Nothing has really changed w.r.t. the media but it is getting harder and harder for the media to ignore Australian Football.
A Third Team In Sydney - It's Only a Matter Of Time !!
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Nothing has really changed w.r.t. the media but it is getting harder and harder for the media to ignore Australian Football.
BringBackTorps
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1. Wallabies thrashed by a record margin, 58-22, by All Blacks on 14.8. Aust. Super Rugby teams were only able to win c. 10% of their matches against NZ Super Rugby teams in 2021.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby...s/news-story/8478e94a96f34e76ab90bae1deb198f3
The Wallabies (now ranked 7 in the world) are the talisman for male GR contact RU growth, & financial wellbeing of RA etc.- it appears the Wallabies will be weak for several years (unless RA allows overseas-based, higher paid Australians to be selected for the Wallabies, which is a possibility).
2. The Shute Shield elite RU comp. in Sydney will not allow Penrith to participate from 2022- both it, Western Sydney Two Blues (Parra), & West Harbour (Concord) are having difficulty providing 4 adult male teams, & 3 Colts' teams (but the latter two have more competitive teams, & will receive assistance from the SRU to increase their nos.).
"Elite clubs get their way with Penrith Emus set to be axed from Shute Shield again
Troy Dodds
August 13, 2021, 12:43
The Penrith Emus celebrate a win earlier this season.
It appears the Penrith Emus have played their last match in the Shute Shield.
It’s understood the Emus have again been tossed out of the competition in a huge slap in the face to rugby union in greater western Sydney.
The Sydney Rugby Union (SRU) is expected to confirm over the next few days that the rest of the 2021 Shute Shield season will be abandoned, meaning the Emus have played their final game.
It’s understood the Western Sydney Two Blues, based on Parramatta, will survive the axe.
A furious Penrith Emus President Gary McColl said the decision to axe the club just three years after their return was perplexing.
“I have no idea why they invited us in, in order throw us out,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“All it has done is cause angst, pain and suffering".
No winner will be declared for the 2021 Shute Shield season, for the first time in early 100 years".
In WS, the decline of male contact RU will assist male contact RL nos.- but in NS & ES, it is GR AF ( & the AFL) that is gaining from the decline in male contact RU nos. there
(In NS & ES, RL GR contact nos. are very small, male or female- GR RL contact nos. have had a massive decline there).
3. G. Parkes, a respected expert RU writer on The Roar, on 16.8 gave a very detailed explanation for the woes of the Wallabies & GR RU, in a feature article.
Many of the c. 580 respondents to his article have provided their views on both these problems, & possible "solutions" for the Wallabies, & GR male contact RU.
Parkes wrote
"One of the reasons the Wallabies have left Eden Park every time since 1986 with their backside handed to them on a plate, one of the reasons Super Rugby has so overwhelmingly tipped in favour of New Zealand, is that Australian rugby doesn’t have access to Australia’s best athletes.
Many of those athletes reside in western Sydney. Talented boys of all ethnic backgrounds, who grow up to play rugby league, soccer, basketball and, increasingly, AFL. There are a small number who choose rugby, almost always because their parents are rugby people, often first-generation migrants from New Zealand or the Pacific Islands.
Once that generational chain is broken, and those families are no longer hard-core rugby families, then participation rates for the sport in the area (& probably NS & ES also) – already far lower than what it should be – will diminish even further (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby...s/news-story/8478e94a96f34e76ab90bae1deb198f3
The Wallabies (now ranked 7 in the world) are the talisman for male GR contact RU growth, & financial wellbeing of RA etc.- it appears the Wallabies will be weak for several years (unless RA allows overseas-based, higher paid Australians to be selected for the Wallabies, which is a possibility).
2. The Shute Shield elite RU comp. in Sydney will not allow Penrith to participate from 2022- both it, Western Sydney Two Blues (Parra), & West Harbour (Concord) are having difficulty providing 4 adult male teams, & 3 Colts' teams (but the latter two have more competitive teams, & will receive assistance from the SRU to increase their nos.).
"Elite clubs get their way with Penrith Emus set to be axed from Shute Shield again
Troy Dodds
August 13, 2021, 12:43
The Penrith Emus celebrate a win earlier this season.
It appears the Penrith Emus have played their last match in the Shute Shield.
It’s understood the Emus have again been tossed out of the competition in a huge slap in the face to rugby union in greater western Sydney.
The Sydney Rugby Union (SRU) is expected to confirm over the next few days that the rest of the 2021 Shute Shield season will be abandoned, meaning the Emus have played their final game.
It’s understood the Western Sydney Two Blues, based on Parramatta, will survive the axe.
A furious Penrith Emus President Gary McColl said the decision to axe the club just three years after their return was perplexing.
“I have no idea why they invited us in, in order throw us out,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“All it has done is cause angst, pain and suffering".
No winner will be declared for the 2021 Shute Shield season, for the first time in early 100 years".
In WS, the decline of male contact RU will assist male contact RL nos.- but in NS & ES, it is GR AF ( & the AFL) that is gaining from the decline in male contact RU nos. there
(In NS & ES, RL GR contact nos. are very small, male or female- GR RL contact nos. have had a massive decline there).
3. G. Parkes, a respected expert RU writer on The Roar, on 16.8 gave a very detailed explanation for the woes of the Wallabies & GR RU, in a feature article.
Many of the c. 580 respondents to his article have provided their views on both these problems, & possible "solutions" for the Wallabies, & GR male contact RU.
Parkes wrote
"One of the reasons the Wallabies have left Eden Park every time since 1986 with their backside handed to them on a plate, one of the reasons Super Rugby has so overwhelmingly tipped in favour of New Zealand, is that Australian rugby doesn’t have access to Australia’s best athletes.
Many of those athletes reside in western Sydney. Talented boys of all ethnic backgrounds, who grow up to play rugby league, soccer, basketball and, increasingly, AFL. There are a small number who choose rugby, almost always because their parents are rugby people, often first-generation migrants from New Zealand or the Pacific Islands.
Once that generational chain is broken, and those families are no longer hard-core rugby families, then participation rates for the sport in the area (& probably NS & ES also) – already far lower than what it should be – will diminish even further (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
The Wrap: Something is rotten in Australian rugby and it’s not the Wallabies
It says a lot that the record 57-22 loss to the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday, was not the worst thing to happen…
www.theroar.com.au
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BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
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Dubbo, 400kms NW of Sydney, has a pop. of c. 34,000 in 2021. It is a strong RL area, & has a Penrith Panthers Academy for the district.
