GWS Giants vs Essendon: AFL live scores

Cattery, I've got to ask. You are from Victorian right? You sound very much like part of the Victorian think tank that knows western sydney (incorporating Canberra) so well?

wow that may be the longest bow ever pulled from a comment that short. It wasnt about keeping draftees at blacktown, they could have done that with the system they have in place. the issue at hand here was that they didnt have a facility they could use all year round, once summer came around they had to keep off the cricket ground and fair enough. So they needed a facility they could train on in summer. No one but you tied that to their ability to keep players.

So the truth comes out, Giants CEO David Matthews said the club would have struggled to keep their premium draft picks had the club remained at Blacktown. That says it all.........the 'kids' want nothing to do with Blacktown or the real western Sydney. They live on the harbour and feel that the long trek out to Blacktown in their luxury buses is beneath them. Its about time this club is treated like the professional sporting team they are instead of like a pack of cuddly koala bears. They are getting flogged mercilessly every week but are pampered and preened like rock stars and feted for their 'brave' performances........but they're not 'brave' enough to stick it out in Blacktown. It won't be long before the hordes of developement officers the AFL has out there stalking schoolkids pull the same stunt. It looks like the battle for the west is already lost.......time for a name change.......how about Breakfast Point Koala Bears !

That may be true. What I am saying is everyone in the AFL including Sheedy kept talking up Blacktown, photo's with the mayor, community involvement. Now it looks like they don't play there, train there, have head office there and I was told they all live on the harbour. It looks like they shut up shop at Blacktown except for a few crumbs to keep the locals happy. It's not a good look after all the hype about Blacktown.

no what has bugged them is a lack of all year round facilities in the area. They are a professional team after all, and need such facilities all year round.

Gleeso I'd say no. Izzy has a lot to learn, he might have to keep learning all of next season as well before we know what he's going to turn out like. But this is something we all know, from our experience with Plugger and Barry Hall, if he can become a big leading power forward who can take a grab and convert (big if), that's one thing Sydney audiences like - we know that from experience. And if it's Izzy doing it, in 2 years time - Skoda will sell out very quickly.

MIke you conveniently forget that the AFL and Cricket Australia both poured millions into the project, and the ground is available for first class cricket over the Summer. It's not an AFL specific project - two big sports are sharing the facility 12 months per annum. If there's a better investment for local council - I'm all ears. If you're concerned about other sports missing out - where's their money in all of this?

Soccer and league fans are telling us forever how fractured the Sydney sports market is, so having the Swans catering to the Northern and Eastern suburbs is probably a different kettle of fish to having a team marketing itself to Western Sydney, so in that sense, it's definitely a new market, because obviously, there has never been an AFL team located in Western Sydney. It's just started up.

Firstly, I'll assume for the moment that you are genuinely ignorant rather than just trolling again. 1. NAB Cup games - the Giants have hosted NAB Cup games at Blacktown for the last two years, getting crowds of between 6,000 and 9,000 on each occasion. 2. Yeh, intra-club games might only attract a few hundred. 3. The NAB AFL Under 16 championships will only attract family and a lot of press and recruitment staff - it's a very important group of games, recruiters from 18 clubs will be there - counts players, family, officials, recruiting staff, and at least 1,000 people will come to Blacktown. Get it - that's 1,000 who live elsewhere, coming to Blacktown for a couple of weeks - every year - don't worry, may not sound like a lot, but it's significant. Don't forget that the original idea of the Blacktown City Council was to forever change the image of Blacktown - and that's definitely a step in the right direction. 4. UWS Giants will probably only attract a few hundred per game - in a comp that is slowly increasing in prestige. 5. Why is hosting the Sydney Football League grand final at Blacktown a sign of arrogance? Depending on who is playing, such a grand final can attract a couple of thousand. 6. AFL/GWS staff are based out of Blacktown - why is that difficult to understand? 7. Those staff spend $4 million on footy programs arond Western Sydney. 8. The training and admin base for the Giants Academy remains in Blacktown. Once again, that was one of the factors that encouraged the Blacktown City Council to invest in BISP - the Academy remains there, as promised. That's Academy staff located out there, with a hundred kids and family comin in and out all footy season. 9. The Giants have partnered with UWS - that's why their reserves team in the NEAFL is called UWS giants. You know - a thing we hear on the roar all the time - community engagement? The Giants are living it. etc, etc I believe one thing you are failing to grasp, is that the AFL is big business. Not only does it generate dollars (as much as all other sports combined), but wherever the AFL is conducting its business, like in Blacktown, generates economic activity - that's what the points 1 to 12 are all about - that's why Blacktown City Council wanted to partner with the giants - no domestic comp can generate economic activity like the AFL. Let me give you a further example. I linked a story the other day that Canberra Raiders generate $12 million of revenue ($2 million coming from the ACT government as grants). In its first season, the Giants would already be generating double that, not even including AFL investments in the region, and much of that money is circulating around the Blacktown local economy.

