Good article.

The things that i love about rugby are the scrums,the lineouts and the constant battle for possession of the ball.
If you take these things away you then have rugby league!

Rugby League = the simpletons rugby for 2m 110kgs behemoths.

Rugby = the thinking mans game for all builds.

The rep weekends should be expanded….
Anzac test = excellent
City v Country = excellent
A couple of new ones for the same weekend…
Combined Pacific islands v PNG test
QLD city(Bris & Goldie) vs QLD country (the rest)

As a sydneysider born and bred, the giants haven’t connected with the communities with which they supposedly represent.
We were told this is your colours, this is your name, this is your playing strip and this is where you will play.
I for one, refuse to buy the playing singlet(its not a jumper or shirt) until it drops that hideous G logo! What is wrong with a monogram GWS logo in the style of Carltons logo? too traditional for a new market?
We westies take pride in feeling a connection to our sports teams, we wish to own something about them, to make them personally relevent.
However the AFL has made those decisions with scant regard for those that may eventually indeed adopt this team.
At the present time the Giants feel forced onto us, we pay them little attention until they the players get out there and prove thay are not overpayed,zit covered, star eyed wannabes!
East sydney swans (another crap name and logo) have cherry picked and farmed a following that took 30 years to cement, my estimate is it will take GWS twice as long to crack the west in the same way!

@ Titus – “The WSW support, use their group to intimidate and provoke conflict. We saw the result at the Heart game, we saw it last weekend in the derby.
They want to be a rebelious group who don’t cooperate with security and the police.”

My question is you know all this from… mass media? hearsay? or experience?
Speculation is fine, but try to be impartial and not biased in your approach.

One thing that always needs to be remembered…people as individuals are smart and aware; while people as a group can be dumb and reactionary.
In our society we have individuals who look for a means to show passion and pride, unfortunately they don’t understand the boundaries in this area….thats when the small incidents occur.
Individuals who cross that boundary are the ones who should feel the ramifications for their actions not the group as a whole.
For example if you are sitting on a bus and a random person jumps on and hijacks that bus, do you punish all the passengers or just the person who did the hijacking?

Cant wait for saturday!!!!!

I am biased but these are the changes from my perspective…

In… Topor-Stanley – Out… North
In… Mooy – Out….Zullo

Johnno,
Let me reply to your broadly sweeping generic comments.
I never supported a NSL team and only ever went to a couple of games, due to not being of those dominant cultures. Yet you assume that I am old NSL tragic. I have never purchased a membership for any team of any code previously but I did with Wanderers!
You are clearly not from western Sydney to not understand the demographics….WSW have from day one been inclusive of all cultures and the fact our support base is the embodiment of what multicultural Australia is today & reflects well upon us as a club and the communities in which it operates.
WSW has more than 100K registered players to connect with first and foremost; they are the clubs bread and butter fans. With these players ranging from 5yr olds to All Age in boys, girls, men & women.
Then it is those whom used to be one of those 100k registered players, like myself. We have a very solid understanding of the game from all facets and will become members once we have the connection to the team, its ethos or any number of things.
That is the core of people ticking over the turnstiles week in, week out & buying merch etc.
Do we not deserve the reward for the loyalty shown from the outset?
We voiced our concerns with ANZ stadium in the community forums and the club has dutifully listened and continues to listen.
There have been numerous opportunities for the new and inexperienced to dip their toe in and sticky beak at the new toy, but only some have bothered to make the effort to get there.
If WSW chooses to connect with the Sydney “event” crowd then that is the clubs choice; but they should not have to preach the game to the masses of ill informed, to be a success now and into the future.
By the way… I made sure I purchased extra tickets to the derby to give to my non member mates to ensure those that came along, came to add to the atmosphere not absorb it.

Those that are true fans,that have been there all season; will be members & thus have no issue with getting in.
But those who wish to attend because it is the “it” event & miss out….. too bad.
Maybe next year they will buy memberships; to ensure they are certain to get seats!

The wheels on the bandwagon are oily at the moment!

The kings represent East Sydney not the West. Until the Razorbacks are back ,I wont be going anywhere near the NBL!

If Queenslanders can fill the great cavern for this game maybe they deserve other more signifigant games……GF2014?

The NRL needs to be more creative with its marketing. If it wishes to grow the game it needs to target new fans.
Giving the one eyed die hards the same dribble every year will keep them happy; but what about those casual supporters who love the game but never even contemplated getting a membership as they only go to two or three games a season?
Is there a clear strategy to get them to become members?
Are they targeting the youth(18-24) market correctly?
They have the disposable income to burn and they could become a force for the future growth for the NRL.
I don’t think the NRL is truly trying that hard to connect with everyone they could; as that would actually involve acknowledging that the processes that were previously employed didn’t work.
I am yet to see anyone in the NRL take ownership of errors in anything….

