Is AFL to blame for Australia's sporting decline?

I watch lots of Country Football in lots of Leagues through Central Victoria. There is no doubt interest in Australian Rules is waning seriously. Not because of the touted population shifts and competition from other sports. But because of AFL rules. The run down tackle the pushing and shoving and lack of protection for the ball player. The Auss kicks numbers are busting at the seams, The Saturday Arvo Seniors and Seconds are struggling for numbers ????? Young men don,t want to play to these rules..... Most young boys go through School with female teachers they are are encouraged to play games with modified rules that suit the girls, the boys are not allowed to engage in physical cont ests of strength and hardness. So why would they enjoy a sudden shift from soft sport to. Play the man rugby style AFL rules. Pretty bloody simple. But AFL listens to Know one a total dictatorship pushing the wrong way

Mr MJ Keenan ru "crackers". The mind boggles as to your comment "more than just held Sherrin" and preferring Faulkner. This is not a sex forum ! LOL

kennoth, dude...you really need to get out more. And this is coming from someone who has more than just 'held' a Sherrin (although I admit to preferring Faulkner in my younger days)

To an extent correct. I love AFL and don't care if other sports suffer, but imagine the basketball team, just for size sake with Sandilands 7 ft, Warnock 6'11" Mumford 6'10" Cox 6'9" Buddy 6'7" all athletic and big men to boot. Alot of the smaller players in AFL would be great at other sports, but AFL is not the main reason that Oz is starting to tail off. Firstly, we are the only country in the world where the top 4 sports, by participation, money, spectators and media coverage are not olympic sports. AFL, rugby league, rugby union and cricket. You could also throw netball in as it is not as large a sport as soccer, but is the largest womens sport in the country. This means alot of talent goes to sports that do not get huge international recognition re world championships. Forget AFL, Rugby league and netball are 2 hores races, apart from 15 years or so from the early 80's, we have never been great at Union. Cricket would be the only elgitimate, long term international compeitior. No, soccer, 3 world cups in 100 years doesn't qualify as long term. Give it a decade without the wheels falling off and then absolutely. Women in Australia should always perform better overall then the men. The main reason is that they have basically same opportunities, barring payment when older, to play sport. In poorer countries and some countries for cultural or religious reasons bar opportunities to women. Overall there are going to be more men with access to sport, that is why the rich western countries are strongest in womens sport, they are the ones with access. Why is the US a world womens soccer power, but the men are fair to good? Why are Australia's basketball women champs or runners up, the men struggle to top 10? To see, get the Aussie men to play Iran or Saudi Arabia in basketball and soccer, then see how their women's teams go. The Saudi team couldn't even turn up if the women had to drive themselves. Oz's general decline in the Olympics could be turned around in the space of one Olympiad if they too notice of the old East Germany - not regarding chemicals, but there were never teams of East Germans, they all competed individually, why send 12 olympians to win a single basketball gold medal when they could compete for 12 medals? The sooner we give up on athletics and put their money into sports we have an advantage at the better. We won may be 3 track and field gold medals in 30 years. Glynnis Nunn, Cathy Freeman and that pole vauter. Put that money and effort into swimming, shooting, cycling, sailing, equestrian, rowing and triathlon. The maximum amount of competitors in any event is four for swimming relays and cycling and 4 - 8 for a few rowing events. Oterwise one or two going for a single medal. You would increase your haul by 33% straight off. As the world gets richer, more countries that could not afford to develop talent before will in future. More kids have parents who can afford to give them opportunities in sport and not require them to work to make ends meet. This means that large foreign populations are starting to get opportunities that they did not have before. Those are the main reasons why we are dropping off internationally.

Its all about your passion... Think AFL. What other sport bar none..are you able to play huge crowds every week. Take a speccy. Bomb a goal from fifty. Sink a torp. Feel and smell real leather not some bloated synthetic. Fair dinkum why would you waste your time on some crappy sport. People that write negative about AU rules have never held a Sherrin ! GET IT !!

ummm ... not sure what the point of your post is. I think the point is that people choose what sport they want to play. So what if xxx xxx could have been a great pole vaulter .. he likes Aussie Rules and that´s his choice. I dont think America is going to stop playing NFL so they can win the Soccer or Rugby World Cups ... as NFL takes away too many goof athletes from other sports... Pointless discussion really.

^international competion only relevant every years^¨ a facile comment like that could only come from a clueless afficianado of ^the local game^ Lets see... Asian club comp Asian nations cup u17s, u20s world cup campaigns Olympic seniors and quoting the NFL, NBA and MLB as ^proof¨ that you don{t need international competion..you are kidding. the US is a 300million behemoth...add Canada and you have an absutely massive talent pool for athletes.. not to mention 40million afro americans ..arguably the most naturally raw gifted athletes on the planet... ( ok..getiting into racial profiling ..but hey ...) names like le bron are true global superstars ...even manning are well known but superb athletes in their own right How can compare that with the australian context..a talent pool of 20mill max .. .and the array of Brett blokes running around the AFL ..sure talented but non entitys globally... and unlikie the US....the vast majority of australians do care and value their national teams and their performances in trully globally competiitions....especially cricket, football and rugby.... but then these competions dont rate much down there in the Huns little pond....

Hmm- blame it all on AFL. Why not blame the softness and lack of desire promoted by 'participation soccer' making softies of the last decade of up and coming kids? No less biased an accusation than the AFL scare campaigning that routinely goes on here. International competitions are relevant once every four years, while I'll always support any Australian team whatever sport they play, by laying all the blame for our international teams not living up to our over-achieving standards simplistically on 'the AFL' reveals nothing more than insecurity.

