GWS is the AFL's biggest problem - not North, GC, or Tassie

[Philhawk]

The Giants growth is not linear as a result of covid.

The strategy pre-covid of building attendance through footy participation was smashed during covid and has not recovered. You can draw a circle around the part of the country that was hit hardest by covid lockdowns that has since struggled with footy attendance as it does not have the generational footy interest (read, Western Sydney). Canberra wasn't really impacted in the same way and neither was the Gold Coast/QLD.

It has required a review of this strategy with participation still in the mix but not entirely.

I think you’ve made some really fair points. I just know how tough a market western Sydney is. I would just love to see the giants play more at the SCG

 

[Canberra Pear]

With post COVID AFL attendees up everywhere else, and NRL also well up, what in hindsight could have been so that GWS did not fall further behind? It can’t be just AFL in Western Sydney that has not thrived in the past two years due to COVID. There must be other factors?

Attendances are up now, but they did take a dip. And that obviously hurt a club more with less rusted-on support.

Worth noting though that from the six games at the Showgrounds this year, four fixtures (against North, Port, Carlton and Collingwood) have all achieved their highest crowds, and the Suns game was only 300 from doing the same.

Looks like things are headed in the right direction.

 

[RedV3x]

Not saying it is, I’m more saying how prevalent it is across nsw stadiums.

And what do NSW stadiums hold - non AFL games.

 

[RedV3x]

Attendances are up now, but they did take a dip. And that obviously hurt a club more with less rusted-on support.

Worth noting though that from the six games at the Showgrounds this year, four fixtures (against North, Port, Carlton and Collingwood) have all achieved their highest crowds, and the Suns game was only 300 from doing the same.

Looks like things are headed in the right direction.

That would be an excellent result against the Suns.

 

[Bjo187]

With post COVID AFL attendees up everywhere else, and NRL also well up, what in hindsight could have been so that GWS did not fall further behind? It can’t be just AFL in Western Sydney that has not thrived in the past two years due to COVID. There must be other factors?

It's twofold, the grand final appearance in 2019 was damaging, but more importantly early 2020 was right when Peter Vlandy's started at the nrl. The nrl has had a renaissance under his governance.

He controls the media in nsw through his contacts, basically encouraged a afl blackout up there via news.ltd, blocked oval fields from being built in Sydney and recently is getting shoveled hundreds of millions of taxpayer money's from his friend that he goes to lunch with regularly and rugby league super fan Anthony Albanese.

NRL to test broadcast rights waters as streaming loophole appears

The code is set to go to market for its next TV deal this year, seizing on anti-siphoning laws that allow it to sell digital rights to global players such as Amazon.

www.google.com

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_MRE170_a_TWT&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fsport%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-expansion-png-teams-tax-free-status-a-huge-recruiting-tool%2Fnews-story%2F5f13cadcb054dcd956f71d0a4e63fd3c&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE

Just look at the past 2 days of announcements in the smh and daily telegraph if you don't think nrl dominance through media and more importantly the federal government's conflict of interest hasn't damaged the giants growth in an already hostile market. You make the competitor stronger, new clubs in an 'nrl area' get even less noticed.

 

[Philhawk]

And what do NSW stadiums hold - non AFL games.

Where do the Swans play of interest.

 

[Giant YoYo]

I think you’ve made some really fair points. I just know how tough a market western Sydney is.

It's really tough. It's probably made tougher that we have 2 months of no games due to Easter show, 1 month between the first game back after easter show (Bulldogs game and PA game) and now about a month between yesterday's game and our last game at Giants stadium. Total of about 4 months of no games this year.

There's a lot of positive signs:

• Club is now focusing on areas/LGAs closest to the stadium rather than trying to convert all of Western Sydney (hopefully means walkups from surrounding suburbs will be a regular occurrence in future)
• Club is focusing on programs in 45 select schools in certain LGAs and has secured funding from the State Government for this initiative
• Clubs signed some strong partnerships this year
• Corporate / Business Partnership to link directly into the Western Sydney market. E.g. Club has a new partner with Aware super - main paragraphs below - https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/1604298

Aware Super will also become the club’s official superannuation partner. The fund has a strong presence in and connection to Western Sydney, providing a wide range of superannuation and retirement services and help, guidance and advice to nearly 200,000 members locally.​

