Excellent input there Timmy Tim Tim.
I especially agree with the statement that “Association Football … simply needs to have more hold over territory it already has a stake in”.

Building on the success of existing clubs to stabalise the competition is the sensible approach, which could lead to a replication of the successful ‘two teams one city’ set-up in Melbourne..

Setting up new franchises and expecting the community to embrace it simply because it is Association Football is never going to work, and is certainly not a viable option for the local league.

No one on the AFL is saying that.. I love Aussie Rules but have been going to the Storm games this year too, if you actually watched AFL you’d see it takes an actual athlete to play it though, and one with no fear. League is alright but it’s very soft as you can always see the hits coming.

First and foremost I am an Aussie Rules fan, but I really love the World Cup when it’s on.

But what I love about it is these Rugby minnows give it a crack, my favourite side is Japan (as it is in the Aussie Rules International Cup) and I cheer them on every chance I get..

I certainly don’t take any pleasure in their huge losing margins..

Well keep holding onto that, and prepare to be proven wrong!
For instance – the previous highest number of members the Swans had was 32,500.. Now at this stage the combined total of memberships for the Swans and Giants is approaching 39,000 – and that’s just going to continue to increase when the Giants actually start playing in the AFL..
Likewise, there are now significantly more members of QLD based AFL teams with the inclusion of the Suns, and those numbers too are going to increase when both teams start playing better football, and when the folks of QLD have a bit more money after all the repairs and recovery after the floods..

Personally I love the draw… And I know an awful lot of other footy fans who think it’s a vital and necessary incgredient to what makes our game great..
People at the game when their team draws with another aren’t disappointed that there was a draw.. Thaey’re upset that their team came so close to winning but just couldn’t quite do it.. They’re much happier to be going home with the 2 points than without them.
In fact I am such an advocate of the draw that I believe they shouldn’t have Grand Final Replays – If neither team can win the Grand Final, then call it a drawn Grand Final, and leave it at that.. No extra time, no replays, let them wait til next season to duke it out again!

I think this is going to be a close match, with the Lions leading for most of the game, with the Suns coming back to win it in the last quarter..

28,000 would be a decent crowd for tonight’s game, though with both teams having their best chance of a win for a while, perhaps their combined 34,000+ members will come out in force.. And these members, btw, have already paid for their tickets through the purchase of their memberships..

Thanks for responding, Ben.
It’s just that without any mention of the league that the Greater Western Giants are actually competing in, or not mentioning that they’ve been considerably successful there so far, it sounded like you weren’t giving them a fair account to readers who might have been unaware.

But you are right – the VFL is a much tougher competition than the NEAFL currently is.. But at the same time, most of the Gold Coast Suns who get listed for games are either former AFL players or ’10 draftees, with only Matera, Hunt, Magin and Dixon regularly selected from the players who were part of the Suns’ 2010 VFL team. If the Giants recruit/poach a larger number of players with AFL experience than the Suns did – which is quite possible – there will be even less room in their starting 22 for players currently playing in the NEAFL.

Mango, there’s a bit more to it than that..
There are AFL fans in Sydney who dislike Sydney Swans, and hated them when they were South Melbourne.. Say in the NRL, hypothetically if the Penrith Panthers were moved to Adelaide, there would be a fair bunch of NRL fans who currently go for Manly, the Storm, Canterbury, and Parramatta. All these fans wouldn’t convert to the Panthers simply because they get moved to their city, but they would support an organic Adelaide NRL team.
There are fans of Australian Football spread (perhaps thinly) throughout NSW and the ACT, who don’t have a local team to support. They are the first bunch of people who are going to get behing the Greater Western Giants.
As to your second point, yes everyone is well aware of the ingrained support for League all the new migrants to Australia have, and that’s why so many of them choose to live in Western Sydney.

Yes, Manuka Oval is another home ground that the Giants have, so conceivably they’ll split them between ANZ and Manuka..

In all fairness to the AFL, you have to consider that their original plan was to move a Melbourne based team to the Gold Coast, then bring in two new clubs – Western Sydney and presumably Tasmania..

AC – just a response to the League figures..
The recent 22k game was the ANZAC game against New Zealand, which is a very well supported team in Melbourne.. And furthermore all attendees to the AFL ANZAC Day clash were given a discounted entry to that NRL ANZAC Day game, so even if it was the 29k crowd that you claim, it’s not a accurate representation..
More accurate would be the 11k attendance the Storm drew to it’s home game against the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Ok.. So what you’re saying is that neither Brisbane or Sydney have ever gained more fans or members over the course of their history in their respective cities?

“Sydneysiders need a reason to switch from NRL to AFL, and a team of kids suffering heavy losses from day one, won’t give them motivation.”

Well, no they don’t..
There are millions of Sydneysiders who don’t watch NRL. Whether they are likely to become interested in AFL is impossible to gague, but the Giants don’t neet to convert NRL fans into AFL fans, they can just target the people who aren’t interested in League and can get a huge supporter base from that.

Ben Somerfield, you really haven’t done an awful lot of research here have you?
Yes, the Giants got beaten by the Northern Bullants at the MCG by 89 points. But when you take into account other Foxtel Cup results, you’ll find other results such as West Adelaide 100 Ainslie 23 (diff of 77pts) and Claremont 102 Clarence 31 (diff of 71 pts). And when you consider the Bullants side (who played in the 2010 VFL Grand Final) contained 10 AFL-listed players, and the Giants had 4 16 yr-olds, with their average age being just around 17, you might realise that it wasn’t a terrible result considering.

