I am looking at the Big Picture Munga....& that is what worries me! I think the AFL is targeting the wrong place...and to place all this money into a "Risk" area i worry for the decades ahead....i will continue to support the Demons but i get irritated at the thought of propping up these soulless corporations after they have flouted their arrival by cheating.

At this stage Neither of us is right or wrong...But a lot of $$ hard earned is going to evaporate.

Yes, we'll wait and see. Im currently in the middle of the atlantic ocean on a yacht and re reading my posts i see my replies arent too structured - sorry guys , must be a bit tired.

I guess my point im trying to get across is that we should be careful for what we wish for when we "hope" GWS is a failure. initially we all might get a " take that sheeds" feeling but a strong NATIONAL comp is good for the dees. I applaud the work the board has done to remove MFC debt but Im under no illusions of melbournes corporate "clout". perhaps over the years the club will become bigger, financially stronger but for now we most definitely rely on AFL income stream for the clubs existance. If the AFL can, over the next few decades, get a toe hold in western sydney then that can only be a good thing for the league and its melbourne based clubs.

You are right. Attendances up there are rubbish but the league tv ratings for the past 2 years have been higher than the AFL ratings. A lot of people from QLD and NSW that i speak to all say they prefer to watch aussie rules live than league live but they prefer to watch league on tv

The other codes are very well supported. Its just not popular to go watch the games live. I understand that. Ive been to a few league games and was bored ****less.

So with that Analogy how does the AFL expect to gain higher TV Revenue?? This is what worries me.

Already next year we will have 9 games a weekend, 4-5 of those games will be dull as grass growing...

Free tickets to attend GWS games will cost the MFC indirectly...I know this is a long term project...but i wonder how long 9 games a weekend can be sustained.

Im currently in the middle of the atlantic ocean on a yacht

Wow how cool is that!! Better than being in a shitty office in Elsternwick i bet!!

A couple points..

1. AFL in WA is just as popular as in Vic. There just isn't the same volume of people.
   
2. 
   If your 5 mates follow soccer and think that Aussie Rules is a game played by poofs then you have my permission to slap them - hard.
   

haha, yes i just might do that. they are league and union nuts actually.

Footy is popular in WA and SA and the AFL must not neglect the footy states. however, but you made the point - the population is smaller there. Exactly right. Corporate/tv big wigs are interested in the population areas. By square km, footy is the most popular code in the country.

Wow how cool is that!! Better than being in a shitty office in Elsternwick i bet!!

haha, it is lovely out here. currently 800 miles west of the canary islands. big swell but lovely weather. lots of tuna running so have a couple of lures out.

haha, it is lovely out here. currently 800 miles west of the canary islands. big swell but lovely weather. lots of tuna running so have a couple of lures out.

You are kidding....that's David Attenborough country out there..!

IMO the major problem with the whole idiotic concept, is that the more that GWS are seen to be failing, the more they will continue to be propped up financially by the AFL ............ and we all know where the (mega) dollars will come from. The end result will inevitably be to the detriment of the game, and each of the existing clubs.

So with that Analogy how does the AFL expect to gain higher TV Revenue?? This is what worries me.

Already next year we will have 9 games a weekend, 4-5 of those games will be dull as grass growing...

Free tickets to attend GWS games will cost the MFC indirectly...I know this is a long term project...but i wonder how long 9 games a weekend can be sustained.

Yes, its definitely a long term project and no guarentee. I remember growing up on the gold coast in the early 90s. surfer's mcdonalds had a stack of bears tickets on the counter next to the charity box so you could take a few tickets when you bought a big mac. we used to grab a pile of them and try and sell them at the gate.....didnt really understand the law of supply and demand at that age!!

You are kidding....that's David Attenborough country out there..!

yes i love it out here. got a few phillipinos on board as well so have had handpass lessons on deck with the sherrin. cant count the amount of times its nearly gone over the side though!

saw a nuclear sub surface a few miles away yesterday. damn, those things are huge!

Yes, its definitely a long term project and no guarentee. I remember growing up on the gold coast in the early 90s. surfer's mcdonalds had a stack of bears tickets on the counter next to the charity box so you could take a few tickets when you bought a big mac. we used to grab a pile of them and try and sell them at the gate.....didnt really understand the law of supply and demand at that age!!

Sadly the AFL will be throwing $$$ at these "propped up Jokes" until well after i am dead....& i don't like it because i do not really think it will work, regardless of the spin i am fed.

But for the sake of the Game i actually hope i am wrong....but we certainly cannot keep 18 sides alive.

yes i love it out here. got a few phillipinos on board as well so have had handpass lessons on deck with the sherrin. cant count the amount of times its nearly gone over the side though!

saw a nuclear sub surface a few miles away yesterday. damn, those things are huge!

