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What can be done to improve the Sydney derby?

Roar Rookie
19th July, 2013
13

Even before the siren sounded for the fourth instalment of the Sydney derby, many media commentators were criticising the clash for the lack of a rivalry that exists between the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Giants.

While it certainly does not help that the Giants have been uncompetitive in their exploits so far since becoming the 18th AFL side in 2012, there are a few more reasons than just their competitiveness as to why the rivalry has not amounted to much so far.

Perhaps the main problem for fans of both the Swans and the Giants has been answering the following question – why should we believe in this rivalry?

First and foremost, Greater Western Sydney Giants need to establish their footprint more successfully in Western Sydney.

While there is a wide consensus that the playing list of the Giants has great potential in the years to come, the Giants need to ensure that they can transfer that into more fans coming through the turnstiles, signing up as members and becoming further invested in the Giants cause.

When the Giants travelled across to the Sydney Cricket Ground last Sunday, it can be argued that they had less supporters travel across to watch them in comparison to an interstate side playing at the SCG (for example the Adelaide Crows).

Even with some of the uncompetitive performances that the Giants have displayed this season, you would have expected a greater contingent of supporters would have travelled across to the SCG than who turned up supporting the Orange and Charcoal outfit in the end.

Secondly, the media work that was done in the week prior to the game lacked an element of vigour to give supporters of both sides an incentive to attend.

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The responsibility needs to lie at the media departments of both clubs who have been very cautious with their approach in promoting their rivalry.

From a Sydney Swans perspective, many football fans would have the Swans as their second favourite team outside of their own due to the Swans’ club culture and the way that they play their football.

For the Swans to become immersed in a rivalry with the Giants would potentially alter their club image as they are often viewed as a neutral side.

There is no harm for the Swans to adopt the big brother mentality against the Giants, even if it means they become a disliked club.

Take Collingwood for instance. There has been a general perception that they are the most popular and yet, the most disliked AFL club in the league.

As for the Giants, while they have been more proactive in attempting to build the rivalry via the media, the issue is that they have often been shooting blanks that provide little spark to increase interest.

Subsequently, whatever attempts the Giants have media to promote the Sydney Derby tend to fizz before the first bounce has even commenced.

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There is nothing wrong about the Swans or Giants tussling with each other in the media in order to inflame a rivalry that really has yet to have been lit.

When you observe other sporting rivalries (take State of Origin for instance), apart from the history of the rivalry, it certainly is assisted by a mass presence in the media with both sides taking shots at one another to have people talking more.

The 2013 State of Origin series broke television and attendance records in Australia, yet New South Wales lost their eighth consecutive series.

If any lesson can be learnt from this, it is that success on-the-field is not the single key performance indicator for a sporting rivalry to build.

Would the Sydney derby be more prolific if the Giants were more competitive? Absolutely.

Will the Sydney derby be more successful in the years to come? Absolutely.

However, more initiatives and risk can be done off-the-field from both sides if they want to accelerate the process of having people believe the Sydney Derby is a significant event in the AFL calendar.

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Both the Swans and the Giants can take advantage of promoting the game via the media much more aggressively as they essentially have nothing to lose out of it.

As food for thought, the most recent QClash between the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba attracted a crowd of 27,170, the highest attendance for a QClash match in its short history.

If the QClash can become more successful, so can the Sydney Derby.

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