20th AFL Team

[Bjo187]

Reckon the NRL missed the boat by not naming the new WA team "Perth Bears" because Western Bears is such a stupid name (just like The Dolphins) but the AFL will want another WA team out of spite in the late 2030s / early 2040s.

I agree with this, silly when the Perth name is there for the taking that you'd throw yourself in with the West coast eagles and western force as third string to that bow. It's good news though, I would have been annoyed had there been a Perth nrl team, but no Perth AFL team, it would have felt weird and given them a bit of market recognition as being the team representing 'Perth' on the national stage.

 

[neogh]

I agree with this, silly when the Perth name is there for the taking that you'd throw yourself in with the West coast eagles and western force as third string to that bow. It's good news though, I would have been annoyed had there been a Perth nrl team, but no Perth AFL team, it would have felt weird and given them a bit of market recognition as being the team representing 'Perth' on the national stage.

Let's not forget 'Western' Bears is a nod to the Reds that were active in the 90s. In my opinion Redbears would've been better.

 

[Badger17]

I’m worried the AFL will try to make a 3rd Perth team happen to kill any momentum the new NRL team might have. Hope I’m wrong. Would be stupid though because WA isn’t in any danger of losing ground to rugby.

The only reason Perth are involved at all is because it's the excuse the oldies need to shoehorn the Bears back into the NRL.

Any momentum the Bears might have in Perth will quickly be murdered by the NRL and RL media doing everything in their power to ram the team's North Sydney heritage down everybody's throats. It'll be wall to wall interviews and promo packages with blokes like Greg Florimo, Billy Moore, and Gary Larson and heritage events at North Sydney Oval, which will quickly make it abundantly clear to anybody who isn't a mindless consumer or old Norths fan that the team isn't actually for them.

 

[Badger17]

For the record, the Bears haven't been granted an NRL license yet.

All that's happened is a Perth based consortium has agreed to merge with the Bears and the hacks in Sydney have started celebrating another conquest for the Sydney elite that refuse to allow the NRL to move past it's roots in NSW and grow nationally. They'll almost certainly get one of the three licenses though, which a terrible shame.

Perth should have been allowed their own club and identity, and merging with the Bears will only hinder RL's growth in WA.

Everybody involved in the whole thing should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[catters05]

Canberra 20 also means the AFL can get closer to federal funding by schmoozing the Canberra pollies at local Canberra games every second week. They will take over the Cats for access to stadium funds.

 

[AvantGardener]

I went to Manuka today, and I've got some key takeaways.

1. Another sell out. A great crowd. Reportedly 13,268 (felt like more). Good continued justification for the Manuka upgrade.

2. I saw so many people from the wider region. Lots of fans wore their local gear. Just in my area, I noticed a huge group from Pambula, and a couple from Bateman's Bay (both South Coast), and a group from Turvey Park (Wagga). While you wouldn't expect it on a fortnightly basis, it shows that Canberra would draw in fans from a pretty wide area.

3. Always play Canberra winter games early. Canberra winters are underrated. Yes it gets cold, but the day time is typically sunny and still. Canberra is the driest capital through the footy season. Just start winter games by by 1:10pm and you'll most likely get fantastic footy conditions.

4. Andrew Dillon was at the game today. Surely a good sign that Dillon would travel to Canberra to experience a game. And it was a great game for him to attend.

5. Albo was also at the game. He's a Hawks fan, so it was probably more of a coincidence. But it reinforces the importance of having a more regular presence in the capital. Easier to wheel and deal at a fortnightly Canberra game than wait for the one of three games we get now. Also important in an international sense, with all the ambassadors here.

The group from Turvey Park would have just been for Harvey Thomas though.

 

[Canberra Pear]

The group from Turvey Park would have just been for Harvey Thomas though.

Makes sense.

Still a positive sign for Canberra though. Not sure those fans would've made it all the way to Sydney for a game, but Canberra's a good distance for Riverina fans.