It is hoped that Club AF can be re-established in Mudgee, 100km away..
"Like many Australian towns, sport is Dubbo’s heartbeat. There are a plethora of options to get active for people of all ages, interests and abilities.
For a long time, AFL has barely rated a mention in the region, with cricket, rugby league and soccer the preferred options for locals. But that is rapidly changing.
This year, Dubbo has fielded teams in all divisions of the AFL Central West for the first time in the competition’s 40-year history. That’s mixed teams in U12 and U14, U17 boys, youth girls, senior men, senior women and reserve men. There is also a strong NAB AFL Auskick scene and a glut of school programs on offer.
In all, around 800 people have played footy as part of club, Auskick or school activities in 2021".
aflnswact.com.au
It is hoped that Club AF can be re-established in Mudgee, 100km away..
"Like many Australian towns, sport is Dubbo’s heartbeat. There are a plethora of options to get active for people of all ages, interests and abilities.
For a long time, AFL has barely rated a mention in the region, with cricket, rugby league and soccer the preferred options for locals. But that is rapidly changing.
This year, Dubbo has fielded teams in all divisions of the AFL Central West for the first time in the competition’s 40-year history. That’s mixed teams in U12 and U14, U17 boys, youth girls, senior men, senior women and reserve men. There is also a strong NAB AFL Auskick scene and a glut of school programs on offer.
In all, around 800 people have played footy as part of club, Auskick or school activities in 2021".
Dubbo kicks record score in 2021 - AFL NSW / ACT
Like many Australian towns, sport is Dubbo’s heartbeat. There are a plethora of options to get active for people of all ages, interests and abilities. For a long time, AFL has barely rated a mention in the region, with cricket,…Read more ›
aflnswact.com.au
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BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
- 2,963
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- AFL Club
- GWS
1. C. Woodward has his own RL website (81stminute.com.au), has a RL blog, does live broadcasts of GR snr RL comp. matches games in the Campbelltown /SW area, & has a strong interest & involvement in GR RL.
He has previously lamented the decline of male contact RL nos. in WS.
He is also an "Expert" writer on The Roar website, where he wrote this article on 24.8.21 (Article abbreviated- his main focus was where Brisbane2 should be located).
" 'Horrible' state of grassroots league means only one club makes sense for NRL expansion
Curtis Woodward Expert 24.8.21
2317 Reads
The Western Corridor is as important to the Queensland sporting landscape as western Sydney in NSW. The [Ipswich] Jets’ catchment area includes Ipswich, Toowoomba and Logan – some of the fastest-growing areas in Australia.
Earlier this year, construction on a $70 million training and game facility for the Brisbane Lions began in Ipswich [Actually 25km east of Ipswich built-up area, & totally separated by farmland etc- really part of suburban outer Brisbane], which will also house the club’s AFLW team. The Ipswich council chipped in $20 million, with completion scheduled for September 2022. AFL has already got its head in front [No- RL contact nos. in the Western Corridor easily exceed GR AF nos. there- but not in other parts of Greater Brisbane] in what is meant to be a rugby league stronghold.
The other player in all of this is COVID itself. Grassroots sport has been smashed again in 2021.
Some junior clubs in NSW and Queensland won’t make it back to the field at all next year [Why?]. The perfect storm of decades-long administrative mismanagement going all the way up the chain and coronavirus has crippled the sport. The long-term effects will be felt for years to come.
We just don’t see it because the NRL is so top-heavy that the struggles in the bush and in metropolitan regions don’t carry the weight they once did.
A contact from a powerful junior club in Sydney’s southwest told me recently just how perilous things are getting in the heartlands.
“Unfortunately, our great game is being administered horribly at all levels and grassroots community footy is suffering badly,” he said. “Mate, our population in the southwest has tripled over the last 20 years and the participation numbers are horrible.
School football was huge in the area at both primary and high schools. “Not anymore, unfortunately.“ Rugby league development officers and players used to flood the schools; this hardly happens anymore.
It is time for the NRL to learn something from the mistakes they continue to make (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
2. Here Woodward, & others, tweet about specific examples of the decline in GR male contact RL nos. in the Campbelltown & Camden districts, SW Sydney- see point 2.
www.bigfooty.com
He has previously lamented the decline of male contact RL nos. in WS.
He is also an "Expert" writer on The Roar website, where he wrote this article on 24.8.21 (Article abbreviated- his main focus was where Brisbane2 should be located).
" 'Horrible' state of grassroots league means only one club makes sense for NRL expansion
Curtis Woodward Expert 24.8.21
2317 Reads
The Western Corridor is as important to the Queensland sporting landscape as western Sydney in NSW. The [Ipswich] Jets’ catchment area includes Ipswich, Toowoomba and Logan – some of the fastest-growing areas in Australia.
Earlier this year, construction on a $70 million training and game facility for the Brisbane Lions began in Ipswich [Actually 25km east of Ipswich built-up area, & totally separated by farmland etc- really part of suburban outer Brisbane], which will also house the club’s AFLW team. The Ipswich council chipped in $20 million, with completion scheduled for September 2022. AFL has already got its head in front [No- RL contact nos. in the Western Corridor easily exceed GR AF nos. there- but not in other parts of Greater Brisbane] in what is meant to be a rugby league stronghold.
The other player in all of this is COVID itself. Grassroots sport has been smashed again in 2021.
Some junior clubs in NSW and Queensland won’t make it back to the field at all next year [Why?]. The perfect storm of decades-long administrative mismanagement going all the way up the chain and coronavirus has crippled the sport. The long-term effects will be felt for years to come.
We just don’t see it because the NRL is so top-heavy that the struggles in the bush and in metropolitan regions don’t carry the weight they once did.
A contact from a powerful junior club in Sydney’s southwest told me recently just how perilous things are getting in the heartlands.
“Unfortunately, our great game is being administered horribly at all levels and grassroots community footy is suffering badly,” he said. “Mate, our population in the southwest has tripled over the last 20 years and the participation numbers are horrible.
School football was huge in the area at both primary and high schools. “Not anymore, unfortunately.“ Rugby league development officers and players used to flood the schools; this hardly happens anymore.