Sheek, I'll try and give some thought to 1975 (North Melbourne's first VFL premiership). There were a couple of SA and WA stars who were then playing in Victoria but most, certainly in SA, chose to stay home. It was only the Victorians, after all, who assumed a player had not proved himself until he played in the VFL. Most SA players, clubs, officials and fans hated the Vics with a passion so going to Victoria was never a strong motivator in Adelaide. At least, not then. When the money got very serious then at least they began to think more about it. Of course, the arrival of the AFL, and the draft, changed everything. Today, boys in Adelaide and Perth grow up thinking about getting drafted and playing in the AFL. They no longer dream of playing for Port Magpies, Sturt, Norwood or Glenelg. Or, indeed, South Fremantle, Perth, East Perth or Swan Districts. It's more likely that an AFL team, any AFL team, is what's on the agenda. The demise of state football, particularly State of Origin, has diluted much of the dislike for all things Victorian. Mind you, hating Collingwood and Carlton is still pretty easy but today, even in Adelaide, people genuinely feel sorry for once hated teams like Richmond. Mind you, given the option of beating a Victorian team or losing to them, it's no contest. Fans in SA and WA still want to hammer anything Victorian once they become the opposition - and that includes Richmond!

GrantS, No, mate, I do not think we have met. Particularly if you were frequenting the Alberton Oval as a Magpie. I would have been down at the Bay running around Glenelg Oval and gathering stones to throw on any Port Adelaide roof I could find. I was born at Henley Beach, from the age of one week grew up at South Brighton and became a mad Tiger supporter. We always assumed Port played in black and white because they had never heard of colour. Mind you, we had the black but at least brightened it up with a bit of "gold" (I hesitate to use the word.....yellow!). Hawkeye coached the club I played for as a junior and once you met the great man it didn't really matter that he had at one time played for Port. Everybody loved Neil and he was a great fellow. I was only a kid when he played at Brighton (after Port, before West Torrens) but he was a legend - and, as you said, he could kick the cherry out of sight. His illness was a tragedy and a story in itself. And all because of a peanut!

Sheek, Yes, I believe Vic Richardson did represent the state at baseball. All three Chappell brothers played first grade baseball for the Glenelg club. Ian and (I believe) Greg also represented SA in the Claxton Shield. Ian was also named the All-Australian catcher after one interstate series. Given the Claxton Shield did not begin until 1934, I don't think Vic played in this competition (baseball's equivalent of the Sheffield Shield) but he did play state baseball. The Shield donor, Norrie Claxton, was a former South Australian representative at baseball, cricket and Australian Rules football so he was bit like Vic in that regard. Ironically, given baseball's move from a winter to a summer sport, it has probably lost more potential good players than most sports (e.g. all the cricketers). The list of cricketers to have played baseball, and Claxton Shield, is impressive indeed. Unfortunately, it is a thing of the past.

Rob McLean, It was Eric Freeman who turned out for Port Adelaide in the 1968 finals series after completing the Ashes tour. By the time Hawkeye had reached Test status as a cricketer he was playing football for West Torrens having refused to re-join Port Adelaide after his two years in Perth. How times change, Hawke had been offended by Port asking for a fee from East Perth for his clearance to the west. He returned to Adelaide, applied to Port Adelaide for a clearance to play for West Torrens and was refused (Port's agreement with East Perth meant he remained a Port player on his return to Adelaide). He then played with the Brighton Football Club in the SA Amateur League (where I came across him as a Brighton junior) until he could appeal the refusal at the SANFL tribunal. Appeal upheld, he became a West Torrens footballer in 1962. As an amateur, in 1961, he represented SA and won the League's B&F medal for the A1 competition. Incidentally, Eric Freeman also represented the state Amateurs in 1962 before joining Port Adelaide in the SANFL. Hawke, by the way, remains the only player to represent both WA and SA at both cricket and football. Although an Adelaide junior he represented WA in both sports before returning to represent his home state. As a footballer, he kicked 114 goals in 1959 for East Perth and played in two premiership sides for that club. He also revolutionised footy in both WA and SA as the first man to exclusively use the drop punt, regardless of the distance required. His long kicking with this style was virtually unheard of at the time (Jack Dyer had used it earlier in Victoria but the style had slipped from fashion). Hawke made it popular again and today it is virtually the only kick of choice in the AFL and associated state leagues. Hawke was also a member of the famous South Australian team which beat Victoria on the MCG in 1963 (SA's first win on the ground for nearly 40 years). Curiously, for this match, Victoria chose what it thought was its strongest possible team (the Vics usually had a two from each club philosophy for state football). The Victorian coach, Geelong's Bob Davis, was advised that all he had to do was send the team out then go to the races! Later in his cricket career Hawke also briefly represented Tasmania. In addition, he achieved some fame by helping Fred Trueman become the first man to take 300 Test wickets in 1964 (he nicked one to Cowdrey at slip). A Warne like accumulator of ladies in his playing days, Hawkeye calmed right down after his serious illness by turning to religion and happily marrying. He died on Christmas Day, 2000.

Punter, Re, Mundine.....My memory is that he dropped it after being tackled. His unmarked teammate, and there might have been two to pick from, had no such impediment in front of them. The game is about winning, not about who scores the try, and it was a Grand Final. He was still glory hunting in the time honoured Mundine fashion. Team players pass the ball and make sure. Selfish pricks do not.

Elisabeth Cambage is also about to be taken no 1 in the WNBA draft any day now and will rapidly become the face of the women's game.

Well, it has occurred to me, from time to time, that if, in this parallel universe, we didn't have AFL (or hell with it, rugby) and the country followed association football as its official religion, when you look at the revenue and player bases (ave ~30-40m/yr for AFL, and (spotty on these figures, but from what I last recall seeing) ave ~20~30m/yr for NRL) and then the A-Legaue and Union... We'd basically have had a three-tier national competition at least the equal of the J-League. Always struck me as an interesting if useless thought. My West Coast Eagles would have gotten their asses relegated last year, lamentably, so probably just as well it isn't the case. :D

