A letter to ... Jeff Kennett

[wombat stew]

I agree. Our game is so unique and so hard to play at top level compared to any team sport in the world, it will always be Australian, over seas developement is a time and money waster when we have clubs of all levels all over the country suffering financial
problems , why don,t the bleeding junket sponsors throw some money at junior developement and throw money at saving some Australian football leagues which are on the bones of their bums, thats what should be happening.
Now we have the two WA AFL clubs preparing to destroy the WAFL with reserves playing in this state league.AFL should throw money at all the state leagues'and the Eagles and Dockers should have reserves in the VFL which is already a mish mash of the VFA and the VFL. Tell the junket sponsors to help out here first at the lower levels, sorry South of the river folk but Peel should never have happened either. So with all this stuff happening what the hell are people doing running around in South Africa where rugby and soccer rule.

I'm guessing the Melbourne Footy club and one Ronald Dale Barassi were greeted with the same "wisdom" in 1982... The "junket" they embarked on may have culminated in the recruiting a few years later of a guy that went on to win a Brownlow in '91...

I do have to admit though, Cappuccino is more than qualified to speak about the topic of "junkets"...

Regardless of his dribble in Rupert's picture book today, it seems as though Cappuccino is fast becoming the very thing he professed he wouldn't...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/life-too-short-to-stop-work/story-e6frfhqf-1226068206024
For many men who had occupied senior or relatively senior positions, the loss of authority came with the simultaneous loss of the personal assistant, as well as the declining frequency of invitations and Christmas cards. With it came the reality of making your own phone calls, coming to grips with a better understanding of computers, and even making your own appointments. Often, it was one step too far for many new retirees.
Have you noticed that the more advanced one is into retirement, the less interesting they often become? Their interests naturally become more narrowly focused because their interaction with those in the workforce lessens and they don't read as widely about current affairs. Unless one is very careful this condition of retirement continues to worsen to the point that your only interests are about yourself. This is terribly boring to all around you.

 

[absfab]

Dear Mr Kennet,

I think you are na self indulgent, self serving egotistical knob who can't bear the thought of not being in the public eye a couple of times a week.

9 out of 10 of your attention Ho anouncements are ridiculous.

Nothing personal. At least you're less of a knob than Eddie.

Ta Ta

 

[cos789]

Bit hard to compare a club targeting individual players against the AFL trying to convert the world.

You've got that around the wrong way .
Most of THE AFL's effort internationally has been to establish pathways for players to enter the AFL not actually spruiking AR to the masses.
There is little emphasis on establishing AR other than achieving possible recruits.

The International Cup of Australian Football is taking place towards the end of the season .Apart from the Sydney-Melbourne link almost all costs are born by the participating countries . About 50% more teams would participate if it weren't for the costs .

 

[The_Wookie]

International Australian Rules clubs and leagues exist in SPITE of the AFL, not because of it. Its only recently that the league has offered any help at all.

 

[Madhawknut]

NFL anyone

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Dear Mr Kennet,

I think you are na self indulgent, self serving egotistical knob who can't bear the thought of not being in the public eye a couple of times a week.

9 out of 10 of your attention Ho anouncements are ridiculous.

Nothing personal. At least you're less of a knob than Eddie.

Ta Ta

Geez .. a Carlton supporter having a go at other clubs' Presidents with the plethora of criminals listed under the word "President" on their honour roll

 

[Fastback]

NFL anyone

Great call, much bigger following world wide but will never become international due to being too technical a sport, like AFL.

Gaelic footy is closer to the only free flowing football sport in soccer, but has no chance of becoming international.

 

[seysearles]

When I was in South Africa and told people I didn't like Rugby but preferred Aussie Rules, they thought I meant Rugby League. They seriously had NFI about our game. I may as well have been explaining cricket to a Mongolian. The AFL have more chance of converting the local baboon population to our game than converting any South African people.

