The British and Irish Lions are here, it’s State of Origin time, the Socceroos face Japan, our cricketers are in England – should AFL fans be envious?
In the lead up to the visit of the first British Lions team in 1888, joint promoter of the tour, English Test cricketer James Lillywhite, twice put proposals to the Victorian Football Association.
Lillywhite was seeking sanction for a series of matches under Australian rules against Melbourne’s leading football clubs, and a three-game series against a combined Victorian team.
On both occasions the VFA rejected the Lillywhite plan. The tour still went ahead, and after arranging matches with individual clubs, the Lions played 19-games of Aussie rules, including against Essendon, South Melbourne, Fitzroy, Norwood, Port Adelaide and Carlton.
The latter contest drew over 26,000 to the MCG, a very sizeable gathering even by the Victorian capital’s already long-established reputation for big attendances, and more than any English FA Cup final could draw until West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa met in 1892.
One can only speculate the numbers that would have gone to see an All Victoria Twenty meet the British Lions. The VFA voted against the tour and the combined Victoria match as its club delegates were concerned it would mean less Saturdays available for club football.
Melbourne’s The Argus stated: “The natural consequence of the colony being shut out entirely from international football cannot but have an injurious effect. May not the decision of the VFA react upon themselves in a manner they have not foreseen?”
History tells us the decision of 125 years ago hasn’t hampered the development of the code and the VFL/AFL. But may The Argus ultimately be proven correct?
The best tool for expanding codes doesn’t appear to be merely planting a franchise in new territory, but via the Australian-wide interest brought by representative matches and, in the case of the round-ball code, visits by club teams that are international brand powerhouses.
The two rugby codes and soccer would have little or no presence in Australia if not for the visits from overseas teams over the past century or more.
The 1888 Lions, with a new and crowd-pleasing way of playing rugby that had arisen in Britain, gave the code an enormous boost in popularity in NSW and Queensland, just when it appeared certain Australian rules would sweep away the British codes from the colonies.
Further Lions tours in 1899, 1904 and 1908 (as well as All Blacks visits in ‘03 and ’07) reinforced the view that rugby could give the international appeal that Australian rules could not.
The SCG crowds in 1907 were so large (52,000 in one instance) that it triggered the founding of rugby league as the players wanted to get a divide of the vast profits the NSWRU were enjoying.
But even in the face of the rise of a rival rugby code, there was no immediate fear the 15-man game would fold. “The universal nature of rugby union football is one of its most potent features. Let us keep up the connection with the Old Country (Britain),” wrote Sydney’s The Arrow newspaper in 1909.
“We do not want our football legislators to do anything likely to cut us off from such matches. These are the great events in our Rugger. Let us retain them jealously.”
In the post-war 1920s, when rugby in Australia really was in trouble, reduced to a handful of first grade teams in Sydney and the schools, it was visits from the Springboks and All Blacks that continued to draw large crowds, shoring up the finances of the NSWRU and interest in the code.
At that point enough money was found to send the Waratahs on a tour of the UK – a campaign so successful and so well-received that it inspired a revival of the code from extinction in Queensland.
Within a handful of years rugby was established in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth (the latter city being where the Lions played the final game of their 1930 visit to New Zealand and Australia).
The tours to and from overseas kept some players from switching codes, and sustained Australian rugby financially through to the era of the World Cup and then professionalism, with the establishment of Super Rugby competition and Tri-Nations.
The 2001 British Lions tour and hosting of the 2003 World Cup put Australian rugby into its most buoyant state of health since before the split with rugby league.
As revealed in The First Lions of Rugby, the theory espoused in 1888 during the Lions tour was that rugby was seen at its best above mere club contests, as representative games played by the top players combined together, backed by state or national sentiment.
Whereas Australian rules, so inextricably tied into club and fan support, passions and rivalry, was never the same game when played and watched anywhere else.
The wider public’s taste in the 21st century is, for better or worse, far more inclined to give its attention to the passing parade of the novel and the unique – which rugby and soccer can and do provide.
Rugby league has killed-off its once vibrant season of 7s, cup competitions and internationals, and though Origin appears of monolithic and unshakable proportions, it is vulnerable to disinterest and the rise of club self-interest over player availability should NSW ever manage to win three seasons in a row.
