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AFL bought Israel Folau to get NRL fans watching AFL. They made the choice though of signing Folau before State of Origin and NRL was over. So now all the AFL fans curious about Folau will watch the State of Origin and NRL.
So if the Australian football theory that a person can instantly be spellbound by watching another code holds true, then all the AFL fans will be NRL fans before Folau has been able to get the NRL fans to watch AFL.
More likely is that no footballer – no matter how much of a star – can make one iota of difference to the popularity of either code.
Have all AFL fans become NFL fans in the wake of AFL stars playing NFL? Have little AFL kiddies across Australia forsaken AFL to take up NFL?
I didn’t think so.
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- AFL, Israel Folau, NRL, State Of Origin
June 12th 2010 @ 7:58am
Akazie said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:58am | Report comment
Too logical mate.
June 12th 2010 @ 8:35am
ac said | June 12th 2010 @ 8:35am | Report comment
Kevin Sheedy said the signing of the League Player was worth millions of dollars in publicity. But to who? I think to rugby League. It has put it on the map in Melbourne where before this year the general public knew little of League. Now they know this guy is a League Player and is good. So good, they chose him over all the young AFL dudes who have played the game for years. MMM. The AFL has not done its homework on this one. Plus the fact that he is (Isreal) is going to play in the SOO is a marketing coup for the NRL. Good one AFL INC.
June 12th 2010 @ 9:13am
The guru said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:13am | Report comment
Cue afl stooges
June 12th 2010 @ 9:14am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:14am | Report comment
Another Folau article, if it can be called that, another win for the AFL.
Your logic is flawed for several reasons. One because the theory only applies to exciting football codes. Two because die hard boring league supporters are not part of the demographic the AFL is attempting to reach. Nobody is trying to convert you.
What makes me certain the AFL is on the path to success in Sydney more than anything is the endless paranioa of RL fans. There is no doubt at all they feel threatened, which is why they post AFL related articles, comment on AFL articles more than AFL fans, hypocritically decry any government spending on our national sport and are constantly looking for angles to assert the inevitable failure of GWS. It sounds a bit like this-
ME WORRIED? I’M NOT WORRIED. NOT WORRIED AT ALL. I’M JUST TELLING YOU HOW UNWORRIED I AM. LOOK, I’M JUST POSTING AN AFL ARTICLE TO PROVE THAT I’M NOT WORRIED. SEE ALL THOSE AFL COMMENTS BY RL FANS ARE JUST TRYING TO HELP THE AFL REALIZE THAT WE’RE NOT WORRIED AND THEY’RE WASTING THEIR MONEY. CHECK OUT THESE FACTS, THEY PROVE WE’VE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. AFL AFL AFL AFL…..
-TYPICAL RL FAN
Meanwhile, the typical response of an AFL fan to someone playing in the NFL ranges between “meh” and “good luck”. Hunt’s debut can be watched live today at http://www.abc.net.au/tv . Careful how you go, you might accidently be converted, keep one eye closed to be safe.
June 12th 2010 @ 9:33am
Ziggy the God said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
There you go, more AFL hubris……….’One because the theory only applies to exciting football codes. Two because die hard boring league supporters are not part of the demographic the AFL is attempting to reach. Nobody is trying to convert you.’
What gets you off thinking that AFL is more exciting? Is that because it is more exciting to you?
So even if we take your myopic view, then all of those Victorians who don’t follow AFL will be mesmerized by League when they watch SOO next week?
Good luck to the GWS, they will need it (as well as all the money that the AFL can afford to pour down its throat).
June 12th 2010 @ 9:52am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Tell me again how you’re not worried about the AFL.
June 12th 2010 @ 9:53am
Billo Boy said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:53am | Report comment
There it is again “Careful how you go, you might accidently be converted”.
Not likely. The risk of being bored into a pillar of salt is too much.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:00am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:00am | Report comment
Sure. We know you’re a closet AFL fan, it’s obvious given how much you talk AFL.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:08am
Billo Boy said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:08am | Report comment
Billions of AFL fans around the world prove your point. I stand corrected.
.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:22am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:22am | Report comment
You’re not a very good sadist are you? The victims should be doing the screaming, not you.