Bayman Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:39 am Ryan, For longer than I care to remember I have been both a cricket and Aussie Rules tragic. I’m also old enough to remember the time when Wimbledon came around that the discussion was not “Can an Aussie make the semis” but “Which Aussie do you think will win”. Times have definitely changed. As a young boy I also had the opportunity to chat for about ten minutes with one Victor York Richardson. These days, if he’s known at all it is as the grandfather of the Chappell brothers. Back then he was known as a former Test captain (South Africa, 1935/36) and the only man to captain South Australia at both cricket and football in the same year. He was able to do that because of the distinct seasons of the two games. November to February/March for cricket and April/May to September for Aussie Rules. Somewhere along the way administrators, particularly in football, elected to extend the season. Eighteen games became twenty-two. Slowly but surely players wanted a better reward for their time. The seventies was probably a revolution for both sports. Cricket had Kerry Packer and football started to seriously get into sponsorship. Initially, it produced a time honoured squabble. I remember footballers at one Adelaide club suggesting that if the club paid them more money they would happily attend more training nights. The clubs view was show your commitment at training and in the games and get the extra rewards. Eventually, the club’s view of the sporting world has prevailed. Not surprising given the money is now in the “serious loot” bracket. Cricket, of course, has followed suit to the point where not only do the national team not play football they don’t even play Sheffield Shield cricket (it’s not in the contract!). So while AFL (and in my view, AFL is the competition not the name of the game) may have contributed to the demise of greater success in some other sports the real problem has been the rise of professionalism. Today there is virtually no break for our cricketers and footballers (and now I include rugby league and rugby union – and probably soccer). If clubs are to pay that sort of money they want exclusivity. And they get it. From memory, Craig Bradley was the last AFL player to also play state cricket. Both games have lost out in the chase for talent because of the now exclusive nature of each sport. I grew up in Adelaide with football legends like Lindsay Head, John Halbert, Neil Hawke, Eric Freeman, Barry Robran, Bob Simunsen all playing Shield cricket for SA. In WA there guys like Derek Chadwick, Keith Slater, Ken McAullay, Bruce Duperouzel and Mick Malone, to name some, who starred in both games for the state. Victoria had Keith Miller, Sam Loxton, Ian Law, Allen Aylett, Peter Bedford, Neil Crompton et al who achieved fame in both games. Head, Halbert and Robran won the SANFL’s Magarey Medal as the best player in the competition. Head and Robran three times each. Bedford won the Brownlow Medal in Victoria. McAullay (WA) and Aylett (Vic) also won the Tassie Medal as the best player at the Australian Champioships in 1972 and 1958 respectively. Today, all of these great players would be forced to choose between the two games. If they chose cricket then footballers good enough to be considered among the best of all time would have been lost. If they chose football then at least six Test cricketers, including two Invincibles, would have been lost to that game. Let’s not forget guys like Rick Charlesworth, one of the country’s great hockey players and captains and, arguably, the greatest ever coach. What if he had been forced to choose cricket? It is not AFL that has diluted the sporting talent of the nation but professionalism. On the upside, though, and we can never be sure of the impact, how many sporting greats are now playing just because the money is there to support the effort needed to reach the required level. How many great footballers (of all codes), cricketers, basketballers, tennis players etc. were lost to the game in past decades simply because it was all so “amateur” and a living needed to be made elsewhere? As for me, I certainly do miss the days when players could play both games and do well in each of them. It simply added to their reputations as great sportsmen – or women. Today, we’ll simply never know. =============== Wigwam Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:34 am | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. Completely ridiculous. The Soccer/Football season is no longer or shorter than any other code. In fact, soccer has made a conscious effort, at least in NSW, to enable young girls to play both soccer and netball by scheduling girls games on opposite days to netball. I’ve played Soccer and cricket for over 17 years since the age of 5, as well as a few seasons of rugby league. The issue at hand is that to compete at an ELITE level, past a certain age it is not physically possible, nor responsible to expect a young person to train at those levels for an entire year for two sports hence the need to make a decision about which sport to pursue. =============== oikee Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:31 am Nobody wants to stick their heads into a union scrum, lets just have that said. AFL players would be mad to even try, takes years of pushing and pulling tractors around a paddock to gain the knowleadge to do so, without getting injured. I blame all the other codes for allowing AFL to totally dominate 3 states down south. If you dont have alternatives, then you cant attrack players. Plus i blame the t/v stations for not showing other sports down their regulary. So what to do, get your game on t/v down their, get more teams into the school curricullem and start pushing your code. Stop whinging like rugby league has done. 12 years to have the Storm shown into Melbourne, not one game before midnite, not good enough bozos, even on Fox they dont show friday games before midnite, how is this going to grow your code. Rugby only got a team this year down their, at least soccer now has 2, they should strive to have 4 in a mad soccer town. Rugby league would be better suited for AFL fringe players, they could play in the centres or wings, fly high and become superstars. You would have to teach them to catch balls and place them on the ground, and defence, which would not be to hard. =============== Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:25 am | In reply to Stevo. Bradley Clyde was another, his father was actually president of a local junior Australian football Club in Canberra. Played league on sunday, AF on saturday, would have made it in either, but had a good offer from the Raiders. =============== Ryan O’Connell Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:13 am | In reply to Redb. Perhaps ‘blame’ was an incorrect choice of word, and ‘a reason’ is less inflammatory. In any case, for the record, I don’t want to ‘drop AFL’. So any logic flow that you and Einstein have deduced from yesterday’s article and today’s can be put to bed. I don’t think Australia has a sole unified goal in sport. But if it did, then yes, I’m sure some drastic decisions would need to be made. Until then, it’s up to the individual sports to make their game as attractive as possible, and identify and sign the best talent. Something the AFL is doing exceptionally well. And I make no apologies for supporting the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Or the Sydney Swans. =============== MyLeftFoot Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:13 am | In reply to roarr. This is starting to get to the nub of the matter. Once upon a time, a kid could play cricket and a football code in alternating seasons up till late teens – that is starting to become quite difficult, and they must usually make a choice by the time they are 15 (some might be able to keep the two going for another year). As it happens, it’s often a choice between cricket and aussie rules, particularly in the Southern states (not sure what happens on this front in the Northern states). One might bemoan the fact that increased professionalism from all sports requires this early selection to be made – but that is not an AFL problem specifically – it’s the modern world. Alternatively, is it not a postive that kids are able to play both cricket and Australian football till at least their mid-teens? Do those million kids playing soccer also play cricket at the same rates? Isn’t that an equally good question to ask? =============== PaddyBoy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:09 am | In reply to GrantS. I remember the first time I saw Willie Mason up close, he was standing next to Matt Utai (about 2 foot tall and 5 foot wide), that was pretty intense. But the same can be said of Aussie Rules players, I didn’t appreciate how tall ruckmen are until I saw a couple up close. Potential basketball players to a man, =============== Ken Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:08 am | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. I wouldn’t imagine so in America, since their evolved football code is basically a unanimous number 1 football code regardless of where you go in that country. No football code can claim that in this country leaving all of our factions niggling at the perceived weaknesses of the others. On second thought though, I don’t have any problems visualising America’s soccer fans having a go at the ‘barbaric’ and insular local game, while the NFL fans tease them for falling over all the time. Hurling not being a football code I expect would occupy more of the post of Cricket in our consciousness, exaggerating to say it’s loved by all, but nobody in particular is an ‘enemy’. =============== MyLeftFoot Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:05 am | In reply to Wigwam. It’s harder for an elite AFL player to do it these days, yes, I agree, but some at SANFL/WAFL/VFL level can still do it, and as someone else already mentioned, Warney played St Kilda U19s, and Simon O’Donnell played St Kilda snrs, so that link is still a recent one. =============== GrantS Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:05 am | In reply to Ken. Ken obviously some AFL players would be able to play RL but a lot wouldn’t. The reverse is also obviously true. When I first moved to Sydney I watched a lot of rugby league (mainly because there was no aussie rules) and didn’t think much about the size of the players. One day I went to a live game at Canterbury and could not believe what I saw. Short players with legs like tree trunks on the wing. Huge men as forwards. Aussie Rules players are not small (with the obvious exceptions) but they aren’t, on the whole, as large as RL players. The answer is obviously in the training with RL players spending more time in the gym developing their legs and strength. This is the reason that Karmichael and Folau had to lose weight. Very large men are not as agile as their slimmer counterparts. Try it yourself. Have a look at a player on TV, then go and see them in person. It’s amazing that the cameras do not show them in a true perspective. =============== roarr Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:03 am I sure hope demetriou doesnt read this…his ego might actually explode. And isnt there some statistic that the W.A state cricket team has had to import most of their current fast bowling roster because all the tall young potential firebrands are made to choose between academy cricket or afl at about the age of 14. Compare this to the days when the WACA used to churn out some of the worlds best.