The English Super League is looking decidedly pale.
The AFL and NRL are in the ascendant today, but as with all in evolution, they may not be able to readily adapt to the increasing internationalisation of sport.
Australian Rules
Guest
Speculation that international tournaments or touring teams could outstrip potential earnings of domestic competitions is unlikely in my view. First, it assumes that the player (or athlete) becomes a "gun for hire", playing in tournaments around the world for the highest bidder of their services. Presently, cricket is the only sport doing this (see the IPL & Big Bash) and the only players who can make a living this way are the seasoned ones (see Tait, Symonds etc). Notably, the evidence suggests those competitions (esp the IPL) are waning rather than showing scope for more growth. In rugby, there's a Lions tour every 12 years. A player being able to make a living (and keep his fitness) from being a Barbarians-specialist for example, is highly unlikely. In soccer, there's the World Cup & Champions League (for egs)...and you need to be a dedictaed player (a star actually) on a club roster in order to participate, let alone realise the financial boost from playing in the tournmanet. Even if those tournaments were offering $1M to every player just for participating, I'm not sure it would strip the AFL or NRL of athletes...in any significant number anyway. The second point, is that whilst one-off exhibition games or tournmanets can be good earners (for both the players and the administrators), it is the week-in week-out domestic competition that butters your bread (again, for both player and administrator). Not only do players need full seasons year after year to develop their trade and skill, but it enables them to create a real connection between the fan, or club, or sponsor...that being a "gun for hire" can never replicate. Ultimately, I think Australian Footy will continue to strive to be the NFL of Australian sport (and with its expansion and AFLMedia, is making some considerable strides in that effort). The NRL will have a tougher time of it after being mismanaged and beset by infighting for decades. For the above reasons I disagree with Wilson's scenario.
Sean Fagan
Expert
@ Australian Rules - I was speculating that in time the $ earned by rugby & soccer in Australia from involvement in international tournaments & touring teams would exceed that made domestically by AFL or NRL. The scenarios painted by Wilson Flatley are also distinctly possible too.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Lets look at where the 4 codes are and could go over the next 10 years. Australian Football. Has coverage and is played in every state. Can't be played in current mode overseas but with the increase in AFL 9's that is played on grounds similar to soccer pitches has great potential. Rugby League is in big trouble. Played in basically NSW and a few teams in Qld and Vic need to get teams into Tas, SA, and WA to grow Soccer has manged to have teams in every state cap except Tas. Will always attract the immigrants but lacks the Australian culture of being a tough game.
Eliah James
Roar Rookie
'Bandwagon' is when a South African moves to Australia and when you befriend him, you find he supports Melbourne Storm, despite never having been there, as well as considering Queensland his state of origin. Throw in that he is a Stormers supporter (despite the fact that he comes from Middelburg - up near Pretoria and Jo'burg) and he swapped allegiances from RSA to AUS in cricket and rugby and you have the true definition of 'jumping on the bandwagon'. My equal support of the Sharks, Waratahs, Swans and Sydney FC because I come from the Sutherland Shire but do not have an overwhelming code preference is the wagga wagga principle I assume?
Freddie
Guest
Not really interested in AFL but went to watch Origin a few years ago and found the atmos very disappointing. No-one seemed that interested in the game itself, they spent all their time going to the bar! Football is very alluring because the crowds chant and get involved. Do AFL crowds do that to the same extent?
Wilson Flatley
Roar Rookie
With Australia's small population, and the near certain fall of the Australian dollar in years to come, there may one day (decades away) be a time where codes such as European Rugby, European Soccer, NFL, Indian Premier League are able to offer Australia's best and most talented sportsmen 3 or 4 million dollar contracts for what are basically untested rookies in their own sports. Australian sport in general may one day find itself a mere breeding ground for other international football codes.
Matt h
Guest
Yes hard to say. Youth participation in football has always been very high, even back when I played 30 years ago, but it did not necessarily transfer to wider popularity as adults
Australian Rules
Guest
What do you mean by the global competitions bringing more money to those sports...Doesn't that happen already?