But I thought the size of Izzys contract was based on his promotional contribution. Like some $5mill free media already. The question is has that translated into bums on seats? I recon not one extra fan turned up for Izzy.

Cattery, it is not a new market. AFL has been available to Western Sydney for thirty years. Especially on TV. Those that like the game go to the SCG to watch it. Otherwise, it has been rejected mate. Minus the Bombers fans there where about 7000. Roughly the amount that turned up to Blacktown a few weeks back. Lets see how the crowd looks when the Adelaides and the WA's play there.

What a pathetic shambles this all is. The AFL's cynicism is unbelievable. What has Izzy got to say about all this? Didn't he buy a mansion down the road from the Blacktown Stadium?

I read two years ago that the council spent 15 mill on BISP for the AFL out of 20 mill for all sports from a Gov't grant. GWS played one game and now won't even train there or have senior offices there. Not a good look. I think the 6000 crowd scared them off but they only got 11000 at Homebush and most were from Melbourne. They have wasted a lot of money and now have to spend more.

Catery, 1 through 4 will not attract greater than a few hundred people (ie family members). (an intra club game? Please...) 5 (if that is the name of it) is just a sign of the arrogance of the AFL and people who do turn up will think they are going to football (soccer) still no one will turn up. 6 through 9 I dont even understand. The Blacktown Oval will become a cricket ground which is good. But this will make press in the outer west and the blacktown council will look stupid.

Mike this is from GWS' web site: http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/giants-elite-training-centre.html In relation to Blacktown: 1. Two annual NAB Cup matches. 2. An annual pre-season GIANTS Intra Club match – free to the public. 3. The next five years of NAB AFL Under 16 Championships – 10 day carnival featuring 8 states/territories. 4. Four UWS GIANTS NEAFL matches per year. 5. The Sydney Football League Grand Final 6. Continue to base 20 full-time and 45 part-time AFL/GIANTS staff at BISP. 7. Continue to invest more than $4mill a year in community programs emanating from Blacktown. 8. Continue as a full-time training & administration base for the GIANTS Academy including full-time gym. 9. Launch a UWS Learning & Life Centre to deliver literacy outcomes to Blacktown youth. 10. Hold 12 in-season GIANTS AFL squad training sessions. 11. Commit 25% of annual AFL player appearances to the Blacktown community which equates to 1,000 hours. 12. Collaborate on a new master plan for Blacktown International Sportspark.

Why have GWS left Blacktown after everything they said they were going to do for western Sydney. I find it unbelieveable they can bail out after one home game. This move will tarnish the name of GWS for sure.

that would be incredibly sad

11,844 today at Penrith playing against Manly. Giants did VERY well by comparison. And so the attendance comparison goes on...

I agree with you that such comparisons are futile - especially when day light is second.

The thing I believe is that the stadiums provide the figure, not the AFL - if you have a problem, you need to either take it up with the stadium, or stand outside and track the numbers on your spreadsheet.