So the first round of the Foxtel Cup is over and the first teams have now been sent back to their respective leagues, able to enjoy their byes for the rest of the year. Of the 16 teams that took part this year, only eight remain. So what have we learnt so far?
I think the biggest thing is the wide gap between the quality of the WAFL, SANFL, VFL and the rest of the country. There were some massive floggings in there, even the AFL-bound GWS team was beaten soundly by the Bullants. There were no upset wins, although no one expected the Thunder to demolish Morningside at a neutral venue.
The surprise package could be the Thunder, bolstered by boom recruit, former Adelaide Crows gun Andrew McLeod. They would appear to be on a different level to the rest of the non-AFL heartland states, which will come as good news to the AFL Northern Territory and its hard working administrators who oversee the Thunders program.
We learnt that the AFL doesn’t like fixturing extra games at the Gabba, no Queensland team played a home game, both were sent to AAMI Stadium despite both being scheduled for the Gabba. All South Australian teams except Port Adelaide played at home, while Claremont travelled to Tasmania. Of the Victorian teams, only the Bullants played in Melbourne.
We’ve learnt that the quarter finals will throw up some oddities in the fixture. Williamstown, who won their round away against Swan Districts, will play away again in Adelaide despite theoretically being the home team, and West Adelaide is already playing at home against Ainslie. In addition, Claremont will play the Bullants at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast despite Claremont not playing at home last round – and neither side being from Queensland.
We’ve learnt that of the eight games played, five drew reasonably good ratings compared to the NRLS Toyota Cup, and we should expect this to pick up again next year with some tweaking.
Finally, we’ve learnt that the Cup overall probably needs a few changes before the QLD/NSW/ACT and Tasmanian sides get fed up with being thrashed every year.
Foxtel Cup quarter final fixtures:
QF1. May 28th – NT Thunder versus East Perth Royals (TIO Stadium, Darwin).
QF2. June 4th – Williamstown versus West Adelaide (AAMI Stadium or City Mazda Stadium, Adelaide).
QF3. June 11th – Claremont versus Northern Bullants (Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast).
QF4. June 18th – Port Adelaide versus North Adelaide (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide).
Lachlan
Roar Guru
The knock-out competition should be expanded to other leagues throughout australia. The Ovens and Murray, NTFL, Cairns, Black Diamond, Country Victoria, NEAFL, QAFL (2nd division) and even a team from new zealand and/or papua new guinea.
Lachlan
Roar Guru
spot on, the foxtel cup is only going to improve the weaker teams
Guido
Guest
That is unfortunate to see NA and PA playing off so early. Lacks the normal interest factor of two different leagues up against each other, or is that the plan - to have it pan out that it is not an SANFL only grand final?
Wayno
Guest
Now is where it gets interesting, it's a pity 2 SANFL sides ended up playing off against each other though.
mds1970
Roar Guru
In future seasons, the NSW, ACT and Queensland teams will likely come from the NEAFL; although at the moment it's effectively the ACTAFL & AFL Queensland with a small crossover. There's likely to be a couple of Sydney teams joining in the next couple of years. Over time, we can only hope the more professional NEAFL will raise the standards enough to create teams that will be competitive in the Foxtel Cup.