(Lillee etc). =============== PaddyBoy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:01 am | In reply to betamax. Yes we do, Hawthorn. =============== Wigwam Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:01 am | In reply to MyLeftFoot. Cricket and AFL ceased being linked eons ago. How many professional AFL footballers have played first class cricket in the last 20 years? The pace of the game, the toll AFL takes on body and the physical attributes required have put paid to the delightfully nostalgic notion that AFL is a sport for cricketers in the off season. (not to mention that cricket is now a year round sport at a high level) =============== Wigwam Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:56 am | In reply to Fake ex-AFL fan. And look at the relative attendances of those compared to AFL. Maybe not ‘Mono’ in the truest sense of the prefix but you come pretty close. =============== Redb Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:23 am | In reply to Ryan O'Connell. I was deadly serious. Unless your suggesting AFL is your first love then it is much easier for you to suggest the sport is to blame for other sports woes. These types of articles have been written by a certain sports editor of the Sydney Monring Herald – again no attachment to the sport so easy to suggest it’s to blame. You said: “Firstly, I never stated that we should drop AFL” No you not have but the logical follow on from your argument and article yesterday about Australia’s decline on the international sporting stage does not take an Einstein to figure out where you are heading. It is also true that if you are serious about sport consolidation to enhance Australia’s international performance then perhaps rugby league and rubgy union should join as surely either the Kangaroos or Wallabies would benefit massively from a consolidation of talent on the international stage. If this is the sole goal in Australian sport to win all the time then perhaps we need to give up the Wallabies or Kangaroos. AFL is not even the largest participant sport in Australia. Is soccer to blame as its participation has risen more sharply in the last ten years. =============== PaddyBoy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:16 am | In reply to Ant. Take Warney out of theat team and you still had Stuart McGill, and the rest of the lineup was incredible. Catch you point though. =============== oikee Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:15 am | In reply to The_Wookie. Have no arguement with you on that statement Wookie, i have been saying for years on the rugby league site how patheticly incompetent rugby league admin have been. NSW is to blame and QLD and News limited. Who was the prime minister back then, we might as well blame him also. Sums up rugby league. Blame everyone but yourself, run by muppets. =============== oikee Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:06 am | In reply to Ryan O'Connell. Nice comeback Ryan, mind you i am a little worried about your singing and pastimes. As for supporting the Bulldogs, Doggies, Doggies, good choice. =============== captain nemo Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:03 am Great article Ryan, well written and thought out. It is refereshing to see a balanced arguement that is not bias with other agendas!!! I agree with you 100% Keep them coming =============== The_Wookie Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:03 am | In reply to mds1970. Instead of blaming the AFL, you should be blaming the administrators of these other sports for being behind for the last 100 years. Union was here BEFORE the AFL, soccer was only 10 years behind and was the first to go truly national. The NSWRL had a far greater population base to work with. Cricket had a 50 year headstart on all of them. The fact is if these sports are suffering from the AFLs success, then they should be taking a good hard look at themselves instead of playing the blame game. The AFL succeeds in spite of international sport not because of it. =============== Ryan O’Connell Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:56 am | In reply to mds1970. Yep, fair point. =============== Ryan O’Connell Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:55 am | In reply to jamesb. Perhaps ‘blame’ is the wrong choice of word. The AFL should definitely be given credit for their growth and popularity. =============== Ryan O’Connell Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:53 am | In reply to Ken. Thanks for your comment, Ken. But if AFL is growing in popularity, wouldn’t it stand to reason that it actually is more of a factor that it’s been? =============== Ken Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:52 am | In reply to oikee. Hey oikee, I’m a RL fan but it’s a bit rough to say that AFL players would not be much good at other sports. True, once they are established, top grade players they are pretty specialised in their training etc but that’s the same for most sports. Many of our top sportsman in any field though could have turned their hand to some other sport if they started young enough though (notable exceptions for darts players and jockeys off the top of my head ) =============== Redb Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:59 am | In reply to Ant. I’m an AFL fan and could not care less about the performance of the Australian rugby league team. In fact judging by the crowds and TV interest, more rugby league fans care about State v State than international performances anyway. When International RL becomes the pinnacle of the sport to its own fans then talk to me. =============== Ant Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:57 am | In reply to dasilva. I’m a league fan, so I care. =============== Redb Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:56 am Ryan O’Connell’s favourite sporting team is Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. No personal investment in AFL football , easy to say just drop it. Says it all really. If you were looking to consolidate our spprting talent to improve the performance of an internatonal team surely the most obvious starting point is rugby league and rugby union. Why don’t they join forces? =============== Jammy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:54 am Australia is always going to be stronger at female sports because of the greater gender equality that we have compared to the majority of other nations. In some countries being a female athlete of any sort is not an option. I think your hyping the AFL up a bit too much as well, yes they are strong but they’re not all dominating. =============== Titus Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:53 am More kids play Football than AFL, so it is not that we can’t get the players, its that we don’t have the setup to identify, encourage and develop them into world class players. I don’t think we should blame the AFL, we should focus on building our own game. And I believe, and I hope, the FFA has started focusing on youth development, the benefits of which we should see in 5-10 years. =============== JVGO Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:52 am Yes, there is a limited talent pool and also money pot and every kid who plays AFL instead of other international sports reduces our competitiveness in those sports. Just look at the money that has been poured into GWS by the NSW govt at the expense of other sports. AFL is on a mission to recruit more juniors and the reason isn’t to help these other sports. The aim is to attract more talent and money to the AFL. Even the Victorians used to give the fact that all these great athletes were playing VFL as a reason for their underperforming in cricket and the olympic sports. =============== Damo Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:47 am | In reply to dasilva. Who cares? I think you answered your own question. Pretty sure Cricket Australia, ARL, ARU, FFA, AOC, etc all care, and care a lot. =============== Duke Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:46 am I think it’s quite easy to blame the AFL and yes I believe it has some of it to a degree. But i think the question can be turned to these codes that have felt a decline in performance and ask ‘have you done enough to attract the best crop to your sport?’. I think some sports have lacked heavily in that area. – Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download The Roar’s iPhone App in the App Store here. =============== TF Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:40 am Interesting theory. I’ve heard this argument before, but it was more about why AFL is more popular that league, union, etc. But its the same point really. If our best young footballers are leaning more and more towards AFL, it means they won’t be playing union, league, soccer, etc. And we’ll therefore be worse at those other sports, which they play internationally. So the answer to your question is a simple yes. =============== Football United Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:39 am yep and i bet their proud of that.