​

“This is a great alignment between our two brands with the partnership to help GIANTS members and fans not just with superannuation but with community support and programs aimed at assisting our shared membership base.​

​

“As part of this partnership, Western Sydney communities will also benefit by the expansion of one of, if not, the best community programs in professional sport with Aware delivering additional programs in conjunction with the GIANTS’ current activities.​

“This will take the form of financial literacy information sessions, along with a ‘Super Helpful Round’ each year, highlighting the great work volunteers, medics, nurses and first responders do for our communities.”​

• Multicultural / event rounds to get people that otherwise would not attend a game interested to come to a game and hopefully come in future.
• Our existing fanbase has become more and more engaged, as well as, louder. The club and players have remarked about this this year. The Carlton game was up there with being the loudest game all year. There was a drop off in how loud the fanbase was in yesterday's game but overall, they're becoming louder and louder to create an atmosphere in a stadium that's quite big for our current size.
• Our existing fanbase is turning up in rain, hail or shine.
• The amount of kids at yesterday's kids round game was probably the most I've seen this year or last year.
• My general observation in Western Sydney is that there is a softening towards AFL, people don't seem to be as hostile towards it and thus may be open to it. I am yet to receive any slurs out in public or any pubs in Sydney which I was a bit surprised about (and hopeful doesn't change). In fact, I'm starting to see an uptick in the public say "Go Giants" while out and about donning Giants gear.
• The media also appears to be softening towards us with much more regular reporting on the Giants. Good signs, IMO.

Given that the Swans have reached / are reaching member waitlist territory the Giants needs to put themselves in the best position to also soak up a bit of that footy interest. Our existing member base needs to help in that regard, the more of an atmosphere we create at the stadium the more likely people will come back. The Carlton game, the member stands absolutely went off, should be the benchmark for all future games IMO.

I know footy fans are being asked a lot to continue to be patient with the club but there's a lot of positive telltale signs which will put the club in a position to build themselves up in a really strong position.

 

[RedV3x]

It's twofold, the grand final appearance in 2019 was damaging, but more importantly early 2020 was right when Peter Vlandy's started at the nrl. The nrl has had a renaissance under his governance.

He controls the media in nsw through his contacts, basically encouraged a afl blackout up there via news.ltd, blocked oval fields from being built in Sydney and recently is getting shoveled hundreds of millions of taxpayer money's from his friend that he goes to lunch with regularly and rugby league super fan Anthony Albanese.

I don't think people know the situation in Sydney.
They came down on NRL celebrity like a ton of bricks.

Fox red-faced after Matthew Johns spruiks AFL

The NRL and Fox Sports have been left embarrassed, with the face of Fox League, Matthew Johns, involved in an advertising campaign to promote the game’s great rival.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Bjo187]

I don't think people know the situation in Sydney.
They came down on NRL celebrity like a ton of bricks.

Fox red-faced after Matthew Johns spruiks AFL

The NRL and Fox Sports have been left embarrassed, with the face of Fox League, Matthew Johns, involved in an advertising campaign to promote the game’s great rival.

www.smh.com.au

Yep I saw this and could only laugh. Nobody in the afl world seems to care though, so it just keeps happening.

Edit: The other thing of note is, look at the lions v swans today, a sold out gabba, both teams good support, stadium rocking. Now if anybody could ever have pictured that in 1993 when both clubs were on their knees with no fans, they would have been laughed at.

 

[RedV3x]

Yep I saw this and could only laugh. Nobody in the afl world seems to care though, so it just keeps happening.

I laugh at the thought that you think that the AFL can do anything about such media matters.
the only option open to the swans and Giants is to keep pushing for a groundswell of support through
onfield performances and increased participation programs.

 

[Badger17]

It's twofold, the grand final appearance in 2019 was damaging, but more importantly early 2020 was right when Peter Vlandy's started at the nrl. The nrl has had a renaissance under his governance.

He controls the media in nsw through his contacts, basically encouraged a afl blackout up there via news.ltd, blocked oval fields from being built in Sydney and recently is getting shoveled hundreds of millions of taxpayer money's from his friend that he goes to lunch with regularly and rugby league super fan Anthony Albanese.

