WSYD The reality of the Western Sydney challenge

[Go Giants]

GWS will be fine. It's a long term investment. More worrying is 9 Melbourne clubs- too many. Go Izzy today.

 

[GiantForce]

Not a great day today, but people have got to except that we will have a few of those sort of days this year

 

[Giantman]

Free agency will help us big time.

 

[IanW]

Not a great day today, but people have got to except that we will have a few of those sort of days this year

No, it was a fine day from two of our three very talented young KPFs.

Add Patton, and two years experience, thats a very very tasty amount of beef forward- and half-forward line.

 

[Furn]

Folau will be a star in 4-5 years if he sticks too it. Tremendous talent!!!

 

[pazza]

Folau will be a star in 4-5 years if he sticks too it. Tremendous talent!!!

Coniglio showed plenty too I understand.

 

[bunsen burner]

Personally I have little time for people who think Western Sydney won't work, or that the AFL should have gone into Tasmania or Canberra instead. To me, GWS is a no brainer in terms of it being the correct decision and in terms of long term success.

The AFL must conquer Sydney and the time to start is right now. There are 2 million people in GWS and the AFL only needs 30,000 to become members and about 400k to embrace GWSFC (in varying degrees from "i follow them them" to "i have a fleeting interest but they are my AFL team of choice"

Rugby League is the dominant code but it is stagnant. They are not growing. They have no money for grass roots football. There are also lots of people who don't like League, lots of people who prefer League but haven't been properly exposed to AFL, and lot's of people who are open to following 2 sports.

Soccer is big in GWS but the NSL don't have a presence. Even if it did it wouldn't make a lot of difference because if you follow soccer it's all about the EPL, Serie A, Champions League etc. AFL has the advantage of being able to bring top level sport and big clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, and Essendon right to their doorstep.

I don't think GWS will win a game in their first year but in 20 years I expect them to be enmeshed in the GWS landscape. With the AFL bankrolling grass roots footy, a bit of success, and a local team in Australia's premier football competition, their long term success is assured in my opinion.

Long term I would expect the AFL to be planning 4 teams in Sydney. The AFL needs to make AFL almost as much a Sydney sport as a Melbourne sport.

 

[fabulousphil]

Personally I have little time for people who think Western Sydney won't work, or that the AFL should have gone into Tasmania or Canberra instead. To me, GWS is a no brainer in terms of it being the correct decision and in terms of long term success.

The AFL must conquer Sydney and the time to start is right now. There are 2 million people in GWS and the AFL only needs 30,000 to become members and about 400k to embrace GWSFC (in varying degrees from "i follow them them" to "i have a fleeting interest but they are my AFL team of choice"

Rugby League is the dominant code but it is stagnant. They are not growing. They have no money for grass roots football. There are also lots of people who don't like League, lots of people who prefer League but haven't been properly exposed to AFL, and lot's of people who are open to following 2 sports.

Soccer is big in GWS but the NSL don't have a presence. Even if it did it wouldn't make a lot of difference because if you follow soccer it's all about the EPL, Serie A, Champions League etc. AFL has the advantage of being able to bring top level sport and big clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, and Essendon right to their doorstep.

I don't think GWS will win a game in their first year but in 20 years I expect them to be enmeshed in the GWS landscape. With the AFL bankrolling grass roots footy, a bit of success, and a local team in Australia's premier football competition, their long term success is assured in my opinion.

Long term I would expect the AFL to be planning 4 teams in Sydney. The AFL needs to make AFL almost as much a Sydney sport as a Melbourne sport.

Agree with what you say, and here is a decent read regarding why Sydney and the GC and fairly important, will post the same link in the Saints NZ thread

http://footyalmanac.com.au/?p=33022

 

[Roddy]

I obviously know what the final result was, but GWS were more competitive overall than I thought they would be. They have some youngsters with excellent potential, and Izzy will be a top forward once he learns to kick properly and actually gets himself fit enough to play football at the highest level. He's a long way off on both accounts still, but he's obviously strong as an ox, loves throwing his body (and others'!) around and can leap and mark.
I reckon they'll snag a win or 2 in their 1st season, and may even win a flag within 10 years...

 

[Pessimistic]

Pretty even effort across four quarters by the Giants.

I think the question might be - when will they overtake the suns ?

My guess is 2013

 

[MaddAdam]

In addition to all the corrections above, at what point did lebanese mean islamic? I went to school with tonnes and they were all catholic down the line. Hell they all cheered for Celtic! Also, I must say that growing up I always thought the AFL was less racist than League. In Sydney I always felt like if you weren't "Anglo-Australian" you played soccer and not League. If you were Italian you cheered for Marconi, not Wests or Balmain.

I had a conversation about footy with a dude I met in a bar in the Christian part of Beirut. Lived in Melbourne for a while. Also talked about footy with a Syrian I met in Homs of all the places in the end the world. Again, was Christian and had lived in Australia. Hope that particular Hawker is OK.

 

[Go Giants]

Agree with what you say, and here is a decent read regarding why Sydney and the GC and fairly important, will post the same link in the Saints NZ thread

http://footyalmanac.com.au/?p=33022

Agree. The AFL now have a match in NSW every week- that's important. The biggest state/city needs it.

 

[RUNVS]

Pretty even effort across four quarters by the Giants.

I think the question might be - when will they overtake the suns ?

My guess is 2013

I persnally think the Suns young players are better than GWS's young players.

 

[TigerTime88]

Tom Scully will battle this year imo and be under the pump from the media...

 

[bunsen burner]

Tom Scully will battle this year imo and be under the pump from the media...

agree.

I hope he goes alright because he can certainly play and i want the Giants to do okay, but i think he'll have a really tough year.

