Just now, Demonsone said:

Hope the afl are proud that they ignore the heartland of footy & foundation clubs and support northern clubs with exclusive academies to remain relevant vs the nrl, one can only imagine what the afl would be doing if the Swans had the same poor record as WC has experienced in the last 5 years

we know full well; look at the gifts given to gc17, gw$, and the bears

the desire to keep propping up the northern sides is extraordinary

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by whatwhat say what

2 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

we know full well; look at the gifts given to gc17, gw$, and the bears

the desire to keep propping up the northern sides is extraordinary

Do you blame the Saints going for all chips in as the drafts are compromise actually corrupted along the bs fixtures

Just now, Demonsone said:

Do you blame the Saints going for all chips in as the drafts are compromise actually corrupted along the bs fixtures

no, i don't blame them - it's a different way to play it

i personally can't see it working for them as they've had to pay $2m a season to keep nas, and they're only getting him for 2 seasons as it stands, and then they've paid a small fortune to bring in tdk and sosos and flanders and i don't think they're quality enough to justify it

I reckon McQualter has no idea as a senior coach.

I know they have very little experience across the park, and even less so now that their former skipper packed his bags for Brisbane, but the players play like they've got next to no idea how to move the ball, their defence is a mess and their midfield cannot defend.

The Eagles are way more important to the competition than the Suns and GWS combined.

Freo don't really cut it.

13 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The Eagles are way more important to the competition than the Suns and GWS combined.

Freo don't really cut it.

Yeah but is their current period of awful-ness impacting their existence in any way?

2nd most members in 2025, at 107,079, up nearly 4,000 on the previous season (despite 2025 being a 1-win season, and their fourth consecutive season in the bottom 3).

They have a wait list for reserved seats. They averaged over 42,000 to their home games last year - Fremantle, who were a top 4 contender for most of the season, averaged 46,000.

Their supporters haven't dropped off yet. They finally have some promising young talent (Duursma, Reid, CDT, Shanahan).

They're effectively the biggest/richest club, whose demise is almost entirely self-inflicted. The AFL doesn't have to worry about them, because they'll always be big/rich, and the tide will eventually turn.

Keeping GC and GWS viable and ensuring there is constant competitive/interesting AFL product in NSW and Queensland is far, far more important to the AFL than helping West Coast get out of the hole they built for themselves.

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Yeah but is their current period of awful-ness impacting their existence in any way?

2nd most members in 2025, at 107,079, up nearly 4,000 on the previous season (despite 2025 being a 1-win season, and their fourth consecutive season in the bottom 3).

They have a wait list for reserved seats. They averaged over 42,000 to their home games last year - Fremantle, who were a top 4 contender for most of the season, averaged 46,000.

Their supporters haven't dropped off yet. They finally have some promising young talent (Duursma, Reid, CDT, Shanahan).

They're effectively the biggest/richest club, whose demise is almost entirely self-inflicted. The AFL doesn't have to worry about them, because they'll always be big/rich, and the tide will eventually turn.

not one iota

they're massive, and they will remain that way regardless of results on field

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Keeping GC and GWS viable and ensuring there is constant competitive/interesting AFL product in NSW and Queensland is far, far more important to the AFL than helping West Coast get out of the hole they built for themselves.

before covid the reports internally at the afl had it that the cost of running them was about the same as the increased revenue brought in by the broadcast rights that they had attributed towards them

i can't imagine that has changed