The numpty questions thread

[POBT]

It is a bit in that area. Everton Park has a pretty popular club I think if you count that area but apart from that not much. Arana Hills RL dominates the area I guess.

And West-Mitchelton.

Everton Park also has a pretty strong rugby union junior club and Ashgrove/GPS are obviously in that space too. Purely on gut feel, I reckon Aussie Rules runs 4th in terms of the football codes in that area.

 

[Judge]

And West-Mitchelton.

Everton Park also has a pretty strong rugby union junior club and Ashgrove/GPS are obviously in that space too. Purely on gut feel, I reckon Aussie Rules runs 4th in terms of the football codes in that area.

We live out near Samford, so we have to drive straight past Ferny Grove and Everton JAFC's to get to Wilston-Grange, which tells you something.

Both of those clubs are struggling with numbers, Ferny in particular, and we have this year inherited several players from both clubs. That's a concern for anyone in our area interested in AFL.

Ashgrove/GPS is the biggest junior rugby club in Australia, it's an absolute powerhouse aided by the fact that probably 500 or so boys from my son's school play there. I don't really know anything much about junior soccer or league, but from what I hear the league junior numbers are down a bit with plenty of parents worried about their kids having to play against the much bigger Polynesian boys.

AFL may well be in 4th place among the junior footy codes out our way, but I can tell you that although my bloke goes to a rugby school (and plays rugby himself) there are 4 boys from the school in the Met North Under 12 AFL side and the sportsmaster told me that 30 boys from the primary school applied to attend the recent trials for the North-West team from which he could select only 5. Now that's progress in my book!

 

[Skoob]

This might sound like a very stupid question to Brisbane-based fans:

Within Brisbane, does the club have any kind of geographic identity? I always think of the Sydney Swans as kind of an inner-east Sydney team, even before GWS, and obviously in other cities all the teams have their logical areas of support, although it gets pretty meaningless in Melbourne a lot of the time.

What about in Brisbane? Is there an area where the Lions are noticably more supported than anywhere else? I'd hazard a guess that historically the northern suburbs around Zillmere and Aspley might have had more AFL support than elsewhere.

I'm trying to get an appreciation for how much the Springfield move takes us away from our base of support.

All the answers before this one seem to offer opinion on the strength of local footy and I'm not sure how big a bearing that has or if indeed answers what you're asking Tom.
Because I've never really had an association with local footy, I don't know how or if that affiliation affects popularity of The Lions in various areas. I don't believe the Lions has an affiliation with any particular part of Brisbane and that they are universally loved by those so inclined to follow AFL.
In part, I can see the early days of the Bears being Gold Coast based, making them more a part of Brisbane as a whole (if that makes sense); they weren't really associated with any particular part of Brisbane. That 'neutrality' is perpetuated by playing in the centrally located Gabba. If they had a base and played in say, bayside Redlands, distant from the city, then I could see them being favoured geographically, but don't get any sense of that with where theyv'e been and where they're at.

 

[brizrider]

Could someone describe exactly how the players rotate through the interchange bench these days? How do they know when to come off and where to go and what to do when they go on? I've never been able to tell exactly but I imagine its like Ice Hockey where the lines go in shifts i.e. you've always basically got a defender, mid and forward off at one time for a set amount of time until the next lot come off. Is this right? Also, the players that go on, do they just fit into the 'structure' where they know there's now a hole? What happens if a player that has a 'role' of some sort comes off? (Maybe he's a tagger or maybe it's something strategic like trying to lead an opposition player away from the action a bit) Does that role kind of stop when he runs off the field or does his replacement try to fill it?

Is my question too Numpty, too boring or too difficult? I'd love an answer. Its something I've googled and asked personally about but have never really gotten a good answer to (I don't have much connection to senior community footy).

 

[brizrider]

All the answers before this one seem to offer opinion on the strength of local footy and I'm not sure how big a bearing that has or if indeed answers what you're asking Tom.
Because I've never really had an association with local footy, I don't know how or if that affiliation affects popularity of The Lions in various areas. I don't believe the Lions has an affiliation with any particular part of Brisbane and that they are universally loved by those so inclined to follow AFL.
In part, I can see the early days of the Bears being Gold Coast based, making them more a part of Brisbane as a whole (if that makes sense); they weren't really associated with any particular part of Brisbane. That 'neutrality' is perpetuated by playing in the centrally located Gabba. If they had a base and played in say, bayside Redlands, distant from the city, then I could see them being favoured geographically, but don't get any sense of that with where theyv'e been and where they're at.

Footy in footy states is a universal sport. In Sydney (I've lived there and followed the Swans in the distant past), it was kind of a hipster/cool sport which I think is why it was a bit Bondi/inner-East. In Brisbane I've always got the feel footy was mostly for migrants from footy states and a few others who purely liked it. I played junior and colts/reserves type footy in both QLD and NSW in my younger years and found QLD players/fans a bit more fanatical but they tended to be people who had roots in Melbourne and were very passionate or QLD'ers who just loved the sport and sort of tried to be as passionate as Vics. The stronger clubs in Brissie are pretty well spaced although I think the west is a bit weak for senior footy. GC and SC seem to do well but I've heard its mostly southern state transplants that make it strong.