It is time for the NRL to learn something from the mistakes they continue to make (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
2. Here Woodward, & others, tweet about specific examples of the decline in GR male contact RL nos. in the Campbelltown & Camden districts, SW Sydney- see point 2.
A Third Team In Sydney - It's Only a Matter Of Time !!
1. "Ratings up an average of 144% as Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU prepares for Finals Mon, 26/04/2021, 02:00 pm by RUGBY.com.au staff The 2021 Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU season has proven a hit with fans across Australia with record-breaking numbers tuning in on television, at games and at...
www.bigfooty.com
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BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
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More fantastic benefits of the growth of female GR AF, & the AFLW, in NSW.
It can be expected that the Swans' AFLW team (as the Swans have a far higher profile, cf GWS, in NSW) will turbocharge female GR AF growth in NS & ES in particular, but also throughout all NSW & ACT.
"Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries
Sydney’s iconic Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park will be transformed into Sydney Swans HQ, a world-class sporting and community hub, following successful negotiations to re-enliven the project.
By Sydney Swans Media - 5 days ago
<!--
-->
The dream, first announced in October 2018, will finally become a reality.
The announcement comes just weeks following the historic announcement of the Sydney Swans being awarded a licence to join the AFLW competition in late 2022".
www.sydneyswans.com.au
It can be expected that the Swans' AFLW team (as the Swans have a far higher profile, cf GWS, in NSW) will turbocharge female GR AF growth in NS & ES in particular, but also throughout all NSW & ACT.
"Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries
Sydney’s iconic Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park will be transformed into Sydney Swans HQ, a world-class sporting and community hub, following successful negotiations to re-enliven the project.
By Sydney Swans Media - 5 days ago
<!--
The dream, first announced in October 2018, will finally become a reality.
The announcement comes just weeks following the historic announcement of the Sydney Swans being awarded a licence to join the AFLW competition in late 2022".
Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries
Sydney’s iconic Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park will be transformed into Sydney Swans HQ, a world-class sporting and community hub, following successful negotiations to re-enliven the project.
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The mention of the Clontarf Foundation in the article is worthy of some more detail.More fantastic benefits of the growth of female GR AF, & the AFLW, in NSW.
It can be expected that the Swans' AFLW team (as the Swans have a far higher profile, cf GWS, in NSW) will turbocharge female GR AF growth in NS & ES in particular, but also throughout all NSW & ACT.
"Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries
Sydney’s iconic Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park will be transformed into Sydney Swans HQ, a world-class sporting and community hub, following successful negotiations to re-enliven the project.
By Sydney Swans Media - 5 days ago
<!---->
The dream, first announced in October 2018, will finally become a reality.
The announcement comes just weeks following the historic announcement of the Sydney Swans being awarded a licence to join the AFLW competition in late 2022".
Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries
Sydney’s iconic Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park will be transformed into Sydney Swans HQ, a world-class sporting and community hub, following successful negotiations to re-enliven the project.
The original concept was based on getting Indigenous kids to attend school so the Founder ex AFL Fremantle Coach Gerrard Neesham decided if he offered the kids a game of footy they would have to attend school. His claim to AFL coaching fame was to introduce tactics from other sports ie Water Polo.
The school idea worked and from the original school at Clontarf Catholic College in Perth it has spread right across the country with hundreds of kids now involved.
This link explains more;
Clontarf Foundation - Charitable not-for-profit for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men
The Clontarf Foundation exists to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and by doing so equips them to participate meaningfully in society.
clontarf.org.au
BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
- 2,963
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Hannah Stewart, from Hay, nthn. Riverina NSW, is an example of the calibre of some of the extraordinary females that want to play AF in this region- but proper opportunities weren't granted to them, then; & still now, GR AF clubs are still not fully supporting female GR AF.
How many passionate female AF supporters, & potential players, have been previously lost to the game they love, due to lack of opportunities & encouragement?
The AFLW in NSW & ACT is now opening the door to acceptance of female GR AF amongst GR AF clubs there, in the Riverina.
"Needle in a Hay stack
Author Name: jacklynch | Posted 2:16 pm on Wednesday 18th August, 2021
TAGS: DIGITAL ROAD TRIPGOLDEN RIVERSSOUTHERN NSW
One of the best things about footy is the people and their stories. They colour our game and bring scores, stats and data to life.
Hannah Stewart, has plenty of stories to tell, each one painting a picture of talent and commitment to the sport and her club, the Hay Lions".
H. Stewart (standing far left, in white T-shirt), now a 20 y.o:-
. played her first game of AF as an 8 y.o.- in an Hay U14 boys' side!
. eventually captained the U14 Hay (mixed) boys' side
. at 18 y.o., she began coaching the U14 Hay Lions boys' side
. is the first female GR AF coach of any team, male or female, in the Golden Rivers League's 100 year history.
aflnswact.com.au
How many passionate female AF supporters, & potential players, have been previously lost to the game they love, due to lack of opportunities & encouragement?
The AFLW in NSW & ACT is now opening the door to acceptance of female GR AF amongst GR AF clubs there, in the Riverina.
"Needle in a Hay stack
Author Name: jacklynch | Posted 2:16 pm on Wednesday 18th August, 2021
TAGS: DIGITAL ROAD TRIPGOLDEN RIVERSSOUTHERN NSW
One of the best things about footy is the people and their stories. They colour our game and bring scores, stats and data to life.
Hannah Stewart, has plenty of stories to tell, each one painting a picture of talent and commitment to the sport and her club, the Hay Lions".
H. Stewart (standing far left, in white T-shirt), now a 20 y.o:-
. played her first game of AF as an 8 y.o.- in an Hay U14 boys' side!
. eventually captained the U14 Hay (mixed) boys' side
. at 18 y.o., she began coaching the U14 Hay Lions boys' side
. is the first female GR AF coach of any team, male or female, in the Golden Rivers League's 100 year history.
Needle in a Hay stack - AFL NSW / ACT
One of the best things about footy is the people and their stories. They colour our game and bring scores, stats and data to life. Hannah Stewart, has plenty of stories to tell, each one painting a picture of talent…Read more ›
aflnswact.com.au
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Those Southern NSW leagues near the border are the typical examples of footy politics at its finest. However despite the love affairs with Netball going back many years the tide is slowly turning. I often wonder what a young girl in the past who wanted to play footy says to her parents in that area and what their reply would have been. The formation of the AFLW has had unexpected outcomes all over the country to say the least.Hannah Stewart, from Hay, nthn. Riverina NSW, is an example of the calibre of some of the extraordinary females that want to play AF in this region- but proper opportunities weren't granted to them, then; & still now, GR AF clubs are still not fully supporting female GR AF.
