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Every scary movie has a moment where you either be brave and watch or put your hands over your eyes and wait for it to be over. On Saturday, an historic event happened with both expansion clubs Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast winning on the same day.
There is nothing scary about that, however it is the manner in which they did it, who they beat and what it means for the next 10 years which could be the stuff of a slasher film.
GWS were regarded easybeats in the opening week; however with a team full of the best young kids from the past three drafts and the recruitment of experienced players in the off-season, they showed they are going to be as tough a game as any in the competition this season.
A Sydney side everyone expected to smash an inexperienced side still developing got steamrolled. It was one way traffic in the final quarter and the stats were frightening.
Jeremy Cameron and Jonathan Patton up forward showed signs of a combination that will wreak havoc on opposition defences. Add in Tom Boyd and it is the deadliest trio in football.
The midfield over-powered a much stronger and more experienced Sydney midfield.
As for Gold Coast, they are now turning Metricon stadium into a fortress. Led superbly by Gary Ablett and his band of young midfielders, they proved too good for Richmond.
Despite making the finals last year, on the evidence of Saturday night, it looks as though it could be a reverse of Tiger tales this year.
Gold Coast’s win was even better considering Jack Martin went off mid-way through the first quarter and Charlie Dixon missed the second-half after failing a concussion test.
The questions posed after these two matches were how many games would GWS win for the season and could Gold Coast make the finals?
But those are not the question we should be asking. We should be asking, should these two expansion clubs, who have been given access to the best young talent over the past four seasons through a compromised draft, be allowed to enter the next two, possibly three drafts?
Teams such as Melbourne, St Kilda and Brisbane are looking to rebuild and are behind the two expansion clubs. You can also add clubs such as Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood and Western Bulldogs who may struggle to add a premiership in the next 10 years.
The AFL compromised the draft to make sure both expansion teams were going to be competitive in the shortest timeframe possible. In traditional rugby league heartlands, winning is everything – we only have to look at the Western Sydney Wanderers to see how fans have gravitated to a winning team.
Now that they have shown winning is going to be a frequent event and finals for both teams may not be too far from the horizon, it is time to make sure the AFL’s heartland does not get left behind.
Removing both clubs from the upcoming drafts will have a twofold effect; clubs that really need the best talent in the competition will get it and both expansion clubs will give their young talent, which don’t fit their list management plans, to clubs in exchange for mature players that can fast-track their progress to premiership glory.
This has been shown by GWS, who traded Taylor Adams to Collingwood in exchange for Heath Shaw.
With expansion, there comes risk and reward. The risk was doing it in non-traditional football areas but the reward has been the growth of the game. Saturday was a day the AFL will mark down in its history books.
However, the last thing the game needs is for these two teams to dominate and fill their trophy cabinet faster than those who have been in the competition for the last seven decades.
As much as we love watching these two teams now, I fear for the day I cover my eyes, knowing my club’s premiership hopes have been killed-off.
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