June 13th 2010 @ 7:16pm
hutch said | June 13th 2010 @ 7:16pm | Report comment
joel, you seem to think nobody up here has seen afl before and not had the chance to witness its magic. we know what it is, we just dont like it! hunt and folau wont change a thing!
June 15th 2010 @ 7:32am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:32am | Report comment
Good for you! There’s no need to concern yourself with the AFL’s expansion if you’re so confident in the poor quality of the product.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:30am
JVGO said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:30am | Report comment
So where have we got to so far? $20 million out of the $200 million blown just on Izzy and KC and at the Showgrounds, let alone what else they are spending on admin and PR (see Mike C).
All that 200 million just in order to add two more clubs on life support to the ones already struggling and bleeding the AFL in Melbourne.
This all 2 years away from either club even playing a game
They could waste another 8 or 9 million on Inglis and Slater.
At this rate the $200 mil appears to be disappearing fast..
They have created a fan and media backlash which is likely to undermine the Swans who after 25 years of unstinting diplomacy had established a solid foundation among inner city expats and other non traditional sporting folk.
They have added huge inflationary pressure to AFL player salaries across the board by paying ridiculous overs to unqualified RL rookies which has the potential to cost them even more of their gazillions.
They have created nothing to compete with the burgeoning market for high level international events supplied by the other codes to their heartland, whcih surely will attract more and more of the Vic sporting dollar.
There is a point where confidence becomes hubris and in the end appears simply as stupidity. If the AFL hasn’t crossed it yet they may well get there pretty soon.
What a PR disaster
June 12th 2010 @ 5:23pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:23pm | Report comment
Ho hum. You’re not an AFL fan, why do you care?
Why do you care about the AFL blowing a few million on Hunt and Folau?
Why do you care about the AFL blowing $10 million on a stadium, which works out to about $330k to $500k over 20-30 years?
Why do you care about the AFL blowing $80 million on grass roots development in NSW?
Why do you care how fast the AFL’s money burns?
Why do you care if the Swans are undermined?
Why do you care about inflationary pressure on AFL salaries?
Why do you care about the success or failure of the AFL’s PR?
Why do you care about the AFL at all?
June 12th 2010 @ 5:46pm
JVGO said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:46pm | Report comment
Yes, I’m an RL fan. And if the fans don’t care about their game then there is no game. But you’re right, actually when I look down the list I don’t care much about any of it except to think it is incredibly stupid.
Except for the Swans, a lot of my friends are Swans fans and get a lot of fun out of them. It would be a shame if the Swans were hurt by all this. Maybe you should read the Colless article I think Bilbo cited for a reality check Joel.
June 13th 2010 @ 9:19am
Joel said | June 13th 2010 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Why concern yourself with the inevitable failure of the AFL if you’re a RL fan? If you think the NRL is at risk because of the AFL you should be happy. If you’re so worried about the Swans maybe you should buy a membership?
June 14th 2010 @ 6:35pm
JVGO said | June 14th 2010 @ 6:35pm | Report comment
Did i say anything was inevitable? I’m worried about my friends who are Swans fans, they’d either have to get a life or they’d start drinking too much again.
June 15th 2010 @ 7:37am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:37am | Report comment
So you’re worried about the AFL on your friends behalf is it? Ok, fair enough.. not very credible though.. I laughed. But if you say so then I’ll take you at your word. Maybe, because you really care about your mates and don’t want them to drink too much and so on you should go buy a Swans membership? Solidarity and all that.
http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/
Go on, you know you want to…
June 15th 2010 @ 7:43am
punter said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:43am | Report comment
How did the Swans go? Been to busy drowning my sorrow over the sad footy score in SA.
June 15th 2010 @ 8:00am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 8:00am | Report comment
Pantsed Port. South Australians will have to turn to league for amusement if they keep getting thrashed.
June 15th 2010 @ 8:16am
JVGO said | June 15th 2010 @ 8:16am | Report comment
Joel. i think he is possibly talking about South Africa where the big soccer tournament is on at the moment not South Australia.
