Expansion 20th AFL team location

[Walshawk]

Sydney people are like that with crowds for any sport, including NRL. They just don’t turn up, or so I’ve read. Just their culture. Obviously it’s less of an issue in the NRL because the ratings are so much better. That’s the problem.

Whether it gets better, I don’t know, but there is interest in footy there. Not sure if the number of local clubs have increased there by much but according to anecdotes I’ve read there are a lot more kids seen in WS with footy and Giants merchandise than you’d think, certainly before the club existed. Let’s see what happens when they grow up what impact it’s really had.

NRL and Swans crowds are up. Giants are a great team. Why no growth in crowds?

 

[Coolangatta]

NRL and Swans crowds are up. Giants are a great team. Why no growth in crowds?

Well, no home games in WS for almost two months early in the season doesn’t help. And the Giants were shit in the first half of last season. When they came storming home didn’t their crowds increase a bit? We’ll see how they go this year if they’re around the top six which they’re expected to be.

 

[Bjo187]

NRL and Swans crowds are up. Giants are a great team. Why no growth in crowds?

You've gotta cut them some slack, they were seen as a bottom team till half way through the year. The main thing they lack is media coverage, that's even an issue for the swans and they are the biggest club in the state. I'd like to see the afl pressure their so called partners for better coverage, it's like they've been scared not to mention afl by the leaguie trolls and bullies. Look at sen Sydney for example and the station is owned by an AFL person ffs.

Winning a flag will definitely help, Sydney loves a winner more than anywhere. Crowds will be better this year too. They'll get there.

 

[Coolangatta]

I think it's a shame they didn't make Western Sydney Bulldogs and North Sydney Kangaroos relocations happen. Both would've been able to keep their names, colours, Dogs song would still be the same, and long-term Sydney would be set. What potential Victoria's two lowest drawing clubs would've had for growth. You'd probably have still had low crowds and membership numbers at this rate but long-term some growth, while the Vic's would still watch their old teams play on TV which is what really counts in the end, doesn't it?

 

[Walshawk]

You've gotta cut them some slack, they were seen as a bottom team till half way through the year. The main thing they lack is media coverage, that's even an issue for the swans and they are the biggest club in the state. I'd like to see the afl pressure their so called partners for better coverage, it's like they've been scared not to mention afl by the leaguie trolls and bullies. Look at sen Sydney for example and the station is owned by an AFL person ffs.

Winning a flag will definitely help, Sydney loves a winner more than anywhere. Crowds will be better this year too. They'll get there.

Changes that would boost the Giants.

1. Change name to Western Sydney as originally intended. Every theme the GWS is mentioned in the media it is a missed opportunity to let Sydneysiders know that there is a second team there.
2. Play all games in Sydney. There are three other AFL grounds available over Easter - Blacktown, Accor and SCG. My preference would to boost Henson Park to 10k and play a game or two there. Henson Park is in Marrickville, 7km west of the SCG, but somehow in the Swans zone!
3. Redraw the Swans v Giants academy and promotions zones so that the suburbs west of Sydney (like Bankstown, Marrickville and the inner west where AFL is actually popular) become Giants territory. Swans will still have the other two areas of Sydney where AFL is popular - Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, beaches) and the North.

 

[PaythePerryman]

Changes that would boost the Giants.

1. Change name to Western Sydney as originally intended. Every theme the GWS is mentioned in the media it is a missed opportunity to let Sydneysiders know that there is a second team there.
2. Play all games in Sydney. There are three other AFL grounds available over Easter - Blacktown, Accor and SCG. My preference would to boost Henson Park to 10k and play a game or two there. Henson Park is in Marrickville, 7km west of the SCG, but somehow in the Swans zone!
3. Redraw the Swans v Giants academy and promotions zones so that the suburbs west of Sydney (like Bankstown, Marrickville and the inner west where AFL is actually popular) become Giants territory. Swans will still have the other two areas of Sydney where AFL is popular - Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, beaches) and the North.

Yeah I'd love all of that to happen.
1. Sure....i don't have a problem with that
2. SCG:nope
Accor:too big
Henson: (Not AFL standard yet)
3. Love that but I think Swans might have something to say about it.

 

[peetoo]

One issue in Tassie has been the consistent dumping off unattractive match ups there.

