Will the GWS Giants be condemned from the opening game of the AFL? (Slattery Images)
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Why, oh why, is the AFL opening the 2012 season with GWS in a standalone fixture?
There is nothing like the excitement of the opening round of an AFL season. For millions of people their favourite sport is back, and everyone is watching, voraciously devouring any information and footage they can get.
There is a magic, otherwise known as hope, in the air, and every supporter wants to breathe it in, no matter that this same hope can turn toxic in a matter of minutes (ask any Richmond supporter – I am one).
2011 saw eight memorable games, four of them decided by a goal or less. The last five years has delivered attendance figures averaging over 360,000, ranking in Round 1, 2011 delivered eight memorable games, four of them decided by a goal or less.
The first week has in the last five years delivered attendance figures averaging over 360,000, ranking in the top two rounds for attendees every year bar one, and television figures into the millions. Everyone is watching.
So we look forward to round one of 2012, where the AFL in their domineering way has decided to schedule, a full week ahead of the rest of the competition, the league’s newest club, GWS, against a hardened team of professionals in the Sydney Swans.
Let’s look back at last year and the debut of the Gold Coast Suns. Nine Carlton goals were scored before the Suns were on the board. A 12 goal half-time deficit. A 20 goal thumping.
It was an embarrassment, and it was hard to paint it any other way. But it was also not the marquee match of the round. It was not even on the opening weekend, but in round two, when the focus is not as bright, the glare not as intense.
And there was a modern day classic being simultaneously played out in the west. People with the choice were watching Fremantle take it up to Geelong in one of the most physically demanding games of the season.
Everyone acknowledged that it was going to be tough for a fledgling club, although no one was quite sure how bad it was going to be. Next followed a 12 goal loss to the Bulldogs and a 15 goal loss to the Demons, both of whom finished well out of the finals race.
But people liked the young Suns. It was fun to see the wizardry of Gary Ablett away from the much vaunted Geelong midfield, to see him twist and turn and bedazzle with only teens for teammates. Guy McKenna and co had been humble and accommodating, representing themselves with a fresh and youthful energy.
People had been to the Gold Coast, or knew something about it. They could identify, and the Suns quickly became everybody’s second favourite team.
On the flipside, no one likes the GWS Giants. No one cares about seeing Dean Brogan twist a knee. No one remembers James McDonald.
They don’t like Kevin Sheedy, and the buffoonery that accompanies his every media moment. They can’t stand his grandiose statements that make no sense once dissected for more than a few seconds.
And no one knows what Greater Western Sydney is. It doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t represent anything, no one can picture it. They haven’t been there, and they don’t want to go. People will revel in their failure.
The AFL is going a week early with GWS because it wants to dominate the news cycle. There is nothing more precious to them. Strategically planned off-season announcements and events are calculated to keep footy on the back pages, and they are very, very good at it.
But this is a misstep of epic proportions. They’ll dominate the news cycle in Melbourne, where the blunt heavy-handedness of Andrew Demetriou puts media and supporters offside, but it will all be negative.
And they’ll dominate the news cycle in the key area of Sydney, where a breathless pro-NRL media will be falling over themselves to publically, eagerly and joyfully humiliate the newest addition to a rival code.
The AFL will dominate the news cycle alright, but it will be five straight days of ridicule after the Sydney Swans, having set themselves for an almighty percentage boost and to shame their new cross-town rival, deliver an earth-shattering body blow and a triple figure result.
And everyone will be watching. It is round one after all.
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January 25th 2012 @ 10:20am
Jack Russell said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Probably a fair call.
But what if they’re competitive?
January 25th 2012 @ 10:24am
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
I’m very happy as a Swans fan! It should ensure that we’re on top of the ladder for 2 weeks! If only they’d given us GC and PA in rounds 2 and 3 as well…..
It is a very odd move. It won’t gain any more publicity in Sydney then it would if they played it alongside every other game, as no non-Sydney team gets any coverage here anyway and, assuming they do get thrashed, they’ll have 2 weeks of media criticism before they can play another game. Sure it’ll gain heaps of coverage in the AFL states but that’s not going to help GWS much.
January 25th 2012 @ 1:02pm
Mals said | January 25th 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
Non-Sydney teams get plenty of coverage on Fox Sports! Plenty of Sydney households have Foxtel.
January 25th 2012 @ 6:34pm
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 6:34pm | Report comment
True, though it’s not really going out to the mass Sydney market is it? The take up rate of Foxtel in Sydney is 30 something percent? The amount of people who have it for the AFL (of which I am one, though AFL was one of a few reasons) would be substantially lower then that. It’s not really catering for a big audience there. Certainly not enough to be considered to be reaching the mass market.
The Sydney-specific media (FTA news, newspapers, radio etc) will give it the same coverage that they would give it if it were played alongside every other match, and this is where the vast majority of Sydney people get their information from.
January 25th 2012 @ 10:46am
Fitzy said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:46am | Report comment
Agreed, although I’m travelling up from Melb its just to see Swans get an early win, would have been better for GWS to go up against GC being the newest or Melb Dees, then port and have Swans face them in rd5, it would also build anticipation in game.
January 25th 2012 @ 11:30am
Ian Whitchurch said | January 25th 2012 @ 11:30am | Report comment
The last time the two sides met saw GWS play the Swans reserves.
GWS, with only the seventeen and eighteen year olds, plus a couple of their ex-VFA players, beat the Swans reserves by ten goals.