NRL to test broadcast rights waters as streaming loophole appears

The code is set to go to market for its next TV deal this year, seizing on anti-siphoning laws that allow it to sell digital rights to global players such as Amazon.

www.google.com

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_MRE170_a_TWT&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fsport%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-expansion-png-teams-tax-free-status-a-huge-recruiting-tool%2Fnews-story%2F5f13cadcb054dcd956f71d0a4e63fd3c&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE

Just look at the past 2 days of announcements in the smh and daily telegraph if you don't think nrl dominance through media and more importantly the federal government's conflict of interest hasn't damaged the giants growth in an already hostile market. You make the competitor stronger, new clubs in an 'nrl area' get even less noticed.

PVL has made heaps of missteps, he just doesn't face any real criticism for it because he's a protected species in the media in Sydney and Brisbane, and most of the negative results of his decisions haven't become undeniable yet.

Rule changes he introduced, namely the six-again rule and others associated with it, have made the game itself basically unrecognisable from the RL that existed pre-2020 (real RL if you will). Those rules have made the game basically impossible to enforce fairly and consistently, which is leading to confusion and frustration in the fanbase which will boil over sooner or later.
His rules have also had the effect of massively dumbing down the sport by stripping away almost all of it's tactical and intricate aspects in favour of accentuating speed and athleticism. That has made the sport more accessible to the mindless masses, but it's also made it less interesting. Put it this way, there's only so many times that most people can watch athletic prodigies bouncing their skulls off one another before it starts to lose it's novelty.

He has gained hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars for RL, but he's also pissed almost all of it away on tarting up suburban grounds in Sydney that should have been abandoned decades ago. None of the upgrades he and Abdo have negotiated come even close to addressing the real issues with any of them and in ten or so years the NRL will be back dealing with the same issues at the same grounds again. Meanwhile he and his administration has totally ignored serious issues in places like Canberra, for example, where it isn't an exaggeration to say that the stadium is literally starting to fall down, but now the NRL doesn't have the political capital to do anything about it, not that they would even if they could.

Which brings us to the fact that the NRL under PVL is easily the most Sydney centric that it's been since the turn of the century. People complain about the Melbourne bias in the AFL, but if you're not from the Sydney, or Brisbane to a lesser extent, metropolitan areas you are literally invisible to the NRL and ARLC at the moment. Obviously that has all sorts of knock-on effects that a multi volume book could be written about.

Forcing through expansion is probably his biggest achievement, but even then. I'll spare you the gritty detail but he isn't doing a particularly good job of that either. PNG in particular is bomb waiting to go off, and it's liable to take a few of the NRL's limbs with it when it does.

So yeah, PVL is creating plenty of opportunities that competitors could exploit if they're smart.

 

[Bjo187]

I laugh at the thought that you think that the AFL can do anything about such media matters.
the only option open to the swans and Giants is to keep pushing for a groundswell of support through
onfield performances and increased participation programs.

Strong leadership would be on the phone to news.ltd and so called afl ally Craig Hutchison for better coverage on sen Sydney, which has basically black banned the sport. I'd also be encouraging the afl media to report on the extreme conflict of interest seen by Albanese giving 60 mill of Aussie tax dollars to the nrl clubs for having a new team in the competition, under a fabricated 'licence fee' reasoning. That's basically 3 million per club, for doing nothing. 3 million is about 3x the annual profits of each afl club. That doesn't include the digital streaming loophole he created for the NRL during their negotiations and the other 540 mill of tax dollars to a png team. Or tax free status for any nrl player that wants to play in png. Gws struggle to attract players, can players wanting to go there get tax free status too? That would be amazing for the clubs growth.

It's influence and holding people accountable and using your allies in the media to push agendas on the sports behalf, it's looking out for the interests of your own sport, which is their job after all. This is something Demetriou was good at, despite being an otherwise average ceo. Goyder I dunno if he's even awake and Dillon doesn't have enough profile to influence.

PVL has made heaps of missteps, he just doesn't face any real criticism for it because he's a protected species in the media in Sydney and Brisbane, and most of the negative results of his decisions haven't become undeniable yet.

Rule changes he introduced, namely the six-again rule and others associated with it, have made the game itself basically unrecognisable from the RL that existed pre-2020 (real RL if you will). Those rules have made the game basically impossible to enforce fairly and consistently, which is leading to confusion and frustration in the fanbase which will boil over sooner or later.
His rules have also had the effect of massively dumbing down the sport by stripping away almost all of it's tactical and intricate aspects in favour of accentuating speed and athleticism. That has made the sport more accessible to the mindless masses, but it's also made it less interesting. Put it this way, there's only so many times that most people can watch athletic prodigies bouncing their skulls off one another before it starts to lose it's novelty.

