The state of the Giants and Suns

[Bulldogs Legend]

We have a useless coach who gets by on winning one final a season.

I want him gone.

You may accept mediocrity for your club, I don't.

Unless you live under a rock you know mental health is rather large at the moment.

You think the club is going to be the bad guy on a bloke who says he is struggling mentally after having so many surgeries they are all on a 1st name basis? No.

What if it's more than the coach? Culture perhaps?

 

[Max zero]

As much its fun crapping on the Giants and the Suns I can see the vision the AFL has for them. It will be hard but it could really grown the game if they were to take off.

The direction of my current ire is a certain Victorian team who was flag favourite this year with the highest rated list yet is standing right next to Gold Coast begging for a handout.

If you are based at the MCG in the heart of of Victoria yet can't keep your head above water what exactly are you bringing to the league?

 

[Bay Giant]

I bet they didn't run out of beer at halftime!

Have you been back since? It’s gotten worse on the beer front. You’ve got to pay $2 for a cup which you have to take back to get “refilled” then at the end of the game you take the cup back and you get $1 back.

Give me $12 Great Northerns at Marvel any day!

 

[Colonial]

What if it's more than the coach? Culture perhaps?

Which the coach controls.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Does extra cap space get the job done? The fact the suns are nearly at full cap is very very alarming.

There are two problems, firstly they have to overpay players to stay and secondly they can't spend under 95% of the cap. Both these things need to be addressed. I'd be in favour of extra cap for both the most recent teams.

 

[nameless]

Having a talk with some mates about how to grow the game.

One thing we thought would work well, as we've seen big sporting events in Perth recently (Bledisloe Cup, NRL SOO, Man Utd etc.) is to take some marquee games to the Gold Coast and Homebush.

It further demonstrates the stupidity of booking the MCG for the Grand Final for the next 40 years.

Having the Grand Final at Stadium Australia or the GABBA would be massive for those states, it would create a huge buzz and be front page news for weeks in the lead up to the big day.

Additionally you'll see the QLD Govt start to open their pockets to potential expansions at the GABBA if they know they have the #1 sporting event coming to their ground.

 

[Witch1]

I did some research today ...

Round 22 (last week) posts on BigFooty. Make of it what you will, but the astonishing result for me is GWS which is a top 8 side... Suns bottom team but twice the support.


* Includes Preview

 

[kreglze]

I have seen nothing from a reputable source about us being near full cap?

Just people on here saying 'Oh GC are terrible they must be over paying players my team wants to keep them there'.... (If someone can direct me to an Article referring to it this year I stand corrected)

We moved on Lynch and May last year who would have had a lot of budget put into them. As well as Hall who would have been on a decent wedge as well.

This reeks of the same stuff people were saying about Rankine is upset and wants to leave the club mid year. (Again, happy to be proven wrong).

 

[kranky al]

Outrage now over the Suns organisation somewhat stems from the idea that they are "wasting the AFL license that should be for a Tassie team" or something to that effect, which is pretty harsh to be honest.
Whether they're s**t or not, they're here to stay and they won't be relocated to Tasmania. The AFL will have to just expand to Tassie in the next 10 or so years while also introducing another team from somewhere else to make it an even 20-team competition.

Or removing / consolidating

 

[Andre the Giant]

Remember a few years ago when everyone was constantly complaining about all the draft picks and salary cap concessions the Giants and Suns were getting? Right about now was supposed to be the middle of their window. I heard people predicting a 5-10 year block where only they would win premierships. And yet, the Suns are abysmal and the Giants are a good but not great team. Who would have picked the Lions looking closer to a premiership and long term contension than either of the new teams?

Don't forget that next time the media and some people on this forum get hysterical about something in the game.

It’s hard to build a winning team when you constantly have the heart ripped out of it.

Over 50% of the players drafted are from Victoria. Oh build a culture, a culture like Brisbane and they will stay. Yeah for now, but once the cap gets close they will get gutted like GC and GWS.

The salary cap is actually a wonderful mechanism for protecting the rich clubs with all the dodgy add ons that be offered by friends and friends of friends.

The AFL wants a National game because it’s commercial and they and their participants want the return that it brings but their key constituents aren’t as keen on us actually winning, near enough is good enough.

So we will lose Cogs this year and Tomlinson and next year Cameron will head to Geelong and maybe one of the high draft picks will head home.

What you guys don’t realise is that just as it’s heartbreaking and demoralising to lose one star, try losing them all the time. Yes we had the bounty to begin with but you cannot have continuity when you constantly lose your best players.

You get to a stage, and I’m sort of there now where you become a bit numb to it and you just lose passion.

I love the drafting side of footy and seeing the players come through but all the high level s**t that has been used to bring us back, the overreaction to the Academy, the cap punishment for Phil Scully, the Todd Marshall registration disgrace....it all gets you to a stage where you think you’re just there to make up the TV rights.

