Kevin Sheedy is an ideas man. That’s why everyone calls him the Ideas Man. He has lots of ideas.
Kevin might just be a humble football coach, but we all know him as the face of Greater Western Sydney and one of the best salesmen the AFL has to offer.
He’s come up with heaps of ideas on how to change football for the better. First it was Anzac Day football. He thought of that when he was pottering his garden. Then it was Dreamtime at the ‘G.
OK, he’s not quite the AFL’s Steve Kerrigan (of The Castle fame, and if you haven’t seen Australia’s greatest comedy movie ever – go, now) but every now and then Sheedy comes up with a crackerjack idea.
Just before the new year, he struck again – he wants matches between Sydney and the Giants to be called ‘The Battle of the Bridge’.
“It’s about east versus west,” Sheedy says. “There’s the Harbour Bridge, which takes in the north and the southeast of Sydney, whose people are mainly Swans fans, and then there’s the Anzac Bridge out west.”
Now, his declaration that it will become the greatest rivalry in Australian sport was laughable – typical Victorian hubris – but he actually was onto something. Surely the AFL must run with it.
At the very least, it’s a starting point; the seeds for a brilliant derby. The divide between the west and the rest presents an opportunity to capitalize on the real divide between the middle and working classes.
Look to rugby league – the ‘enemy’ – and Western Suburbs and Manly have enjoyed a similar ideological and sporting rivalry, which began in the 1970s.
Their story is told in the brilliant ABC documentary, ‘The Fibros and the Silvertails’, the title of which comes from a quip by then-Wests coach Roy Masters, who used it to describe the ongoing struggle between the working class and the elite in sport.
Over time, the Sydney Swans have come to represent the northern and eastern parts of Sydney – the elite – while GWS have been brought in to serve a perceived need as the blue-collar club of the west.
Now we’re still without conclusive proof that GWS will succeed to the degree Sheedy expects them to but it’s not getting ahead of schedule if the AFL is thinking about derbies.
As the A-League has shown with the Heart/Victory clash, crosstown rivalries are a buzz machine.
Elsewhere in the AFL, there are great examples. The ‘Showdown’ in South Australia takes advantage of the decades-old hatred for Port Adelaide in the SANFL, while the Western Derby has come into its own in recent years.
They can also learn plenty from the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns, whose fledgling rivalry hasn’t taken off as well as the AFL might have liked.
Appallingly dubbed the ‘Q-Clash’ (or Queensland Clash), the name itself was met with widespread derision. Local media refused to run with it, openly mocking it and opting for ‘Sunshine Stoush’ instead.
The last ‘Q-Clash’ fizzled out into nothingness, despite a captivating – though entirely stage-managed – build-up before their first match, which centered around Simon Black calling some of his former Lions teammates ‘mercenaries’ after they switched to the Suns.
It will grow, but perhaps the AFL overestimated the level of animosity between residents of the Gold Coast and Brisbane. It’s tame at best, and it’s got zero on the other rivalries in the league.
Nothing beats class warfare. Just look at Milan’s soccer teams. It’s still an uphill battle, but at least the Swans and the Giants have something to work with, thanks the ‘Battle of the Bridge’. He’s an ideas man, Sheeds.
But the Q-Clash? Tell ’em they’re dreaming.
The Roar welcomes Vince Rugari as an AFL expert columnist to the site – we hope you enjoy his contributions.
Kasey
Guest
Any first year accounting student will tell you that Cash Flow is 'the' most important of your bookkeeping to keep on top of. Cash is the lifeblood of any enterprise. Most A-League fans can recognize that the correct sustainable business modekl is ye to be stumbled upon, however those with a basic level of business knowledge understand he incredible start-up costs involved in getting a new enterprize off the ground and that the principle challenge facing and enterprize is simply to survive the initial phase to give it time to grow. the HAL has not only survived 7 years, but is looking good for 10-15 at currenmt estimates, depending upon the upcoming broadcast/,media deal. In that time fram I think it is realistic to expect that the 10+ clubs will have achieved a level of self-sustainment. It is not only crowds that are up this year for the 10 HAL teams, but memberships(sporting lifeblood) across the board.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
I hate to sound spiteful here, but money is kind of important. A lack of cash will kill your club before it has a chance to get interest. Being an A-league follower Im sure you can appreciate this better than the rest of us
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
The article i linked was written for the telegraph by a telegraph journalist. the telegraph is not a melbourne paper.
Kasey
Guest
7 years this year Tony, not bad for a league the detractors predicted would last 3 years tops(especially the " No South - No APL!" Mob:) As for fans not yet emotionally invested in their teams. I suggest you watch the replay this afternoon on Fox 1 of the MVC v ADL game played at AAMI Pk last friday night. you'll notice a large gathering wearing Red in the SE corner ofthe ground, est. 500-1000 away fans. cos nothing says investment in a team/club and loyalty to one's tribe like jumping on a plane train or bus to travel 800km for an away game does it?
