Rudest/Nicest player you've met?

[Kobe Gryant]

Whereas when I went back to South West Sydney in 2015 (after leaving in 2012) I was shocked by how many AFL posts there were compared to when I left.

Kinda like the Giants were increasing participation in the western suburbs.

But surely that CAN’T be true? We’re a waste of money and offer no value to the comp?

It's definitely growing.

In my experience living here, some of the best footballers at junior level are coming from the inner west (Western suburbs Magpies have some great kids) then outwards of the 'actual west' (E.g Parramatta onwards)

It hasn't translated yet into a Gulden or a Heeney coming through...but it'll happen eventually.

 

[3207]

It's definitely growing.

In my experience living here, some of the best footballers at junior level are coming from the inner west (Western suburbs Magpies have some great kids) then outwards of the 'actual west' (E.g Parramatta onwards)

It hasn't translated yet into a Gulden or a Heeney coming through...but it'll happen eventually.

Weight of numbers and it will happen. I’m Hopeful that the Sudanese population in Blacktown becomes a pisstake of talented kid after talented kid getting drafted every year.

 

[PerthBoy86]

It’s complex

I’ve never lived in Sydney so I find it harder to get a read on broadly across all the teams but Penrith I’ve spent a fair bit of time in, been to home games, dated two different partners from there and it’s pretty ingrained: if you’re from there, you go for Penrith, no ifs or buts. It’s an us against the rest mentality. The inner west, where the western suburbs magpies were based, I know that during their existence was the same. I went to a couple of pubs there at Lidcombe recently before a concert there was still Wests stuff plastered all over the pubs - the club as a single entity hasn’t existed for a quarter of a century so I assume in the day they were very passionate in that way. It was a battlers area, a battlers club, and fostered that whole ‘fibros vs silvertail’s narrative that was such a part of rugby league in the 1970s. The battlers of the west against the rich boys at manly.

North of the bridge I don’t think it’s ever been the same. Both Norths and Manly had their passionate supporters but north Sydney in particular is a very very affluent area and probably battled a lot with rugby union for a fanbase. North Sydney oval is so pretty but it was a small ground, they still have a decent amount of fans but they were quiet. Like a Melbourne Demons vibe maybe: always part of the traditional furniture but never rabid.

The Roosters - my club - have been there since the beginning, as time has gone on, we’ve veered more and more towards symbolising wealth. That wasn’t always the case, but as Bondi and the city have become wealthy that’s what our club has become associated with, and as we are run by Nick Politis who is as rich as shit, and we have a reputation for buying any player we want, and not having much of a junior base since we lost a lot of it to Souths, a lot of people think of us as soulless. It’s not really a fair wrap but it is rooted in a seed of truth. We do have a good following in Bondi and some of the suburbs but within the actual city no one gives a shit. I don’t think we have many fans in Sydney beyond our boundaries really.

Around Redfern everyone loves South Sydney. It’s a strong Aboriginal community - not without its social issues but the club binds it together and rugby league means a lot to it and everyone loves Souths there. And the rivalry sustains it. It’s not the biggest footy rivalry in Australia - the AFL dominates those - but it’s the one most fuelled by hatred. We hate them and they hate us
Souths have fans everywhere though the c**ts

Further down south the Sharks are pretty localised within the Shire.

St George are strong both in their area and everywhere else - they have a huge presence.

Parramatta are the same. They have a big following across the league, they’re a bit like Richmond pre-2017 in that they have somehow maintained a presence in the power-clubs despite letting every fan down for four decades continually.
The Dogs have a huuuuuuge multicultural following, the middle eastern community love them so anywhere there is a strong presence of that demographic they have a big following.

Thanks for that interesting insight. Makes sense as Penrith is kind of it's own city. Not quite like Geelong, but maybe like Sunbury or something. I guess Newcastle and St George Illawara would be the NRL equivalent.

Yeah the Roosters sound a bit like the Melbourne Demons. Maybe partly because the Dees are the establishment club and part of the MCC establishment.