We got fans… but they are volatile (we have only scratched the surface a population of 2.2 million)
The got owners… but they are the FFA (but only for 2-3years with new owners already being groomed)
Got a great coach… but he’ll leave (then Ante will take over)
Got good crowds… but they’ll drop-off( As all clubs experience, but what if they don’t)
Got aspirations in Asia… but they shouldn’t (not yet anyway give it a few championships)
Got good players… but they’ll leave (we have one of the biggest jar nurseries in the country to develop)
Want to sell more season tickets… forget it (If we win the comp we will)
So just in case we hadn’t realised WSW are really a total basket case… (From a Melbourne perspective)

I see it this way… WSW is the new toy to all and they face a situation where the new toy gets played with the most.
The first year syndrome will wear off for most, as the rigour of season in and season out support ebbs and flows with time.
The catchment for WSW is football educated and understand the nuances that come with supporting both actively and passively, I know many who are going to still be there on the terrace enjoying the summer sun and singing for Wanderers through thick and thin.
While there will be some who only attend when we’re winning (such a Sydney FC attitude); but that is partly because the leisure entertainment industry has numerous options over summer.

Western Sydney is the heartland of football for this country always will be!

I love handball, i got into it in big way during and after the sydney olympics. But have constantly had a difficult time trying to play it. In sydney there is only four clubs and none anywhere near where i live(60mins drive to play for 60mins ..no thanks).
The problem isn’t making it a mainstream sport, more just pushing it to be a niche sport with more active participation.
I think Australian Handball should be having free comps(all cost covered by Handball Oz) in multiple locations (dpending on populations) and if they did the numbers would come, as the game is fun to play and easy to learn.
Scary to think that if you and five mates put a couple of years hard work in …. you all could be competing at a World championships or even the Olympics!

To ensure the A league has consitent growth this is how i see it developng…
Marquee’s
Marquees value add to the whole competetion, with quality marquees(ADP/Ono, I don’t rate Heskey as a Marquee) drawing in more punters to attend games live to see this demi god in person. FFA needs to utilise these players to market the whole league and each market in the mainstream media, this can only occur if the marquees are contracted centrally and then sub contracted locally. With each club bidding to sign the relevent marquees, with key marketing strategies based on that player and how that player strategy is relevant to that market. This could facilitate a 10% growth in FTA/Paytv viewers alone.
Membership
For all A League clubs to consistently grow their membership, the punters need to see value for money. We have a congested leisure entertainment market throughout summer. Clubs have to show potential members what are the benefits to both parties to part with their cash.
Also if clubs continue to grow thier memberships to such an extent that their will be little/no room for non members or away supporters in the stadium e.g. Victory at AAMI park, or some clubs may even need to cap membership to ensure that they can allow for the casual event participants to attend e.g. Wanderers are considering this approach for the future.
These two approaches could have a negative on continued growth for the league. Attendances will not contiune to grow in those markets.
Expansion
An expansion plan should be sitting in Gallop’s desk draw as I post this. With lessons now clearly learned regarding what to do and how e.g. negative NQ Fury vs positive WSW. The FFA should be consolidating what is currently in place for the next couple of seasons and then in the following season roll out the planned processes for expansion. e.g. community forums etc. With expansion occuring the season prior to the next TV deal ensuring that the value of theat deal increases drastically.

Gus, I know of 6 or 7 Canberra residents that travel up from the national capital to Western Sydney for all home games and a few away games to support the Wanderers, why cant you?

Also you dont need foxtel to currently watch the A league a number of betting sites stream it live e.g. bet 365.

Super Rugby in AUS is a flawed product… being that the teams do not invoke tribal fanatisisim that other sports seem to generate, this is partly due to the small participation numbers, lack of free to air TV coverage and also because the game is seen to be elitetist in its roots.
Aus does not deserve any further expansion spots for the next 10 years atleast, it needs to work on developing its own NPC/Currie Cup style comp before any expansion is even considered.
However expansion for Super rugby is ineviitable, i believe SANZAR(no accronym for Argies) need to develop a fourth conference for Argentina, If they are to be expected to play as part of a Southern Hemisphere four nations then they should have the same development pathways and potential to earn income at home instead of abroad, but ithink NZ, SA and Aus are scared to give that much to the Argies as they could develop too quickly and potentially overtake them in the long term.
Also a fifth conference for those other potential participants e.g. USA,Canada, Japan & Pacific Islands.
If the Super rugby program developed within that frame work e.g. 5 conferences covering 5 continents then the potential for billion dollar TV deals would be very likely send the game into new realms and increasing the sponsorship opportunities astronomically for all SANZAR participating nations.

The Big Blue who cares, I wish they could both lose.
The Big Red thats the Sydney v Melbourne Derby that Matters!

Fair article gets plenty of banter going.

