Attention mothers of Sydney: AFL

AFL in Sydney is strongest in the Hills district

Lewis Roberts-Thomson for the swans is an ex-union player

And peace be with you my brother.

Exactly, so lets all live in peace.

I can't see Aussie rules as particularly WC in its current image not with their gentlemanly restraint and their occasional clangers of which the Fevola incident is said to be the worst in a long time. Maybe in Vic there's WC connections but the game's Australia's glamour code or (proclaims to be) Thus I suspect Western Sydneysiders will agree with me, so they better market the game to the right people or...well it's just like the International recruitment drive which is in vogue recently

Springs What you are describing there happens all around Australia (kids playing soccer, but following NRL/AFL). The FFA only need to attract a small percentage of such kids/families to be successful (the numbers of participants being so large).

I find it really strange that AFL say they are giving the juniors that don't want to play rugby league an opportunity by planting a professional team in GWS. I don't think a mother would say 'I might sign up my son for that new Western Stdney team'. Hasn't there been junior AFL in Sydney for years? And even kids that don't want to play League still follow it. Out here in country NSW it is remarkable how all the soccer playing kids follow NRL more than the A-League. Here there are 4-5 junior soccer clubs and only 2 junior rugby league clubs, last year there was only 1. Yet League still gets more media coverage, is more popular on TV and is more talked about than the A-League.

Dont reckon Williams has the build for rugby, he would get smashed. Having said that he looks the build for a endurance athlete (triathlon, rowing, iron man) Sure he could bulk up for league but i think rules suits him better.

Junior aussie rules is strongest in Sydney around the city and in areas where Union is also strong. North of the bridge would have the strongest junior comps, but interestingly that is where the Nth Sydney bears used to be, it is also the only place in Sydney where schools put teams in weekend AFL comps. The swans draw their fans from around the harbour and eastern suburbs, this is where the rah rahs have always been strong so stands to reason their is crossover. GWS is meant to be the opposite to the Swans and attract the blue collar fan.

And of course Basketball. I think the problem is RU players are actually not physically suited to the game by in large, but it's the clientele that are interested in watching the game (whether this entails that they will give playing the game a go is a moot point as I've never played the game, but am connected to the RU scene. BBers do and the technical elements of fielding the ball/avoiding the physical confrontations in transition etc are skills that are quite transferrable. Physique similarities too...but tactically Aussie rules is a physical game where the only physicality in BB is making fouls look worse than they really are/diving ;)

I thought I read at some stage that they sounded out O'Connor - some Wallaby fans might be wishing that he had accepted!! There are a few ex-union players in AFL ranks, who converted around the age of 14/15 - but not many. Tom Williams of my team is one. Awesome athlete - perfect build for a key position player, and he's not too bad given his limited background in the game - the main thing is that he gives goals away by doing dumb things - which is not too surprising because you can't develop nous and a gut feel for a game overnight. In Hawthorn's premiership year, he played one terrific game where he absolutely blanketed Buddy Franklin - so he definitely has plenty of upside.

Actually I reckon AFL's targetting Union players most of all. As always I struggle to find the data to support this, but if the Swans supporters are anything to go by they're either ex-Unionites or dabble a little here a little there

Why chat to him Redb, i have his decipals on here to chat with, i am looking forward to his media reports under pressure from the Sydney press, should be good, i am giving him 1 year, tops.

Go and have a chat to him he's a great bloke.

Sheedy steps into the vacant promotion spotlight. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/afl-to-set-up-marquee-at-sydney-v8-supercar-race-after-nrl-turns-chance-down/story-e6frfgbo-1225803476439 The NSW Premier turning down the AFL request for funds for The Showgrounds upgrade was predictable.

Ouch, i think we can all take note now of how not to try and expand. The war started by the AFL in west Sydney could not have got off to a worse start. Public relations, rule number 1. Dont go into some codes heartland and tell them you are going to bully anyone. Keep your heavy hitters right away.(sheedy) and stay away from government funding when you already have a stadium, World Class,. Now they are putting a tent up in league heartland to intice the mums, ? mate have they no idea i am frightened of league mums. Anyhow, their campaign is now set back 20 years. With no funding, get used to playing in the Big white elephant, cheers, welcome to league heartlands. :)

I agree with you here, all talking on different levels. In my experience it would not be league that the bulk of these so-called new juniors will come from, it will be basketball and soccer if they cross at all and it will be slow. I just cannot see thousands of new players fronting up next year, maybe a couple of hundred. The juniors ranks of soccer and BB can afford to lose quite a few juniors and really not miss a beat. I could be off the mark here but in my experience the bulk of junior RL players are from rusted on RL families and the AFL has little hope of converting them, whereas plenty of soccer kids and BB kids are from families who have little historical connection to either game. These are the kids to target.

Population ;-)

Talking countries or cities here.

I often think of mindless sporting monoculture when I visit Melbourne, Republican. Thankfully, this thought has been passing in recent years. Cheers