How many passionate female AF supporters, & potential players, have been previously lost to the game they love, due to lack of opportunities & encouragement?
The AFLW in NSW & ACT is now opening the door to acceptance of female GR AF amongst GR AF clubs there.
View attachment 1227746
H. Stewart (standing far left, in white T-shirt), now a 20 y.o:-
. played her first game of AF as an 8 y.o.- in an Hay U14 boys' side!
. eventually captained the U14 Hay (mixed) boys' side
. at 18 y.o., she began coaching the U14 Hay Lions boys' side
. is the first female GR AF coach of any team, male or female, in the Golden Rivers League's 100 year history.
Needle in a Hay stack - AFL NSW / ACT
One of the best things about footy is the people and their stories. They colour our game and bring scores, stats and data to life. Hannah Stewart, has plenty of stories to tell, each one painting a picture of talent…Read more ›
It appears that the girls/women down there will get their footy eventually and the clubs maybe forced/encouraged/canjoled to add female footy teams to their current Football/Netball teams set ups. Netball Australia is reporting participation problems anyhow in some areas.
BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
- 2,963
- 1,827
- AFL Club
- GWS
C. Woodward broadcasts GR snr RL games in SW Sydney, conducts the 81stminute.com RL website, & is a strong promoter of GR RL .
He tweeted on 19.8 his appeal for the NRL to provide more assistance for GR RL clubs.
(He was interviewed by Wookie in the BF podcast today, 9.9, on the "The State Of RL").
C. Woodward
Any chance NRL, sponsors and footy community get together and put together some fund-raising campaigns to help grassroots clubs? Many were already struggling before we'd ever heard of COVID. God knows what the landscape will look like in 2022 #NRL
7:52 PM · Aug 19, 2021·Twitter for Android
10
Retweets
21
Likes
Greg 'Whale Wiz'
@whalewis
·
Aug 19
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
and
@ReadingThePlay
Even more clubs likely to be gone. Sponsorship dollars will be harder to find. People reluctant to support fundraiser as the hip pocket takes a hit
Curtis Woodward
@woodward_curtis
·
Aug 19
This is where the NRL needs to step up.
Daniel caughlan
@DanielCaughlan
·
Aug 19
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
How about the NRL look after them like they are looking after the players families flying them to Qld putting them up in hotel rooms why can't they stay at their places like everyone else that's lost their jobs and businesses NRL wasting a lot of money that could go to grassroots
@GrahamGillard1
·
Aug 20
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
The NRL has never given a cent to grassroots clubs. Every club has to support itself. The local Leagues club helps in organising the local competition, but that’s it. Not even a pair of socks.
@rlexpanda
·
Aug 20
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
Most of the clubs around here: Can’t go broke during 2021 if you fold before the season started. Chances the NRL does anything for grassroots clubs? Where’s that Dan Andrews tweet?
He tweeted on 19.8 his appeal for the NRL to provide more assistance for GR RL clubs.
(He was interviewed by Wookie in the BF podcast today, 9.9, on the "The State Of RL").
C. Woodward
Any chance NRL, sponsors and footy community get together and put together some fund-raising campaigns to help grassroots clubs? Many were already struggling before we'd ever heard of COVID. God knows what the landscape will look like in 2022 #NRL
7:52 PM · Aug 19, 2021·Twitter for Android
10
Retweets
21
Likes
Greg 'Whale Wiz'
@whalewis
·
Aug 19
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
and
@ReadingThePlay
Even more clubs likely to be gone. Sponsorship dollars will be harder to find. People reluctant to support fundraiser as the hip pocket takes a hit
Curtis Woodward
@woodward_curtis
·
Aug 19
This is where the NRL needs to step up.
Daniel caughlan
@DanielCaughlan
·
Aug 19
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
How about the NRL look after them like they are looking after the players families flying them to Qld putting them up in hotel rooms why can't they stay at their places like everyone else that's lost their jobs and businesses NRL wasting a lot of money that could go to grassroots
@GrahamGillard1
·
Aug 20
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
The NRL has never given a cent to grassroots clubs. Every club has to support itself. The local Leagues club helps in organising the local competition, but that’s it. Not even a pair of socks.
@rlexpanda
·
Aug 20
Replying to
@woodward_curtis
Most of the clubs around here: Can’t go broke during 2021 if you fold before the season started. Chances the NRL does anything for grassroots clubs? Where’s that Dan Andrews tweet?
A further addenum to the above comments re Netball and participation problems.
Apparently it appears that one of the reasons is the current Netball uniform which is a short dress which is now deemed unsuitable by the younger players which is Netballs key market. The preferred option is ala AFLW - Shorts and T Shirt or Top or Strip. There was a whole article devoted to this point on my phone per the ABC sports news earlier this week.
The discussion then went on to say that young women/girls are dropping out of sport anyhow. Have no idea if this will affect our womens game in the future.
BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
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- AFL Club
- GWS
themonthly.com.au MAY 2012
ESSAYS
Malcolm Knox (SMH journalist, who has won 3 Walkley Awards for journalism) said
"One-sport Wonders
... Corporations compete to chase scarce resources – talented children – early. But how early is too early?
When I was at school [Sydney GPS], nine of our cricket first XI were also in the rugby firsts. It was the same every year – the talented kids were generalists. That seems much rarer now. To test this impression, I went back to the school recently. My nephew Angus, who’s there now, quit cricket at 15. In the summer he played water polo and did weights to condition himself for rugby, and participated in specialist rugby position training. He is hardly an elite pro sportsman, yet he has the habits of one.
Private schools’ rugby facilities would satisfy any Super Rugby team. On a Saturday afternoon in autumn, watching my old school’s first XV is like watching professionals. They are big, fit, intensively coached, and they focus on rugby all year round. Interestingly, whereas in the 1970s it was government schools who overtook the private sector and supplied the talent for top-level adult rugby, that trend has been reversed, and the well-resourced specialist training from private schools now feeds the professional sport...