And as for ‘watching the local team get thumped by 20 goals’, the crowds that have turned up to watch the Greater Western Giants in the NEAFL competition so far have seen the Giants victorious in both matches this season, against Ainslie and Tuggeranong. Considering the Gold Coast Suns didn’t get a win in the VFL last year till the second half of the season the Giants are tracking pretty well right now, being 2 wins from 2 games.

At any rate, you also seem to be forgetting that the Sydney Swans were quite uncompetitive for a long period after they moved to Sydney, but now they are the most supported club (in terms of attendances and memberships) in Sydney. Whose to say that in 20 years any early thrashings the Giants may recieve won’t have been forgotten and they’ll be drawing around 23 thousand to each game?

I really don’t see that the use of the Showgrounds for the Easter Show is going to be an issue whatsoever.
The Greater Western Giants can just play home games at ANZ stadium against large-drawing clubs for the duration of the show.. It’s a complete non-issue.

I find it hard to believe there is no FTA network – with all their myriad of digital channels, that is unable to put one game on FTA each week..
It doesn’t have to be live – it doesn’t have to be primetime – it just has to be available..

At any rate I am sure the increase of pay TV subscribers will result in an increase of people watching A-League games, but not disproportionately to any increase in people watching the other codes either.

A little reserach of your own wouldn’t have gone astray, oikee.
Malthouse is still much loved and respected by the former AFL clubs he’s coached, including the West Coast Eagles, and not to mention he’s coached the Australian side as well.. Malthouse is a very respected figure within the AFL community, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be deserving of criticism to take up a contract with another club for the next season while still coaching Collingwood.
As respected an individual as one may be, that is always a clear case of a conflict of interest.

Just erect the circuit around Ecclestone’s house, see how he likes having it in a residential area.

I can see the Dockers and Hawks both in a tough battle to get into top 4.. It sould be easier in previous years, as the Saints, Cats and Bulldogs are going to be much more beatable than the past few seasons.

Collingwood
Fremantle
Bulldogs
Hawks
Geelong
Sydney
Adelaide
St Kilda

Essendon
Carlton
Kangaroos
Brisbane
Richmond
Port
Melbourne
Eagles
Suns

I’ve seen Hunt out there.
He’s still learning the ropes, but he’s hardly ‘lost’.. It’s pretty hard to be ‘lost’ as you put it when you’re the one switching play, setting up counterattacks and all that sorta thing.
The Suns won’t be carrying him either. He doesn’t have to be a high-possession attacking defender like Kenelly, Dempsey or Shaw to be a good defender. His primary job is to put pressure on forwards and contest marking competitions, ensuring his immediate opponent doesn’t mark the ball, and win the ball in contested situations, pass it to teammates in better positions when you have it, tackle the opposition ball carriers when they have it. And he’s demonstrated a proficiency in all those areas.
And he’s still learning. This time nest year, when Folau’s played a year’s worth of footy in the NEAFL and Hunt’s played a year in the AFL, they’ll both be far better players than they are now.

I’ve got big doubts about St Kilda.
I just don’t think they have what it takes. They based their last three years around a belief in a gameplan, and that gameplan has been exposed and found wanting. Coming so close in ’09 made them think that all they had to do was keep focused, keep improving, and they’d be able to claim the next one as their own. I don’t think just missing out on the ’10 draw and getting thrashed in the replay is going to give them confidence, and belief going into ’11 – they’re now getting fearful of their competitors (especially the magpies) and desperate to win, which will cause them to make errors.

Furthermore, their gameplan has been exposed. The longer they go on with the Swans’ gameplan the more teams are going to figure out ways to beat it. Both Collingwood and Essendon have different ways to beat the Saints, both based on speed.

Their players are not all superstars either. Only Goddard is. Neither of their key forwards are capable of taking contested marks, so all any opposition coach has to do is ensure someone’s close to Kosi or Reiwoldt whenever a ball goes in their direction and 95%of the time whoever it is will take a clean mark or ensure the ball goes to ground or over the line.

Top 4 is overrating them considerably, they should end up around 5th or 6th, or otherwise fall away completely.

No it’s not an issue at all, IMHO. The competition really isn’t tilted in favour of either of those two teams at all, when you think about it.

I will! I just have to get one first – and there are three different styles available too..

Unfortunately both Lions and Eagles look to be spending 2011 trying to avoid the spoon, which is a shame. But the Lions definately have some good talented kids, it’s just their coach i am worried about.
Sydney are unpredictable. I expect that they’ll make the 8, but can’t see them threatening Collingwood any time soon. They do have some top-quality players on their list, and if they all stay fit and fire they could be top-4..
The Dockers are a bit of a mystery as well.. They looked destined for a top 4 spot in 2010, and only just missed out.. You’d like to think a youthful team like the Dockers have improved over the off-season and will be a big challenger, but you sure wouldn’t bet on it.. They may not even make the 8.
Adelaide should be disgusted with the way they threw away their season in 2010 and should come out breathing fire and stamping their mark on the competition. They have a lot of talent, but can their coach keep them motivated?
Suns will challenge, but not for another 3 years..

It is entirely possible, however that the 2012 GF will be played between either Fremantle and Sydney or Fremantle and Adelaide.

Of the top sides in 2010, Geelong, the Bulldogs and St Kilda should start sliding down the ladder, and that should provide opportunities for seams like the Crows, Dockers, and Swans to cement a place in the 8 in 2011, however they’ll have to watch out for the Hawks and Blues as well..