an area that has pockets of suburbs where some of us JUST have enough in the budget to keep a roof over our heads. No surprises too, since Sydney itself is so expensive to live in, if the always-rising tolls and costs of living are anything to go by.

There’s an outstanding reason why there’s both low attendance numbers at some games, and in others we always see families with kids over at Giants Stadium: it’s because the family ticket is the cheapest ticket in town: $12.50. Meanwhile, General Admission is $25 a head. That may not seem like much to some of us, but there are loads of Western Sydney people who either barrack for the Giants, or just outright love football, that are simply unable to fork out $25 a week to head to the footy, much less afford a membership. It’s a situation of choosing between having enough to pay for electricity or having to join the dole queue at centrelink so you hopefully don’t end up on the street or in a housing commission.

Next is the lack of representation, and Manuka, I’m looking straight at you. GWS plays a bunch of their home games in Canberra, and that can sometimes mean that there’s little opportunity for Western Sydney to get to the match, if not being able to fork out $25 a week is anything, try not being able to attend all of their home matches, since some of them requires a trip to Canberra. How much further will that cost? And it certainly doesn’t help when some of Western Sydney’s potential recruiting areas are under a Sydney Swans zone.

And then there’s the investment. The AFL need to find a way to invest in more footy facilities in this part of town and to also find a way to make it more affordable. Whether that’s by luring big clubs to play the Giants at home or not, I don’t know, but do something. Don’t just throw WS in the ‘too hard’ basket and move on. It has to be said: Gather Round was such a missed opportunity for NSW. That could’ve let in that much needed investment.

The AFL and the free-to-air broadcasters (Seven Network and the radio stations) also have a responsibility in footy’s investment as well as far as footy broadcast into Sydney is concerned. The fact that footy on ATN Seven in Sydney always gets haplessly banished to 7Mate including at times when there is nothing on to warrant use of ATN-7’s main channel (like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup) is ridiculous, even more so when one realises that the 7Mate banishment also includes some select Swans and Giants games. And don’t get me started on the radio broadcast; there is hardly a footy match on the air unless it’s the Grand Final, just about every station in town is off and away broadcasting some NRL match as if it’s the only sport in the country. Pathetic.

As far as interest in footy goes, this is a big section of Sydney, and this will be important to note:

Not everyone in Western Sydney follows or cares about Rugby League.

The common claim by the NRL and the Nine Network that Western Sydney is a “RuGbY lEaGuE hEaRtLaNd” is an absolutely rubbish and moot claim. This is NOT Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, this is Western Sydney. West Syd is not just Parramatta and Penrith; it’s also several other areas around the district like Hoxton Park, Greystanes or Edensor Park in Fairfield (where I’m from) where a load of people here simply do not care about Rugby League, much less the NRL. In fact, no matter what Peter ‘Ruhbah Leeg’ V’Landys wants to say, the dominant competition that footy faces down this corner of the NSW capital is actually soccer.

So yeah, there are stuff that can be done for GWS rather than just throwing them away in the doomed basket. It’s a good thing for them that GWS have at least made a Grand Final (even though they got absolutely destroyed by the Punt Rd mafia, but never mind that) and they have such a good group of players, let alone Toby Greene, a good group of coaches

Seriously, I believe in the Giants’ potential, and I don’t even barrack for the Giants; this is all coming from a bloody Pies man; someone who grew up in Bankstown and Fairfield loving footy, barracking for Collingwood ever since I was a little 5-year-old watching his first game and watching over the years the likes of Bucks, Davis, Rocca, Maxwell and a young Pendles doing their thing.

Maybe it might be a big help for the Giants if that 20th licence was to go to Canberra, but I’m just guessing. But as far as the AFL and the Giants’ responsibility in expanding the development of footy in West Syd, in the words of one John Kennedy: “Don’t think, DO!”

Sorry, just wanted to let my thoughts out, since it’s been bothering me for a while.

The biggest problem for me with GWS is them playing games some home games in Canberra for the next 10 years or whatever it is, when in my opinion they should play them games in Sydney. To me it looks like they are more interested in money than growing their Sydney home crowd base.