My suspicion about the loss of school-level generalists is confirmed by Andrew Webber, an old schoolmate (top cricketer, footballer and runner) who has coached elite rugby and has sons at the school. “There’s hardly any overlap now between the summer and winter firsts,” he says. “You’d only find one to three first XV players who are also at that level in summer sport, and that’s how it’s been for a while. Through the summer they do SWAT [strength, weights, athletic training] to prepare them for rugby. It’s all year round.”
The same has been observed by Geoff Spotswood, who taught at the King’s School for 14 years, played first-grade cricket and rugby league, and now coaches multisports clinics in an effort to keep children’s interests from narrowing.
“The system in schools perpetuates specialisation,” Spotswood says... Coaches with vested interests try to influence parents, by telling them their kids are better than they are. The kids themselves are driven to believe they’re stars. At 15 or 16 they’re very impressionable. It’s hard for them to stand up against all this pressure and say, ‘No, I just want to have fun and play the sports I like.’”
This pressure used to wait until early adulthood. Now it reaches down into early adolescence...
When I see the teenaged rugby hulks running onto a field – “They’re as big and fit as the adult [Wow] Test players were in our time,” says Webber – my gut tells me it’s wrong that they should specialise so young. I think of it as Friday Night Lights syndrome: the television drama about a small-town Texas school football team, carrying the hopes and pressures of the entire town, seems to me a portrait of children robbed of their childhood; in other words, a glamourised form of child abuse. But beyond this gut feeling, does early specialisation have actual adverse consequences?
Researchers and psychologists have disputed the effects of early specialisation with increasing passion over the past decade...
Researchers describe a typical child’s sporting life in three phases. From 7 to 12 years is the “sampling phase”, writes Kirk, when “young people participate in a range of sports … their main motivation is fun and enjoyment, and … the emphasis is on playing rather than training”. From 13 to 15 this moves into the “specialising phase” when “the range reduces, perhaps to three or two, and motivation begins to shift from fun and enjoyment in itself to competitive success and enjoyment of winning”. At 16 they move into the “investment phase”, which “usually signals a focus on one activity and a commitment to intensive training and competitive success”.
It is during the transitions that “dropout rates rise steeply”, and as “young people progress through early to mid adolescence, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to play sport for all but the most able and mature”, Kirk writes. The size differences between children of slightly different ages become most marked in adolescence...
Perhaps the most damaging evidence against advocating the early specialisation approach concerns sport dropout … Investigations of participants who drop out of sport have consistently indicated that lack of fun or enjoyment is a predominant motive for discontinuing participation in a given sport … Recall that a defining characteristic of the deliberate practice activities …. is that they are not inherently enjoyable. The types of training advocated by the early specialisation approach may be at odds with the level of enjoyment necessary for a long-term commitment to physical activity involvement (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
www.themonthly.com.au
Whilst the above article was written in 2012, it is my understanding that the intensity & specialisation, describe above, in private school RU in Sydney & Brisbane has continued, & increased, to 2021- & many teenage good RU players do not find the prospect of long & intensive weight training etc. attractive, for a range of reasons.
This is causing many to dropout of playing school &, later GR club, RU. This has negative implications for the long term future of RU in Sydney & Brisbane- both at GR & adult elite levels. By becoming, increasingly, a "power/strength" game, many find RU less appealing to play.
ESSAYS
Malcolm Knox (SMH journalist, who has won 3 Walkley Awards for journalism) said
"One-sport Wonders
... Corporations compete to chase scarce resources – talented children – early. But how early is too early?
When I was at school [Sydney GPS], nine of our cricket first XI were also in the rugby firsts. It was the same every year – the talented kids were generalists. That seems much rarer now. To test this impression, I went back to the school recently. My nephew Angus, who’s there now, quit cricket at 15. In the summer he played water polo and did weights to condition himself for rugby, and participated in specialist rugby position training. He is hardly an elite pro sportsman, yet he has the habits of one.
Private schools’ rugby facilities would satisfy any Super Rugby team. On a Saturday afternoon in autumn, watching my old school’s first XV is like watching professionals. They are big, fit, intensively coached, and they focus on rugby all year round. Interestingly, whereas in the 1970s it was government schools who overtook the private sector and supplied the talent for top-level adult rugby, that trend has been reversed, and the well-resourced specialist training from private schools now feeds the professional sport...
My suspicion about the loss of school-level generalists is confirmed by Andrew Webber, an old schoolmate (top cricketer, footballer and runner) who has coached elite rugby and has sons at the school. “There’s hardly any overlap now between the summer and winter firsts,” he says. “You’d only find one to three first XV players who are also at that level in summer sport, and that’s how it’s been for a while. Through the summer they do SWAT [strength, weights, athletic training] to prepare them for rugby. It’s all year round.”
The same has been observed by Geoff Spotswood, who taught at the King’s School for 14 years, played first-grade cricket and rugby league, and now coaches multisports clinics in an effort to keep children’s interests from narrowing.
“The system in schools perpetuates specialisation,” Spotswood says... Coaches with vested interests try to influence parents, by telling them their kids are better than they are. The kids themselves are driven to believe they’re stars. At 15 or 16 they’re very impressionable. It’s hard for them to stand up against all this pressure and say, ‘No, I just want to have fun and play the sports I like.’”
This pressure used to wait until early adulthood. Now it reaches down into early adolescence...
When I see the teenaged rugby hulks running onto a field – “They’re as big and fit as the adult [Wow] Test players were in our time,” says Webber – my gut tells me it’s wrong that they should specialise so young. I think of it as Friday Night Lights syndrome: the television drama about a small-town Texas school football team, carrying the hopes and pressures of the entire town, seems to me a portrait of children robbed of their childhood; in other words, a glamourised form of child abuse. But beyond this gut feeling, does early specialisation have actual adverse consequences?
Researchers and psychologists have disputed the effects of early specialisation with increasing passion over the past decade...
Researchers describe a typical child’s sporting life in three phases. From 7 to 12 years is the “sampling phase”, writes Kirk, when “young people participate in a range of sports … their main motivation is fun and enjoyment, and … the emphasis is on playing rather than training”. From 13 to 15 this moves into the “specialising phase” when “the range reduces, perhaps to three or two, and motivation begins to shift from fun and enjoyment in itself to competitive success and enjoyment of winning”. At 16 they move into the “investment phase”, which “usually signals a focus on one activity and a commitment to intensive training and competitive success”.
