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While the AFL are ready to let the competition settle into its 18 team configuration before further expansion, its successful foray into New Zealand last weekend will have had League bosses rubbing their hands together with glee.
A crowd in excess of 20,000 people, wide spread interest from the general public and media and positive responses from the participating teams all point toward the experiment being a resounding success.
With further games scheduled over the next couple of years, the challenge will be to maintain New Zealand’s interest and we will know soon enough if the success of the St. Kilda v Sydney Swans game was genuine and sustainable or just a novelty.
If it proves that the games do generate ongoing support, then the obvious conclusion is a New Zealand team being admitted to the AFL.
Based on expansion patterns of the past, that day could come within 10 year’s time.
The West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears played their first AFL games in 1987. The Adelaide Crows came four years later, in 1991, then Fremantle in 1995 and Port Adelaide in 1997.
During this time Fitzroy also merged with the Brisbane Bears, giving birth to the Brisbane Lions and allowing the AFL to consolidate as a 16 team competition after ten years of rapid expansion.
Having achieved their goal of having a team in each of Australia’s major cities, League bosses were happy to take breath and it was another fourteen years before the next team was added to the fray, although planning for it began much earlier.
The idea of including the Gold Coast Suns in 2011 and Greater Western Sydney last year was to ensure that the tough markets of Brisbane and Sydney had football matches scheduled every weekend, an impossible proposition with only one home side per city.
Created totally from scratch, the teams have struggled to gain traction and their development will take time, but don’t expect the AFL to wait another 14 years before expanding again.
In its bid to ensure that the tough markets are being dealt with, the AFL have continually overlooked one of Australian Football’s most passionate heartlands – Tasmania.
Of course we have all heard the arguments against a Tasmanian side, most of them revolving around financial concerns brought about by a limited sponsorship base, but in this day of wall to wall football broadcasts, sponsors do not have to be state based.
Given the number of elite level footballers that Tasmania has produced over the years and the level of support that the game has in the Apple Isle, it is a travesty that they are not already a part of the AFL.
It is a wrong that will eventually be righted, and with mergers and relocations never easily achieved (there has only been one of each since the competition began in 1897), the inclusion of a stand alone Tasmanian side could happen in conjunction with the creation of a new Kiwi franchise.
That fact that Australia’s elite football and rugby competitions each have New Zealand based teams would not be lost on Mr. Demetriou and let’s face it, he is not a man who likes to be outdone.
Including both a Kiwi team and a Tasmanian team at around the same time eliminates the need for the competition to have a bye each week (surmising the competition remains as it is now).
While having a Tasmanian team in the AFL is a no brainer, so to is eventually having a side representing New Zealand.
There are four main reasons as to why an international expansion into New Zealand would work.
Firstly, there is already a strong Trans-Tasman rivalry. The Kiwis love nothing better than knocking over their biggest neighbour while the Aussies love to keep their islander cousins in their place. The rivalry is ready made and translates easily from one sport to another.
Secondly, the travel factor is manageable and on most occasions would be no worse than what West Coast and Fremantle face each season.
The trip from New Zealand to Perth is the only real marathon but smart scheduling by the AFL would see the Kiwi side play West Coast and Fremantle in successive rounds allowing them to stay over for the week rather than make two separate trips.
Thirdly, New Zealand has a lot to offer players who may find themselves traded to or drafted by a start up Kiwi squad. It is a clean, safe country, with modern and vibrant cities (despite the jokes that may suggest otherwise).
We share a quality of life that is the envy of the world, lead similar lifestyles and hold similar values.
And finally, if the crowds and support for last weekend’s St. Kilda v Sydney clash prove to be the norm, sustainability will not be an issue.
With St. Kilda committing to play further games in New Zealand over the coming years we will get a better gauge on the overall level of interest. If interest is maintained however, then this first small testing of the Trans-Tasman waters will have been a glimpse into the future.
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