The GWS Giants have a big problem that the AFL fails to properly acknowledge – support for the Giants is low.
What’s more, it doesn’t look like increasing any time soon.
While the Giants are still in their infancy it is to be expected that crowd attendances will vary, and that membership numbers will be lower than those of other AFL clubs.
It is also to be expected that, as the Giants play more seasons of AFL, these numbers will increase.
However, this is not going to be an easy task. Not only are the Giants trying to expand the brand of AFL in a state which traditionally follows NRL, they are also trying to expand into the heartland of two of the NRL’s most established clubs: the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.
These clubs, founded in 1966 and 1934 respectively, have a long-standing affiliation with the people of western Sydney. It will be a difficult task for the Giants to capture the hearts – and pocket strings – of the supporters of these two clubs, particularly given the crossover of the AFL and NRL seasons.
This hard truth is compounded by the popular support of another team which calls western Sydney home.
Despite the team being founded in 2012, just like the GWS Giants, the Western Sydney Wanderers have managed to grab the attention of the ethnically diverse people of Sydney’s west.
By the end of last year’s 2013-14 A-League season, the Wanderers had signed up 16,000 members. The Giants, by comparison, have managed less than 14,000 signatures this year. More disappointingly, the Giants have averaged less than 9,000 supporters at homes games this year, whereas the Wanderers averaged almost 15,000 last season.
These two clubs were established at the same time, but they share little else in common. The Wanderers finished on top of the A-League table in 2012-13 and were runners-up in 2013-14. The Giants, on the other hand, collected the wooden spoon in both 2012 and 2013.
It may be unfair to compare the Giants with the Wanderers, because the Wanderers came into the A-League only seven years after its creation, whereas the Giants have come into a league which has a history spanning over 100 years. What’s more, the AFL is a much larger competition. There are 18 clubs, compared to the A-League’s 10. Therefore, the odds are in the Wanderers’ favour to perform better than the Giants.
These favourable odds may appear to have little to do with external factors, such as crowd attendances and membership numbers. However, success on the field invariably leads to success off the field. Crowds want to see an exciting brand of football, whether that be in the A-League or the AFL, and members have a propensity to jump on the bandwagon when their team is winning.
Unfortunately for the Giants, their paltry four wins this season are not only discouraging membership growth, but may also be pushing potential members to support western Sydney’s success story – the Wanderers.
Indeed, the Wanderers already have 10,000 members signed up for the forthcoming A-League season.
In a state where NRL is king, the last thing the Giants need is a successful team from another code of football crowding their space. But that is the exact card that they have been dealt.
Hopefully 2015 sees the Giants with more wins, because on-field success is what the team needs in order to capture the attention of western Sydney.
If it came down to supporting the Giants or the Wanderers, I’d choose the team that was winning, too.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
where the hell does 340+ come from? AFL Fox ratings average 196 for the season, NRL fox ratings sit at 208 for the season. (and thats without Origin/preseason/tests http://footyindustry.com/files/afl/media/tvratings/2014/2014AFLseasonratingsum.png http://footyindustry.com/files/nrl/media/tvratings/2014/2014NRLseasonratingsum.png
Epiquin
Roar Guru
a "20 year plan" is also a creative fail safe to ward off the nay-sayers. For at least ten years when people say it isn't working the AFL can just say "of course not, it was a 20 year strategy..." I'm curious if they have a plan B or when they would look at developing a Plan B. Would it be relocate, or cut and run?
Carl
Guest
Take away WSW's 2 home derby crowds against Sydney FC from their inaugural season and watch their season average plummet too. But why on Earth would you eliminate the club's biggest games from your calculations? Averages include the good and the bad. That's the whole point of an average....
Davo
Guest
Hmm one could argue whether the long term view in this case is really the best investment the AFL could make. I have my doubts. Let's assume they are banking on a 20 year time frame before meaningful returns are made. Well even if it becomes profitable, what was the opportunity cost of this investment? If 50 million was spent today on setting up this venture with ongoing support payments for the next 20 years, what would have been the outcome financially had the AFL invested in other areas that may have had greater certainty of payoff at a fraction of the timeframe? Let's not forget that compounding interest is never to be underestimated. How much would 50 million be worth in 20 yrs time at a growth rate of 10% pa. in 20 years the return would be more than 300 million. The cash interest from that alone from that time onwards could yield $15 million a year. There is no certainty however that the money spent now would yield any big return in 20 years. All im saying is that banking on a 20 year outlook in this particular instance is a very long time and a very big gamble. Only time will tell whether the AFL made the right decision on the GWS. I however have my doubts.
Davo
Guest
Hahaha yes soak it up because for the next 15 years its going to be a struggle but then as fans you may see some victory and see your avg crowds rise above 20k. MAYBE. In the meantime bask in the glory of watching your team struggle. Because you know 15 years is just around the corner...