I guess that's another parallel with old Footscray/Western Bulldogs. Both areas very multicultural. I've visited Sydney about 6 times but explored the suburbs extensively, I find all the ethnic enclaves interesting. Both the western suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne seem to have a lot of similarities too.

 

[PerthBoy86]

Whereas when I went back to South West Sydney in 2015 (after leaving in 2012) I was shocked by how many AFL posts there were compared to when I left.

Kinda like the Giants were increasing participation in the western suburbs.

But surely that CAN’T be true? We’re a waste of money and offer no value to the comp?

Yeah it seems AFL has grown a lot in NSW. If the Giants see success that might help, though don't know how much the Storm's success has really increased the popularity of league in Melbourne. AFL is just too dominant.

Growing up in WA in the 90s and 00s rugby league just wasn't on the radar. I think even now if you asked the average West Aussie about NRL they'd barely have a clue, couldnt name many teams or any players. I barely even remember the Western Reds. The Force had a small following in union, but even when the Wallabies play plenty are oblivious. I think Rugby Union was pretty big before the Goldrush era though when many Victorians came over.

 

[3207]

Yeah it seems AFL has grown a lot in NSW. If the Giants see success that might help, though don't know how much the Storm's success has really increased the popularity of league in Melbourne. AFL is just too dominant.

Growing up in WA in the 90s and 00s rugby league just wasn't on the radar. I think even now if you asked the average West Aussie about NRL they'd barely have a clue, couldnt name many teams or any players. I barely even remember the Western Reds. The Force had a small following in union, but even when the Wallabies play plenty are oblivious. I think Rugby Union was pretty big before the Goldrush era though when many Victorians came over.

They’ve got the advantage of the NZ expats living here.

Something that doesn’t exist in Sydney for AFL

 

[Bjo187]

Yeah the AFL has done better promoting and marketing itself. I'm biased but I feel Aussie rules is a bit easier for people to get into. People talk about the rules, and yeah there are issues with interpretation, but like soccer it's easier to intuitively grasp the rules. In rugby league for instance you wouldn't know how many tackles a team gets before they give the ball back to the opposition (I only learned that this year actually). And don't get me started on American football/gridiron.

But yeah, it's just so embedded in the culture here. Go to the city during a weekend during season it's flooded with footy fans, everyone talks about big games etc. It's funny Melbourne is also seen as both the arts/culture and sporting capital (despite Sydneys superior climate), as those are usually seen as polar opposites. Obviously getting the big events is a part of that.

What's it like in Perth? I had a Melbourne mate move there a few years back and when I asked him he said footy isn't anywhere near as big in Perth as it is in Melbourne, which surprised me. Is this accurate or inaccurate, is it office chatter in Perth like it is here? (I've never worked in an office in Melbourne where footy isn't discussed by the staff most weeks).

 

[Mags98]

What's it like in Perth? I had a Melbourne mate move there a few years back and when I asked him he said footy isn't anywhere near as big in Perth as it is in Melbourne, which surprised me. Is this accurate or inaccurate, is it office chatter in Perth like it is here? (I've never worked in an office in Melbourne where footy isn't discussed by the staff most weeks).

just weight of numbers id say, theres 1 game a week in perth, you got however many in melb every week. got supporters from every club coming and going to games througout the day and such

 

[Bjo187]

just weight of numbers id say, theres 1 game a week in perth, you got however many in melb every week. got supporters from every club coming and going to games througout the day and such

It shouldn't make any difference to the level of interest in the sport though should it? It's like saying soccer isn't as popular in Manchester as it is in London, coz there are only 2 teams in Manchester, yet about double in London. Or in America with NFL teams, there is only one team per state basically, yet it's still extremely popular.

Funnily enough, the place I've been where footy seems the most popular to me is South Australia.

 

[Iago]

Hang on, what thread is this?