 

[Bjo187]

The only reason Perth are involved at all is because it's the excuse the oldies need to shoehorn the Bears back into the NRL.

Any momentum the Bears might have in Perth will quickly be murdered by the NRL and RL media doing everything in their power to ram the team's North Sydney heritage down everybody's throats. It'll be wall to wall interviews and promo packages with blokes like Greg Florimo, Billy Moore, and Gary Larson and heritage events at North Sydney Oval, which will quickly make it abundantly clear to anybody who isn't a mindless consumer or old Norths fan that the team isn't actually for them.

V'landy's lives in North Sydney and said it's the question he gets asked most often, maybe he got sick of being asked?

I don't see how you could have a proper relationship with a club that distance away though. Either N.S will feel sidelined, or Perth people will feel like they are being managed from the east coast and it's not actually their club.

The one advantage it does give is a base of fans straight off the bat, which helps with social media traffic, something the suns and giants struggled with initially. But yeah, could be a disaster relationship because Perth people typically hate east coast arrogance.

 

[MelbourneGWS]

V'landy's lives in North Sydney and said it's the question he gets asked most often, maybe he got sick of being asked?

I don't see how you could have a proper relationship with a club that distance away though. Either N.S will feel sidelined, or Perth people will feel like they are being managed from the east coast and it's not actually their club.

The one advantage it does give is a base of fans straight off the bat, which helps with social media traffic, something the suns and giants struggled with initially. But yeah, could be a disaster relationship because Perth people typically hate east coast arrogance.

How do you think the AFL will respond to the move by NRL? From what I understand, I think PNG and another NZ team will complete the NRL expansion, so Perth and Melbourne are their only forays to our heartlands.

 

[Bjo187]

How do you think the AFL will respond to the move by NRL? From what I understand, I think PNG and another NZ team will complete the NRL expansion, so Perth and Melbourne are their only forays to our heartlands.

I think it makes a potential Perth 3 team more desirable coz the afl will wanna dominate the market, especially if the nrl team gains any traction between 2027 and 30.

W.A footy has been struggling with W, producing quality draftees, the eagles performance, participation numbers and the wafl not having two cents to rub together. So they might think it requires some real investment. The funny thing is, footy in w.a has gone backwards under the leadership of w.a chairman Richard Goyder, another blip on his very ordinary record.

 

[MelbourneGWS]

I think it makes a potential Perth 3 team more desirable coz the afl will wanna dominate the market, especially if the nrl team gains any traction between 2027 and 30.

W.A footy has been struggling with W, producing quality draftees, the eagles performance, participation numbers and the wafl not having two cents to rub together. So they might think it requires some real investment. The funny thing is, footy in w.a has gone backwards under the leadership of w.a chairman Richard Goyder, another blip on his very ordinary record.

I don’t know the WA market, but that is what I think too - this NRL Perth move, is likely to increase WA3’s chances, not withstanding the initial preference of WAFC for the status quo.

 

[Badger17]

V'landy's lives in North Sydney and said it's the question he gets asked most often, maybe he got sick of being asked?

I don't see how you could have a proper relationship with a club that distance away though. Either N.S will feel sidelined, or Perth people will feel like they are being managed from the east coast and it's not actually their club.

The one advantage it does give is a base of fans straight off the bat, which helps with social media traffic, something the suns and giants struggled with initially. But yeah, could be a disaster relationship because Perth people typically hate east coast arrogance.

There's a third, and much more likely outcome; most of the NS fanbase and people in Perth are alienated by the arrangement.

The fanbase that Perth is inheriting is also incredibly entitled and, somewhat understandably, has a massive chip on it's shoulder. They'll bully the club and chuck tantrums every time they don't get their own way, the media and NRL will pander to them, and it will undermine the club's presence in WA.

Go look into the problems the Wests Tigers have had, now amplify them by the distance of a continent. That's the most likely outcome of the Western Bears. It's sad really.