He has gained hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars for RL, but he's also pissed almost all of it away on tarting up suburban grounds in Sydney that should have been abandoned decades ago. None of the upgrades he and Abdo have negotiated come even close to addressing the real issues with any of them and in ten or so years the NRL will be back dealing with the same issues at the same grounds again. Meanwhile he and his administration has totally ignored serious issues in places like Canberra, for example, where it isn't an exaggeration to say that the stadium is literally starting to fall down, but now the NRL doesn't have the political capital to do anything about it, not that they would even if they could.

Which brings us to the fact that the NRL under PVL is easily the most Sydney centric that it's been since the turn of the century. People complain about the Melbourne bias in the AFL, but if you're not from the Sydney, or Brisbane to a lesser extent, metropolitan areas you are literally invisible to the NRL and ARLC at the moment. Obviously that has all sorts of knock-on effects that a multi volume book could be written about.

Forcing through expansion is probably his biggest achievement, but even then. I'll spare you the gritty detail but he isn't doing a particularly good job of that either. PNG in particular is bomb waiting to go off, and it's liable to take a few of the NRL's limbs with it when it does.

So yeah, PVL is creating plenty of opportunities that competitors could exploit if they're smart.

Good and interesting analysis. I have noticed the game is more athletic but more predictable than ever before. I think though when you're getting that amount of government funding and never have to put your hand in your own pocket, there's really no risk anyway. In fact they'll be making money off png because there's zero outlay, the nrl clubs all get rewarded with 60 mill from the federal government and an additional team for free earns an extra 20 to 30 mill in tv rights money to the league.

 

[Badger17]

Good and interesting analysis. I have noticed the game is more athletic but more predictable than ever before. I think though when you're getting that amount of government funding and never have to put your hand in your own pocket, there's really no risk anyway. In fact they'll be making money off png because there's zero outlay, the nrl clubs all get rewarded with 60 mill from the federal government and an additional team for free earns an extra 20 to 30 mill in tv rights money to the league.

The PNG funding isn't confirmed yet and is largely media talk, so we don't actually know the terms of the deal for certain yet.

What we do know for a fact however is that the proposed funding is intended for a full foreign aid package with multiple different programs and not just for the NRL side. In other words the government isn't handing the NRL $60mil a year for 10 years to run an NRL side in PNG (assuming the $600mil reported in the media turns out to be accurate). We have no clue what percentage of that funding is earmarked to subsidise the NRL side, but it wouldn't surprise me if it ends up being half or less of the whole package which would likely necessitate the NRL sourcing more funding for the side. I almost guarantee that the NRL will be expected to contribute to the side financially even if it's just in the grant, and there'll almost certainly be other unforeseen costs that need picking up.

A PNG side is also the least valuable expansion option to broadcasters and advertisers in Australia/NZ and will never be sustainable without tens of millions of dollars in extra grants a year to underwrite them. Sooner or later the government support will dry up, and when it does the NRL will need to find the extra money necessary to support the side from somewhere, likely their own pocket, or the team will fold overnight.

That's without getting into the various other issues with a PNG side, like the fact that the NRL are being forced to completely undermine the salary cap and the integrity of the competition for the PNG side to be even somewhat competitive in the players market, which is a diabolically stupid idea in of itself. And we still haven't addressed all the social issues in PNG and the impacts they would have on an NRL side, it'd only be a matter of time before there were serious crowd violence issues in Port Moresby as a single example amongst many glaring examples.

Don't get me started on the supposed geopolitical benefits. Firstly it isn't the NRL's place to be getting involved in such things at all, and it's a bad idea on face value. Secondly, there is plenty of historical precedent for this sort of bribery and it never works. It'll only be a matter of time before PNG demands more extravagant gifts from Australia or starts negotiating with China to join the belt and roads project.

Look, at it's base level the PNG proposal hinges on the NRL setting aside any profit motive. Literally every other option available to them would be more commercially viable and profitable for them than PNG, even other ideas that aren't taken seriously anymore like the Central Coast, Central Queensland, or a standalone Wollongong side, and it's almost always a terrible idea to completely abandon the profit motive in business.