AR
Guest
"Do I need to be a fan of the Giants to comment on them?" Not at all. People get too precious about these things. As long as people have an opinion, preferably an informed one, then surely that's a good thing.
max
Guest
As oppose to all of the millionsof tax payers the nrl clubs have reviecieved from council, state and federal, add that in with all of the money taken from the several league clubs, so it's the pot calling the kettle black!!!!
clipper
Guest
That thinking is flawed. Number 1 - are there many RU fans out west? Number 2 - if the RL fans out west supported the Swans, there can't have been many, as the number following the Swans hasn't dropped off since WSW entered the competition. I doubt there were many AFL fans out west, those that were may now be following the Giants, but it hasn't made much of a dent with the Swans. I don't know about league having a resurgence out there, it implies that it lost ground over the past few years. If anything Football is the one having a resurgence, at the expense of league - especially the juniors.
fiver
Guest
funny that, anyone who understands cultural history of this country knows there's a long standing sydney vs melbourne rivalry and as someone who doesn't live in either city but travels to them for work, I have noticed the Melbourne side buy into this rivalry a lot more than Sydney. When i go to Sydney I don't get told how much better their coffee is compared to Melbourne, but you are sure to hear it in Melbourne... "gee can't find a good coffee in sydney, so expensive, terrible traffic etc."
yewonk
Guest
The administration is who I was referring to being cashed up bogans the giants look and feel very phony on account of many earlier marketing, corporate and pr I took the cashed bogans from the seven thirty report into the admins shady dealings always found it fitting.
clipper
Guest
Terry - that was certainly true prior to A league days when the game was drawn along ethnic lines from, as you say, working class European migrants. I agree with you that Rugby is still the game in private schools, but I think Football has shifted to be more inclusive, although you may have a point and would certainly give grounds to one of the reasons why it has done so well out west.
AR
Guest
Maybe I was being more profound than I intended! Of course, the Giants lost to Geelong by 7 points.
AR
Guest
yeah! Melbourne people are cashed up bogans! anything else..?
AR
Guest
Feel free not to support GWS...no problem there...but at least do it for the right reasons. The Blacktown International Sports Park was built for a whole range of sports (not just Aust Rules) and is home to, amongst other things, the Goal Keeping Academy. Despite the AFL never intending for the Giants to play every game there (the plan was for pre-season and junior competitions), only the AFL and cricket actually contributed capital to its construction - so it seems a tad odd that you single out the AFL for using your "hard earned rates money"...when no-one (FFA included) chipped in a single dime. As for ShowGrounds Stadium, the AFL contributed $10M of its own money, with the rest coming from the RAS and NSW Govt. Again, by comparison, every single rectangular field in Sydney has been built with 100% government money (possibly Shark Park aside). As for leaving the west, your Parra Eels also play out of Homebush, so again it seems your logic doesn't entirely add up. If you just don't like the Giants, then that's ok...but citing government expenditure or playing at Homebush seem like bogus reasons.
Wanderer
Guest
As a Parramatta and Wanderers supporter who lives just near the stadium built for the Giants with Blacktown Council and NSW Government Money (i.e. my hard earned rates money) that the Giants decided they wouldn't play in - they can forget about ever getting my support. It has nothing to do with winning or losing - I've supported Parramatta through years of bad performances. They have no idea of their market, what it represents and how they have insulted it by moving East to Homebush. If Western Sydney isn't good enough for the Giants, the Giants are not good enough for Western Sydney. They should stop calling themselves GWS, because that is not who they are or what they represent.
Trev
Guest
Long term view needs to be take with GWS and Sydney crowds. Don't think they'll ever have a huge following but they will win over fans, enough to make the whole thing worth while anyway.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Me Too That simply doesn't make sense. If GWS were not in the AFL, then 40 players who are currently listed at AFL clubs would have to be discarded to the VFL/SANFL/WAFL. There is nowhere else for them to play ARules. In fact, by having GWS & Suns in the AFL competition, it means 80 players currently listed at AFL clubs would be discarded to the VFL/SANFL/WAFL. So, if you don't think VFL/SANFL/WAFL have sufficient quality players to play AFL .. that means 80 players at AFL clubs - earning an average wage of $200k/year - are of sub-standard quality. They're only at AFL clubs to make up the numbers.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Yes GWS will do well to have the a following like the Swans niche one.
Punter
Guest
Peter, I though we were talking about GWS here not AFL. They may have poise a treat in the early days during the Sheedy, Folau time (talk of Sydney not needing a 2nd team, to me it was giving people more options) but this year, there is hardly any noise, yes indiffernce. As for AFL, well the Swans have been here for awhile & have a niche following while most the majority would struggle more then 4-5 players, there is warmth for the club when they do well. I think the Swans have a better following then the Storm in Melbourne.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
My own experience of friends from Western Sydney who weren't RL/RU fans is that they generally supported the Swans. GWS got them interested as a team representing WS but once the Wanderers show hit town they joined in and never went back. I really struggle to see any future for the Giants particularly as RL is also making a resurgence in the area. AFL has plenty of money they say but you can only pour money into a bottomless pit for so long. Surely this money could have been better spent on establishing a team in Tassie or Canberra.