And don’t even start on the lack of care from City Hall re coaching, medical and administrative support. Just throw them the draft picks and everything will happen. All a bit pointless it would seem.

 

[Professor Knowall]

It’s hard to build a winning team when you constantly have the heart ripped out of it.

Over 50% of the players drafted are from Victoria. Oh build a culture, a culture like Brisbane and they will stay. Yeah for now, but once the cap gets close they will get gutted like GC and GWS.

The salary cap is actually a wonderful mechanism for protecting the rich clubs with all the dodgy add ons that be offered by friends and friends of friends...

Great heartfelt post (proof that Giants fans really do have passion). Your point about 3rd party payments is really pertinent. I can tell you that the Northern clubs (NSW and Qld) are currently in the process of making a submission to the AFL with supporting facts that show Victorian clubs pay over a million per annum each more than the Northern clubs through third parties, which is a major driver of the "go-home factor" and causing an imbalance in the competition salary cap. Stay tuned - you haven't heard the end of this, though so far the Victorian based media, despite being alerted to this, have so far avoided reporting this brewing story.

 

[Pippen94]

I did some research today ...

Round 22 (last week) posts on BigFooty. Make of it what you will, but the astonishing result for me is GWS which is a top 8 side... Suns bottom team but twice the support.
View attachment 732878

* Includes Preview

Team has few fans - no surprise here.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Team has few fans - no surprise here.

Yes - ATM it's only attracting NRL sized crowds in Sydney ... or maybe just a bit more. But just like the Swans which, apart from the Edelstein bubble of 1986/87, also used to have dismal NRL type crowds, they need more time to build their support base up to AFL type levels. Given the great growth in grass roots Australian Football in Sydney's western regions since the Giants started, this will happen, just like it did with the Swans.

 

[Pippen94]

Great heartfelt post (proof that Giants fans really do have passion). Your point about 3rd party payments is really pertinent. I can tell you that the Northern clubs (NSW and Qld) are currently in the process of making a submission to the AFL with supporting facts that show Victorian clubs pay over a million per annum each more than the Northern clubs through third parties, which is a major driver of the "go-home factor" and causing an imbalance in the competition salary cap. Stay tuned - you haven't heard the end of this, though so far the Victorian based media, despite being alerted to this, have so far avoided reporting this brewing story.

Yes - ATM it's only attracting NRL sized crowds in Sydney ... or maybe just a bit more. But just like the Swans which, apart from the Edelstein bubble of 1986/87, also used to have dismal NRL type crowds, they need more time to build their support base up to AFL type levels. Given the great growth in grass roots Australian Football in Sydney's western regions since the Giants started, this will happen, just like it did with the Swans.

My team the swans were getting large crowds upon reaching the finals in the 80's. Premiership window has closed for gws - dark times ahead.

 

[Pippen94]

Maybe 2,500 tonight?

 

[Colonial]

My team the swans were getting large crowds upon reaching the finals in the 80's. Premiership window has closed for gws - dark times ahead.

Your team pfft.

You've never posted about them in your time here.

 

[WillHayward]

Gold Coast Suns’ long list of requests for assistance from the AFL Commission revealed

Foxfooty.com.au understands Evans and Cochrane will request the following:

- At least one priority pick at the top of the draft, in the hope they can select school friends and teammates Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson with selections one and two in November;

- Salary cap relief, though there is an acknowledgment at Gold Coast this is less likely to be approved given how hard the AFL has worked to equalise total player payments in recent years;

- More scope for ambassadorial and marketing money to be distributed to players and prospective trade targets;

- At least first round draft selections to be tied to three-year contracts, rather than two-year deals as is the case currently;

- and Academy changes which would allow the club to gain priority access to elite juniors without the potential for clubs to bid for them.

 

[raymond35]

Not sure

 

[Thewlis Dish]

it's whisper quiet

 

[Slartibartfast]

Fold them.

 

[Moley Russels Wart]

GCS - aka Andrew Demetriou's wank stain - only way to fix this is hospital grade bleach (and maybe a relaunch in Tassie)

 

[Gypsy King]

If first round draft selections are tied to 3 year contracts then we will see more not nominate or tell GC not to bother taking them. Its not fair on a kid to have to spend 3 years at a club that means nothing, and one that doesnt represent anything. Its a failed experiment. Relocate it.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Dunno man. If one of your plans is "make guys we draft have to stay longer contractually" is a plan to be competitive, you probably should be looking internally whats at fault.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Fold them.

And then spread the talent to the other 17 clubs

 

[DaveEgoat]

Laughable the OP is a Sydney supporter.

Aren’t your club begging for their salary cap advantages back after missing finals for the first time in 10 years?