June 15th 2010 @ 11:47am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Ha ha.. my bad. I haven’t been following the soccer so it didn’t cross my mind.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:33am
JF said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:33am | Report comment
The AFL evangelists are forcing themselves upon the RL community, of course RL writers are going to write about that. Plonking AFL teams in RL areas, recruiting RL players to spruik the AFL, and forcing their broadcaster to show live AFL into RL areas – what do you expect? The AFL are now ‘involved’ in RL.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:28pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
The AFL are coming to eat your babies? Please what rot. Is there a gestapo marching people to grounds and forcing them to watch or play? The response to GWS has been completely irrational and hysterical and reeks of fear, fear of a sport a sport that the NRL has long fancied as a rival, fear the AFL will succeed.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:36pm
JVGO said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:36pm | Report comment
Joel imagine the bile if RL was putting extra teams into Melbourne backed by 100′s of millions and buying AFL players. Do you think Vic would not be defensive.
June 13th 2010 @ 9:27am
Joel said | June 13th 2010 @ 9:27am | Report comment
I don’t remember hearing a peep about the Storm. In fact I’ve heard reports plenty of AFL fans attend Storm games. Let go of the parochialism, the AFL is national.
June 14th 2010 @ 6:39pm
JVGO said | June 14th 2010 @ 6:39pm | Report comment
There are plenty of RL fans attend Swans games also. This is taking things to another level, anyone can see that.
June 15th 2010 @ 7:41am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:41am | Report comment
Don’t worry, they won’t be RL fans very much longer. Oh, maybe you should worry? Never mind the undeniable reality is that the Storm have drawn a collective yawn while GWS have drawn unconsolable hysteria.
What are we taking to another level? The absurdity of the pretenses of rugby league fans posting in this article that they don’t care about the AFL and aren’t worried, even to the point where they are creating imaginary friends? The hilarity of all the responses of RL fans trying to convince themselves more than anything of the AFL’s impending failure? Yeah, I find it all pretty funny too..
June 15th 2010 @ 7:49am
punter said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:49am | Report comment
The hysteria is not over the AFL is over the AFL buying a RL player, end of story, it’s still about RL unfortunately
June 15th 2010 @ 8:03am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 8:03am | Report comment
The hysteria was there before Hunt and Folau were signed. You are right that it is still all about league and people being worried about the impact on league rather than the AFL.
June 12th 2010 @ 12:47pm
Akazie said | June 12th 2010 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
National sport my arse.
They have to use our national sports grounds to play.
June 12th 2010 @ 12:51pm
Beaver fever said | June 12th 2010 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
Correct, then it is a good fit, the native game playing on OUR national grounds.
June 12th 2010 @ 12:56pm
JF said | June 12th 2010 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
They also contribute to ruin our national sports’ grounds, drop-in pitches, plans to ruin the Adelaide Oval – not a good fit at all.
June 12th 2010 @ 1:00pm
Beaver fever said | June 12th 2010 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
Disagree, they make cricket grounds viable for upgrading etc, read SCG, MCG Gabba and community clubs utilise these facilities year round, read local footy/cricket clubs.
i
I may also add that the plan for the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval is for the w/c
June 12th 2010 @ 9:44am
pike64 said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
What a laugh.!!!! A(w)F(u)L football has a national competition but is not a national sport and I live in Melbourne. It has to be the most overrated sport in the world. 50 year head start on Rugby League, 100 year head start on Football and the game is still only played in the southern states of Australia in any meaningful way. Its fans call it the ‘greatest game in the world’ and yet the rules are changed practically every year in an attempt to fix its shortcomings. It is an ugly, primitive sport and its tactics are one dimensional. You call it free flowing, most other people see a game that lacks structure. Even in this era of PAY-TV and the internet, Fumbleball (in honor of its statistically highest ‘possession’ – the fumble) or A(w)F(u)L football still cannot cross water. It struggles to make it over the Murray river, no wonder it will never cross an ocean. It is like a big bonfire in the southern states. The people who are in its immediate vicinity are culturally overwhelmed by its heat yet people from afar can only see a meaningless flickering light and the firewood is slowly running out. That is why there is a move to Western Sydney and the Gold Coast.They had to poach Rugby League players to generate any sort of interest in Sydney and the Gold Coast and you still believe it is a national sport!!!!!!!