GrantS Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:53 pm | In reply to sheek. Bayman I wonder if I know you or met you at some time when I was a kid. I played junior and senior colts for Port Adelaide and one year at our first training session there were cricketers still on the field when we ran out for practice. One of the balls rolled near one of the cricket players and he kicked in from the end of the pitch, nearly center half back, to the goal square in cricket shoes. I was only a kid and one of the older players said “That’s Neil Hawke.” It was an incredible spiral punt that must have covered 65 to 70 meters on Alberton oval. =============== sheek Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:49 pm | In reply to Redb. Thanks redb, Just to rub it in, Essendon in 1974 was 8th with 10 wins (from 22 H&A); in 1975 was 8th with 10 wins (very consistent!) & in 1976 was 10th with 9 wins. I’m thinking of doing a ‘back in 1975′ year, compiling best teams from various sports, kinda like a timeline exercise. I’ve got most sports bunkered down (even the Socceroos) but Aussie rules, being non-international, is the problem child. =============== Rob McLean Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:47 pm | In reply to Bayman. Bayman, which one of you bastards, called this bastard a bastard? =============== MyLeftFoot Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:46 pm | In reply to Rob McLean. To add to that, let us not forget that the ABS counts “walking” as the sport having the largest participation base in Australia. As a nation of walkers, how can we ever hope to compete on the world stage of running, swimming, cycling, equestrianism, kayaking, sailing, ice skating, skiing and bobsledding. =============== Rob McLean Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:42 pm I’m going nowhere near the code debate on this. But let’s remember that Australian rules was always being played as the top sport in Vic, SA, Tas and WA. The rugby codes were always the top sports in their states. That includes in the 50s through to the 70s when Australia had a smaller population and we were still among the world’s best tennis players, swimmers and athletes – international sports. That was caused by a number of factors, most crucially the fact that Europe and other parts of the world were rebuilding after World War Two. Australia was a country still living off the land too, meaning people lived more active lifestyles. Flash forward to now and Australia, which in reality, due to its population size really was (and possibly still is) an over performer, and the rest of the world has caught up. Europeans no longer are on rations and are living in cities with quality sporting facilities; people have realised that sport can be a way out of whatever their situation is and transport options now make it possible to compete. Sheer population sizes mean Australia will be overtaken. Plus, there are the much larger number of young Australians plying their trade in OS soccer competitions, a sharp rise since the early 90s. Those young people might have stayed at home to play or moved on to other sports in the past. Another factor, even if you take out the increased leisure options available at home, is the sports which were never even heard of say in 1970 – skateboarding, X-sports, triathlon etc. These all dilute the talent pool for our ‘traditional’ international sports. It’s easy to try and paint the AFL as an all consuming monster but I believe that to be a simplistic view and there are other factors at play. =============== MyLeftFoot Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:37 pm | In reply to Redb. show them your might! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luu2E-Cv3Wo =============== GrantS Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:32 pm | In reply to PaddyBoy. Paddyboy I was actually talking about Matt Utai. A short guy with absolutely huge legs. =============== HotPies91 Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 3:02 pm This argument is complete garbage. It was raised about six months ago by that fool Stephen Samuelson. Let’s get one thing clear. Australian Rules football is not some new development sport that has come along and is doing surprisingly well in Australia. IT HAS BEEN HERE FOR OVER 150 YEARS. Secondly, I don’t know how many times this has to be said, but international representation is not the pinnacle of every sport. Look at the NFL, NBA and MLB in America. Those are three of the biggest sports worldwide (NFL has the most average spectators) and they don’t have a major international competition that would take precedence. Occassionally you might see a ‘Dream Team’ turn out in the hunt for an Olympic gold. You seem to find this idea very hard to comprehend. People who know little or nothing about AFL don’t realise that the absolute pinnacle is to win a Grand Final with Collingwood or Essendon or Carlton…whoever. There is no envy of rugby union players who get to play a few games against New Zealand every year. I’m so over this assumption that AFL is some alien sport that is fourth in popularity to soccer (yes SOCCER), rugby league and rugby union. It’s not the case. How many other sports in Australia do you see 90,000 people turn up to watch a regular season game? Nada! After 151 years, you’d think you might realise that Aussie Rules is the number one sport in Australia. If that **** cricket team we have can’t win the Ashes it is no fault of the AFL. How about picking some players that can bat and bowl? =============== Touchy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 3:02 pm Jumping in a bit late but when Berrick Barnes was a young fella he was chased by the Brisbane Broncos, the Queensland Reds and the Queensland Bulls. =============== PaddyBoy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 3:00 pm | In reply to Bay35Pablo. Thus making the entire Dally Messenger thing pointless. He left because he could get paid, and couldn’t playing Union. The games almost identical at that stage. =============== Bay35Pablo Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:51 pm I agree with this article completely. it is all the fault of you aerial ping pongers. If I had a time machine I wouldn’t go back in time and knock off Adolf or Uncle Joe, I’d lug back a big bag of gold, and pay off all the AFL players in 1890s Melbourne to go play rugby. Then onto a steam train (or boat) north to Sydney, and pay off a very young Dally M and the rest of them to stay in union. “There’s another gold bar in that Dally if I come back in 15 years and you’re still playing union …” (sound of warping blue police box) Damn you and your billions, Demetriou!!!!! =============== ilikelollies Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:44 pm Id fail this for plagarism if I was a lecturer. =============== sheek Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:41 pm Ryan, My apologies for going off-topic here, but I’m wondering if the Aussie rules fanatics like Redb, Bayman, Jason Cave, etc, might like to help me out selecting an All-Australian Football best 18 from circa 1975, plus a bench of 