 

[Dylan12]

Sandgate is still an AFL school of excellence.
I reckon there's an upsurge in the sport in the outer northern suburbs. The Burpengary development might be evidence in that and, from what I hear, participation rates are high across all levels. I also understand a high school out at Narangba is now a school of excellence.

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

 

[Fatcat08]

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

Sounds like something you'd get a ham for winning

 

[Mr Ripper]

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

It means they've had outstanding achievements on the field.

 

[brizrider]

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

It means the kids can't spell or add two numbers together but man they have a good footy team.


Word to the wise

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I reckon that is right, although the inner north used to have clubs like Wilston-Grange, Kedron and Mayne. But I think the gentrification of those suburbs has diluted the focus on the sport.

From what I recall, on the northside, the two big Aussie Rules playing schools were always Sandgate and Aspley - @TheFlyingBelgian would know better. Sandgate is still an AFL school of excellence. I dunno if the interest from Aspley is still there.

It changed over the years. Certainly Sandgate High was probably the constant force in school footy on the northside. But my senior year I don't think Aspley fielded much of a team.

But it terms of actual footy clubs there were a cluster of strong clubs (well, at the time anyway) in Aspley, Sandate and Windsor Zillmere. The inner city clubs probably struggled for numbers back them, so I'd argue that gentrification has improved numbers the clubs further in. There's way more families living in somewhere like Kedron these days compared to 25 years ago.

My son plays for Wilston-Grange, and the junior numbers there are up about 50% over the past 3 years or so (over 350 players), which indicates that AFL is reasonably healthy in the inner north.

Also, Wilston-Grange have been awarded government grants exceeding $1 million since last year's federal election for the purpose of establishing a northern "sports hub" at Hickey Park, so things are pretty buoyant right now at our club.

Having said that, from my observations there are a number of junior clubs in and around our area that are really struggling with numbers and resources, so things are quite uneven. As ever, the critical factor appears to be the quality and quantity of volunteer officials and coaches, if parents are content to simply turn up and watch games without pitching in and helping the club in as many ways as possible then that club is going to struggle.

We live out near Samford, so we have to drive straight past Ferny Grove and Everton JAFC's to get to Wilston-Grange, which tells you something.

Both of those clubs are struggling with numbers, Ferny in particular, and we have this year inherited several players from both clubs. That's a concern for anyone in our area interested in AFL.

My nephew played for Everton Wolves up until this year (but switched to Wilston-Grange for a few reasons) and I used to attend a few of his games, but yeah, it's a pretty small club as well. My son has started playing at Ferny Grove this year and there are 4 U8 teams (3 at FG and one based at Mount Samson), so it will be interesting to see how that translates going through the age groups. Certainly, the highest age group they have is U13. Worryingly though they have no U6 teams at all - not sure what happened there. The "community feel" seems to be there at Ferny Grove from my very limited observation and there seems a good degree of organisation. A lot depends on the committees in place and a given time and the culture of the club.

I'm a very strong believer in supporting your local club. That said, if your kid is still dead keen on footy at U12 level then you can start thinking a bit more about where you want to play. But there's a big pull on kids who feel lile they want to belong to a "good club" and getting walloped every week doesn't help the smaller clubs. I fear for the tiny clubs like The Gap who are up against it WRT demographics and being a "start-up" club. Is it good having a dominant force in junior football in a region? I don't know. I know a few blokes who have been involved at W-G and have a lot of respect for the club.

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

Dylan it's a lot like a school-based academy. Kids do it as an elective subject at school and get educated on professional aspects of sporting life with access to nutritionists, physios, etc. I don't know exactly how full-on it gets as the academy was set up many years after I left.

 

[POBT]

Dylan it's a lot like a school-based academy. Kids do it as an elective subject at school and get educated on professional aspects of sporting life with access to nutritionists, physios, etc. I don't know exactly how full-on it gets as the academy was set up many years after I left.

That's it in summary. The other thing worth noting is that the Schools of Excellence appear to play each other more regularly. I think they form the highest division of the interschool comp.

I understand the "school of excellence" concept also extends across a number of different pursuits. I believe there are schools of excellence for rugby league (eg Wavell High), science, dance etc.

There is also the independent schools competition. I've had some involvement in that in the past - it was a good way to get some good athletes to play the game after the GPS/TAC rugby seasons had finished.

 

[Happy_Neale]

Could someone describe exactly how the players rotate through the interchange bench these days? How do they know when to come off and where to go and what to do when they go on? I've never been able to tell exactly but I imagine its like Ice Hockey where the lines go in shifts i.e. you've always basically got a defender, mid and forward off at one time for a set amount of time until the next lot come off. Is this right? Also, the players that go on, do they just fit into the 'structure' where they know there's now a hole? What happens if a player that has a 'role' of some sort comes off? (Maybe he's a tagger or maybe it's something strategic like trying to lead an opposition player away from the action a bit) Does that role kind of stop when he runs off the field or does his replacement try to fill it?