June 12th 2010 @ 9:56am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 9:56am | Report comment
Don’t watch it then. If it’s so A(w)F(u)L then you’ve got nothing to worry about and no need to waste time cutting and pasting large blocks of text to AFL articles.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:06am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:06am | Report comment
Funny, because there’s nothing in that block of text that addresses the “article” at all.
June 15th 2010 @ 9:37am
Zac Zavos said | June 15th 2010 @ 9:37am | Report comment
pike64 – for that comment you’re now on moderation…
A reminder to all that it’s not appropriate to flame a code on The Roar. It just leads to boring ‘my code is better than yours’. Please vote down and report inappropriate comments.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:09am
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:09am | Report comment
I think the real interest will be if he stays (same with Hunt) after there promotion contracts are finished. Ticking boxes in AFL is a lot easier than most sports. Given there is no rep games, and the highlight is being named for the All Australian team, will Falou’s move back to League be a nice promotion for the NRL (when the TV landscape may have changed with the relaxation of the anti-siphoning rules). Can’t see Hunt coming back to League, I would say he would go to France and play Rugby Union.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:09am
M1tch said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:09am | Report comment
Folau could be a Jerry Seinfeld situation, kids are cheering the jersey not the player…we shall see come round 1 2012
June 12th 2010 @ 2:42pm
danwighton said | June 12th 2010 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
Booo! New Shirt!
June 12th 2010 @ 10:13am
MattS said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:13am | Report comment
With the signing of Falou there seems to be an assumption that no body has heard of AFL in QLD and NSW.
Well, there is news on that front:
*AFL has been on primetime TV in the Sydney & Brisbane markets for 30 odd years.
*AFL advertisment on primetime TV occurs every night upto a dozen times
*AFL is allowed/welcomed into the private school elite sports programs in both Sydney & Brisbane, something rugby league cannot hope to achieve due to elitist social ostracism and exclusion!
So despite the rhetoric of the AFL and its luny supporters, the barriers to the game in the northern markets just don’t exist. The courier mail in QLD will still have its Tuesday to Friday 2-3 pages of AFL in the sports, and Saturday to Monday editions 4 to 5 pages. I only buy the weekend Sydney papers and there is 3-4 pages from what I know.
There is no blackout of AFL in the northern states, and definately is no need to sign NRL players for exposure because it’s there.
This is just the AFL declaring its intentions to wipe out league. Well, you have just rallied the opposition troops.
p.s I had a quick glance at the main AFL sports paper (to see what they said about Falou) and one letter from a bloke in Lilyfield, NSW wrote in about there being only 7,000 at the Eels v Storm game and what neandathols watch the sport. The editor agreed. This AFL lakey (residing in Sydney) knew to well what torrential weather (conveniently not mentioned by the writer not the huge TV ratings for a 9:30pm timeslot) had on wiping out the attendence to this game. It was noted 12,000 tickets had been sold in Sydney papers (a walk up crowd on the basis of this many ticket sales for an Eels game in fine weather would have suggested 18,000-20,000 normally).
But this sort of get together bull crap by AFL supporters seems to be the norm. This attitude might be acceptable in Victoria but it does not wash well with NSW & QLD’ers.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:36pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:36pm | Report comment
Speaking of newspaper editors, the NRL Telegraph editor recently claimed exactly the opposite of everything you’ve just said. He boasted the AFL had no media exposure in either Sydney or Brisbane, I think his exact words were “gnahh blubber gaylf victardia pingpong”. I guess you’d know better of course.
Sydney got 30,000 to a home game last week in the same weather.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:44pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:44pm | Report comment
Mate, if AFL where to be a success in Sydney, it would have been already. It may get bums on seats, but it doesn’t get people watching on TV. If the Swans still make a loss with 30K attending then what hope does a second club have in Sydney. I don’t really care how the AFL wastes there money, I do care when it uses NSW taxpayers money to fund infrastructure, that many NRL clubs would die to make. You only have to look at the state of Brookvale Oval, and imagine what it could be if it too had $45mil spent on it, or even the $27mil for the training facility.
June 12th 2010 @ 6:04pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 6:04pm | Report comment
Do a cost benefit analysis and lobby the government then, I bet that’s what the AFL did. Once again RL fans want to apply double standards, the NRL has received far more money from government sources than the AFL. Where is your outrage about that?
