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I’ve heard it a lot lately. That any publicity is good publicity when it comes to AFL in Sydney, and Buddy is earning his big money at Swans by getting them in the media.
Sounds good in theory I guess, but those days of the Swans craving media attention disappeared a while ago.
They command it now and get their share, but I can guarantee you John Longmire isn’t overly concerned if Buddy can get bums on seats or newspaper headlines. He wanted him in Sydney to help the club win another flag.
The AFL’s media explosure has increased a little since the Giants arrived, mainly through the exploits of Israel Folau. It will shrink from time to time depending on results, and balloon if one or both of the clubs are doing extremely well, but it will always be around the same mark overall.
It’s not a matter of which out of football, AFL, league or union is better than the other, or which one gets the most people to grounds or watching on television.
Like it or not, Sydney is rugby league territory. Sure, it has plenty of room and plenty of people for all those other games to co-exist. But league will remain the No. 1 sport and will dominate the media for a few generations to come at the very least.
I know how well Auskick is going in Sydney schools – I’ve seeb the figures and know kids love it. Most of those same kids will also watch the rugby league on the weekend with their family, and support Parramatta or Canterbury or Manly or Souths.
And the A-League through Western Sydney has made great inroads into Sydney culture and society. While they may get big numbers to their games, I can’t imagine that game overtaking league as the city’s No. 1 sport in my lifetime. Kids play or football on the weekend, but then watch their league team play on TV with their parents that night.
As for rugby union, while it has its fans across the city, the private school image the game carries has always been a turn-off for the working class league followers.
Which bring me back to Buddy. Outside the AFL reporters, the mainstream media in Sydney are only interested in Buddy in the hope he stuffs up so they can poke fun at the AFL, just as it was with Israel Folau.
So to suggest that Buddy Franklin has been good for AFL in Sydney because he’s getting on the front and back of the newspapers is bordering on ridiculous. The Swans couldn’t get a line in the paper each day 20 years ago, but it’s now a whole different world.
How Buddy and his $10 million contract will be good for Sydney is when he and his new forward-line co-pilot, Kurt Tippett, begin to gel and become the best one-two punch in the AFL.
With Tippett’s return last Friday in the win over an injury-weakened Hawthorn, Franklin clearly had more room to move and less defensive restrictions.
While he couldn’t convert the majority of his chances, if he can kick 50 per cent of them in the future the Swans will set competitive scores each and every week – especially if Tippett is doing the same. And we all know how miserly their defence can be.
There was a lot to like about Frnaklin and Tippett in the Swans forward line, but I really liked the way the Sydney midfield warmed to the prospect of having a pair of big, capable targets to pick out inside 50m.
Are Sydney a real premiership threat to equal a fully fit Hawthorn and Geelong? Maybe not right now, but it’s May. Come and see me again in a month or so and I might have reassessed that assessment.
For now, forget all about the headlines Sydney. This is not about ‘their game is better than yours’. Watch the Swans play football, and you might like what you see.
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