6. The players would be chosen along traditional lines – 3 back-defenders, 3 mid-defenders, 3 centre linemen, 3 mid-forwards, 3 full-forwards & 3 ruck/rover followers. The 6 reserves would comprise one player per each sub group above. Taking a composite line from VFL results 1974-76, the top 4 clubs were North Melbourne, Hawthorn, Carlton & Richmond. I don’t know if there were any great players in SA or WA not already playing in VFL. Anyway, if anyone’s willing to have a crack, it would be appreciated….. =============== sheek Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:34 pm | In reply to Bayman. Bayman, Great stuff. I believe Vic Richardson also was also an outstanding baseballer, representing SA in Claxton Shield. Ian Chappell was also, apparently an outstanding baseballer. =============== dasilva Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:28 pm | In reply to MyLeftFoot. Also the Waugh brothers were youth players of Sydney Croatia Now I don’t know what the rate is and I don’t know where you can find statistics for it but there are players who have played both sports at a competitive level =============== mark wilkinson Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:19 pm its one thing to offer a left field explanation its another to just make on up. this guy clearly has no understanding of sport or else he would know it is impossible for anyone to stay at the top of the sporting world forever….let alone a nation with 22 million people =============== Fussball ist unser leben Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 2:18 pm Interesting question, Ryan. From a football point of view, however, I refute the premise of the question. Our National Football Team has, over the past 6 years, been more successful than at any stage in history. Having said, in my opinion, there are some truly gifted AFL players, who I have no doubt would be excellent Football players and may have even had the quality to represent Australia. However, from my 30+ years observation of AFL I reckon there would have been not more than half a dozen players each year that I’ve observed, who would have the requisite technical skills and have demonstrated the tactical awareness that is required to play professional Association Football. So, perhaps, losing 6 players each year to AFL is not a major catastrophe for Association Football. You’ve mentioned Chris Judd as a potential midfielder in Association Football. See, I don’t think Judd would be any good at all. However, guys like Peter Daicos, Peter Matera, Darren Jarman, Alan Didak, Adam Goodes, Allen Jakovic, Mark Mecuri, etc. immediately spring to mind. If you don’t have good foot skills you cannot play professional Football and, in my opinion, Judd’s foot skills are mediocre, at best. Here is a small example of what I’ve observed … I attended a “sports-mad”, all boys’ Secondary College in the mid 70s-early 80s and the school was extremely strong at strong Aussie Rules: e.g. over the years, the school has produced multiple Premiership players, Coleman Medallists, Copeland Trophy Winners and, I’m pretty sure it is still the only school to have produced three 300-game VFL/AFL players. During my time at the school, of the blokes who only played Aussie Rules, I reckon, less than 1% would have also been able to play Association Football without embarrassing themselves. So, in my opinion, the popularity of AFL has insignificant impact on the quality of elite footballers produced by Australia and, regardless, all the evidence indicates our National Football Team is stronger and more successful than ever … certainly there is no evidence to suggest the quality of our National Football Team is “in decline”. =============== Bob Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 12:29 pm This is a problem in every country. The dominant sport crowds out the others in press coverage, sponsorship, government largesse- everything. Think cricket in NZ (rugby) and the UK (premier league football) how they struggle to attract player, spectators and money. If the boot were on the other foot ie cricket being the dominant sport (like in India or Sri Lanka) we would still be saying the same thing. Given the mess that cricket is in administratively though, I am sort of happy the indigenous sport is prospering. =============== mick h Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 12:26 pm | In reply to oikee. if the rl adim is that bad why have penrith jrl just had 65 teams of under sixes in 9 divisions play rl this year =============== mick h Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 12:19 pm | In reply to Redb. two completely different sports it won’t work.both our rugby codes are successful and they both have healthy competition against other nations =============== mick h Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 12:16 pm | In reply to Redb. a lot of people do care it is still an honour to be selected to represent australia in any sport. the 4 nations this year will have a lot of interest as wales are the 4th side replacing france. my two sons and i have just decided to attend the rugby league world cup in 2013 in england and wales what a great holiday and sporting event to attend. =============== Bayman Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 12:00 pm | In reply to GrantS. GrantS, No need to apologise over your “Mundine deviation”. My personal favourite memory of the great man was watching him single-handedly condemn St.George to more premiership heart-ache in 1999. If he hadn’t been such a glory hunter and simply passed the ball to his unmarked teammate then the Dragons would have scored a try and the Storm would never have come back to steal the game. It remains firmly in the memory as the most selfish thing I’ve ever seen on a sporting field – particularly so given the occasion (the NRL Grand Final). Had an equivalent sin been committed by an AFL player the coach would have dragged him immediately. On this occasion, nothing happened and the error was hardly even mentioned. I can only recall one commentator suggesting this was anything outside the ordinary. I think this amazed me even more than Mundine’s action. Perhaps, though, with Mundine, it wasn’t “out of the ordinary”. But we digress……. =============== thesportsguy Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:40 am valid point and good article. i remember hearing sometime ago about the current state of west indies cricket, and how its most talented youths were no longer interested in playing cricket, but instead focusing on Basketball, athletics etc. sports that got them out of under privileged situations and into scholarships. The natural boom they had 20-30 yrs ago died in the modern age due to all its athletes doing something else. AFL has what, 200 players that are well condtioned athletes – take the top 10% of that, put them in the super 15 and all of a sudden the rugby ranks look incredible. Its not hard to imagine Barry hall, Jonathon brown, chris judd, luke hodge, riedwolt, gardiner, pavlich all making solid rugby players if they devoted their entire life to another code like they did afl. ===============

