The handling of expansion by the AFL in the past has generally been pretty successful.
The Swans and Lions both left critics red faced when they took off in non-heartlands and now it looks as if the Suns have carved out a sizeable niche up on the Gold Coast.
But the seeds the AFL have sewn in Western Sydney seem to not be blooming in the way the AFL might have liked.
Maybe I don’t have the capacity to comprehend the brilliance of the GWS’s strategy, but looking as an admitted outsider there are a few peculiar things about the club.
1) They’re not playing out of Blacktown
I used to take the train to school past Blacktown International Sportspark, the first imprints the Giants made were in the raising of the goalposts next to the train line.
When the Giants were announced I assumed they would be playing out of that general area.
I mean Greater Western Sydney, that’s gotta be at least to Blacktown, right?
Their main home ground in Homebush is a disappointment in itself.
A team with money to burn and years to wait decides not to build itself a decently sized stadium in what has been a ‘hole’ in the Western Sydney sporting landscape but to upgrade a small boutique stadium next to an already existing larger ovular stadium.
For a generational project I would’ve hoped for a little more ambition.
Put the seeds down in a real tribal home which locals could identify with as specifically GWS territory. The base in Homebush does little to help identify GWS from its rival who has already made considerable inroads into Western Sydney.
The less said about the Canberra dual occupancy the better.
2) The branding is off
To put it bluntly Greater Western Sydney sounds like something off of the front of a street directory. It isn’t really a geographic area that the local populous can really relate to.
Sure a lot of people can relate to the traditional ‘westie’ archetype and identify as living in ‘the west’ or ‘western sydney’ but the addition of greater on the front makes the title a mouthful and feels detatched from the general area.
The moniker, for what it’s worth, caps of the mouthful nicely so good job to whoever came up with that one.
The colours though in my view – and this may just be a personal gripe – don’t suit the area very well at all.
The colours aren’t themselves bad, they work as a scheme reasonably well (if a bit bland).
As a whole the team feels like the AFL just put a bunch of details about a new team into a machine and it pumped out this.
I feel the branding hasn’t done enough to differentiate GWS as a uniquely western Sydney team.
These colours and the moniker could have been used anywhere for any new team and be similarly inoffensive yet non-engaging.
3) A team without direction
The Giants current promotional strategies have also raised a few eyebrows.
Going into their first AFL season with an incredibly poor roster they decided to nab one of the rival code’s biggest stars. As we now know, the Israel Folau experiment was a failure.
The franchise built up considerable hype before its first game for what ended up being a shellacking, a pretty foreseeable one too.
Clearly someone in the GWS marketing department wasn’t paying complete attention at the teams planning meeting, which gives the impression that the club has little idea what it is trying to do.
The Folau fiasco gives the impression to the public that the club cares more about image than results, which is a very poor message to send.
If the AFL is going to plant a tree to sprout over time it wants to plant one in and right area and which suits the environment.
There is an assumption that the franchise will grow because other AFL expansions have grown before it after enduring long hardships.
But those franchises had history, soul and were formed at least taking into account some of the local identity.
They were planted in rich soil and were plants which were tailored for their environments and they had capable controllers at the helm making responsible decisions about their clubs.
Can we say the same about the Giants?
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
No it wasn't. GWS, like Sydney, just need to show they have some talent. All teams that do poorly, or have little hope of winning, are going to grab members. For the thousands of members they do have, it is a good effort. Only a few clubs (4) this season have dropped in membership this season and all are outside the 8. GWS are not on of them, not are the Suns. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-02/club-memberships-rise Membership isn't everything I know. But it certainly helps. Also it doesn't help a lot of NSW sports are expensive and people decide not to go if their team is unlikely to win (note a decent percentage, not over 1/2 though). Put it this way - in only 3 years of being in Sydney they have 13000. Swans did not pass that until 15 years where they got into a Grand Final. I'd say GWs is tracking along just fine. Also, this is with the Swans already having an established history.
Sportfreak
Guest
Another disgraceful flogging. How long will this last?
EddyJ
Guest
Agree with some points, but generally the article is off the mark. First, the name. Dump 'Greater' from the name and just call it 'Western Sydney'. It was probably a marketing exercise, but the name just grates. It reminds of some of merged teams in rural WA – Boyanup-Capel-Dardunup, for example. The guernsey: I don't mind the colours (charcoal and orange), but the guernsey looks training run apparel and a little bit like a TNT courier service. I like the transition the Dockers made from the silly anchor guernsey to the current one. Perhaps the Giants will do the same thing – no player likes to play in a silly looking guernsey. The nickname: 'Giants' sounds a bit daft, but people get used to a name after a while. I'm not sure what else could have been used, but I can imagine the name fitting into a marketing plan by a group of marketing novices: 'Hey guys, the club's got great ambitions, so let's put 'greater' in the name, and we want it to be big, so let's call them 'The Giants'. Done. OK, let's go off to our long lunch and discuss this 'great' idea further." Success for the Giants seems like it's a long way off, but once they start winning games, I'm sure that everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon. But, for that to work, they need some stars – that's where Buddy Franklin would have been so valuable to them, but it wasn't to be. If you look at the Swan's crowds between 1982–1985, and 1989–1995, they were around the same mark as the current Giant's crowds – success and star players (such as Lockett and Hall) brought in the crowds. In 1992–1994, the average crowds were around 10,000. This figure went up to around 30,000 in 1996, the year they made the grand final. Success brings in the crowds – this is a self-inherent truth. I think the Giants will get there, but it's more of a question of when this will happen. If it doesn't happen soon, you can be sure that players will want to leave the club for success elsewhere, and it will be difficult to attract players to the club. But I get the feeling that it's going to be boom or bust for the Giants. Either they will become very successful, or a big flop.