Don’t repeat the mistake in going to ‘new markets’

 

[Bjo187]

Changes that would boost the Giants.

1. Change name to Western Sydney as originally intended. Every theme the GWS is mentioned in the media it is a missed opportunity to let Sydneysiders know that there is a second team there.
2. Play all games in Sydney. There are three other AFL grounds available over Easter - Blacktown, Accor and SCG. My preference would to boost Henson Park to 10k and play a game or two there. Henson Park is in Marrickville, 7km west of the SCG, but somehow in the Swans zone!
3. Redraw the Swans v Giants academy and promotions zones so that the suburbs west of Sydney (like Bankstown, Marrickville and the inner west where AFL is actually popular) become Giants territory. Swans will still have the other two areas of Sydney where AFL is popular - Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, beaches) and the North.

I agree with all of them and point 1 I told directly to the person that runs the club and reminded him that the 'greater' was only ever meant to be a 10 year thing. Funnily enough he didn't know the 10 year thing, but agreed there are concerns about the name not saying 'Sydney' in the media. He was also aware of the nsw giants suggestion. The longer you leave it though, the more difficult it becomes to change.

I also agree with Henson park and redrawing the boundaries. For what it's worth gill wasn't helpful at all, Dillon is much more helpful which the club is very relieved about, he was even up there last year for a week or two getting across everything. De Boer being on the commission will help too.

 

[Coolangatta]

Yeah, they should be calling themselves the Western Sydney Giants. They wouldn't have to change their club song, they'd be silly to, it's a banger.

 

[Coolangatta]

And while we're at it, can GC become the Sharks already? Get some awesome graphic designer from BF to dust off the cobwebs, step from out the dungeon and whip up a great jumper design.

They need to do it before the AFL slap on a silly gimmick Perth Sharks team.

 

[parano1a]

And while we're at it, can GC become the Sharks already?

Sharks wouldn't be a unique brand for local media coverage as there is already the Cronulla Sharks.

 

[Coolangatta]

Sharks wouldn't be a unique brand for local media coverage as there is already the Cronulla Sharks.

That's NSW, though, this is Gold Coast.

 

[Bjo187]

I've always thought being that the G is the symbol so recognisable with the giants, they probably like it in the location name too. You could simply change it to have it listed on the ladder and in media as G. Western Sydney, a happy compromise. Over time people will just start to call them Western Sydney anyway.

 

[Coolangatta]

It's still not too late for the Roos to move to north Sydney, it's an untapped market with so much potential, they could make it their own. Ross Oakley had the right idea, just should've gone harder at the Sydney market in the 90s when rugby league was in shambles.

 

[3207]

It's still not too late for the Roos to move to north Sydney, it's an untapped market with so much potential, they could make it their own. Ross Oakley had the right idea, just should've gone harder at the Sydney market in the 90s when rugby league was in shambles.

Was only a shambles for half the 90’s. Thanks to a Queenslander that ruined it all.

The first half was peak Rugby League

 

[Coolangatta]

Was only a shambles for half the 90’s. Thanks to a Queenslander that ruined it all.

The first half was peak Rugby League

Ha! North and the Dogs were doing quite well in the late 90s, too, not sure if it would've been the perfect time to move to Sydney and get new fans from the get go, or too late.

But as Walshawk said, North Syd Kangaroos would've been good. Could've had Tasmania come in as team 17 with GC, Dogs out to WS to tap into that market cause as I said, Vic's would still watch them on the tele unlike the Sydney locals atm, so they'd be more valuable than the Giants are right now (though that could change, of course).

Hawks could've been playing in Canberra instead, then if you wanted to go to 19 and 20, ACT and WA3, or get the Saints over to Canberra and stay on 18 and wait and see how things play out in NSW/QLD.

Instead we really are staring down the barrel of a bloated "national" competition with no strong foresight.

 

[3207]

Ha! North and the Dogs were doing quite well in the late 90s, too, not sure if it would've been the perfect time to move to Sydney and get new fans from the get go, or too late.

But as Walshawk said, North Syd Kangaroos would've been good. Could've had Tasmania come in as team 17 with GC, Dogs out to WS to tap into that market cause as I said, Vic's would still watch them on the tele unlike the Sydney locals atm, so they'd be more valuable than the Giants are right now (though that could change, of course).