Been to the Philippines a couple of times....crazy place. Manila is like the wild west!!

Are you on holidays or doing some crazy research??

IMO the major problem with the whole idiotic concept, is that the more that GWS are seen to be failing, the more they will continue to be propped up financially by the AFL ............ and we all know where the (mega) dollars will come from. The end result will inevitably be to the detriment of the game, and each of the existing clubs.

i am also worried about the perception of the expansion and am concerned if they do not go about it the right way it may become a big money pit.

its all about the kids and auskick has to get in to the schools. its a long term project but will need reasonable on field success in the meantime to keep the interest in the playground. Sydney siders being sydneysiders, their supporters will always be fickle in comparison to Victorians but that is a tough yardstick. you guys are nuts about sport - love it!

Been to the Philippines a couple of times....crazy place. Manila is like the wild west!!

Are you on holidays or doing some crazy research??

no, i work for a wealthy mexican bloke on his private yacht. off to the bahamas for a few months so he can use it. shes a 65 metre motor yacht.

these phillipino guys are great lads.

Sadly the AFL will be throwing $$$ at these "propped up Jokes" until well after i am dead....& i don't like it because i do not really think it will work, regardless of the spin i am fed.

But for the sake of the Game i actually hope i am wrong....but we certainly cannot keep 18 sides alive.

I dont know how old you are, WYL, but i also think they will have to throw some cash at it for a while, which is exactly the point of my first post. It isnt in the interests of any clubs for GWS to not have success. the sooner they have success on the field and at grass roots level the better.

what are your thoughts on the suns? do you think theyll have a better chance of success? it seems theyve definitely gone about it in a more structured way. i think GWS has gone in very under prepared but who knows wh

The reality is that all the money in the world will not keep some of the best young talent in western Sydney. One player manager is telling about at least two potential GWS draftees who are likely to play out their first two years and head back home if in fact they have to go up there.

Then there are the likes of Coniglio, Patton, Wingard etc. If they live up to their reputations in the first two seasons would they accept less than what Scully is getting next year?

I dont know how old you are, WYL, but i also think they will have to throw some cash at it for a while, which is exactly the point of my first post. It isnt in the interests of any clubs for GWS to not have success. the sooner they have success on the field and at grass roots level the better.

what are your thoughts on the suns? do you think theyll have a better chance of success? it seems theyve definitely gone about it in a more structured way. i think GWS has gone in very under prepared but who knows wh

I think the Suns will have some success, but the Gold Coast is a very transient place...so the success will drop off....No Sporting team seems to thrive up there for long...

I don't think GW$ will trouble anyone up there as they are competing against 4 local NRL teams.....Bloody Ludicrous in my view...But Vlad will not be beaten so the $$$ will be plunged infinitum

Well that won't help us will it?

If they prefer to watch NRL on TV than AFL and they don't go to the AFL matches live then we get diddly squat; no increase in TV and no gate receipts.

thats the job ahead of GWS, to get some of those league supporters to switch the channel. Ive never said this will be an easy task but I think its a necessary evil. Theres only X amount of corporate dollars in the Australian economy. At the moment the AFL has a large slice of that. I strongly believe that slice is threatened if the AFL dosent try and get exposure in Australias largest and fastest growing population centre. Will it work? I cant say, RobbieF. I hope it does.

I don't care if I watch the MFC play at the G in a 200 million dollar comp without the expansion teams or a billion dollar comp with the expansion teams. Irrespective, I'll be watching my team play at the G. More money in the AFL pot does not equate to the MFC being more likely to succeed (or exist) and if soccer (yawn) does become the dominant sport and the AFL has to play second fiddle, so what... Too many Napoleons at AFL HQ in my view and their ruthless and cynical stripping players from foundation clubs to boost their McFrancise teams has done more to strip what I love about footy then many administrations in the past. The best thing about GWS pinching Scully is that I now have a reason to feel some emotion when we play them, in stark contrast to when we play GC, Brissies, Port, Freo etc... I watch the game to enjoy the artistry and savour the victories and in general the expansion just means more white bread... And because I feel something for GWS I want them to suffer a long painful era of very little success (i.e. same as i wish for the Pies, Hawks, Blues, Dons etc...). It's a simple game.

Absolutely spot on; a victory over GC, Brissies, Port, Freo etc... simply means 4 points whereas a victory over Collingwood, Carlton or Essendon is something to savor.

In principle I love the prospect of new clubs, real clubs, establishing themselves in both the Gold Coast and Western Sydney.

