The expansion teams are back on the agenda after GWS and Gold Coast received two massive thumpings on Easter Sunday, but we should all just relax.
Sure, the Giants couldn’t register a first half goal on the way to losing to North Melbourne by 129 points and the Suns weren’t close in their 92-point loss to St Kilda.
But it’s funny that the other club being blasted for lacking competitiveness right now is Melbourne, who’ve put in two disappointing performances – including a 108-point loss – under new coach Mark Neeld.
It just shows that whether you’ve been around 150 years or aren’t anywhere near 150 games, building a side capable of winning the flag is not a task that happens overnight.
That hasn’t stopped the flow of negative comments that started about 10 minutes in to the GWS game, mind you.
“The people of Gold Coast and western Sydney aren’t going to put up with this sort of footy much longer.”
“The AFL needs to intervene.”
“Both teams should’ve been given more experienced players from other clubs.”
“A country footy team could beat GWS.”
Honestly, it needs to stop.
If you couldn’t have foreseen that the Suns and Giants would find it hard to compete early on in their existence, you’ve got rocks in your head.
With lists comprised mostly of freshly-drafted players, it was clear that there would be dark times to begin with.
In recent years, our Supercoach teams and the Rising Star award have shown how much of an impact a young player can have in his first or second year of footy. It’s definitely possible for young players to come into the comp and belong straight away.
But to expect that of an entire group of young players isn’t right.
A great example was thrown in our faces on Monday. Just look at Tom Hawkins, who is seemingly coming alive with each game he plays for Geelong.
Up until Round 24 last year, he was the epitome of a much-maligned player. The key forward, who we were told would’ve gone very high in his draft had he not been a father-son pick, struggled to impose himself in games, let alone live up to his potential.
Now, in his sixth season of AFL football – yes, sixth – he’s finally “arrived”. He’s all of the sudden a contested marking machine who’s playing a major role in the Cats winning big games.
It puts all the commotion following Sunday’s results into some form of perspective.
It is very, very rare to see even close to a player’s best football in his first or second season. The players that will be responsible for driving these two clubs up the ladder have plenty of improvement ahead of them.
This is illustrated by the fact there are 35 GWS listed players that are aged 20 or younger.
Initially, we were told it would be better for these new clubs to become genuine premiership contenders within a reasonable timeframe, rather than for them to find themselves as far away from a flag as the Brisbane Bears and Sydney Swans once were for an extended period.
Most of us bought into that premise.
But if we truly believe that’s the way to go, then getting games into kids – no matter how bad it looks on the scoreboard, no matter how many pages from the back of the Daily Telegraph it puts the game – should be what’s most important right now.
The sad part is, already it seems that at least one of the expansion clubs might’ve already departed from the premise.
It was reported on The Footy Show earlier this year that the Suns board have a set criteria that coach Guy McKenna will need to meet to keep his job after this season, which (according to the show) includes winning six games.
This came on the back of a report in the Gold Coast Bulletin that senior officials were “seething” after McKenna used the second half of the club’s NAB Cup fixture with GWS, a game they lost, to give more minutes to youngsters.
The report was denied by the Suns, but as the saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s fire.
And that, bizarre as it may seem, worries me a lot more than how the Suns went in the second game of their second season against a 2011 finalist on the road.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
JD, As to the fairness of the NFL draw, lemme just say two years ago Seattle qualified for the playoffs at 7-9, playing an awful SF, an appalling Arizona and a hopeless Rams side twice.
shirtfront
Guest
Brogan is a big in. I've always liked the way he goes about it. They do have half a spine there if they can keep them on the paddock. Setanta, McDonald, Brogan, Power, Cornes. Throw in Davis, Ward, Palmer, Scully, Coniglio and later Patton. There is hope but geez after watching that North game I'm not sure. Hopefully something gels soon.
JD
Guest
So it took Tampa Bay a couple seasons to be competitive on the field. Look at most other NFL expansion teams and they were a lot more competitivefrom the get-go. But that was not the point I was making anyway. Did selected teams in Tampa Bay's conference get to play them more times than others, thus compromising the competition's fairness? Did the NFL set them up in an unreceptive market where there was already an established club that struggles to remain financially viable without ongoing success? Was the NFL prepared to underwrite massive losses for a decade or more, thus risking the financial viability of the rest of the competition? Finally, would the NFL bring such a team into their competition in 2012, as opposed to 1976? And to the point about the TV rights making the AFL's gamble possible, I wouldn't count on it being worth so much next time around. But time will tell on that one.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Also, to a lesser extent, there will be interest when the Giants play the Suns (twice). Even this weekend, two teams without a win, Melbourne and Richmond, meet, both sets of supporters looking for their team to lift. Dogs and Saints likely to be a close one as well. Each weekend there will be good games, mediorcre games, close games, and shellackings - just as there has been for 154 years - nothing much has changed to be honest.