Hawks could've been playing in Canberra instead, then if you wanted to go to 19 and 20, ACT and WA3, or get the Saints over to Canberra and stay on 18 and wait and see how things play out in NSW/QLD.

Instead we really are staring down the barrel of a bloated "national" competition with no strong foresight.

Except you can’t just make team relocate.

Unfortunately you can’t even kick them out of comps either (fk you Souffs)

 

[Walshawk]

Except you can’t just make team relocate.

Unfortunately you can’t even kick them out of comps either (fk you Souffs)

Wasn’t North just one vote away from moving to GC. Surely the North (Sydney) Kangaroos would have been much more palatable. No jumper change, minimal name change. Half as far away. Would have been perfect timing with Nth Sydney exiting the NRL a few years earlier. And unlikely ‘Greater Western Sydney’, there are actually AFL fans north of Sydney.

 

[3207]

Wasn’t North just one vote away from moving to GC. Surely the North (Sydney) Kangaroos would have been much more palatable. No jumper change, minimal name change. Half as far away. Would have been perfect timing with Nth Sydney exiting the NRL a few years earlier. And unlikely ‘Greater Western Sydney’, there are actually AFL fans north of Sydney.

I was talking from an administration POV.

The games administrators can’t force relocations.

If clubs decide themselves to move then no problem

 

[Coolangatta]

Only thing I don't agree with is kicking out the Roys the way they did cause they didn't want an odd number of teams. Should've just moved them to Canberra (as Canberra Pear said, Manuka is on Fitzroy Street I mean c'mon) and the Bears still would've been the Bears.

Could've added GC later on as team 18 (Dogs to Western Sydney if they really wanted to try and crack that market) and then look at Tassie now as 19 and maybe WA3 as 20 or the Giants if the Dogs didn't move (probably would still have 20 no matter what as the AFL I think would prefer an even number of teams but I'm not certain of that).

 

[Coolangatta]

Except you can’t just make team relocate.

Unfortunately you can’t even kick them out of comps either (fk you Souffs)

Yeah, I know, I don't think any Vic team will ever relocate again, there's too much money flowing through now.

I still maintain you bring in Tassie and Canberra and then just let the competition breathe for a while and see what happens with the expansion sides.

Dangle a juicy 100+m 7 game Darwin deal in front of North but that's about it.

It's unlikely anyone will come demanding a 21st licence after Tassie so they should leave it alone for a while I think.

 

[Walshawk]

Yeah, I know, I don't think any Vic team will ever relocate again, there's too much money flowing through now.

I still maintain you bring in Tassie and Canberra and then just let the competition breathe for a while and see what happens with the expansion sides.

Dangle a juicy 100+m 7 game Darwin deal in front of North but that's about it.

It's unlikely anyone will come demanding a 21st licence after Tassie so they should leave it alone for a while I think.

We still don’t know how GWS or GC will go.

If you asked the AFL in 2009 if they would be happy with average crowds of 10k and 13k, and home state ratings no higher than Vic clubs get in those markets, the answer would be a strong NO.

 

[3207]

We still don’t know how GWS or GC will go.

If you asked the AFL in 2009 if they would be happy with average crowds of 10k and 13k, and home state ratings no higher than Vic clubs get in those markets, the answer would be a strong NO.

Giants will be flying in 20 years time.

It’s a multi-generational plan.

 

[boncer34]

We still don’t know how GWS or GC will go.

If you asked the AFL in 2009 if they would be happy with average crowds of 10k and 13k, and home state ratings no higher than Vic clubs get in those markets, the answer would be a strong NO.

Only if you thought they'd be an immediate growth area.

The AFL never thought that. So the answer would be yes.

 

[The Goon]

It's still not too late for the Roos to move to north Sydney, it's an untapped market with so much potential, they could make it their own. Ross Oakley had the right idea, just should've gone harder at the Sydney market in the 90s when rugby league was in shambles.

North Sydney will never work. Poor infrastructure all around means while its a great place to live local getting anywhere else other than the city on a work day is awful, and even that's barely tolerable. It also means there's no coherent regional community up there. Theres a reason there is only one Sydney NRL team north of the harbour.