It’s odd the author forgot to mention this.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:14pm
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
True, though it helps that the Swans Reserves are only allowed to play a maximum of 13 listed players per match. I believe that GWS will also have this rule imposed on them next year as they enter the AFL.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:18pm
Jaceman said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:18pm | Report comment
I think you meant the NEAFL
January 25th 2012 @ 12:24pm
Ian Whitchurch said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
Jacman,
I think he means ‘in the NEAFL as they enter the AFL”
MattF,
That match was a big part of why I think GWS will be better than feared. Clifton, Giles, Cameron, Shiel and Treloar can all play at AFL standard.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:35pm
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Yes that’s what they meant. They’re already in the NEAFL but weren’t considered an “AFL side” like the Swans, Lions and Suns were. They are now so they have new restrictions placed upon them.
I hope they’re competitive but keep in mind that they were playing Swans kids and non-AFL contracted players. It’s a big step up against hardened, senior AFL players. Their kids are very good but they’ll be relying very heavily on their senior players who just aren’t as good as the GC senior players.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:41pm
camtherose said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Let’s not forget that GWS’s best player (up for debate) is nowhere near the quality of the likes of Brennan, Bock, Rischitelli, let alone the genius of Ablett getting 35 and kicking goals.
And while Carlton last year were a superior side to Sydney, there was no emotional investment from the Blues. The Swans will want to decimate their ‘rival’ – and they will.
January 25th 2012 @ 1:18pm
Ian Whitchurch said | January 25th 2012 @ 1:18pm | Report comment
Matt F,
Geriatrics With Scully werent playing any of their senior players either …
January 25th 2012 @ 1:36pm
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Very true. But those players will form a fair nucleus of GWS’s round 1 team, along with many others who have never played an AFL game. How many Swans players from that reserves game will do the same?
My point is that it’s a massive step up from NEAFL level (against a Swans reserves team with almost half of the players not actually contracted to the Swans) to playing the senior Swans team, or any other AFL team.
January 25th 2012 @ 11:40am
JamesP said | January 25th 2012 @ 11:40am | Report comment
I think they will get thrashed and I agree with most of your thoughts. But Demetriou and the AFL commission don’t get it wrong to often…there must be a method in all this madness and I’ll back him in on this one. Everyone is expecting GWS to fail – so if they do get thrashed, it will be no surprise at all. But if they put up a fight, imagine the reaction…
January 25th 2012 @ 12:25pm
Punter said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
The fact that every bit of advertisement of this team relies on an old RL player explains how much interest there is in Sydney.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:40pm
JamesP said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
Keep praying it will fail Punter….keep praying it will fail…
January 25th 2012 @ 4:24pm
Punter said | January 25th 2012 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
On the contrary JamesP, I’m up for all sports teams, I’m just telling how it is.
January 25th 2012 @ 8:35pm
woodsman said | January 25th 2012 @ 8:35pm | Report comment
One way or another this will play into the creation of an underdog image- and give this is a 20 year investment I think the best outcome (asside from a goal either way) would be for the Giants to simply be gallant in a crushing defeat.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:11pm
massacre said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
It’s going to be a massacre. Bring the popcorn.
January 25th 2012 @ 12:16pm
Jaceman said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
Better to play the Swans early as they always used to start slow (under Roos) but last year went OK early from memory. I think the NRL think its a big deal because they have put the Saints v Manly game on in opposition (the last 2 premiers) on a Saturday night which staggeringly means it wasnt in the top 4 games for FTA TV or Monday night pay-TV. They also have all Western Sydney teams at home that weekend in the west (Bulldogs (ANZ), Wests (Campbelltown) and Eels at home to Penrith – all in high profile TV spots) but are not directly competing so as the crowd comparison would be so embarrassing. Obviously the NRL think it is a big deal. The AFL are good judges on strategy (who can argue over their performance over 20 years). The author is new to me so his prejudices are unknown – surely not ICF in another guise….
January 25th 2012 @ 12:40pm
Matt F said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
We do have a horrible record in Round 1, but I think we’ll be looking to make a statement against the new kids. In fact the only team with a similar Round 1 record to us over the last few years is Melbourne. Naturally when we played each other in round 1 last year it was a draw
January 25th 2012 @ 12:25pm
Lachlan said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
There will be parts of the game were they will be competitive, but as a swans supporter 1st and GWS supporter 2nd, i can’t wait for round 1
January 25th 2012 @ 12:43pm
D.Large said | January 25th 2012 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Agree with most points for the author here, not only will it be a massacre it will be a humiliating one at that. GC had 4 players better than GWS’s best player and they got flogged by nearly everyone. Most NSW people won’t understand that the GWS are trying to build the team over a few years, they will just see a team that would get beaten by many VFL teams.
January 25th 2012 @ 1:10pm
Dingo said | January 25th 2012 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
Of course it could be an embarrasing thrashing, under the intense media spotlight of a parnoid Sydney press and a footy obsessed Melbourne press.
It is possible that there will be quite a few people who will identify with them as being the “underdog” and as such, after copping one humiliating flogging after the other, when they eventually scrape some wins together, these people might form the core of their supporter base.
January 25th 2012 @ 8:40pm
woodsman said | January 25th 2012 @ 8:40pm | Report comment
Agreed, its a core of supporters who will be there for the team through the blowtorch period that will set this club up as one to be respected when they come good, as they will with avengance when their brood matures.