June 12th 2010 @ 6:24pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 6:24pm | Report comment
Ian MacDonald did a favour for his buddy Ken Edwards, and then resigned from Parliament. That’s what happened. To try and butter up the NRL, he gave us $45mil as well (though we were expecting $25mil at any rate). You just better hope that Labor doesn’t call an early election, as that stadium could dissapear in an instant. He also gave V8′s $45mil so they keep V8′s racing at Homebush, when there is a perfectly good racetrack out West which isn’t being used.
June 12th 2010 @ 7:16pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:16pm | Report comment
Nice to see you’re outraged about such profligacy from the government, you are outraged aren’t you? It’s kind of hard to tell, it seem more like you don’t really care and are more keen on making implications of risk to the showgrounds deal. I promise I will keep my fingers crossed about the showgrounds, but to be honest I think that ones sewn up. Sorry.
June 12th 2010 @ 7:19pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:19pm | Report comment
Joel, we in NSW are mighty pissed off with this govt. This is just another in a long line of backroom deals they have done. Unfortunately their is a rule in NSW that a govt must serve there 4 years. Until the election which they will lose in a big way, nothing can change.
And as for sown up, this is NSW mate, nothing is ever sown up.
June 12th 2010 @ 7:23pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:23pm | Report comment
Gee, thanks for your concern for the AFL. I’m touched.
June 13th 2010 @ 9:23am
Michael C said | June 13th 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
DOW -
$45 million is chicken feed.
Cricket NSW and the RAS are happy the AFL came to town……it’s not all about the rectangle codes,……you have Soccer, RU and RL all very prominent in town and STILL they can’t organise themselves properly as a united front so that you have to whinge about a relatively small amount of money directed towards projects in which the AFL is a contributing partner (not owner).
Try being AFL in Victoria,…..get stuff all from Govt and have to sit by and watch the only 100% Govt funded stadium built for 2 clubs plus 2 that didn’t exist yet and was supposed to future proof the state for a FIFA WC bid but didn’t because they spent too much on the roof and not enough on the seats and you think the NRL has something to whinge about!!!!!!
It was far cheaper for the Vic govt to retain the (VFL) AFL GF at the MCG – they didn’t need to spend $45 million,…..they only had to block planning approval!!!!! (for VFL park expansions).
June 14th 2010 @ 3:09pm
Saddened by an empty sense of loss and emptiness said | June 14th 2010 @ 3:09pm | Report comment
Where’s Rugby’s $45 million!! God damn it.
It just isn’t fair, it isn’t fair. Just not right at all. I think we deserved at least $100 million to keep the Bledisloe in Sydney. What’s the world coming to, not giving money to everyone who can tie a shoelace?
As a rugby fan I am absolutely ropable at this foul stench of favouritism. And from now on I want rugby to get the number one draft pick in AFL, because we need it more and we want publicity to convert the thousands. And the NRL should pay the guy’s salary because they are really nice. And gentle too. Really gentle and caring.
So go on my son, spare the back page for rugby once in a while. Jesus loves us so so should you all.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:24am
pike64 said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Allow me to explain it simply. The article basically states that The A(w)F(u)L has a theory that by signing the mercenaries, people in GWS and the Gold Coast will be exposed to A(w)F(u)L football and will be spellbound by it and by inference, drop off Rugby League. I simply pointed out why I don’t think people will be spell bound by it now and how they weren’t even spellbound by it in the past. As a Melbournian I had the game shoved down my throat at school and by the media. It took PAY-TV and the internet to see that there were other better sports out there. The rest of my response was in reaction to Joel who inferred that AFL was an exciting sport and that Rugby League was boring. You must be too close to the AFL bonfire to think clearly. The rest of the world isn’t interested. Learn to live with it instead of picking fights with other codes.
June 12th 2010 @ 10:29am
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:29am | Report comment
Well then, you have nothing to worry about then do you and have no need to be wasting time talking down the AFL using such derogatory language. The AFL is certainly doomed and you’ll be freed from your prison soon enough. Or do you want to simply pretend your another fly-wing pulling sadist troll like Billo Boy?
June 12th 2010 @ 4:25pm
Mister Football said | June 12th 2010 @ 4:25pm | Report comment
NOt sure it matters what the rest of the world thinks.