Restoring comments after outage – apologies for this issue. The Roar =============== PeterKAnt Submitted on 2011/04/08 at 6:41 am | In reply to JVGO. Great reply to a great article. =============== Fake ex-AFL fan Submitted on 2011/04/08 at 2:08 am | In reply to Wigwam. Attendances for non-AFL teams in Melbourne are actually pretty good compared with other teams in the same competition Australia-wide, look at the Melbourne Victory. It’s the AFL crowds that are the outlier. =============== JVGO Submitted on 2011/04/08 at 12:25 am Despite the fact that the AFL is maybe a factor (it possibly is and I’d hate to see it overrun the more international sports) I will raise the possibility that it is actually the hyper professionalism of sport and our increasing obsession with it that has resulted in our decline. There are actually more kids playing organised sport than ever but I don’t see kids playing unorganised sport as much. There is an observation that kids become overcoached very easily and that the lack of creative play is resulting in kids who if they are not told what to do simply wait around waiting to be told what to do. The sportsmen arriving on the scene now are actually the kids who would have begun their sports in the olympics era when our sporting obsession reached new heights. kids have become more and more focused and overcoached and less and less creative and cross skilled between different sports. i am thinking that to earmark a decline we would have to look back 10 years ago which is conveniently the olympic era. Maybe our unatural obsession with competitiveness and winning has actually simply back fired on us. =============== NY Submitted on 2011/04/08 at 12:02 am | In reply to zach. Your post doesn’t make sense. The rugby codes were brought to NSW (by the Brits/convicts who in turn became Australians) and has since the beginning been the cultural sport of NSW and QLD. There is no approval from anyone as this is the sport preferred here. Infact people here would be mimicing Victorians if they were to take up AFL. It’s not cultural cringe. It is about wanting to test yourself against other opposition. No need to hide away from the rest of the world. Be open minded and you’ll discover how great international competition can be. Why limit yourself when you don;t have to. But saying that each to their own. You should’t have a go at others just because they don’t share your view. =============== Damo Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 11:07 pm One eyed battlers, the lot of you. =============== KNACKERS Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:20 pm This is a perennial topic and is probably correct… but my reaction is …so what ? Peoples sporting preferences are what they are and for many ( most? ) people the local will always trump the international. No sport is really that international anyway … soccer ( association football) and athletics ( track and field ) come closest but to most Australians they only impinge on ones conscienceness at World Cup and Olympics times The more interesting question to me is why some people care so much and wish it wasn’t so , It was only a matter of time for India to dominate world cricket as they have only one sport and 20% of the world’s population… I’d hate for Aust to have only one sport. We’re maybe 1% of the soccer world so even qualifying for a World Cup is pretty good. Most Olympic sports are pretty minor ( that’s why they’re Olympic sports after all ‘.. big deal sports have their own platforms … and no country with a smaller poulation and/or smaller economy ( currently ) does better than us ( in the Summer Games ) Of course it would be different if we really cared about our position on some league table ( newbie try hard places like Sth Korea and China are obsessed by such things and it would be no exaggeration to say that their sporting priorities are set by the IOC ) But we don’t most of the time It rather reminds me of how some people are fussed about being a member of G20 or the UN Security Council. Best to have as little to do with those rogues galleries as humanly possible…. and best to order our sporting priorities only on the basis of what most Australians consider important ( as if you can do otherwise anyway ) =============== Australian Football: Central Coast Represent Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:17 pm AFL has no international contest? International Rules Series and International Cup. Unlike Rugby codes and soccer, the AFL when first played had no intension in playing the game outside of Australia, it’s the only Australian Game. But unto the last 10 years it has been promoted all over the world and games are being broadcast into a lot of countries. Soccer and Rugby codes are all English games which were brought to this country, not invented here, thats the big difference. have a look at this website and you’ll see that the AFL has done a lot in the last 10 or so years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_playing_Australian_rules_football unlike rugby league and union which were brought here 100+ years ago, from england which were expanded from england not Australia. =============== punter Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 10:03 pm | In reply to Bayman. I think you seriously need to watch the replay again Bayman, Mundine was over the line, he would have scored, he was over the line. Most players would’ve taken that option. It was unfortunate that he dropped the ball over the line. =============== Mark Young Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:37 pm | In reply to Redb. I’m for it! If we merge we have a much better chance of beating New Zealand in the Rugby, and the league come to think of it. We are fairly greedy when you think about it, we only have 20 odd million people and we expect to be able to support four world class football codes, Cricket, Tennis, Gold, Athletics, Swimming etc etc etc. It is a no brainer really, obviously if a super talented athlete is playing one code, they can’t be awesome in another code can they? But fit and talented young athletes will play the sport they want, if they don’t want to play Cricket, League, Union etc then there you go. We don’t live in China here, you can’t force people to play the sport most convenient to the country. =============== science Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:24 pm | In reply to westius. Great post there westius – it’s nice to see some unbiased actual evidence used in this debate. =============== agga78 Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 9:01 pm I don’t think AFL is taking anyone away from another code if they are actually likely to succeed in that code, A cricketer, Basketballer Rugby player or a footballer, would not give up that sport to go to AFL, because the money at the elite level is far superior and the longevity in these sports is also far superior to AFL, who are usually washed by the age of 30. AFL takes the failures of these sports, the scraps, excluding the marketing ploy of folou and Hunt the AFL takes rejects mainly from basketball, but failed athletes from America, a washed up Canadain Rugby player and most of there best players have been failed Association footballers like didak, Goodes, Green and alike. Australia’s sporting decline is down to improved competition throughout the world, India are now rightfully