 

[Mags98]

It shouldn't make any difference to the level of interest in the sport though should it? It's like saying soccer isn't as popular in Manchester as it is in London, coz there are only 2 teams in Manchester, yet about double in London. Or in America with NFL teams, there is only one team per state basically, yet it's still extremely popular.

Funnily enough, the place I've been where footy seems the most popular to me is South Australia.

its defs popular in perth, its just less evident if you walk out onto the street on the weekend when you only have one set of fans heading to one game for the weekend compared to what 3/4/5 different games on any given weekend in melb

 

[bresker]

Hang on, what thread is this?

Biggest hijack since 9/11.

 

[Iago]

Biggest hijack since 9/11.

Reminds me of that tv show Hijack.

 

[Bjo187]

its defs popular in perth, its just less evident if you walk out onto the street on the weekend when you only have one set of fans heading to one game for the weekend compared to what 3/4/5 different games on any given weekend in melb

Ahh ok I get ya. Does it get talked about in school, family gatherings, friends groups, the workplace much? I think that's a good test as to genuine popularity.

 

[Philth]

What's it like in Perth? I had a Melbourne mate move there a few years back and when I asked him he said footy isn't anywhere near as big in Perth as it is in Melbourne, which surprised me. Is this accurate or inaccurate, is it office chatter in Perth like it is here? (I've never worked in an office in Melbourne where footy isn't discussed by the staff most weeks).

Your mate is correct.

Footy is nowhere near as ingrained over here in WA. ( I moved here 20 years ago).

In my office building there are about 40 people. I can talk footy with about 5 of them, max. And a lot only know about WCE/Freo.

I know plenty of blokes who like to watch the footy, but don't have a team. That would be unheard of in Vic.

I laugh when I hear WA described as a "footy mad state". It's not.

 

[Bjo187]

Your mate is correct.

Footy is nowhere near as ingrained over here in WA. ( I moved here 20 years ago).

In my office building there are about 40 people. I can talk footy with about 5 of them, max. And a lot only know about WCE/Freo.

I know plenty of blokes who like to watch the footy, but don't have a team. That would be unheard of in Vic.

I laugh when I hear WA described as a "footy mad state". It's not.

Yeah see, I don't know why we never heard about this. I think it's gone backwards with WAFC incompetence and Western Australian chairman of the AFL Richard Goyder in the big seat, which is an indictment on both. They aren't even producing good female and male talent these days.

 

[Dan Moody]

He played in the state leagues but I saw Nick Butler at a Richmond massage place - Touch of Thailand.
He was super friendly.

He started a convo with me about how he should have played AFL whilst devouring a rotisserie chicken …

** I was only at Touch of Thailand to pick up my sister

working?

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Dusty gets a bad rap - he is borderline non verbal which is always gonna come off as rude to a stranger.

Yeah, I've never quite got a handle on the media's fascination with forcing a public persona onto Dusty. Nor with their obsession with trying to trigger actual Richmond supporters to care what he has to say publicly.

I grew up in a time when Bruce Doull was very reclusive and would go through entire seasons without doing a single minute on World of Sport or any other TV/radio stuff. And not a single one of my many Blues mates at the time gave a stuff either - just (very understandably) admired him massively for his onfield exploits.

 

[Eternal Schism]

They’ve got the advantage of the NZ expats living here.

Something that doesn’t exist in Sydney for AFL

As someone with quite a lot of expat Kiwi aunts, uncles, cousins living all across Aus (20+ - my dad had 10 siblings, 6 of them moved to Aus with all their kids), one commonality among them is most of them DO NOT follow League, they are more vocal than most about their distaste given they love Rugby Union. My old man who does watch league, follows Aussie Rules & the All Blacks, never calls League, rugby at all.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

As someone with quite a lot of expat Kiwi aunts, uncles, cousins living all across Aus (20+ - my dad had 10 siblings, 6 of them moved to Aus with all their kids), one commonality among them is most of them DO NOT follow League, they are more vocal than most about their distaste given they love Rugby Union. My old man who does watch league, follows Aussie Rules & the All Blacks, never calls League, rugby at all.

