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So what’s an AFL fan living in Queensland meant to do on a night that is dominated by State of Origin? Investigate what is wrong with the game in Queensland, of course.
With the Gold Coast Suns still finding their feet and the Brisbane Lions having only appeared in one finals series since their domination in the early 2000s came to an end, the future of AFL football is not looking fantastic north of the Tweed.
Boardroom battles, financial problems, unrest among fans, an attempted re-location to Springfield, the sacking of Michael Voss with no obvious replacement mean that things have been a bit rocky in Brisbane for the Lions.
This, following on from the Brendan Fevola saga and their current on-field woes, has the Lions struggling to get back on their feet. So is this a problem with the Lions themselves or does it point to a bigger issue with the game in Queensland?
The bigger picture does not point to a change in fortunes anytime soon. The local game is poorly run, the game has a very small public profile in Brisbane and there seems to be a shortage of young talent coming through.
In 2009 there were nine Queensland-based players selected in the draft. In 2012 and 2013 only one player each year was selected. There were a total of six Queensland players (not including previously upgraded rookies or recycled players) selected in 2013 to join AFL lists, and 2012 produced a total of only four players.
This is despite significant investment in AFL academies, with Brisbane and the Gold Coast both given areas of Queensland to be able to develop players. These players are available for the clubs to select in the same fashion as the father-son selections – with just two players selected from Brisbane’s academy as rookie-listed players.
If the Lions want to capture the imagination of the Brisbane public and generate real passion (something significantly lacking from last weekend’s game against Greater Western Sydney) having home grown stars goes a long way to fostering pride and interest in the game locally.
While participation numbers continue to grow with grassroots football I am not sure how accurate these stats are. Having coached junior football in Brisbane there is a significant drop off in players once they reach later primary school years. Kids are regularly being lost to other sports or not having a clear and consistent pathway through a single club.
There are three main levels of football juniors (up to Under-12s), youths (12 to 18) and seniors. Some clubs only have teams in one level, others only in junior and youth clubs and many senior clubs have no direct affiliation to a feeder club of juniors.
The senior competitions in particular have no structure, with clubs shuffled up and down divisions and divisions regularly changing in regards to geographical coverage and number of teams involved.From an average of 30,000 fans per game in 2009 the Lions crowds have steadily decreased each season to a current average of just 20,000.
Public interest in the sport fluctuates with the on-field fortunes – something the AFL has underestimated in the northern states. Even in traditional codes such as union and NRL the crowds can be fickle, with traditional clubs like the Reds in Queensland and the Rabbitohs in NSW going through periods of poor attendances when on-field performance dipped.
The AFL seemed to think the Brisbane public was won over following the Lions three premierships and seem to have left the Lions to their own devices ever since. Now they are in trouble and need some support.
The Lions are in danger of becoming irrelevant in the current sporting landscape in Brisbane and need change to reverse this trend. Although a lot of debate centres around cost of living allowances and the benefit Sydney get from this, strong and stable off-field appointments can help turn things around.
Paul Roos and Ken Hinkley have received a lot of praise for turning around two clubs considered to be basket cases, but a closer look at the bigger picture of their turn around shows there were strong decisions made in other areas which have been just as crucial.
David Koch coming on board as Port Adelaide president, promoting the club and giving it a profile helped, and the influence of Darren Burgess as the high performance coach is also an important cog.
Similarly, at Melbourne the appointment of Peter Jackson last year to review the club was a major step in turning their fortunes around.
This is where the money, support and resources need to be spent to help the Lions. The AFL should have a vested interest in ensuring stability within the football department and helping fund the appointment of some high quality football department staff would be money well spent.
Imagine if they could lure Brian Cook or Stephen Wells up north?
The other area that needs a total revamp is in the local leagues, especially at the higher levels. The NEAFL needs to develop an Under-18 competition similar to the TAC Cup, where each NEAFL side has an affiliated Under-18 team and ideally Under-16 competition to help develop young talent.
The ability to have academies and priority selection to the best young players in Queensland provides the teams with an ideal opportunity to invest big money to develop home grown players with first call on drafting them.
A finals series involving the top four teams from the NEAFL Under-18s up against the TAC Cup teams that failed to make the finals could add an opportunity to promote the northern states’ youngsters during finals time, just prior to the draft.
Action is required to lift the profile of the game in Brisbane and to help improve the quality of the Lions.
If the AFL are serious about developing a truly national competition and want to capitalise on interest generated by the Suns’ rise up the ladder, money in development and quality football people running the Lions is needed fast
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