There are 600,000 AFL members, that’s triple the number of memberships of the three other codes combined.
That’s big.
June 13th 2010 @ 8:07pm
pike64 said | June 13th 2010 @ 8:07pm | Report comment
Those 600,000 members are an irrelevancy as they are largely concentrated in the south of Australia. It is like bragging that the most popular color of houses in your street is pink when for the rest of the suburb it is something else. One Football team called Manchester United has more fans globally than the entire AFL. How are any of these numbers relevant to what the AFL is trying to do in GWS and the Gold Coast and their disrespect towards Rugby League?
June 15th 2010 @ 7:55am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Oh good! Then we can discard all the NRL’s membership because they’re largely concentrated along a sliver of the eastern seaboard. Don’t worry, the NRL doesn’t have much to lose on that score. Even the new Gold Coast team already has more members than the NRL franchise and is still a year away from playing a real game.
I’m only guessing mind, but WA’s AFL membership plus waiting list alone would probably equal the membership of the NRL, SA would probably have about 70k. The Lions and Swans membership would probably be another half of the NRL. So completely excluding Victardia the AFL would still have at least double the membership of the NRL.
If we calculate using your method, instead of the AFL having only about six times the NRL’s members it’s now an infinitely greater membership. Awesome!
June 12th 2010 @ 10:41am
MattS said | June 12th 2010 @ 10:41am | Report comment
Joel mate, there is just this immense arrogance by AFL supporters toward a game like rugby league.
They vent their anger at their being no live AFL on Friday nights in the northern market (they don’t realise the sacrifice the likes of channel 10 make when taking a ratings hit on a Saturday night). Letters to the editors in the QLD papers from AFL supporters bleating about the lack of distrispect blah blah are regular (yes they do get their letters printed as they do when they make disparaging remarks about rugby league-can this happen in Victoria?).
Now the AFL Courier Mail writer, Andrew Hamilton, is getting so cocky his recent articles are on how boring rugby league is compared to AFL, and Falou’s move is purely about a challenge etc, is vomit at its best, but he is allowed the freedom to write this. Can this occur in Victoria? I hear journo’s who try to expose damaging things about the AFL lose their careers in media pretty quick.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:47pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:47pm | Report comment
Channel 10 don’t make any sacrifices at all. The cost of broadcasting live games into low rating markets is included in the TV rights deal. Yes, the AFL takes a hit on its rights to benefit the long terms interests of the game and still gets double the revenue of the NRL.
As for Andrew Hamilton, I guess he’s just being honest. I know, I know… NRL fans prefer sweet sweet lies to reality. that’s why the Daily Telegraph is such a pit of misinformation.
June 12th 2010 @ 5:51pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 5:51pm | Report comment
You will find out if Channel 10 make sacrifices of not when the next TV deal comes in. Do they still promote the game into Sydney given no one is watching. Will they really want to spend that sort of money again for that reason. If the anti siphoning laws come in, the game will change very quickly, and the NRL has more to benefit as it will suddenly be able to be broadcast into areas that it currently isn’t, slowly building it audience in those places.
AFL had been broadcast into NSW/QLD for over 30years, you think that it if was so good, it would be getting a lot more than 100K when broadcast into Sydney when Sydney is actually playing.
June 12th 2010 @ 6:08pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 6:08pm | Report comment
Fine, so we’ll find out then. Why do you care though? Are you concerned the AFL will overreach itself financially and collapse? I would have thought you’d be happy at that prospect.
June 12th 2010 @ 6:20pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 6:20pm | Report comment
If you only want to talk about AFL, then go to an AFL site. Here we talk about numerous sports, and we get to see how people from other backgrounds view things. I don’t care what the AFL does, I look on with interest to see how much it costs the AFL, in the same way it cost News Ltd when building the Storm, or how AFL costs supporters by allowing artificial salary caps for Brisbane and Sydney, and seeing how that delivered those teams success, as the expences of the real supporters from other states, and how that hasn’t translated into ongoing TV viewing of the sport, yet they are going to try it again with GWS and the GC. Something I would hate the NRL to ever do.
You might not realise, but this article is just as much about NRL as it is AFL. I just hate it when people tell distruths like you have been doing all throughout this article.
