If you build it, they will come. On Sunday, with the drawcard of it being the final Sydney chapter of Kevin Sheedy’s 29-year VFL/AFL coaching career, 12,314 headed along to Skoda Stadium.
It was far from a sell-out and many Richmond fans made the trip up, but nonetheless it was a record crowd for Greater Western Sydney’s Olympic Park homeground.
Sheedy, who suggested coaching GWS was “one of the best things” he’s done with his life, was hopeful the attendance figure was a harbinger of what’s to come in 2014.
“It was our best crowd and we’re not a good footy team yet,” Sheedy said.
“I hope in the next 3 to 5 years you won’t get into the stadium, it’ll be sold out.
“If we recruit well, draft well, and trade very well – then I wouldn’t be surprised if perhaps our attendance next year could be around 12-15,000.
“…The smarter we get at marketing and the better players we get, I’ve got no doubt this club will be a successful team, obviously a lot earlier than the Swans.
“Because the Swans were dealt a pretty harsh early existence.”
Officials and players from both GWS and Richmond formed a guard of honour for Sheedy at the end of Sunday’s match, which the Tigers won by 121 points.
AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick made a special presentation to Sheedy in the rooms, while league chief executive Andrew Demetriou paid tribute to him in a pre-match address.
Sheedy is expected to stay with the Giants in a non-coaching capacity and a deal is on the table, but on Sunday the four-time premiership coach insisted it was no fait accompli.
“There is a chance (I won’t be an AFL club next year). I’ve locked up my life and thrown away the key to my family for a long time,” the 65-year-old said.
“There might be other work around for me to do. I won’t be retiring, but if I don’t have an AFL club then I don’t.”
Meanwhile, GWS ruckman Dean Brogan confirmed his immediate playing retirement after the match.
“I feel like I’m one of the luckiest blokes going around in the AFL,” Brogan said of the lifeline he was thrown by the Giants.
Pat
Guest
The fact is most people at GWS games are either opposition team supporters, expatriates from AFL states or freebies - barely 1000 per game are from western Sydney.
Allan
Guest
Yes I'm sure there's tens of thousands of AFL superstars just waiting to be discovered.
Australian Rules
Guest
You seem to be an advocate of the "Clive Palmer" model in terms of running football clubs. Rather than seeking out billionaires looking for a new toy, the AFL prefers member-owned clubs, which the Giants will eventually become. As for finance, the AFL had budgeted for the Suns and Giants *before* it signed its last $1.235B Broadcast deal. So if it spends $100M over 10 years in a new region (or a piddly $10M per annum), that's a pretty cheap investment. The EPL model (hocking out clubs to sheiks and Russian oligarchs) is NOT the model the AFL seks to copy...and most of us are quite happy with that.
Post hoc
Guest
AFL Head office must be reading the press about the Wanderers and wondering when they should turn off the lights? How many millions are they pouring into GWS, One report puts it at $100 million, the FFA puts a few million in and are looking to make upwards of $15million and possibly to a European Giant like Man City or Dortmund (BVB). I guess when Man City ploughed $100 million in at least they won the premier league. AFL Head office must be wondering how they can get any of their money back
Australian Rules
Guest
Allan, I doubt there's anyone that talks about GWS as much as you do on this site. But you can rest easy, it's not *you* that the Giants want, it's your kids and your grandkids. That's been the plan all along.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Post_Hoc, See, thats the issue. You're designing GWS to fail. The AFL is trying to give it a chance to succeed. Note that there's a hole between 25k and 40k crowds - too big for the "boutique" nature of Skoda, but too small for ANZ stadium, but I guess the club can deal with that. As an aside, the 12 300 against Richmond is pretty crappy by AFL standards, but very respectable when measured against Parramatta or Penrith.
Post _hoc
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Gee they could have played all their games except one or two there this year then :) so it would be good for the next decade at least and by that time they would have moved to Canberra anyway
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Yes. And I've seen the exits off them, too. And the car parking that isnt around the stadium, And the distance between the train line and the stadium. Its a great little 10 000 person stadium - wonderful, almost country-footy feel to it. Love going there :) But it doesnt scale to 20 000 people.