My observations are as follows:
International RL
Qualification rules for International need to be cleaned up…players choose one country and they stick with them forever; no changing. Have a mid season Rep window of a month(July) that includes origin(Aus, NZ & UK(England vs the rest)), and test matches for all international teams, followed by a further Rep window of a month in November for purely test matches and other international cups.PNG has to be included in the QLD cup ASAP, then play internationals in the rep windows.
Expansion
Expansion in 1982 should have been done properly… Along with Canberra and Illawarra should have been Newtown Jets relocated to Ipswich & Western Suburbs Magpies relocated to Brisbane. Then 1988 Expansion should have value added to include Broncos, Gold Coast and Newcastle all established along with a NZ side; then 1995 would have finished all expansion North sydney to Central Coast, NQ cowboys, a second NZ side, Perth and Melbourne. After that any further expansion would have been through relocation Manly to Coffs Harbour for example, Regional NSW and QLD could sustain two sides between them e.g St george could play anywhere!
A perfect 20 team comp!
Stadia
We should have more private ownership of stadiums across the country, this would allow Boutique 20-30k stadiums to evolve that include shopping centres, hotels or fun parks.
Governments should own the major stadia in each capital only and that should be a multi purpose venue(either open or enclosed) that holds 50-75K, for each configuration(rectangle and oval)
Our populations do not warrant anything bigger, once we reach 50million then think bigger.
Each major city that has more than 3million poulation should have four stadia for their repective main sports(VIC=AFL,NSW=NRL,QLD=NRL)
We only need four 30k stadia in Sydney metro (nth, sth east & west) with ANZ remaining as is.
Brisbane the same with Suncorp for the big events/finals but regular season in smaller grounds.
Even melbourne would be better off with a couple of 20-30k ovals(not all clubs fill the MCG or Etihad).
With the other cities having multi purpose venues that hold 30k.
These MPV could take the shape of the cake tin in wellington (spectators elevated above playing surface) or like Forsyth in Dunedin(indoor for concerts etc).

Thats my 2c!

I recall as many others do, that he does one thing well and that is drink and party into the weee hours!
Also the side effect of being a proffesional sports star is the constant inuendo regarding salary, if they don’t like having this for their job i’m happy to swap with him.

As 30 something man who grew up with the console wars of the 80’s & 90’s ;I always played the Madden series of NFL games as did all my mates and thier mates and so on…. Our understanding of the game is second to none.

Also contributing to our understanding of the game, is that during our child hoods their was amateur gridion played at the local sports ground near us. Every weekend through late spring/early summer we heard the crunch of helmets and pads and would go have a look. These guys happily gave us a ball to play with and then we would have a game of touch gridion, much to the surprise of the gridion clubs players and coaches we knew plays and how the game flowed.

It is good to see this young guy about to earn big $$$, playing a sport he enjoys; bearing in mind he is likely to earn in one season what half the players combined in the NRL or AFL earn in a whole career. The scouts will come and will cherry pick the best kids from all football codes and the kids will go chaseing the multi million dollar dream and a free university education.

By the year 2030 NFL will not be a dirty word, but another niche in our already crowded sporting market.

We can’t hear Sydney FC, we can’t hear Sydney FC…… Because they only sing when their winning!
It is truely amazing how some opposing supporters look for anything that they personally deem offensive to have a rant about.
Why don’t you look at you own “franchise” problems before taking the big stick to everyone else. So typical of smurfs charlatans.
Besides the police and security are onto the face covering banadanas quick as a flash….

I understand that FFA have put a tentative 3yr window in regards to finding a owner for WSW. There has been talk of a fan based ownership model (ala Bundesliga) but only time will tell.

All HAL teams need a true big name marquee to get bums on seats this is Glory’s attempt to do this, however is he worth the coin he is asking?

From what I have read here there is a large dose of jealousy of what the RBB are doing in creating a energetic, vocal and motivating game day experience.
However it must be noted that since the last Sydney Derby, there has been no issues in regards to crowd behaviour, no flares or anything anti social. Infact the club has commended the RBB on its behaviour.

But winning has drawn large number of bandwagoners who buy G.A tix and then sit in amoungst the RBB (that section of the stadium has sold out 2 games running).
They do not activily participate even when encouraged to do so, instead wait for a bad call and launch bottles onto the field. They do not care that this tarnishses the RBB they only care that they can say to thier friends on Facebook, “look that was me in the RBB throwing bottles”.

The committed RBB fans who have been there all season, have worked tirelessly to weed out the bad seeds; which has occured. But will need to start all over again to weed out yet more bad seeds.

Most on here forget that all other A league clubs have had many a season head start in regards to standards of crowd behaviour. Give it time the WSW will have controlled the vigilante element amoungst themselves. WSW are only half way into thier first season after all.

The reality only a small percentage of professional and olympic sports stars are millionaires, for two reasons…..
1.) Our population is not big enough to justify the massive sums paid to NBA/NFL players,.
2.) None of our sports leagues are considered relevant on a global scale therefore less foreign investment/TV rights/Sponsorship etc.

All the rest may have a few good years on good $$$ but they really only earn enough to buy a house or two and a few cars; if they are smart they will invest some into abusiness for thier lives post sports career.

Playing pro sport in Australia is in reality just being paid to participate in something that is recreational, that you enjoy doing!

But if your an olympian; if you do any other sport than swimming, you will be lucky to even earn a living.