It is during the transitions that “dropout rates rise steeply”, and as “young people progress through early to mid adolescence, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to play sport for all but the most able and mature”, Kirk writes. The size differences between children of slightly different ages become most marked in adolescence...
Perhaps the most damaging evidence against advocating the early specialisation approach concerns sport dropout … Investigations of participants who drop out of sport have consistently indicated that lack of fun or enjoyment is a predominant motive for discontinuing participation in a given sport … Recall that a defining characteristic of the deliberate practice activities …. is that they are not inherently enjoyable. The types of training advocated by the early specialisation approach may be at odds with the level of enjoyment necessary for a long-term commitment to physical activity involvement (My emphases, & words in brackets)".
One-sport Wonders
It’s the type of dewy summer morning when you can be sunburnt by 8 am. On the cricket field, 10 year olds in whites are hoping the hard ball won’t come their way, or, if it must, that they’ll be concentrating on the match and not that big woolly black dog over there. But it’s not just a cricket...
www.themonthly.com.au
Whilst the above article was written in 2012, it is my understanding that the intensity & specialisation, describe above, in private school RU in Sydney & Brisbane has continued, & increased, to 2021- & many teenage good RU players do not find the prospect of long & intensive weight training etc. attractive, for a range of reasons.
This is causing many to dropout of playing school &, later GR club, RU. This has negative implications for the long term future of RU in Sydney & Brisbane- both at GR & adult elite levels. By becoming, increasingly, a "power/strength" game, many find RU less appealing to play.
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BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
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1. Former All Blacks' coach S. Hansen says that Australia only has enough elite RU talent to support 3 competitive RU teams in trans-Tasman Super Rugby ie not 5, which played in 2021.
The Aust. teams only won c. 10% of their Super Rugby matches against the 5 NZ teams in 2021. Australia also had a record 57-22 loss to the All Blacks in August, & has not won the Bledisloe Cup for 35 years.
www.abc.net.au
2. S. Hansen supports the Rugby 12's concept, with minimal scrums (& only 2 x 30 min. halves) stating RU must attempt to make itself more appealing to younger generations, with much more free-flowing play & less stoppages.
Hansen said RU12's is "a fast & skilful game"...."If...this is the way it should be played...It's going to encourage more young people to play, & encourage more people to invest in it, to watch...".
The Nthn. Hemisphere 6 Nations oppose it.
www.stuff.co.nz
There has ben a major loss of younger fans attending, & watching broadcasts, of Super Rugby in NZ.
There has also been a major decline in male contact RU nos. in NZ- which has resulted in a national enquiry by the NZRU to attempt to rectify this long term problem (but female contact RU nos. are having significant growth). It has been behind soccer comp. nos. in NZ for many years- & was overtaken by basketball comp. nos. a year ago.
If male contact RU has these long term problems in NZ- where many say RU is akin to a religion there- this bodes poorly for the popularity of RU in Aust.
RU has traditionally had a stronghold in Sydney's northern & eastern suburbs, in club & private school comps.
Ditto, the affluent areas of Greater Brisbane- but in both cities, AF is having significant growth in these RU strongholds (even though the Brisbane GPS schools still maintain their biased ban against an AF GPS comp.).
The Aust. teams only won c. 10% of their Super Rugby matches against the 5 NZ teams in 2021. Australia also had a record 57-22 loss to the All Blacks in August, & has not won the Bledisloe Cup for 35 years.
Aussie rugby needs domestic overhaul, former All Blacks coach warns
Steve Hansen, who coached the All Blacks to their 2015 World Cup victory, believes the only way to revive the competitiveness of Australian men's rugby is to reduce the number of its Super Rugby sides.
www.abc.net.au
2. S. Hansen supports the Rugby 12's concept, with minimal scrums (& only 2 x 30 min. halves) stating RU must attempt to make itself more appealing to younger generations, with much more free-flowing play & less stoppages.
Hansen said RU12's is "a fast & skilful game"...."If...this is the way it should be played...It's going to encourage more young people to play, & encourage more people to invest in it, to watch...".
The Nthn. Hemisphere 6 Nations oppose it.
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
There has ben a major loss of younger fans attending, & watching broadcasts, of Super Rugby in NZ.
There has also been a major decline in male contact RU nos. in NZ- which has resulted in a national enquiry by the NZRU to attempt to rectify this long term problem (but female contact RU nos. are having significant growth). It has been behind soccer comp. nos. in NZ for many years- & was overtaken by basketball comp. nos. a year ago.
If male contact RU has these long term problems in NZ- where many say RU is akin to a religion there- this bodes poorly for the popularity of RU in Aust.
RU has traditionally had a stronghold in Sydney's northern & eastern suburbs, in club & private school comps.
Ditto, the affluent areas of Greater Brisbane- but in both cities, AF is having significant growth in these RU strongholds (even though the Brisbane GPS schools still maintain their biased ban against an AF GPS comp.).
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BringBackTorps
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Swan James Bell is an example of the high quality athletes from the Illawarra/Wollongong region that, until very recent times, were, generally, not available to GR AF, & the AFL- but that situation is changing now.
"Bell picked for first AFL final
Author Name: jacklynch 27th August, 2021
Tomorrow, Shellharbour’s James Bell will line up for the Sydney Swans against cross-town rivals, the GIANTS, in an elimination final in Tasmania. It will be Bell’s first finals appearance in the AFL.
Soccer and rugby league are the dominant codes in Shellharbour and surrounds during the winter months. A prodigeous sportsperson, Bell represented NSW in soccer before he pulled on the boots for the Shellharbour Swans. Some say if not for discovering AFL, he would be an A-League player.
Former president of the Shellharbour Swans junior club and now president of the senior club, Shellhabour City Suns, Steve Ashworth has seen plenty of James Bell. In fact, it was Ashworth who invited Bell to play AFL for the first time, having watched him dominate other sports with Ashworth’s son, Sandon.
“He was a very good soccer player, a good short distance and long distance runner,” Ashworth recalls.
From his first game, it was clear Bell was something out of the ordinary. As a 12-year-old, he kicked two goals on debut, the first with his left foot, the second on his right. “Even at a young age he could kick on both feet [Very rare for a 12 y.o. AF player- the drop must be perfect, & usually requires much practice], which not a lot of players could do (My emphases)” ".
aflnswact.com.au
"Bell picked for first AFL final
Author Name: jacklynch 27th August, 2021
Tomorrow, Shellharbour’s James Bell will line up for the Sydney Swans against cross-town rivals, the GIANTS, in an elimination final in Tasmania. It will be Bell’s first finals appearance in the AFL.