Sean Fagan
Expert
@ Australian Rules. The final line of the article was more to do with pondering how AFL & NRL would fare if the global competitions began to bring more money to soccer, cricket and rugby than the domestic sources could provide to AFL & NRL.
Australian Rules
Guest
No. Never said that. What I *did* say was: "Australian Footy is neither the top sport in Queensland nor is it a “foreign sport”." And the crowd comparison (between the biggest Qld team and the Lions) shows that to be true.
Sean Fagan
Expert
@ Chairman Kaga - you claimed the Victorian rugby union is actually the oldest rugby competition in Australia. It did not start up again in 1930. It never stopped!. You are in error. It plays for an older cup (Dewar Shield 1909), but the Sydney club comp (est 1900) is older (Shute Shield 1923). The Melb club comp has not been continuous. Putting aside war years, the Melb RU club comp did not exist 1919-1925. That club's history page in the link above is not without error.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
I don't think there's any point going on with this, considering you obviously think the Lions are as popular as the Broncos....
blah blah blah
Guest
Comparing AFL to NFL, i think about 280 million people would disagree, and that's being generous! Also NFL has how many other sports to compete with around the xmas period in the states? Good try though.................i like dots to!
Australian Rules
Guest
Jiggly I live in Queensland. Over the last 15 years, the Broncos average attendance for home games is 28k. The Lions is 27k.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
I am always amused why you AFL types are so concerned with what people who aren't from AFL states think of your sport. It's a great suburban comp! The richest in Australia, I am told. You should be proud of it! Why do you care about what people in QLD like? Why do you care that it is not a part of the culture of people in this part of the country? Why do you care that it is pretty insignificant in this part of the country? Why do you think you know more about the attitudes and the preferences of the people from this part of the country, more so then the people who actually live there? Just be happy that you can go to the MCG and scream yourself hoarse with 70,000 other Victorians over Collingwood and Carlton, and be happy with the fact that on Monday morning at work the result will be all the goss. But please don't be so arrogant and ignorant to suggest anyone in QLD besides a couple of Victorian refugees will give t0$$.
reality bites
Guest
I agree that soccer and rugby league are now in competition. I also agree that soccer is more attractive to the youth market. Rugby league is a rusted on sport for many older Australians, but I'm not sure if there is the same interest amongst the kids. Time will tell.
reality bites
Guest
Bit pessimistic Sheek. I understand you want a domestic competition for rugby and are not happy with the ARU administration. That's fine, but to achieve it doesn't require the denigration of all things rugby. You can enjoy rugby, while still pushing for change. For what it's worth I think the Australian super rugby teams have been awesome this year, and there seems to be a buzz around the sport. Not bad for a game with zero media profile.
matt h
Guest
Freddie, what do you base your atmosphere blitzing comment on? Have you been to the big AFL games at the MCG (I haven't) and compared to the Football? I've been to RL State of Origin and the atmosphere was unbelievable (but club RL generally is not anywhere near that). Best atmosphere I've ever been to funnily enough has been: - Aus vs NZ netball, where every test seems to end in extra time. I had a headache for days from the noise, I think it had to do with the high pitch - Athletics at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. When Craig Motram came around the home bend I though I was going to explode form the wall of sound.
Mango Jack
Guest
I think it's a suspect argument to say that international profile = longevity. Can you see the NFL under threat because no one else in the world plays it? Same for AFL here. Crowds are healthy, TV revenue increasing. No one can predict the long term future of any code, but there are no signs that either AFL or RL are under serious threat here. International matches certainly boost the profile of a code, as the Lions tour will do and the FIFA WC will also (provided AUS qualify), but they are special because they are infrequent and their effect on overall popularity is not enduring.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
Im not suggesting it isn't uniquely Australian sport. No one else plays it as far as I known. But If you are considering a sport as a part of Australian Culture, which is probably silly in the first place, I think it should be universally supported or at least acknowledged by people from all parts of the country. Your average punter would have an interest in how the netball and cricket team of Australia are going. likewise most people around the country would be invested in the Swimming team. I doubt your average punter in Melbourne would care about what's going on in the NRL and likewise with your average punter in Brisbane with the AFL. The very nature of Origin has nothing to do with any other states apart form QLD and NSW so I wouldn't label it a part of Australian Culture. QLD and NSW culture, sure.