Redb
Roar Guru
Shrill in the extreme. At the top end 3 big Melb clubs plus West Coast & maybe Adelaide are competitive - that's a fair chunk of fans engaged with on field success. If Nth Melb, st Killda & the bulldogs dominated the top 4 there could be weakness. The success of immensely popular clubs will offset the easy beats. Some genuine blockbusters played already with more to come.
Redb
Roar Guru
I think there is no doubt if the AFL could have found two willing relocation Melbourne teams that would have been their first option. However, whilst the risk is greater so is the reward. Expansion is effectively funded by tv money, Melbourne remains the heartland (crowds, media, population & tv ratings revenue) the formula is sound enough for this deal & the next with new media willing to throw big money around. The AFL has almost ten years to make this work.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
John what stats are you using to justify the last point about not enough fans? The AFL's members, set to exceed 650k for the second running, are double the total members of the other codes combined. On top of that, about three clubs have waiting lists to purchase memberships.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
I think that happens in a lot of sports, let's be honest by the time you're 16/17, there are plenty of things competing for your attention (and some of it is pretty hard to resist).
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
King Robbo, Freo also didnt finish better than 12th out of 16 for their first seven seasons. Regarding recruiting goalkicking forwards, if GWS want him, Cloke comes out of contract this year, and they have the cap room to go after him ... but personally, I'd just spend the million bucks on extending the contracts of the best of the kids.
mushi
Roar Guru
Found odds on WCE at 1.01
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Jeff Dowsing, Tampa Bay went 0-26 in their first two years. The Cleveland Browns have had two winning seasons since coming back into the league in 1999, and have played in one playoff game in that time. Then there were the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, both of which have set the NBA on fire since 1999. Therefore, knowing a bit about elite American sports competitions, I didnt write, " I cannot imagine an elite competition in the US or Europe corrupting a professional sporting competition as the AFL have"
The Cattery
Roar Guru
The AFL has admitted that scheduling both new teams last Sunday in the only two games for the day was a big mistake. It will happen again in round 12.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Macca, Given the fact that Sydney spent more than, say, Western Bulldogs or Port Adelaide on their football department, I dont think a $500k a year loss for each of 3 years is that important.
John Hines
Guest
the afl should look long and hard at themselves because expanding to 18 teams will cost them a hell of a lot in the long run because there is not enough money around to keep it at 18 teams plus there is not enough fans to keep the afl healthy
Jeff Dowsing
Guest
Ok, fill me in Ian. Perhaps the NFL is more your area of expertise. And tell me what TV rights will a comp get that puts up such non competitive rubbish more often than not, attended by two men and a dog? If you reckon the AFL c2012 is great then you're easily pleased. Personally I'd rather the AFL not gamble on a payoff that may or may not happen when I'm rotting in the ground.
Strummer Jones
Guest
Good timing for Brogan then as he knows the Giants club song well and sings it in a nice falsetto voice. BTW I hear WCE are staying the night at the Rooty Hill RSL which is across the road from the Blacktown "International" Sportspark. Its possible they could get a bit 'hare & tortoise" and decide to get smashhhhhhed the night before and run amok with the meat-tray. In any case, might have a wager on the Greater Western Sydney Giants to win outright. That's if I could find a bookie. Looks like no one is offering odds for an outright win on either team for this game. Maybe they are using the same information as me.
Macca
Guest
The A league isn't exactly kicking goals with both Newcastle and Gold Coast dropping out and NRL is a long way behind. You could keep the league at 16 teams and play games in canberra, tassie and western sydney as they have been and keep growing the quality of the game rather than dilluting the talent and pumping money into teams that in 30 years will still not be making a profit.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Macca this is the big unknown - how would the game be staying at 16 teams for the next 20 years - really hard to know - there's so much sporting competition these days - you just can't stand still and hope for the best.
Macca
Guest
There is a bit of a difference between Richmond shifting from Punt Rd to the MCG and the Swan going from Melbourne to Sydney. And for the record I used to love going to Princes Park to watch the blues, one of the best grounds to watch footy in my opinion. Have you confirmed "healthy Melbourne membership"?
Macca
Guest
There is a difference between wanting to go back to the VFL days and not wanting to have the league expand into regions that don't really want them for no real reason. I could of got behind the idea of a Tassie side but really 16 sides was plenty. I will also say this, in the VFL my AFL membership got me into every game without having to buy a seat at an extra cost including the Grand Final (to which I could turn up at 10.30 and take my seat in the northern stand about 10 rows off the fence and not have to stare into the sun all day. I could also watch 3 games of footy for the day, see some up and comers play in the u/19's or the 2's and keep an eye on them for the future. So not all progress has been for the better.