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This weekend, the Socceroos played at Adelaide Oval. Despite poor weather, and the fact that the game was a ‘friendly’ with an AFL game at AAMI Stadium on at the same time, the crowd was able to exceed 21,000.
Just a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable in Adelaide to have a soccer match beat a competing Aussie Rules game for crowd attendance, but 2011 is not 2001.
Both AFL teams are struggling on field, and the Adelaide media is awash with news of the prospective sale of the Crows and Power licenses, either to the AFL or to the respective clubs.
Port Power is struggling for crowds and their survival in general, and Adelaide is in an uncertain time, set to miss the finals for a second year under Neil Craig.
To be fair to both clubs, the Socceroos had some slight advantages; any Australian team playing New Zealand is going to attract support. They had Adelaide Oval, the state’s undisputed premiere arena. And to be fair to the Power, their crowd at the aging, costly and unattractive AAMI Stadium was greater than most they’ve enjoyed this year.
That aside, let’s look at this in strategic terms, and what it means for all sides in the code war. In the most basic terms, Adelaide is no longer a stronghold for Aussie Rules.
Novelty and circumstances aside, a soccer match attracting 21,000 in AFL heartland is a win for the FFA. The uncertain future of the Power and the current predicament the Crows find themselves in may be short-term problems, but they still provide a window for other codes to take a swipe.
Meanwhile, the AFL are pouring resources into the other fronts in south east Queensland and NSW, while their own backyard is unprotected. The AFL must shore up their supply trains before they find themselves overstretched.
The enemy, on the other hand, seem to be fighting back blow for blow. While the FFA has just launched a stinging winter blow to the AFL and can now wait for their major summer offensive with the A-League competition, rugby league has upped its defence of the western front with the appointment of Phil Gould, league’s biggest personality, to a position at Penrith as a counter to one of the AFL’s biggest names in Kevin Sheedy.
Soon NRL heartland will be bolstered further with another team in southern Queensland, whether in Brisbane proper or in the western corridor, and almost certainly a team on the Central Coast, not only to capitalise on its vast support in that region but to stake a strong claim against the A-League’s Central Mariners.
The AFL can no longer stand back and let its heartlands come under threat. Sure, enemies are mounting their defences, but victory cannot be achieved without a stable home.
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