 

[RedV3x]

I think it makes a potential Perth 3 team more desirable coz the afl will wanna dominate the market,

The AFL dominates the market a.t.m. with two AFL teams and WAFL.
Any long-term changes will be based on generational change and IMO AFL wins that battle.

The cons for a Perth NRL side.
!. Possible expat numbers.
2. Historical NSWRL team.
3. Scheduling.
4. NRL teams can survive on low attendances.
5. The W.A. government will assist NRL the opposite of NSW government and AFL.

The pros for a Perth NRL side.
1. Expats don't necessarily make faithful regular fans.
2. The Bears were a joke and were seen as rich little AFL and union sympathizers plus poor performers.
3. The "Western Bears" is a poor name and they'd be only a handful of "Bears" left.
4. The first NRL forarray failed due to the distances. Nothing has changed.
5. You cannot have another "Storm". If Bears win, Storm goes down. Broncos are already down.

It's like saying Canberra is ripe for AFL because the Raiders are down.

 

[speedpeck23]

How do you think the AFL will respond to the move by NRL? From what I understand, I think PNG and another NZ team will complete the NRL expansion, so Perth and Melbourne are their only forays to our heartlands.

Won't be too worried at all. Any Western Bears fans are very likely to have half an eye on West Coast and Freo. Simply it will raise the profile of the Eagles and the Dockers in NSW, particularly North Sydney.

 

[Canberra Pear]

I'm not actually sure how an NRL team would affect the decision for a third Perth AFL team.

It could spur the AFL to defend the territory, but conversely, it makes WA3 less of the "easy option".

Realistically, an NRL team isn't going to shift the dial on support for Freo or West Coast. They'll remain pretty unaffected.

But it does make it harder to implement WA3. The core of WA3's supporter base would be the group of sport fans who want something different, which will also be the core base of the NRL team.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I'm not actually sure how an NRL team would affect the decision for a third Perth AFL team.

It could spur the AFL to defend the territory, but conversely, it makes WA3 less of the "easy option".

Realistically, an NRL team isn't going to shift the dial on support for Freo or West Coast. They'll remain pretty unaffected.

But it does make it harder to implement WA3. The core of WA3's supporter base would be the group of sport fans who want something different, which will also be the core base of the NRL team.

There's lots of metrics that suggest that Perth's love of Aussie Rules and the AFL is marginally less than Adelaide's and Melbourne's possibly in part due to West Coast's generational locking out of teams being able to access their games plus a greater proportion of immigrants who speak English as a first language but come from Rugby and Soccer backgrounds from England and South Africa relative to the rest of Australia.

I don't think it threatens the AFL's dominance, but it's easy to see how it might impact the AFL on the margins and around the edges, especially as Freo are getting bigger and AFL and attendance might be seen as bit of as an exclusive club, especially the likelihood and access of WCE and Freo games on FTA TV likely doesn't hold into the future.

 

[MelbourneGWS]

Don’t they also have a Rugby Union side in WA as well? Won’t the Western Bears impact them more than the AFL sides?

 

[Canberra Pear]

Don’t they also have a Rugby Union side in WA as well? Won’t the Western Bears impact them more than the AFL sides?

I think the bigger issue will be the timeliness.

There's enough room in Perth for three AFL teams, a union and a league team.

But WA3 is supposed to scoop up those locked out of live sports, which is what the NRL team will be trying to do as well (probably with a slight headstart).

 

[MelbourneGWS]

I think the bigger issue will be the timeliness.

There's enough room in Perth for three AFL teams, a union and a league team.

But WA3 is supposed to scoop up those locked out of live sports, which is what the NRL team will be trying to do as well (probably with a slight headstart).