Hehehe it's true. Lived in Cape Town for 2 years and although they sort have a vague understanding that it a sport and its on ESPN none of them have a clue what it's about or have much interest in it. Promoting it to the black population, as they seem to be doing, will probably make white South Africans even less interested in it also as they definitely have an us and them attitude when it comes to sport (whites play rugby, blacks play soccer).

Anyhow, they used to try to rib me when Australia lost a tri-nations game or got bundled out of the World Cup and I would tell them that I really dont give a #$% as I barely know the rules of rugby let care if we win or lose at it. My passion is for AFL and 3/4 of Australians are in the same boat as me. So basically that means Australia has won 2 rugby union world cups with it as their 3rd or 4th tier football code and 3/4 of the population hardly caring. That used to piss them off.

 

[cos789]

Great call, much bigger following world wide but will never become international due to being too technical a sport .

Well American Football is an International sport with it's own wc and popular on TV but it's hard to develop as it has a lot of rules and numbered plays but mainly because it's excpensive to kit out and you need a large pool of players and officials to run ther game thus making it difficult to establish clubs though there is an abridged version .

like AFL.

Australian Football is a game of may options and is very simple .
The laws are simple though one law in particular is difficult to interpret accurately yet is far simpler than basketball and nobody mentions that .

Gaelic footy is closer to the only free flowing football sport

Gaelic Football is very similar to AR , that's why we have the IR series .
Now that they have banned tackling it flows more .

no chance of becoming international.

Gaelic Football is played all over the world and a lot of Gaelic clubs play AR all over the world .It really does have the potential to a lot more prominent in the world than it is .IMO this due to the GAA's attitude .If AD was in charge Gaelic Footy would be right up there .
It does have a wc .

the only free flowing football sport in soccer.

Technically there aren't many stoppages but professional Cambridge Rules Football is anything but free flowing these days.In some ways RU or rl is more free flowing these days .There was an era when AR was really free flowing but it is a lot more congested these days .

A bit of trivia .More countries attend the Australian Football International Cup than the RU WC,the rl wc ,Gaelic WC and American Football WC .

 

[JoondalupJ]

So what's behind the Hawks' investment in New Zealand?

Dicko

Good question . Jeff probably trying to buy up business for after footy for presidents.
But just marketing , if not, I wouldn,t have a clue but rugby is the big big thing there.

 

[JoondalupJ]

The fact that our game will not immediately conquer the whole world does not mean it cannot grow into an established minority sport in many countries. Much of the groundwork has been done by tireless volunteers who have established amateur leagues in about 20 countries so far. From little things big things grow, but even if our game never becomes number one in these places they may one day provide athletes who could play in our own league. Tiny pacific nations provide world class rugby players, so it is possible that some of these overseas Australian Rules leagues may one day provide players for the AFL. Baseball is not a major sport in this country, yet some of our local players have made it in the US major league. same with other sports. It also spreads spectator interest in our game around the world. There is practically no downside in this. The amount the AFL spends on it is tiny anyway. I cannot believe how shortsighted some people are.

Our game at the top level is too hard to ever be realised in 20 different countries at first class standard.You have to grow up with it to understand it.
It just won,t happen. Reality is that those little things would take 500 years to develope

 

[Pedro59]

Our game at the top level is too hard to ever be realised in 20 different countries at first class standard.You have to grow up with it to understand it.
It just won,t happen. Reality is that those little things would take 500 years to develope

mate in 500 years we discovered the wheel, electricity and the Iphone 4

frogs grew wings and became birds

take 200 years off of rugby and tell me how many countries are available for the world cup

the naysayers also thought the world was flat

 

[cos789]

Our game at the top level is too hard to ever be realised in 20 different countries at first class standard.

More than 20 countries expressed interest in the 2011 international Cup .
You do realise that there are players from overseas leagues playing in the WAFL ,SANFL ,QAFL and VFL .

You have to grow up with it to understand it.

Apart from the Paris team the French teams don't speak English and they don't have any problems .The standard isn't that high but it looks more like football than AFL .They kick .mark ,handpass ,run tackle etc .They don't have the negative coaching tactics from the last decade . Maybe there is a message in there !