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Kevin Sheedy addresses the media after being announced as the new coach for Greater West Sydney in the Main Grand Stand at the AFL/ Cricket Facility Blacktown Olympic Park Eastern Road, Rooty Hill in Sydney's western suburbs.
I am outraged at the proposed changes to the Australian Football League team structure which will begin from 2009 and officially come into play in 2011 onwards to facilitate two new teams, Gold Coast and Western Sydney.
Why decide this now, one hundred and fifty years after the first match was played at the mighty G’?
The sacred history of this great game is amongst the original 16 teams. This determined path of expansionism has been trodden before.
Heaven forbid, the lessons of the Bears and Swans have not been learnt.
The Sydney Swans have previously expressed concerns that they did not think that there is enough room for a second team in Sydney.
Okay, that may be them protecting their own interests, and fair enough.
But why put a team like the Swans in that position? All the hard work they have done in the Sydney market is in jeopardy when the new team is put in place.
And you can bank on the National Rugby League (NRL) getting their gloves off now and will come back with a strategy to try and stop the AFL invasion.
In Queensland, the Lions are working tirelessly to reach their target of twenty-eight thousand members for this year and the introduction of another side would mean even more competition for member numbers.
Can Queensland support another team? That is the question.
Furthermore, there are a number of clubs in the AFL who are struggling financially, with poor accommodation for administration and locker rooms and gymnasiums that are temporarily located in sheds.
This is a disgrace!
Take the North Melbourne Football Club as an example. Their club administration is situated in portables, and here is the AFL Commission splashing money on other states to form new clubs.
Okay, so statistics will show that a higher percentage of revenue will flow through the game, but will this money reach struggling clubs?
Because, so far, after four years, it hasn’t, even without two new clubs, so what are the chances it will when the two new clubs come into action?
AFL fans are enraged at the thought of their clubs struggling financially and maybe even having to merge or fold.
The AFL must seek out the long term logistics of incorporating eighteen teams rather than only being apprehensive about the short term logistics of ensuring the teams are secured and running, because if the long term goals have not been met, this new system will not be effective and will not meet the hyped expectations some supporters have placed on this new addition to the game of AFL.
From a different angle, will this drop the standard of the competition? Think about it, there would have to be 80 more players. Is there enough talent around to accommodate this?
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.