Yes, interesting to see how the AFL/ WAFC react. Whilst WA3 is an option, especially if the WAFC drops its reservations, the AFL could always have the poorer Victorian teams sell home games to WA, including as an interim measure. North/ St Kilda will probably make more $ selling games to Perth than any other secondary markets? Won’t do much for the integrity of the competition fixture though

 

[Canberra Pear]

Yes, interesting to see how the AFL/ WAFC react. Whilst WA3 is an option, especially if the WAFC drops its reservations, the AFL could always have the poorer Victorian teams sell home games to WA, including as an interim measure. North/ St Kilda will probably make more $ selling games to Perth than any other secondary markets? Won’t do much for the integrity of the competition fixture though

I'm a fan of this option.

North can probably make more than they made in Hobart, but from fewer games.

So their Melbourne fans would get more home games than now, plus Freo and West Coast have one less game each to travel.

I read that North already had 8k members in WA, so they'd be pretty happy, too.

 

[RedV3x]

There's lots of metrics that suggest that Perth's love of Aussie Rules and the AFL is marginally less than Adelaide's and Melbourne's

Like to show those "metrics".

possibly in part due to West Coast's generational locking out of teams being able to access their games

Please explain

plus a greater proportion of immigrants who speak English as a first language but come from Rugby and Soccer backgrounds from England and South Africa relative to the rest of Australia.

Yet, the Force failed, the Reds failed and the Glory almost gone.

I don't think it threatens the AFL's dominance,

Of course not. Why would it ?

but it's easy to see how it might impact the AFL

How ?

on the margins and around the edges,

Please explain how.

especially as Freo are getting bigger and AFL and attendance might be seen as bit of as an exclusive club,

That's saying AFL is getting bigger.
There's the ability for Perth stadium to be enlarged and there's always the WAFL.

especially the likelihood and access of WCE and Freo games on FTA TV likely doesn't hold into the future.

Huh, if FTA is lost then that would affect NRL more.

 

[RedV3x]

the AFL could always have the poorer Victorian teams sell home games to WA, including as an interim measure. North/ St Kilda will probably make more $ selling games to Perth than any other secondary markets?

That's a very good measured response.

 

[Bjo187]

Like to show those "metrics".



Please explain



Yet, the Force failed, the Reds failed and the Glory almost gone.



Of course not. Why would it ?


How ?


Please explain how.


That's saying AFL is getting bigger.
There's the ability for Perth stadium to be enlarged and there's always the WAFL.



Huh, if FTA is lost then that would affect NRL more.

The last few pages on the 'famous afl players you have met - thread' has about the fact footy isn't as popular in Perth as people would have us believe. A few ex Melbourne people have moved there and realised interest isn't anywhere near Vic and s.a levels. Worth having a look then providing your opinion on here though, I'm interested to hear.

 

[RedV3x]

A few ex Melbourne people have moved there and realised interest isn't anywhere near Vic and s.a levels.

They are Melbournians and cannot come to terms with people who don't follow Victorian teams.

Worth having a look then providing your opinion on here though, I'm interested to hear.

When you look at true metrics, on a proportional basis, S.A. is the most concentrated Australian Rules Football state, followed by W.A. and then Victoria.
On a raw basis, it's Victoria, W.A., NSW, Qld, S.A., Tasmania, N.T. and Canberra.

Sorry, but i cannot be bothered to find those metrics over such an irrelevant cause.

 

[Canberra Pear]

They are Melbournians and cannot come to terms with people who don't follow Victorian teams.



When you look at true metrics, on a proportional basis, S.A. is the most concentrated Australian Rules Football state, followed by W.A. and then Victoria.
On a raw basis, it's Victoria, W.A., NSW, Qld, S.A., Tasmania, N.T. and Canberra.

Sorry, but i cannot be bothered to find those metrics over such an irrelevant cause.

I know it's not the point, but in terms of total numbers, I'd argue that the ACT has as much football interest as the NT.

Our population is 85% greater. I don't think the NT's per capita interest is more than 85% greater than ours.