But the haphazard, top-down, and shallow methods which have been used so far to build the 'GWS' (how inspiring) 'franchise' (mmmm tasty fried chicken) are a horror to behold.

Personally I think a lot of the hatred for GWS is from people's implicit awareness that it is a commercial entity built from the television audience out. For the first however many years, players making game show appearances are going to be as important to its strategy as any genuine achievements, or genuine relationship between club and supporters.

It is all summed up by the way it is entirely acknowledged that players will only go there, or stay there, for the sake of massively inflated pay packets.

On a lighter note, I hear Eddie McGuire has delivered a rousing speech in which he threatened to make it his personal mission to destroy Woodville-West Torrens if they ever take any Collingwood players.

The Woodville-West Torrens communication manager, a Mrs. P. Endelbury, mysteriously couldn't be reached for comment.

I have a hatred for GWS due to the $cully thing, but big picture I think it is important they succeed now that they're there. The issue I have though, and the stench which emanates from GWS & GC, is that the AFL is INVESTING in these areas/clubs and will do anything they can to ensure they succeed, similar to Brisbane and Sydney earlier last decade. How can anyone take the COMPETITION seriously when the administrators of the game will do anything they can to ensure success for these teams? In hindsight the AFL should have built these teams from the ground up investing in the grassroots and letting these clubs develop to the point where they demanded a team. Unfortunately the AFL has taken the short-term approach of throwing massive wads of money at them in the hope that this will guarantee success for the teams on the field and therefore success for the clubs off the field.

So where is the line drawn between the AFL and these new franchises? If the AFL is going to such lengths to ensure on-field success for them, surely they can see that interest from supporters of the other clubs may diminish if they see that they're own clubs chance of success has been railroaded by the competitions adminstrators in an effort to make the game more appealing to the northern fans and therefore attempt to lure in more money from broadcasters/advertisers.

Another issue as raised is that interest in the games against these clubs by foundation clubs is much lower than games against traditional enemies. So a game against Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton, Richmond, Hawthorn etc is much more interesting than a game against GC, GWS, Port, Adelaide, Freo etc. With the increased number of teams, guaranteed return games and the 22 game season, the competition is being divided into two with Coll, Carl, Ess, Rich, Haw, Geel playing each other twice every year give or take maybe one or two on a rotational basis which leaves MFC, North, Bulldogs etc the honour of playing these soulless franchises twice every year meaning less home games against traditional rivals and less return games against them as well. This not only affects our crowds due to limited opposition supporters attending but affects the interest of our supporters in these games - as RobbieF said games against the traditional enemies mean something, games against the franchises are just another four points.

If the AFL continues with their FIXture in an effort to "maximise attendances" as well as funding of the new franchises to ensure success, the competition is so compromised that the traditional supporters will slowly lose interest. Fix up the draw and it can go a long way to ensuring the credibility/integrity of the competition where it is seen as a genuine sporting contest rather than just another "for profit" industry.

I think the deliberately underhanded licence that has been granted GWS is a sad reflection of the personal values held by Vlad himself. The AFL is currently in poor hands IMO

Teens' exodus a Giant worry for Greater Western Sydney

Such a sad, sad, story.

Ha, ha!

I hope that the exodus continues and the GWS mob fail miserably whilst embarrassing Demetriou and his fellow AFL mercenaries Allan and Sheedy are the pits.

Edited November 19, 201113 yr by gsmith12

I've worked in the Blacktown area in the past and I can say from experience this is going to be a tough market for the AFL to crack. They love their rugby league and soccer's also big with the kids around the area.

I'm not sure how the locals would respond to Sheedy's antics either because half of them don't speak English let alone Kev's gibberish.

I think the Suns will have some success, but the Gold Coast is a very transient place...so the success will drop off....No Sporting team seems to thrive up there for long...

And very few survive in Sydney. The Kings have been famously successful on 2 occasions, but have gone broke twice. They have only one A-league club. People in Sydney simply don't go to (pay and) watch games at the highest level. For whatever reason.

I've worked in the Blacktown area in the past and I can say from experience this is going to be a tough market for the AFL to crack. They love their rugby league and soccer's also big with the kids around the area.

Yes they do love their league, but bugger all people go to games. 10k is a very good crowd! Clubs don't need to rely on the gate at games.

Success (financial) in the NRL is dependent on the Leagues clubs attached to the teams (and the massive leg up they get from the local media). Haven't heard of any leagues club for the GWS, and the local media will ignore them.

And don't forget, the NRL clubs survive on a much lower salary cap and turnover than the AFL clubs have and need.

I'm not sure how the locals would respond to Sheedy's antics either because half of them don't speak English let alone Kev's gibberish.

Haha