Soccer and rugby league are the dominant codes in Shellharbour and surrounds during the winter months. A prodigeous sportsperson, Bell represented NSW in soccer before he pulled on the boots for the Shellharbour Swans. Some say if not for discovering AFL, he would be an A-League player.
Former president of the Shellharbour Swans junior club and now president of the senior club, Shellhabour City Suns, Steve Ashworth has seen plenty of James Bell. In fact, it was Ashworth who invited Bell to play AFL for the first time, having watched him dominate other sports with Ashworth’s son, Sandon.
“He was a very good soccer player, a good short distance and long distance runner,” Ashworth recalls.
From his first game, it was clear Bell was something out of the ordinary. As a 12-year-old, he kicked two goals on debut, the first with his left foot, the second on his right. “Even at a young age he could kick on both feet [Very rare for a 12 y.o. AF player- the drop must be perfect, & usually requires much practice], which not a lot of players could do (My emphases)” ".
Bell picked for first AFL final - AFL NSW / ACT
Tomorrow, Shellharbour’s James Bell will line up for the Sydney Swans against cross-town rivals, the GIANTS, in an elimination final in Tasmania. It will be Bell’s first finals appearance in the AFL. His selection was something of a surprise, with…Read more ›
aflnswact.com.au
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- Thread starter
- #4,089
Sydney Swans
GWS Giants
Northern Sydney Neanderthals
Illawarra Imperials
Central Coast Crabs/Cassowaries/Cockatoos
Canberra Capitals
Bring it on !!!!
GWS Giants
Northern Sydney Neanderthals
Illawarra Imperials
Central Coast Crabs/Cassowaries/Cockatoos
Canberra Capitals
Bring it on !!!!
BringBackTorps
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Pennant Hills FC, NW Sydney, serves c. 200 meals to its snr players every Thur. night, after training.
Whilst it is very common for GR snr clubs to serve meals (usually soup; & pasta, or bbq, or rice dishes) after training on Thur. nights, I have never heard of any snr GR club, anywhere in Australia, that would serve c. 200 meals every week.
(Jnr AF clubs usually only serve meals, after training, in a week of their Grand Final- & sometimes once during the season).
The article clearly shows the powerful allure of the strong Club culture that exists at Pennant Hills.
aflnswact.com.au
Whilst it is very common for GR snr clubs to serve meals (usually soup; & pasta, or bbq, or rice dishes) after training on Thur. nights, I have never heard of any snr GR club, anywhere in Australia, that would serve c. 200 meals every week.
(Jnr AF clubs usually only serve meals, after training, in a week of their Grand Final- & sometimes once during the season).
The article clearly shows the powerful allure of the strong Club culture that exists at Pennant Hills.
Demons create footy heaven in Pennant Hills - AFL NSW / ACT
“One of the things that Penno prides itself on is a strong club culture,” says Pennant Hills President, Phil Hare. “We’re a club that celebrates the division three women’s win as much as the Premier men’s win. That’s one of…Read more ›
aflnswact.com.au
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BringBackTorps
Club Legend
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1. SMH M. Knox 13.8.21
Knox claims the AFL, for "...100 years... is waging war against rugby league", writes about the competition between both codes for female players, fans, mothers; & appears to be concerned over the creation of the recently announced Swans AFLW team (Female GR club & school comp. AF is booming in Sydney, particularly in NS, ES, & inner WS).
Knox, who played First XV RU for his old Sydney GPS school, & is also a NRL fan, said
"...earlier this year, when ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys spontaneously legislated a crackdown on high tackles so “mums” would still allow their kids to play a sport without getting their heads knocked off. (Never mind what “dads” wanted for their kids; it might have been the same thing.) But when V’landys took this overtly feminising step, he faced a wall of rushing defence - all offside by the way - from the men of league charging up to flatten him with his own language. He was turning a man’s game into something else.
Mums count, but there are limits.
Participation-wise, the NRL knows it is losing its contest with the AFL, so it is doing what it can. It claims “15 per cent growth in female participation in the last few years”, whatever that means, but credit where it is due. This is a long-term movement.
In its tedious obsession with beating rugby league, the AFL cannot resist an incursion when it sees the chance, and its 18-team competition now looms intimidatingly over the six-team NRLW [But NRLW GF's, & female RL State Of Origin both attain excellent ratings, which the AFL would be envious of. However, GR female Club & school AF comp. player nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld. vastly surpass GR club & school female contact RL comp. nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld.)"
(My emphases, & words, in brackets)
Sending women into battle of one-upmanship between codes
The AFL chose the Women In League round to announce the expansion of its women’s competition to a full slate of 18 teams.
www.smh.com.au
2. In this video, Swans CEO T. Harley discusses the huge benefits the Swans having their own AFLW team will deliver for AF in NSW.
Harley said " What we've seen in the last couple of years is an explosion of [female] participation in Sydney, the fastest growing market in Australia for youth girls' football (in % terms, not raw nos.)...".
Harley: It's a really historic moment for the club
Hear from Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley who spoke following the confirmation of Sydney Swans entry into the AFLW competition today, with the AFL Commission granting the club a licence for entry into Season 7, commencing in late 2022.
www.sydneyswans.com.au
3. The Swans have recently launched a campaign to seek membership for their AFLW team, as well as corporate sponsorship, volunteers etc.
Sydney AFLW - It's GAME ON!
The Official Facebook page of the Sydney Swans Football Club. Membership Enquiries: 1300 663 819 (10am-4pm Monday to Friday) www.membership.sydneyswans.com.au
tradablebits.com
Knox claims the AFL, for "...100 years... is waging war against rugby league", writes about the competition between both codes for female players, fans, mothers; & appears to be concerned over the creation of the recently announced Swans AFLW team (Female GR club & school comp. AF is booming in Sydney, particularly in NS, ES, & inner WS).
Knox, who played First XV RU for his old Sydney GPS school, & is also a NRL fan, said
"...earlier this year, when ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys spontaneously legislated a crackdown on high tackles so “mums” would still allow their kids to play a sport without getting their heads knocked off. (Never mind what “dads” wanted for their kids; it might have been the same thing.) But when V’landys took this overtly feminising step, he faced a wall of rushing defence - all offside by the way - from the men of league charging up to flatten him with his own language. He was turning a man’s game into something else.
