If the AFL is running a television campaign to boost sales for Saturday’s elimination final at ANZ Stadium, Swans coach Paul Roos must be watching the wrong channel.

Roos hasn’t seen it and he’s wondering what’s going on, especially with a second Sydney team entering the AFL in 2012.

The 2005 premiership coach even offered today to take himself and a couple of players out to Blacktown on Saturday afternoon to hand out free tickets from his car window to help boost sales.

An AFL statement released tonight said 16,033 tickets had been sold for the knockout clash between Sydney and North Melbourne – which starts at 7.30pm for those who didn’t already know.

“You’d like to think there was a big media blitz in terms of TV and radio and all those sorts of things to generate some excitement,” Roos said at the SCG today.

“Have they done anything? I’m not 100 per cent sure.

“I’d be surprised if they hadn’t had a big marketing campaign in place this week, but I obviously haven’t seen it because I haven’t watched a lot of television.

“You’d have to ask the AFL as to what they had (done).

“It has an impact on everyone. If I was running the AFL and you want a second team in Sydney, you’d probably be doing as much as you could to make sure as many people turned up (as possible).

“Giving free tickets out to Blacktown or whatever, I would have thought you’d do everything you possibly could to have 60,000 people there.

“Whether that’s giving away 20,000 tickets, so be it.”

The second Sydney team would have a training base in Blacktown and play home games at ANZ Stadium, the former Olympic venue in western Sydney.

“If it was me I’d be running around with my car out in Blacktown giving tickets out the window because if you are talking about bringing a second team in, you’d be introducing new people (to AFL football),” Roos said.

“The first (newspaper) article would be written (saying) the crowd was 60,000, they gave away 20,000 tickets.

“Who cares (if some tickets were free)? I don’t know what they (AFL) are doing.

“I’m just saying if you ask me that’s what I’d be doing. But I’m coaching and I haven’t got time to drive around and throw out tickets.”

Roos said he would be “flabbergasted” if he discovered the AFL had no marketing strategy in place for the ANZ Stadium game.

An AFL spokesman was unavailable for comment tonight.

“I’m sure they have (done something). I don’t expect to be shocked,” he said.

“I just haven’t noticed it because I’m going home, playing with the kids, shooting baskets, watching North Melbourne tapes.”

Roos said if the AFL ordered him out to Blacktown for a little hands-on promotional work he would go.

“Whenever we’re asked we’ll get out there, Saturday afternoon before the game, whatever you want us to do. Throw them (tickets) out the window,” he said.

Meanwhile Swans defender Ben Mathews announced his retirement tonight.

The 29-year-old from Corowa-Rutherglen played 198 games including the 2005 premiership win.

Third in Sydney’s 2001 best-and-fairest award, Mathews has played only two senior games this year.

© AAP 2012

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