 

[Walshawk]

I get that it would be 90 percent nrl, as it would be 90 percent afl here. But it's intentional censorship and they still talk about b and c grade sports on sen Sydney, which get more airtime than the AFL, despite it being the biggest sport in Australia.

The opposite occurs with nrl in Melbourne on sen, which had an interview on the morning show and afternoon show today with 2 league people and has the storm ceo, chairman interviews every single week. Seriously, who gives a s**t about that here? The storm aren't even as popular as the swans.

The AFL on sen 1170 has not had one interview in the past few months with anybody in the industry, or from the swans and giants.

Then hutchie goes on footy classified claiming 'the AFL lacks social relevance in Sydney from Monday to Friday'. Well hang on, your so called 'sports entertainment network' was built off the AFL industry and it's fans, instead of bagging the game and saying it's going backwards in Sydney, help out a bit, as you're the biggest culprit that's made his own business and career off the back of the sport.

Give something back, maybe start at one interview per week, surely that's not too much to ask. It may as well be Peter Vlandy's running sen the way hutchie promotes league in Melbourne and Perth and censors AFL in Sydney, a massive w***er.

It would be good, but it is Origin week and it rates well in Melbourne. Plus we are more open minded here and there is no anti-NRL agenda from anyone like there is towards AFL from many Sydney people.

The AFL could help things by putting as much effort in GWS as they did into the Swans games @ ACCOR. To start, schedule Collingwood every year there and make a big deal of it. GC will go close to a sell out V Pies in two weeks, Pies could help draw over 15k @ Showgrounds rather than the usual 8k. Next year it must be GWS v Pies in school holidays. Over 12 seasons the Pies have had only six games away v GWS. Opportunity wasted given how big the Swans v Pies games @ ACCOR were - average of 50k over 12 games.

 

[Aussie in exile]

It would be good, but it is Origin week and it rates well in Melbourne. Plus we are more open minded here and there is no anti-NRL agenda from anyone like there is towards AFL from many Sydney people.

The AFL could help things by putting as much effort in GWS as they did into the Swans games @ ACCOR. To start, schedule Collingwood every year there and make a big deal of it. GC will go close to a sell out V Pies in two weeks, Pies could help draw over 15k @ Showgrounds rather than the usual 8k. Next year it must be GWS v Pies in school holidays. Over 12 seasons the Pies have had only six games away v GWS. Opportunity wasted given how big the Swans v Pies games @ ACCOR were - average of 50k over 12 games.

The biggest crime in my eyes about GWS is playing home game in Canberra which i have said before looks like they prefer the money to building up a fan base in Sydney

 

[Walshawk]

The biggest crime in my eyes about GWS is playing home game in Canberra which i have said before looks like they prefer the money to building up a fan base in Sydney

In the short term Canberra offers more supoort for GWS. If the AFL now believes that they will never get enough support in Western Sydney, they should move full time to Canberra. Otherwise, they need to give it a proper go in western Sydney. Hedging their bets is definitely holding them back in both markets.

 

[Coolangatta]

In the short term Canberra offers more supoort for GWS. If the AFL now believes that they will never get enough support in Western Sydney, they should move full time to Canberra. Otherwise, they need to give it a proper go in western Sydney. Hedging their bets is definitely holding them back in both markets.

Well they won’t be giving it a proper go until 2033. Even then, I’m not convinced they won’t just extend the Canberra contract. But if they give up on western Sydney without having them ever playing 11 home games a year there then they’re *in imbeciles. I don’t think the AFL is that stupid.

 

[Walshawk]

Well they won’t be giving it a proper go until 2033. Even then, I’m not convinced they won’t just extend the Canberra contract. But if they give up on western Sydney without having them ever playing 11 home games a year there then they’re *in imbeciles. I don’t think the AFL is that stupid.

If the AFL industry likes the 19 team fixture, there will be no team 20 and we will see GWS in Canberra forever.