Generally speaking:

- mids will be on a times rotation, meaning they will come off every 3/5 minutes and be replaced by someone on the bench who will play the same role. Alternatively they will rotate on the field with someone else, or be part of a 3 or 4 way rotation with people on the field and the bench. They players will monitor the times themselves using the game clock but the runner will also shout reminders at certain intervals. This is what players mean when they say they would like to 'rotate through the midfield'.

- taggers are a little different. Hard tags will only rest when their opposition player goes off. For the other less intense tags the player will most likely be part of a rotation like the one mentioned earlier except there will be multiple teammates performing the tag when it is their turn.

- players will only ever play the role they are given even if there is another area which has a hole as you described. Of course their given role can change at any given time as instructed by the coaches.

Hope this helps.

*NB - this is all based on TAC cup level footy so it may vary slightly at AFL level.

 

[Ironmonger]

Thanks to everyone who answered my question.

I get the impression that there are pockets of moderate support for Aussie Rules in Brisbane, but not really anything like a heartland of support, or a significant area where AFL is the most popular sport.

 

[John]

Thanks to everyone who answered my question.

I get the impression that there are pockets of moderate support for Aussie Rules in Brisbane, but not really anything like a heartland of support, or a significant area where AFL is the most popular sport.

Correct. I would suggest that even the Gold Coast would struggle to have all encompassing support from one end to the other. Coolangatta to Carrara is a 30 k drive. Not really the suburb next door is it.

 

[Viceregal]

Noticed a distinct lack of references to the west (and especially the south west) side of Brisbane in the recent discussion on JAFC clubs and their strength...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[brizrider]

Generally speaking:

- mids will be on a times rotation, meaning they will come off every 3/5 minutes and be replaced by someone on the bench who will play the same role. Alternatively they will rotate on the field with someone else, or be part of a 3 or 4 way rotation with people on the field and the bench. They players will monitor the times themselves using the game clock but the runner will also shout reminders at certain intervals. This is what players mean when they say they would like to 'rotate through the midfield'.

- taggers are a little different. Hard tags will only rest when their opposition player goes off. For the other less intense tags the player will most likely be part of a rotation like the one mentioned earlier except there will be multiple teammates performing the tag when it is their turn.

- players will only ever play the role they are given even if there is another area which has a hole as you described. Of course their given role can change at any given time as instructed by the coaches.

Hope this helps.

*NB - this is all based on TAC cup level footy so it may vary slightly at AFL level.

Thanks!

 

[brizrider]

Noticed a distinct lack of references to the west (and especially the south west) side of Brisbane in the recent discussion on JAFC clubs and their strength...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Sherwood, Wests, Kenmore, Jindalee are all pretty healthy clubs at the moment. It is a bit leaner out towards Ipswich, Springfield etc - pretty deeply ingrained RL territory for now at least.


Word to the wise

 

[SizeMatters]

Out of curiosity, what exactly does being an AFL school of excellence mean?

they have AFL goal posts

 

[Billy Puller]

Noticed a distinct lack of references to the west (and especially the south west) side of Brisbane in the recent discussion on JAFC clubs and their strength...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

They don't really have much success compared to the eastern/northern clubs

 

[raskolnikov]

Sorry for the intrusion. Wasn't sure where to ask this question and this seemed like a good thread. I will be in Brisbane for the Lions-Bombers game next weekend. I will be going with a couple of mates. Will we be able to just rock up or should we book in advance? Cheers.

 

[Skoob]

Sorry for the intrusion. Wasn't sure where to ask this question and this seemed like a good thread. I will be in Brisbane for the Lions-Bombers game next weekend. I will be going with a couple of mates. Will we be able to just rock up or should we book in advance? Cheers.

Depends whether you want to pay General Admission prices or normal reserved seating.
I don't expect many sellouts this year, but a big club like the Bombers might be a big crowd.
If anything, General Admission might sell out but you'll always get a ticket, even if you pay for a seat and go to GA.
But if you want a reserved seating in a decent viewing section, I would book ahead.

 

[raskolnikov]

Depends whether you want to pay General Admission prices or normal reserved seating.
I don't expect many sellouts this year, but a big club like the Bombers might be a big crowd.
If anything, General Admission might sell out but you'll always get a ticket, even if you pay for a seat and go to GA.
But if you want a reserved seating in a decent viewing section, I would book ahead.

Cheers. I might book during the week just to be safe.

 

[CarterS]

20000 empty seats tonight you will have no worries

 

[Dylan12]

What is with all this Stars Wars promotion / branding of late, particularly across the world sporting landscape?

 

[Morgs_]

What is with all this Stars Wars promotion / branding of late, particularly across the world sporting landscape?

May the 4th is known as Star Wars Day. So people say "May The Fourth Be With You"


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