Post _hoc
Guest
You mean the stadium right next to the M7 motor way that links to 3 other motorways bringing people from the inner city the far west the hills and the south west? What better transport infrastructure do you want? Have you ever been out to Blacktown Olympic Park?
Ian Whitchurch
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Posy Hoc, While it's true the Blacktown stadium could have fitted a bunch of the crowds GWS have got, any growth at all and the NSW taxpayer is up for rather a lot of money in road- and rail-works, or you're getting quite major traffic jams in the area. Use where the infrastructure already is.
Posy hoc
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The thing is, they had a perfectly good Stadium at Blacktown, that the state government and council help fund, the could have easily catered for the crowds they are getting.
Allan
Guest
Since when do people from Melbourne think they have a right to talk about my home and the people there like we are some kind of commodity that can be bought and sold to further your own cause ? No wonder GWS is as popular as cancer, people don't want a bar of this team.
Allan
Guest
I sure the Wanderers fans are proof there is something to do in Sydney.
Nomonous
Guest
Post -hoc The NSW Right gave $45m to the NRL for the right to hold the GF in Sydney for x years - there was no competitor. The taxpayer gave $45m (with AFL $10m) to build a stadium for use by the RAS, pop concerts, AFL , cricket etc which can be hired by anyone. It could even fit in NRL down one end quite comfortably to suit some of the low drawing crowds that a tenant of SA would get when playing NQ or Gold Coast.. BTW the NRL premiers drew 13K across town when there was hardly any AFL competition in Melbourne. What clown at the AFL made that draw knowing the NRL would fix their draw 6 weeks out and the Storm would get on FTA TV or are the AFL not worried about the NRL. BTW drinking the Kool, Aid is a term from last century that has dropped out of common usage from overuse - its drink the peptides now...
Australian Rules
Guest
"it would be a joke but the amount they con out of governments mean the joke isn’t funny." Speaking of taking money out of governments, you may be interested in this piece: http://www.theage.com.au/business/pork-barrelling-for-broncos-a-grubby-political-game-20130823-2sf89.html To summarise, it details how the Liberal Party has promised to give $5M to the Broncos (a publicly-listed company 68% owned by Rupert Murdoch) if they win the election. Labor has promised $3M. Pork-barrelling at its absolute highest.
Post _hoc
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Wow you guys really have drunk the Kool-aid. GWS are a drain on the tax payers of NSW currently they get more welfare than single mums in Mt Druitt. AFL exist in a bubble of the southern states, the impact north of Wagga is pretty much zero, it would be a joke but the amount they con out of governments mean the joke isn't funny.
Nomonous
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Matt-S Do you really think the AFL thought RL wasn't popular in WS - fair dinkum you have a 1 track mind...They didn't notice the giant leagues clubs and big TV ratings and loads of juniors
andyincanberra
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I'm absolutely not trying to rubbish the Panthers or any other team/code at all. What I'm saying is that GWS and the Panthers are operating within the same market. GWS can't be expected to be pulling Collingwood-type crowds given the climate and where they are on the ladder, neither can the Panthers. Post hoc has come onto an AFL comments section, and trots out the same old tired line rubbishing GWS crowds.
Australian Rules
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"The comments above about NRL crowd figures being the reason why the AFL went into that area is just plain wrong" TW, that's not what I was suggesting. I was just pointing out that across Western Sydney crowd figures are pretty average across the board, even for established clubs.
TW
Guest
GWS Crowd attendances are important for respectability and credibilty, However also Sydney is a very important TV market - Witness the huge TV audience for the 2012 GF featuring the Sydney Swans, which would have been bigger if the GF is held later in the day but that wont change while AD runs the sport. He is also against matches on Good Friday. We have to over time increase the viewership in that market and we are coming from a low viewer base ATM. The comments above about NRL crowd figures being the reason why the AFL went into that area is just plain wrong. A certain ex AFL NSW guy Dale Holmes and his team spent years travelling around the area visiting housing estates, schools, businesses etc gauging the potential for a team long before any major decisions had been made. Their reports would have gone up the chain to AFL House.