the best cricket nation because they have a billion people and along with sub continent the only region where people truly care about cricket. New Zealand have wiped Australia in Rugby for the past decade because there the only country on earth who have Rugby as their national sport and in Australia we get our players from only two states and have major competiton from League for players. We are no good at Tennis because Tennis became truly popular in Europe and the days when it was mostly Americans and Australia with a few Euorpeans on the circuit we dominated. Ditto Swimming. Golf is the same Australians are competitive but the world plays the sport now and when a sport has more than 10 countries competiing and the whole world really competes in a sport we are found wanting. =============== punter Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:59 pm | In reply to MyLeftFoot. I heard the reason why Warney picked cricket over AFL, playing as a junior he got 3 wickets in 3 balls & was slected to represent ahead of the kid that just MISSED getting 3 wickets in 3 balls. =============== punter Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:53 pm | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. Which sport is that? I played both football & cricket. You do talk rubbish. =============== punter Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:52 pm | In reply to Wigwam. Likewise, I played soccer in winter & cricket in summer from the age of 10 till the age of 21 years old, These guys above just make up rubbish to suit their agrument. BTW, as already mentioned MLF, Steve Waugh just like Warney, excelled in 2 sports, but he choose Cricket over football. =============== JVGO Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:44 pm | In reply to Redb. Agreed, Vic basketball is still much bigger than NSW, but NSW is growing rapidly. For NSW Metro to be Aust Champions in both U16 & U18 mens in 2010 is actually hugely significant considering that the last NSW metro title in either age group was in 1977 over 30 years ago. There still remains a big 8 in the Sydney Associations, but there are almost a dozen new smaller associations that have emerged in the last ten years and the Sydney championships now involve 4 divisions in each age group instead of the 2 that they did 5 or 6 years ago. Also take a look Redb at this list of Aussie Boys playing Div 1 NCAA in the US. Notice how it is dominated by NSW/QLD boys. So where is all that Vic/SA/WA basketball talent going. Is it to the AFL? http://www.aussiehoopsamerica.com/players_nba_ncaa_m1.html Of course growth is limited by the available facilities and Sydney City for instance have been trying for ten years to have an 8 court facility approved to replace their antiquated 1950′s 2 court building. Believe me they were very jealous at the ease with which GWS gained approval for their fantasy in the west. =============== mds1970 Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:25 pm | In reply to Stevo. At one point during the Super League war, after what would have been the breakaway comp’s first season was stopped by a court injunction, Daley thought about going back to AFL. But nothing came of it, and when Canberra rejoined the ARL after the first round, Daley played on with the Raiders. =============== mds1970 Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:12 pm | In reply to Wigwam. I think the last was Nick Jewell, who played AFL for Richmond and first class for Victoria. =============== betamax Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 8:07 pm | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. Paranoid rants, or an enlightened trend emerging, highlighted by respected journos? I’m going to stoke the fire a bit and ask : why would young athletic males choose AFL over a sport where they can represent their country, or indeed travel overseas and ply their trade in other countries? Not meaning to be disrespectful, but how worldly can you get playing AFL? Do you aim to travel to such exotic locales as Geelong or Fremantle and meet and play with interesting people from…..Australia? Learn about other cultures like those in Brisbane or Port Adelaide? =============== Rob McLean Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:35 pm | In reply to Jammy. Jammy, this is something I’ve suggested many times. Many people have howled me down. =============== JVGO Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:03 pm | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. You may well be living in the past SBF. Have a look at this list of Aussie boys currently playing Div 1 College in the US. http://www.aussiehoopsamerica.com/players_nba_ncaa_m1.html My how things have changed. The list is dominated by northern states boys. Perhaps this is to do with the increased opportunities in the AFL. I’d be interested in what theory you would suggest for the turnaround. NSW Metro is also the current Australian Champs in both U16 & U18 men for the first time ever. Vic Metro suspiciously dominate the womens champs as they have done for the last 30 years. =============== Rob McLean Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 5:02 pm | In reply to GrantS. Neil Hawke, who if I remember correctly returned from an Ashes tour and played in an SANFL GF for Port Adelaide…. =============== TT Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:57 pm Yesterday I asked why Australia’s sporting status in the world had slipped, and gave some possible reasons why. Today, I offer a left-field explanation, with a theory that the AFL may have a hand in it. Not exactly a left field theory since I mentioned it on your other post yesterday, and there have been several recent articles blaming Aussie Rules for ruining Australian sport. Luke Slattery in the Australian, for instance: Aussie rules has turned us into nation of losers THE humbling of Australian cricket is merely a symptom of a wider sporting malaise. Australia’s international standing across a range of sports, from rugby league to athletics, is by our own high standards deteriorating while some sports – in singles tennis we have no men in the top 50 – are suffering long-term decline. There is no need to search far and wide for the culprit or to carry out extensive audits of our recent sporting failures. The enemy is within. It is Australian Rules football. =============== JVGO Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 4:54 pm | In reply to Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner. It’s true basketball has traditionally been southern dominated, particularly by Vic Metro squads in the last 30 years anyway. This has to do with better faclities and a more traditional empathy i believe between AFL skills and basketball skills and the colder winters as basketball is designed as an indoor sport for cold winters. I know Paul roos played basketball for Victoria. Things are changing however as the Northern states improve their facilties. NSW Metro is currently the Australian mens champs in both U16 and U18 men for the first time ever. If this is all to do with NSW improving or somewhat to do with Melbourne boys also moving to AFL earlier I’m not sure. Vic Metro is still dominant in the women’s game. ===============

The consensus was that the evil AFL empire is to blame for everything, including your faded curtains.

What happened to all the comments?