June 12th 2010 @ 7:20pm
Joel said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:20pm | Report comment
I don’t know why you guys do this to yourselves. You’re League fans that keep talking down the AFL in the AFL section of this site, why is that?
Where are these posts of yours seeking honest illumination? There’s one talking about NRL PR, another pretending the Swans are failing and losing money and whining about the government legitimately spending money on the AFL. Another implying the AFL is about to be sunk by the next rights deal. Another one implying the stadium deal the AFL has made is at risk. Oh and this one that says you don’t care what the AFL does, but then you contradict that because you do care what the AFL does even though it’s about as relevent to the NRL as the netball.
If this article has anything to do with the NRL it’s because it’s author is “… a rugby man who could do with your support battling these AFL cheerleaders.”
June 12th 2010 @ 7:36pm
Dogs Of War said | June 12th 2010 @ 7:36pm | Report comment
Joel, you do realise this “Rugby” man, means Rugby Union not League, oh of course you don’t.
Joel said “…whining about the government legitimately spending money on the AFL.” Given this Govt only 12mths ago said they wouldn’t do it, only for someone who is about to get an ICAC investigation and resigned from his post only after granted the AFL $45mil, it does seem suspicious. But what would you care, you don’t live here and have to put up with it.
Joel said: “another pretending the Swans are failing and losing money” I didn’t say it, the Swans CEO said they are losing money and were worried about the impact the new team will have, which. You take your case up with him.
Joel said: “…Another implying the AFL is about to be sunk by the next rights deal. “. I said Joel is that don’t count your eggs mate. You may get more money, but so will the NRL. Relaxation of the anti-siphoning agreements will change the sporting landscape in a big way, NRL, Union and Soccer will be big winners out of this. AFL not so much because they already are telecast into all states, just means that Channel 10 won’t have to destroy there ratings into Sydney by showing it on the main channel. But if things don’t change, I am sure 10 won’t be as keen to keep on doing it.
Joel said: “Another one implying the stadium deal the AFL has made is at risk”, I said a change of govt could see the project sink. Why would you assume that it is 100% over the line until the thing is built?
Joel said ” “because you do care what the AFL does even though it’s about as relevent to the NRL as the netball.” Umm, this article is about the AFL poaching a NRL player, so it’s 100% relevant. I think you should stick to reading your Victorian newspapers where they only sing the praises of AFL and other sports don’t exist.
I will leave you with your final comment “If this article has anything to do with the NRL”, and just leave it there so everybody can see how stupid you are.
June 13th 2010 @ 9:34am
Joel said | June 13th 2010 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Look, sorry I couldn’t be bothered reading all that, something about you not caring about the AFL I think? Or was it that you’re terribly, terribly worried about the AFL and want to save it from destruction? Perhaps you could condense it into a tldr telling us yet again how much you’re not worried about the AFL.
June 13th 2010 @ 11:09am
Dogs Of War said | June 13th 2010 @ 11:09am | Report comment
I did provide a tldr Joel. Read the last line.
And why would I be worried about the AFL Joel. You have had 30 years of presence is Sydney and made stuff all impact.
June 14th 2010 @ 7:58am
Joel said | June 14th 2010 @ 7:58am | Report comment
Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.
June 14th 2010 @ 8:33pm
Ian said | June 14th 2010 @ 8:33pm | Report comment
Joel
Dogs of War is bang on. Once the anti siphoning legislation is changed (not far away), then league will not be allowed to be hoarded in Melbourne (as is the case now).
The AFL will not only have to support fledging Sydney and Gold Coast teams, but will have rugby league an alternative into the lounge rooms of Melbourne sports fans. The rugby league rates well when shown at a decent time, and this time is about to happen more regularly than Demetriou and Eddie McGuire may like.
Then and only then can AFL support be measured in an open market rather than through its protected status at the moment (particularly in Melbourne). Sydney has been rather more open for many years now and AFL has failed to make any headway!
June 15th 2010 @ 8:07am
Joel said | June 15th 2010 @ 8:07am | Report comment
Oh dear. Now we are truly heading off the deep end. I seriously doubt you have an understanding of the purpose and consequences of the anti-siphoning legislation. Suffice to say that if the implications of your post came true all it would do is reduce the value of the NRL rights.