Sportfreak
Guest
Israel Folau = LEGEND. Go Tahs.
yewonk
Guest
The newspapers are keen to sell soccer to the masses?
yewonk
Guest
Jj your not from sydney are you?
yewonk
Guest
The government and council lobby and the aggresive marketing of aus kick suggests the opposite ar.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Its quite arguable that the Victorian clubs who subsidised the swans for quite some time have now got big TV deals on the back of them.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Yes Micka, this was my point yesterday ( on the daily GWS thread) and i agree with you, i was being sarcastic.
Axle an the guru
Guest
Spot on Bosk. Thats the fact of the matter,but while the AFL put the money into GWS,they wont mind asking,getting and taking taxpayers money. GWS are a WOFTAM.
AR
Guest
Ha, not bad mds.
Punter
Guest
'anyway RL thrives on controversy…' I present to you Sam Newman!!!
Bosk
Roar Rookie
The thing that really irks me about GWS is that its largely the Victorian clubs who will end up subsidizing its existence for decades, and to rub salt into the wound they'll be subsidizing a direct competitor who will likely end up winning premierships that otherwise would've been won by REAL clubs with real supporters, not a plastic franchise who's sole purpose is to market the game in NSW.
AR
Guest
I'm not sure that's true fiver. Personally, I think it's a no-brainer that the NRL should expand - to Perth and Bris2. It's criminal that it hasn't happened already.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
Football park attendance issues were recent, the stadium has been around since 1974. Nobody liked it much, but people still went. See also Waverly Park, and to a lesser extent Subiaco.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
it wasnt just lobbying, the AFL chipped in cash to make the ground into an oval, to this day the AFL still is guarantor for a 5 million dollar loan to the stadiums operators.
clipper
Guest
Agree - the Swans shouldn't be anywhere near the ANZ stadium considering the Giants are meant to service the west. Now the SCG's finished all games should be there. But it seems the stadium operators are desperate to have as many big events out there, so the financial lure may be too much.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Cottlesloe Cottlesloe Cottlesloe Pie, A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly. Ask me a riddle and I reply Cottlesloe Cottlesloe Cottlesloe Pie. (apologies to the AA Milne fans out there)....
Rodney
Roar Pro
Souths moved to Allianz and died, only to be revived through the benefactry of Russel Crowe and several lawsuits. And now they only survive off of sheer force of brand and history, two things GWS dosen't have at the moment. Wests are a merger, they can't really be compared to a pure franchise which has much more freedom than a morphed venture with 2 full teams intrests and support behind it. They could play in 2 or 3 different places because they had multiple fanbases and the Wests half had moved from Lidcombe to Cambelltown leaving patches of scattered support all over the western suburbs. Wests Tigers is made up of multiple clubs leaving patches off support everywhere over their over 100 year history. The giants don't have these ingrained pockets to pander to. St George played 1 game at Allianz for ANZAC day, a traditional game on the day with the change being only academic. they haven't moved to the city, putting them into the mix is disengenous. The difference between Parramatta and Homebush is people live in parrramatta. Its is the biggest western sydney CBD while Homebush is virtually empty aside from the infrastructure. parramatta is a business and transport hub, homebush is a stub off of the end of lidcombe. The move to homebush was a cop out. A team which decided not to neglect anybody and try and cater to everybody. But in trying to cater to everybody the team tries to do too much and barely manages to service anyone. Homebush is equally far away for most of western sydney, but that dosen't mean its a comfortable home for a western sydney team. Especially with the swans playing next door (occassionally) it doesn't really feel like and dosen't help separate GWS from the already popular swans. homebush was the cheaper option, but its not like the AFL is trying to save many by planting GWS. GWS is an investment into the future underwritten for millions and millions and dollars, it could've easily put the money down for a large Oval in sydney's west. It might've even got the support of cricket Australia and the government. Too take the cheapest option (which is compromised every year) seems a bit starnge for a franchise with endless time and seeming endless financial backing to get off the ground. They want it done right, not just done cheaply.
micka
Guest
"I’m still giggling that you know a place like Cottlslea or Cottlsoe (whatever it’s called) exists. Massive tourist mecca! We should alert the Chinese tourists now! And yes WA is full of cashed up bogans" SVB, extreme stupid ignorance is not something people are generally proud of.