 

[RedV3x]

Strong leadership would be on the phone to news.ltd and so called afl ally Craig Hutchison for better coverage on sen Sydney, which has basically black banned the sport. I'd also be encouraging the afl media to report on the extreme conflict of interest seen by Albanese giving 60 mill of Aussie tax dollars to the nrl clubs for having a new team in the competition, under a fabricated 'licence fee' reasoning. That's basically 3 million per club, for doing nothing. 3 million is about 3x the annual profits of each afl club. That doesn't include the digital streaming loophole he created for the NRL during their negotiations and the other 540 mill of tax dollars to a png team. Or tax free status for any nrl player that wants to play in png. Gws struggle to attract players, can players wanting to go there get tax free status too? That would be amazing for the clubs growth.

i get what you're saying but probably not the specifics.
This is about politics so i would be approaching people who could leverage political gain - the opposition.
i find it completely baffling that the opposition hasn't shone a light on this extravaganza.

 

[Cmarsh]

Disappointing that no games of the Giants AFLW upcoming season are scheduled in Western Sydney.

 

[WesternSydneyHawk]

It will be interesting to see what impact the new Western Sydney Metro and phase two of the Parramatta light rail will have on GWS' crowds.

Right now, the Olympic Park precinct is a bit of a pain to get to.

Yeah, they run trains from Central and Parramatta station to Olympic Park for major events, but Giants games don't qualify.

Which means you need to catch a train to Lidcomb, find platform zero, and chsnge to a shuttle train to Olympic Park.

There's buses from Strathfield to Ryde and Strathfield to Parramatta, but they are usually filled with shoppers from the Homebush DFO.

And the so-called "Olympic Park" ferry stop is actually a whole suburb north in Wentworth Point, so you end up having to change for a bus!

Longer term, if the metro and light rail don't deliver better crowds, I wonder if a new stadium in Parramatta might be the best way forward? Perhaps some new grandstands at Kings Oval in Parra?

One other thought.

Last year, I took a friend who doesn't follow the AFL to a GWS game.

Her comment? "Are they from Penrith?"

When I asked why, she responded: "For a team that represents Western Sydney, the players are all very ... white."

I know this is a touch subject, but does GWS' list need to be more multicultural to connect with Western Sydney?

There's plenty of players at AFL level from non-Anglo/non-European backgrounds. Should GWS prioritise getting someone like Ratougalea or Aliir Aliir

21

Aliir Aliir

Age

30

Ht

194cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.2

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

5.9

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.9

4star

MG

240.9

4star

D

11.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

158.4

3star

on its list?

Could that help the club make inroads in Western Sydney?

 

[Bjo187]

It will be interesting to see what impact the new Western Sydney Metro and phase two of the Parramatta light rail will have on GWS' crowds.

Right now, the Olympic Park precinct is a bit of a pain to get to.

Yeah, they run trains from Central and Parramatta station to Olympic Park for major events, but Giants games don't qualify.

Which means you need to catch a train to Lidcomb, find platform zero, and chsnge to a shuttle train to Olympic Park.

There's buses from Strathfield to Ryde and Strathfield to Parramatta, but they are usually filled with shoppers from the Homebush DFO.

And the so-called "Olympic Park" ferry stop is actually a whole suburb north in Wentworth Point, so you end up having to change for a bus!

Longer term, if the metro and light rail don't deliver better crowds, I wonder if a new stadium in Parramatta might be the best way forward? Perhaps some new grandstands at Kings Oval in Parra?

One other thought.

Last year, I took a friend who doesn't follow the AFL to a GWS game.

Her comment? "Are they from Penrith?"

When I asked why, she responded: "For a team that represents Western Sydney, the players are all very ... white."

I know this is a touch subject, but does GWS' list need to be more multicultural to connect with Western Sydney?

There's plenty of players at AFL level from non-Anglo/non-European backgrounds. Should GWS prioritise getting someone like Ratougalea or Aliir Aliir on its list?

Could that help the club make inroads in Western Sydney?

Funny you mention this last part, I spoke to Adrian Caruso the giants recruiting guy last year and said they need to get more multicultural players to reflect the area they play in.

Suggested khamis, who was on the outer at the dogs at the time and saad el hawli. Both players that would have filled a need for them.