 

[seysearles]

I really like the package. I think they look great, have a cool name, a cool song and a really exciting bunch of kids that will be even more exciting this time next season with the addition of some big names from other clubs. If the people of Western Sydney are anything like me then it will be a successful team. I dont know much about the area to be honest so I can't tell you what the culture is like there and what theyre looking for for entertainment or to represent them. But I wish them the best of luck and hope that they're more like West Coast or Freo, who feel to me like established members of the competition, rather than Port who feel franchisy and tenuous.

 

[FootyJunkie]

Agree. The AFL now have a match in NSW every week- that's important. The biggest state/city needs it.

well, a game in NSW/ACT each week

 

[Borussia Teeth]

Agree. The AFL now have a match in NSW every week- that's important. The biggest state/city needs it.

Simple, yet salient point. Exactly what the AFL wanted to achieve.

 

[Pessimistic]

I persnally think the Suns young players are better than GWS's young players.

But the coaching ? considering the investment put in by the AFL I'm surprised their coaching staff is so inexperienced

 

[Pessimistic]

I really like the package. I think they look great, have a cool name, a cool song and a really exciting bunch of kids that will be even more exciting this time next season with the addition of some big names from other clubs. If the people of Western Sydney are anything like me then it will be a successful team. I dont know much about the area to be honest so I can't tell you what the culture is like there and what theyre looking for for entertainment or to represent them. But I wish them the best of luck and hope that they're more like West Coast or Freo, who feel to me like established members of the competition, rather than Port who feel franchisy and tenuous.

as an old club, arent Port the least "franchisy" ?

 

[Borussia Teeth]

Personally I have little time for people who think Western Sydney won't work, or that the AFL should have gone into Tasmania or Canberra instead. To me, GWS is a no brainer in terms of it being the correct decision and in terms of long term success.

The AFL must conquer Sydney and the time to start is right now. There are 2 million people in GWS and the AFL only needs 30,000 to become members and about 400k to embrace GWSFC (in varying degrees from "i follow them them" to "i have a fleeting interest but they are my AFL team of choice"

Rugby League is the dominant code but it is stagnant. They are not growing. They have no money for grass roots football. There are also lots of people who don't like League, lots of people who prefer League but haven't been properly exposed to AFL, and lot's of people who are open to following 2 sports.

Soccer is big in GWS but the NSL don't have a presence. Even if it did it wouldn't make a lot of difference because if you follow soccer it's all about the EPL, Serie A, Champions League etc. AFL has the advantage of being able to bring top level sport and big clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, and Essendon right to their doorstep.

I don't think GWS will win a game in their first year but in 20 years I expect them to be enmeshed in the GWS landscape. With the AFL bankrolling grass roots footy, a bit of success, and a local team in Australia's premier football competition, their long term success is assured in my opinion.

Long term I would expect the AFL to be planning 4 teams in Sydney. The AFL needs to make AFL almost as much a Sydney sport as a Melbourne sport.

Thank you bunsen burner for a very intelligent and insightful post. BigFooty posters should really take note when discussing GWS prospects in future.

I fully support your view on GWS and have shared similar thoughts within my sporting network. Not sure about the "4 teams in Sydney" concept, that is a little too far-sighted for me to envisage, as the AFL will really need a full generation (minimum 20-25 years) to successfully establish GWS and the Swans in the NSW sporting landscape.

 

[The AXXXMAN]

Saw a couple of women walking King St Newtown wearing womens Giants polo tops. Really surprised me.

but, it's amusing how the AFL and supporters in Melbourne keep referring to the term 'Greater Western Sydney' as though it's common reference up here. Apart from a few government documents, you'll never read or hear of it, let alone the abbreviation 'GWS'.

you'll be lucky to find 1% people who live in the Sydney Metropolitan Area who even know the local government area collective of the Metropolitan which officially define Western Sydney & Greater Western Sydney. The majority just arbitrarily decide what it is and where it may be based on their personal opinion. You Melbournians though............throw these terms and abbreviations around like you sound like you know something about the metropolitan area of Sydney.

 

[seysearles]

as an old club, arent Port the least "franchisy" ?

You would think so but the empty stands and the utter shit franchise name of "Power" just make me view them as plastic and artificial. By the look of their membership base, the people of Adelaide feel the same way. West Coast, Freo and Adelaide have really been embraced as clubs by the people and media of their cities. Sydney and Brisbane are not quite there although I do feel that they both have pretty solid identities and a decent support core.

 

[PAFC66]

You would think so but the empty stands and the utter shit franchise name of "Power" just make me view them as plastic and artificial. By the look of their membership base, the people of Adelaide feel the same way. West Coast, Freo and Adelaide have really been embraced as clubs by the people and media of their cities. Sydney and Brisbane are not quite there although I do feel that they both have pretty solid identities and a decent support core.

We have had close to 40,000 members before.. obviously when your down membership decreases.. Adelaides numbers are down too. Artificial?? least we train at our homeground.. go walk into Alberton one day and decide for yourself if we are a franchise. Not long ago we played you at the MCG and only 11,000 turned up.. everyone goes through a phase like that.. As a interstate club we are the only one that transfered into the AFL as a whole.. so clearly we are a traditional club?

 

[seysearles]

We have had close to 40,000 members before.. obviously when your down membership decreases.. Adelaides numbers are down too. Artificial?? least we train at our homeground.. go walk into Alberton one day and decide for yourself if we are a franchise. Not long ago we played you at the MCG and only 11,000 turned up.. everyone goes through a phase like that.. As a interstate club we are the only one that transfered into the AFL as a whole.. so clearly we are a traditional club?

It's just the way I see it. Others may feel different.