Aussie Rules still our favourite spectator sport

FIUL - re the labour force. It's widely reported that the average 'career' in the AFL is only around 3 years. There's massive turnover. Many kids who enter the system as age 18 and may have had one or two injuries and were still developing physically or importantly socially and mentally, have been harshly cut from lists because of the requirement to 'churn' that the current system includes such that it promotes the draft. The clear point at present is more of these types of players are getting a second chance, and being seen to warrant it too. That's actually a good thing. It also good from the 'list age' perspective, because, we were seeing just too many way too young sides running around, such that I often wondered if an AFL team with 19-20 yr old key position players would be able to last a season in a 'real' 'senior' league.

Not a chance! :)

Deflecting again Pip. Integrity can not be bought at the Christmas sales.

murmurings coming out of euro leagues about the disruption a winter world cup will cause domestic leagues mirrors what the afl argued - will local soccer fans attack the epl et al for taking a stand in the same way they went after the afl - will be interesting to watch

Are you going to go through the 37,000 at an average game and tell me what each are thinking during the game?

Thanks MLF for the insight a 2nd Brisbane team would of being great if they were a tad more competitive and given more time but that's life not everything goes to plan.

Where is the integrity in this remark? Last 12 months proved the complete opposite.

Are people obsessed about that? You shouldn't be influenced by these sorts of forums. In the AFL heartland, when we buy our memberships, go to the footy, we're only thinking about beating the opposition out there in front of them. When you're in the moment, nothing else comes into it.

in america, the big four, NBA,NHL, Major League Baseball and NFL all seem to be working in harmony. For some reason here in Australia we have this :thing: of who is the number 1 sport. The important thing I always say is for young kids to take part in sport, any sport, kids shouldn;t be pigeon holed into one sport. Also I want every sport in this country to realise its full potential. You want to watch NRL,AFL, and Super rugby in the winter, and in the summer,you want to follow cricket, NBL and a-league with horse racing and motor racing all year round. You want all sports to be working in harmony. Yet for some reason we are obsessed as to who is the number 1 sport in this country. Ridiculous i say.

are you talking to yourself again? :)

It's interesting to look back on that first 20 team ARL season in 1995. Norths actually made the top 8 (a victim of the super league wars subsequently). They actually finished 3rd the following season, although my memory is that they were lambasted at the time for a very negative, predictable manner of playing the game (sorry Bears fans, that's just what I remember!). The Western Reds ended the season with an 11/11 record, just outside the eight, so they were definitely competitive. They slipped the following season. Interestingly, the bottom four from 1995, also finished bottom four the folllowing season, but in different placings. Crushers finished 20th, and took the wooden spoon in the 12 team ARL again in 1997 (two comps).

I remember the 20 teams in the ARL in 1995. I remember watching the Raiders smash the Crushers in the last game of the 1995 season by some 50 points or so. Bit unfair to go by one game, the Raiders were capable of winning by big margins back then, and were perhaps in their final season or two of being a major power. It's a shame the Crushers couldn't get traction, it will probably be harder now to get a second Brisbane team going. But to be honest, I can't remember what the talk was about the talent pool as a whole. By this stage, the talk was already about the Super League, I'm pretty sure the talk had already started by then, and would dominate for the next couple of years.

Fussball, exactly, which is why the AFL really needs to wait and see before expanding further.

Putting aside other attempts at expanding the player base in non tradtional areas, it will be interesting to see if the upcoming 2nd tier Champions League provides more opportunities for those who missed out on the draft, like Barlow and Pods. In the intervening building years will the VFL, SANFL and WAFL produce more AFL players recruited outside the draft. The draft concessions given to GC/GWS encourage otehr clubs to be more lateral in their recruitment by necessity.

The top non-AFL team at the moment is probably Central Districts, and yes, they would get smashed every week (present team list), even the bottom AFL team would beat them by in excess of 10 goals, guaranteed - bookies wouldn't even take money on it. That's not to say that amongst their number, there would not be two or three who could play AFL right now. Also, just because no one in the top 50 players (the Sheehan list) has come to the game from the mid-teens, does not mean that the 500th best player can't come to the game from the mid teens. I'd say Keiran Jack would be a top 200 player (at a guess), and there'd be a few others in that category. But what we know is that it's better if we can get them at 12/13 rather than 15/16, and that's what the AFL is trying to put in place across NSW and Qld. Kids can definitely learn the game in late primary, early secondary school, no problem at all, and in fact are better equipped to learn the game at that age.

Great article, Mark. I know it's out of your control but I have a real struggle accepting horseracing as a "sport." If it were not for gambling and the TAB, it simply would not exist. Those who attend the races (at least at Randwick) do so to get completely wrecked, and it is promoted as such, meaning it contributes very strongly to a binge drinking culture among the 18-30 age group. If you want to see people at their very worst, drive past Randwick after a major race meeting and check out totally trashed men and women urinating on the footpath and barely standing up, suits and dresses wrecked after falling over too many times on the way to the bar. None of them would be able to remember the name of a horse they did their money on, much less the name of the jockey or trainer.

amazonfan - I think you're right. If we assume that the next best 80 players have been running around in the various State Leagues (SAFL, WAFL, TFL, possibly VFL or even VAFA?) then the question could be asked: How would the best team in each of these State Leagues perform in a 22 round AFL season? My gut feeling is that the best State Aussie Rules teams would get absolutely smashed most weeks playing in the AFL competition. I used to watch a fair bit of VAFA A-Grade Aussie Rules in the mid-90s. The standout team at the time was Old Xavs, but the standard was no where near the standard of the elite AFL competition at the time and bottom AFL team Fitzroy would have walked all over them.

I;m not that keen on conferences either, its just too messy and rivalries will get lost in the divide or become stale if too regular. 20 teams = 19 rounds but more games compared to 1-18 teams with 22 rounds? So TV revenue not too bad off, especially if special fixtures are included.