He'd heard of khamis and said they'd been tracking him (didn't pick him up though at the end of last year despite needing a third tall forward) and el hawli it didn't seem he had even heard of (he got picked up by Essendon in the mid season draft and looked amazing pre injury).

Anyway, the latter in particular is a Lebanese Muslim guy, who would really help in their community work, they hold an iftar dinner at the club each year and have to get Stephen coniglio as the host which I don't think would really resonate. A few missed opportunities there and both are good players, wouldn't just be on the list for optics sake either.

 

[Cmarsh]

It will be interesting to see what impact the new Western Sydney Metro and phase two of the Parramatta light rail will have on GWS' crowds.

Right now, the Olympic Park precinct is a bit of a pain to get to.

Yeah, they run trains from Central and Parramatta station to Olympic Park for major events, but Giants games don't qualify.

Which means you need to catch a train to Lidcomb, find platform zero, and chsnge to a shuttle train to Olympic Park.

There's buses from Strathfield to Ryde and Strathfield to Parramatta, but they are usually filled with shoppers from the Homebush DFO.

And the so-called "Olympic Park" ferry stop is actually a whole suburb north in Wentworth Point, so you end up having to change for a bus!

Longer term, if the metro and light rail don't deliver better crowds, I wonder if a new stadium in Parramatta might be the best way forward? Perhaps some new grandstands at Kings Oval in Parra?

One other thought.

Last year, I took a friend who doesn't follow the AFL to a GWS game.

Her comment? "Are they from Penrith?"

When I asked why, she responded: "For a team that represents Western Sydney, the players are all very ... white."

I know this is a touch subject, but does GWS' list need to be more multicultural to connect with Western Sydney?

There's plenty of players at AFL level from non-Anglo/non-European backgrounds. Should GWS prioritise getting someone like Ratougalea or Aliir Aliir on its list?

Could that help the club make inroads in Western Sydney?

There are a few Giants players already on the playing roster that may be considered multicultural. We have Leek Aleer on our list who has played several games. Idun as well as Brown the Irishman with Jamacian Father are regular players.

 

[Walshawk]

It will be interesting to see what impact the new Western Sydney Metro and phase two of the Parramatta light rail will have on GWS' crowds.

Right now, the Olympic Park precinct is a bit of a pain to get to.

Yeah, they run trains from Central and Parramatta station to Olympic Park for major events, but Giants games don't qualify.

Which means you need to catch a train to Lidcomb, find platform zero, and chsnge to a shuttle train to Olympic Park.

There's buses from Strathfield to Ryde and Strathfield to Parramatta, but they are usually filled with shoppers from the Homebush DFO.

And the so-called "Olympic Park" ferry stop is actually a whole suburb north in Wentworth Point, so you end up having to change for a bus!

Longer term, if the metro and light rail don't deliver better crowds, I wonder if a new stadium in Parramatta might be the best way forward? Perhaps some new grandstands at Kings Oval in Parra?

One other thought.

Last year, I took a friend who doesn't follow the AFL to a GWS game.

Her comment? "Are they from Penrith?"

When I asked why, she responded: "For a team that represents Western Sydney, the players are all very ... white."

I know this is a touch subject, but does GWS' list need to be more multicultural to connect with Western Sydney?

There's plenty of players at AFL level from non-Anglo/non-European backgrounds. Should GWS prioritise getting someone like Ratougalea or Aliir Aliir on its list?

Could that help the club make inroads in Western Sydney?

She would be comparing to Penrith (and many NRL clubs) where half the roster is Pasifica.

The AFL tried this with Israel Falou. Massive fail.

Demographics are very different in the AFL states. There are fewer Pasifica people, and they generally keep playing league and Union. In Melbourne we have heaps for Africans who play footy, In Sydney the Africans play soccer.

Obviously I am generalising, but the reality is that you are never going to have an AFL team that is representative of the people of Western Sydney.

 

[RedV3x]

Obviously I am generalising, but the reality is that you are never going to have an AFL team that is representative of the people of Western Sydney.

The Giants, like all AFL teams, have their iconic players that represent their team.
Pacific players do not proportionally represent any Australian NRL team.
i believe their over-represetnation is already a problem.
By you reckoning the Eagles and Nic Naitanui must represent Pacifica.