Mums count, but there are limits.
Participation-wise, the NRL knows it is losing its contest with the AFL, so it is doing what it can. It claims “15 per cent growth in female participation in the last few years”, whatever that means, but credit where it is due. This is a long-term movement.
In its tedious obsession with beating rugby league, the AFL cannot resist an incursion when it sees the chance, and its 18-team competition now looms intimidatingly over the six-team NRLW [But NRLW GF's, & female RL State Of Origin both attain excellent ratings, which the AFL would be envious of. However, GR female Club & school AF comp. player nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld. vastly surpass GR club & school female contact RL comp. nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld.)"
(My emphases, & words, in brackets)
Sending women into battle of one-upmanship between codes
The AFL chose the Women In League round to announce the expansion of its women’s competition to a full slate of 18 teams.
www.smh.com.au
2. In this video, Swans CEO T. Harley discusses the huge benefits the Swans having their own AFLW team will deliver for AF in NSW.
Harley said " What we've seen in the last couple of years is an explosion of [female] participation in Sydney, the fastest growing market in Australia for youth girls' football (in % terms, not raw nos.)...".
Harley: It's a really historic moment for the club
Hear from Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley who spoke following the confirmation of Sydney Swans entry into the AFLW competition today, with the AFL Commission granting the club a licence for entry into Season 7, commencing in late 2022.
www.sydneyswans.com.au
3. The Swans have recently launched a campaign to seek membership for their AFLW team, as well as corporate sponsorship, volunteers etc.
Sydney AFLW - It's GAME ON!
The Official Facebook page of the Sydney Swans Football Club. Membership Enquiries: 1300 663 819 (10am-4pm Monday to Friday) www.membership.sydneyswans.com.au
tradablebits.com
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- Moderator
- #4,092
1. SMH M. Knox 13.8.21
Knox claims the AFL, for "...100 years... is waging war against rugby league", writes about the competition between both codes for female players & fans, & appears to be concerned over the creation of the recently announced Swans AFLW team (Female GR club & school comp. AF is booming in Sydney, particularly in NS, ES, & inner WS).
Knox, who played First XV RU for his old Sydney GPS school, & is also a NRL fan, said
"...earlier this year, when ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys spontaneously legislated a crackdown on high tackles so “mums” would still allow their kids to play a sport without getting their heads knocked off. (Never mind what “dads” wanted for their kids; it might have been the same thing.) But when V’landys took this overtly feminising step, he faced a wall of rushing defence - all offside by the way - from the men of league charging up to flatten him with his own language. He was turning a man’s game into something else.
RELATED ARTICLE
NRL 2021
‘Extremely surprising’: Clubs say now not the right time for NRL expansion
Mums count, but there are limits.
Participation-wise, the NRL knows it is losing its contest with the AFL, so it is doing what it can. It claims “15 per cent growth in female participation in the last few years”, whatever that means, but credit where it is due. This is a long-term movement.
In its tedious obsession with beating rugby league, the AFL cannot resist an incursion when it sees the chance, and its 18-team competition now looms intimidatingly over the six-team NRLW [But NRLW GF's, & female RL State Of Origin both attain excellent ratings, which the AFL would be envious of. However, GR female Club & school AF comp. player nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld. vastly surpass GR club & school female contact RL comp. nos. in NSW, ACT, & Qld.)"
(My emphases, & words, in brackets)
Sending women into battle of one-upmanship between codes
The AFL chose the Women In League round to announce the expansion of its women’s competition to a full slate of 18 teams.www.smh.com.au
2. The Swans have recently launched a campaign to seek membership for their AFLW team, as well as corporate sponsorship, volunteers etc.
Error page
tradablebits.com
In what way are any of these articles related to the topic?
I think BBT assumes that growth in the game inevitably will translate into a third team at some point. Not sure many people agree with him but that is the reason he posts these articles across these northern states growth type threads
Malcom Cox's article was strange. How is this possible...
...when the AFL has had a single minded obsession with beating soccer?
The probability the AFL was primarily plotting and planning to make the announcement during the NRL "women in League round", including timing the AFL commission meeting around it, is next to zero. Likewise, by all reports the Swans and the Newtown Jets have been working together to get Henson Park done up so both can use it.
Anyway, the I think so much of the growth of football in Sydney is due to the Swans. Adding a second team created a rivalry and allowed a second team to work on a patch of the city with less support. Really don't know what a third team would do beyond either flop or canabalise
- Thread starter
- #4,094
With a huge uptake of people playing the game, naturally you would expect a pathway for the better ones to graduate on to.
People seem to poo-hoo the idea of a third team in Sydney but if the popularity of the game at grassroots/suburban level surpasses that of rugby league then it is a near certainty for a new entity to appear.
There are currently perhaps 15 players listed in the AFL from non traditional AF parts of NSW. There are 90 odd players on two AFL club lists. So we are decades away from having to worry about that.
Also, WA already produces enough players to almost fill three teams (going off this https://www.hpnfooty.com/?p=30128) but there is near zero enthusiasm for a third club there - everyone already has their team,
I think even if the AFL becomes as popular as League in Sydney, a fair bet of that would be League's continued decline. The Swans are hitting some winners now after 40 years but it takes generations to produce quality talent pools
- Thread starter
- #4,096
Just in case you hadn't factored it in, a new Sydney-based club does n't have to be exclusively populated with players from the immediate surrounding area.
In fact I'd hazard a guess that a handful of the WA players you are referring to may make their way to the new Sydney team.
Of course but then there is not really a "pathways" argument for a third team is there?
- Thread starter
- #4,098
A third Sydney based team will give more players from right across the country the opportunity to play the game at the highest level.
Having a greater involvement & interest in the game from the local region will result in a greater support for the new entity.
Well, if you actually live in Sydney then you might be able to shed light on where you think the AFL could successfully add another team in Sydney in a way that would achieve greater interest in a way that doesn't just canabalise the Swans (in particular) or the Giants support?
- Thread starter
- #4,100
I've already done that way earlier in the thread.
However, the region north of the harbour (north shore & northern beaches) is what I'm advocating.
Swans have everything south of the harbour, Giants are west of Parramatta (which is actually close to half of Sydney), in principle, each club would have a third of the city to work within.
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