Tony
Guest
That describes the A-league perfectly, with it's long tradition of.........5 years :-)
Republican
Guest
Rivalries are commercial concoctions engineered by those of Sheedy's persuasion and have naught to do with culture, tribe or community anymore. Players, coaches and supporters alike are all bought and sold without any criteria of loyalty. We are all symbiotic of a culture that is prosaic in its devotion to the fickle market forces that concoct brands i.e GWS, then set about fabricating rivalries to some how afford us the illusion of substance.
Veni, Vedi, Sherrin Calcitravi
Guest
The Roar needs more posts like this.
amazonfan
Guest
db, name one. Name an AFL poster, who think that anybody who doesn't follow Australian football is un-Australian. The only poster who I've heard use that term was Johnno, who described the AFL as un-Australian.
db swannie
Guest
Very much like AFL posters who think anyone not interested in AFL is Un Australian.
amazonfan
Guest
I can't speak for all Melbourne fans, of course, however I don't know of any Melbourne fans who particularly care about Hawthorn and Essendon. The Melbourne fans that I know (plus myself) dislike Collingwood more than any other club, and we would care more about defeating Collingwood than Essendon or Hawthorn. It is probably true that Collingwood's real rival is Carlton, however there is a definite connection between Melbourne and Collingwood that we don't have with any other club. Of Melbourne's 17 GFs, we've gone up against just two clubs multiple times. We've beaten Essendon in four of six GFs, and we've beaten Collingwood in six of seven GFs. Collingwood provides for half our premierships. The only time they beat us was to prevent us from tying their record. As such, we have a connection with them that we don't have with other clubs. Not to mention that all my unpleasant supporter experiences at the footy have involved Collingwood fans. The rivalry that Melbourne has with Collingwood may be one-sided, which indicates how few genuine rivalries there are, but there are few better feelings than watching Melbourne take out Collingwood. :D
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Yes but most of those 3742 members are from Canberra or Melbourne. I have no doubt GWS will get off the ground, but not because Sydney needs or wants a second AFL team, its because of AFL money.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Not sure about the accuracy of that article. Penrith is not "31km down the road from Blacktown", more like 3km. Penrith is about 5 minutes away from Blacktown. Maybe all the figures were multiplied by 10 to make the story more attractive to Victorians. We're getting a bit tired of Victorians who have never been to Sydney writing about Sydney like they know it like the back of their hands. The Anzac bridge doesn't split Sydney in 2, its about 5 minutes from the Harbour bridge. Sheedy has lived here 2 years and doesn't even know where Anzac bridge is. Like I said, keep writing articles like this to drum up some interest in AFL in Sydney.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Titus Yes, there is plenty of truth in what you have described, and it pretty much applies to every country on Earth bar maybe six or seven. The pace of that loss of local culture has quickened over the past century, and will continue. At least in Australia, we have reversed the trend to a certain extent. What's more, over the past 40 or so years, there has been a gradual fusion of indigenous culture and the Australian game. When Austin Wonaeamirri was drafted by Melbourne a few years back, he spoke English as a second language. Let us hope to see more of it.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Not Really You don't need to feel a part of the history for it to be your history. Just some basic knowledge and understanding would suffice.
stabpass
Guest
Not everyone likes the Labour or Liberal party, but they are a part of Australian history, same with a stump jump plough, revolving clothseline, Sydney Harbour Brigde/Opera House etc. One interesting aspect of Australian football in this country, is that it follows the history of mining in Australia, from the goldfields of Victoria, to Kalgoolie, Newcastle (NSW), Mt isa, Broken Hill even NZ and South African mines, and many other long forgotten/closed ones. Whether you like it or not, or accept it or not is inconsequential to the reality of it.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Not Really, if you are referring to me, then you are wrong. There is no sore spot; I just have no idea what Kasey is talking about.
Not Really
Guest
" We is us. The history of Victorian Football and Victorian history generally is inseparable." Just thought I would correct that for you Cattery. I'm Australian and don't consider for one second that AFL is part of my history or culture. And while less then a third of the people in this country (not every one likes sport/AFL, even in Vic) follow or play the game your original statement isn't even remotely true. So please speak for yourself.
Not Really
Guest
I think you hit a sore spot there Kasey.
Titus
Guest
Sorry Tony, but the Australia that you know, the one that starts 200 years ago is part of that globalisation, its a product of colonialism and mercantilism. Since Europeans arrived here we have been responsible for the loss of those languages that TC is so concerned about, and we have been largely responsible for the destruction of the Indigenous culture. I think it is a bit rich of TC to bemoan the fact that globalisation is destroying cultures, when the culture that he chooses to follow pretty much replaced an entire original culture. Australia is an immigrant nation, Europeans brought the rules of football out with them, all forms of football are equally important to the cultures of those that follow them.
Tony
Guest
Showdown describes perfectly the shooting between Port & the Cows.