 

[Walshawk]

The Giants, like all AFL teams, have their iconic players that represent their team.
Pacific players do not proportionally represent any Australian NRL team.
i believe their over-represetnation is already a problem.
By you reckoning the Eagles and Nic Naitanui must represent Pacifica.

Please explain are you talking about? It makes no sense.

Pasifica player make up nearly half of NRL players. Non Anglo players make up half of many teams. NRL teams like Penrith are more representative of the people of western Sydney because many/most of their players are from Western Sydney. The Giants will never have half a team from Western Sydney. That should be self explanatory.

Who mentioned Nic Nat? What do you mean?

 

[RedV3x]

Please explain are you talking about? It makes no sense.

Makes perfect sense.

Pacific players make up nearly half of NRL players.

Pacific Islanders don't make up half of any city that I know.

Non Anglo players make up half of many teams.

Even that is not truly representative of many places.

NRL teams like Penrith are more representative of the people of western Sydney because many/most of their players are from Western Sydney.

So you are saying Penrith town is half Pacific islander.

The Giants will never have half a team from Western Sydney.

The Giants represent Western Sydney. A player like Toby green seems 110% Western Sydney.

Who mentioned Nic Nat? What do you mean?

Well Nic Naitanui is Sydney born Fijian heritage so you are implying that the W.C.E. represent something other than Perth.

 

[Walshawk]

Makes perfect sense.



Pacific Islanders don't make up half of any city that I know.


Even that is not truly representative of many places.



So you are saying Penrith town is half Pacific islander.



The Giants represent Western Sydney. A player like Toby green seems 110% Western Sydney.

Well Nic Naitanui is Sydney born Fijian heritage so you are implying that the W.C.E. represent something other than Perth.

No. Every single one of your responses if misreading and misinterpreting what I wrote, I did not say, nor imply any of those things. I am simply saying, in response to another post, that an NRL team from western Sydney is more likely to be representative of the demographics of western Sydney because many/most of their players come from western Sydney. Most people woild see this as self evident. Yet you continue to incorrectly read between the lines.

P.s. Toby Greene, is a private schoolboy from a middle class, mostly Anglo part of suburban Melbourne. Not very western Sydney at all.

 

[Bjo187]

No. Every single one of your responses if misreading and misinterpreting what I wrote, I did not say, nor imply any of those things. I am simply saying, in response to another post, that an NRL team from western Sydney is more likely to be representative of the demographics of western Sydney because many/most of their players come from western Sydney. Most people woild see this as self evident. Yet you continue to incorrectly read between the lines.

P.s. Toby Greene, is a private schoolboy from a middle class, mostly Anglo part of suburban Melbourne. Not very western Sydney at all.

They aren't reflective of the community at all though was what I think his point was. Polynesian's make up 50 percent of nrl lists and I'd predict less than 5 percent of the western Sydney population.

There are a few Giants players already on the playing roster that may be considered multicultural. We have Leek Aleer on our list who has played several games. Idun as well as Brown the Irishman with Jamacian Father are regular players.

Yes it's improved a bit in the last 2 years with Bedford, Jones, Fonti also coming in. Of those other 3 only idun gets a regular gig at the moment, so you can see how someone sitting in the stands would think that. Again though, I think it's a case of the nrl being over represented by Polynesian players, the afl is probably more of a reflection of the overall Australian community, there isn't actually that high of a percentage of black people in the overall community (if you consider polynesian's as black too).

 

[RedV3x]

No. Every single one of your responses if misreading and misinterpreting what I wrote, I did not say, nor imply any of those things.

I am simply saying, in response to another post, that an NRL team from western Sydney is more likely to be representative of the demographics of western Sydney because many/most of their players come from western Sydney. Most people woild see this as self evident.

I know I do.

Yet you continue to incorrectly read between the lines.

No. Now you are continue to be misleading because you ignore all that Pacifica crap.
Pacifica represent 50% of the NRL but represent a small proportion of the Australian population.
The over-represetation of Pacifica actually does not represent western Sydney.

Toby Greene, is a private schoolboy from a middle class, mostly Anglo part of suburban Melbourne. Not very western Sydney at all.

You totally missed my point in that Toby Green represents the Giants, just like Tony lockett represented Sydney, Nic Naitanui represents W.C.E., Dusty martin represents Richmond, Mathew Pavalich represented Fremantle, Joe Daniher fepresents Brisbane etc yet none are local products.