Yep. League is like the AFLX of rugby.

 

[Dan Moody]

Yeah, I've never quite got a handle on the media's fascination with forcing a public persona onto Dusty. Nor with their obsession with trying to trigger actual Richmond supporters to care what he has to say publicly.

I grew up in a time when Bruce Doull was very reclusive and would go through entire seasons without doing a single minute on World of Sport or any other TV/radio stuff. And not a single one of my many Blues mates at the time gave a stuff either - just (very understandably) admired him massively for his onfield exploits.

reminds me of this classic

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Yeah, I've never quite got a handle on the media's fascination with forcing a public persona onto Dusty. Nor with their obsession with trying to trigger actual Richmond supporters to care what he has to say publicly.

I grew up in a time when Bruce Doull was very reclusive and would go through entire seasons without doing a single minute on World of Sport or any other TV/radio stuff. And not a single one of my many Blues mates at the time gave a stuff either - just (very understandably) admired him massively for his onfield exploits.

What you see is what you get with Dusty I reckon. Pretty established how he would be off field I would think. I doubt anybody outside his circle of mates and connections would be having a positive reaction about him but that's because he's a bit of an enigma not because he is rude. I wouldn't even bother trying to draw his attention even eye contact because you know you would get nothing back in return but that's just how the guy is. Least it's consistent with how alot of people portray him.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

What you see is what you get with Dusty I reckon. Pretty established how he would be off field I would think. I doubt anybody outside his circle of mates and connections would be having a positive reaction about him but that's because he's a bit of an enigma not because he is rude. I wouldn't even bother trying to draw his attention even eye contact because you know you would get nothing back in return but that's just how the guy is. Least it's consistent with how alot of people portray him.

Pretty good chance we will barely see him in the public eye in the foreseeable future unless there's premiership reunions to attend.

 

[Breretonisahood]

Yeah, I've never quite got a handle on the media's fascination with forcing a public persona onto Dusty. Nor with their obsession with trying to trigger actual Richmond supporters to care what he has to say publicly.

I grew up in a time when Bruce Doull was very reclusive and would go through entire seasons without doing a single minute on World of Sport or any other TV/radio stuff. And not a single one of my many Blues mates at the time gave a stuff either - just (very understandably) admired him massively for his onfield exploits.

Media got an insatiable need for content. E.g. AFL360 is about 50% player/coach interviews. Guys like Dusty don’t play that game so get labeled as rude or uncooperative.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Your mate is correct.

Footy is nowhere near as ingrained over here in WA. ( I moved here 20 years ago).

In my office building there are about 40 people. I can talk footy with about 5 of them, max. And a lot only know about WCE/Freo.

I know plenty of blokes who like to watch the footy, but don't have a team. That would be unheard of in Vic.

I laugh when I hear WA described as a "footy mad state". It's not.

Interesting insight. I've got three others I talk AFL with just in my team of eight in Canberra.

If I expand it to my closest 40 or so colleagues for comparison's sake, I think I'd have 10-12 I talk AFL with.

 

[PerthBoy86]

What's it like in Perth? I had a Melbourne mate move there a few years back and when I asked him he said footy isn't anywhere near as big in Perth as it is in Melbourne, which surprised me. Is this accurate or inaccurate, is it office chatter in Perth like it is here? (I've never worked in an office in Melbourne where footy isn't discussed by the staff most weeks).

I don't know what he meant by that, because it definitely is as big. In many workplaces there'll be a lot of talk of how the Eagles and Dockers are going. Maybe cos there are only 2 clubs you don't see as many fans about? There are as many if not more casual fans of the Eagles than the Magpies. Considering they're the biggest of 2 AFL sides in a state of nearly 3 million that isn't a surprise.

The other poster might have different anecdotal experiences, but Aussie rules is of course by far the no 1 football code in WA, and the WAFL is a feeder league now so it's all Eagles and Dockers.

I mean footy stories often appear on the front pages of the West Australian.